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☆ Trump’s gag order appeal previews America’s grave election year stress test
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

However the ex-president’s appeal ends against a limited gag order imposed in his federal election subversion case, he can expect a benefit. A judgment in Trump’s favor on the gag order – which has been temporarily frozen while the appeal is heard – would pale against his four criminal trials and his current civil fraud trial in New York. How the gag order case reflects Trump’s intense challenge to accountabilityThe gag order appeal is entwined with complex arguments on the breadth of the First Amendment and the extent to which courts have the right to regulate its scope in order to protect their officers and proceedings and the administration of justice. Trump’s legal team argued that any restrictions on his comments represent an unconstitutional assault on his rights to freedom of political speech. The incitement issue is not a hypothetical one in the gag order case.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Jack Smith’s, Trump’s, –, Tanya Chutkan, Joe Biden, —, Smith, ”, Patricia Millett, John Sauer, ’, “, Elliot Williams, Arthur Engoron, ” Engoron, Mike Pence, Mark Milley, Bradley Moss, CNN Max, Moss Organizations: CNN, Trump, Justice Department, DC, “, Republican, Capitol, Rocky, Rocky Mountain State, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Biden Justice Department Locations: New York, United States of America, Colorado, Rocky Mountain

☆ Opinion: Trump indictment in Georgia leaves Republicans sleepwalking toward disaster
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Opinion W. James Antle Iii | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Trump has denied wrongdoing in all the cases, saying “the witch hunt continues” in response to the Georgia state court indictment on alleged interference in the 2020 election results. This is true purely as a practical matter, regardless of what Republicans or anyone else think of the merits of the legal cases against him. Paradoxically, the state cases could be an even bigger problem in this area than either of special counsel Jack Smith’s. If convicted of a state crime, Trump wouldn’t possess even the theoretical ability to pardon himself after the election. Unless the reality of the political danger these indictments pose soon sets in, Republicans could be sleepwalking toward disaster in 2024.

Persons: James Antle III, Donald Trump, James Antle, James Antle III Trump, Trump, Joe Biden, don’t, Biden, president’s surrogates, Jack Smith’s, Brian Kemp, doesn’t, Kemp Organizations: Washington Examiner, CNN, Republican, GOP, White, Democrats, Democratic, Justice Department, Republicans, Biden Justice Department, ABC, Trump, Twitter, Facebook, Republican Gov, New York’s Democratic Locations: Georgia, New York, Iowa, Fulton

☆ House Republicans are furious about Hunter Biden special counsel
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON — After more than two years of demanding that the Justice Department appoint a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden, Republicans in Congress finally got their wish on Friday. "If Weiss negotiated the sweetheart deal that couldn't get approved, how can he be trusted as a Special Counsel?" Republicans argued that a special counsel probe would effectively draw a curtain around evidence they are seeking. "Now, Merrick Garland expects us to trust Weiss to be the Special Counsel that finally brings Hunter Biden to justice," said Leavitt. "The Biden Justice Department is trying to stonewall congressional oversight as we have presented evidence to the American people."

Persons: Kevin McCarthy, WASHINGTON —, Hunter Biden, General Merrick Garland's, Joe Biden's, Weiss, couldn't, McCarthy, David Weiss, Donald Trump, Biden, Department's, Karoline Leavitt, Merrick Garland, Leavitt, James Comer, coverup, Comer, Jim Jordan, Russell Dye, Dye, Hunter Organizations: National Defense, U.S, Capitol, WASHINGTON, Justice Department, Republicans, Congress, GOP, Justice, PAC, Make, Inc, CNBC, Biden Justice Department, Biden, Department Locations: Washington , DC, Delaware, Ky, Ohio

☆ Reactions to appointment of a special counsel in Hunter Biden case
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Weiss said Hunter Biden may be headed for trial on criminal charges after talks on a potential plea deal reached an impasse. If Weiss negotiated the sweetheart deal that couldn’t get approved, how can he be trusted as a Special Counsel? Garland appointing Weiss as a sham special counsel on Hunter is a way to block info from Congress while claiming they're investigating. The Biden Justice Department is trying to stonewall congressional oversight as we have presented evidence to the American people about the Biden family's corruption." REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE LAUREN BOEBERT ON X:"Merrick Garland just announced that he will appoint US Attorney Weiss as Special Counsel to look into Hunter Biden's matters.

Persons: Hunter Biden, Joe Biden, Jonathan Ernst, General Merrick Garland's, David Weiss, Joe Biden's, Weiss, KEVIN MCCARTHY, Biden, couldn’t, DICK DURBIN, Garland, Biden’s, Trump, Trump’s, STEVE SCALISE, Hunter, STEVEN CHEUNG, DONALD TRUMP, RUSSELL, JIM JORDAN, David Weiss can’t, JAMES COMER, General Garland, Biden's, LINDSEY GRAHAM, you've, BYRON DONALDS, LAUREN BOEBERT, Merrick Garland, I'm, NIKKI HALEY, Moira Warburton, David Morgan, Josephine Walker, Jasper Ward, Howard Goller Organizations: REUTERS, TWITTER, DOJ, Republicans, DEMOCRATIC, Justice Department, U.S, Justice Department’s, Biden, REPUBLICAN, Biden Justice Department, FOX, Biden Fam, US, Department of Justice, Thomson Locations: Wilmington , Delaware, U.S, Delaware, Washington

☆ Reactions to appointment of a US special counsel in Hunter Biden case
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Mr. Biden paid the overdue tax bill in 2021. Mr. Weiss’s office has also charged Mr. Biden in connection with the purchase of a handgun in 2018, when Mr. Biden falsely said on a government form that he was not using drugs. But as part of the deal, the Justice Department, under what is known as a pretrial diversion agreement, said it would not prosecute Mr. Biden on the charge as long as Mr. Biden no longer owns a weapon and remains drug free for two years. As president, Mr. Trump, realizing that Mr. Biden was the candidate with the best chance to beat him in 2020, tried to weaponize Hunter Biden’s business dealings against his father. At the height of the 2020 election, Mr. Giuliani and other Trump confidants believed they had an October surprise that would catapult Mr. Trump to re-election when they obtained a cache of files from Hunter Biden’s laptop.

Persons: Hunter Biden, Biden’s, Biden, David C, Weiss, Harris, —, Justice Department meddled, General Merrick B, Garland, Maryellen Noreika, Donald J, Trump, Hunter, Trump’s, Christopher Clark, Mr, Beau, Clark, Obama, Rudolph W, Giuliani Organizations: U.S, Trump, Biden Justice Department, Court, Biden, Republicans, Justice Department, Republican, Obama Locations: Delaware, Wilmington —, Ukraine, Ukrainian

Hunter Biden, President Biden’s troubled son and the target of long-running Republican efforts to cast the first family as corrupt, is expected to plead guilty on Wednesday in federal court to two misdemeanor tax charges and accept an agreement that will allow him to avoid prosecution on a gun charge. If approved by a judge, the deal, reached by lawyers for the younger Mr. Biden with the U.S. attorney in Delaware, David C. Weiss, a Trump appointee who was kept on by the Biden Justice Department to complete the investigation, would result in no prison time. Republicans have assailed the plea deal as far too lenient. Citing the congressional testimony of two I.R.S. agents who were involved in the federal investigation, House Republicans have suggested that the Justice Department meddled in the case by failing to give Mr. Weiss the full authority over the investigation that it had promised him — an assertion that Mr. Weiss and Attorney General Merrick B. Garland have rebutted.

Persons: Hunter Biden, Biden’s, Biden, David C, Weiss, Harris, —, Justice Department meddled, General Merrick B, Garland Organizations: U.S, Trump, Biden Justice Department, Court, Biden, Republicans, Justice Department Locations: Delaware, Wilmington —

CNN —Former President Donald Trump has been indicted in the special counsel’s classified documents probe, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN, a stunning development that marks the first time a former president has faced federal charges. Ongoing investigationsTrump has railed against the special counsel investigation and the other probes into his conduct, claiming they are all efforts to stop him politically. After federal investigators retrieved documents from the resort in June, his lawyers later told investigators that they had searched the storage area and that all classified documents were accounted for. In recent months, prosecutors heard from dozens of witnesses, including Trump aides and employees of Mar-a-Lago and the Trump Organization. Prosecutors obtained an audio tape of Trump talking about a classified Pentagon document during a 2021 Bedminster, New Jersey, meeting.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, “, ”, ” Trump, General Merrick Garland, Jack Smith, Joe Biden, Fani Willis, Fmr, Lago Organizations: CNN, Justice Department, Biden Administration, Justice, Trump, Biden Justice Department, Trump Organization, Democratic, Senate, Trump’s, FBI, Prosecutors, DOJ, National Archives, Mar Locations: Miami, Manhattan, Lago, Fulton County, Georgia, Mar, Washington ,, Florida, Bedminster , New Jersey

The party-line vote on Tuesday aims to do just that, setting up a "Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government." The body is set to launch a wide-ranging probe of Democrat Biden's administration, which Republicans accuse of "weaponizing" the FBI against Trump. Among the federal agencies targeted are those looking into Trump's attempt to overturn his 2020 defeat and alleged mishandling of classified documents. On Monday the White House said that lawyers for Biden found classified documents at a Washington think tank affiliated with the president. That would create a situation where he could seek to oversee a federal investigation into himself.

☆ Elizabeth Warren calls for the Supreme Court to reject the 'baseless lawsuits' that blocked Biden's student-loan forgiveness from reaching 'millions of working people in need of relief'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sen. Elizabeth Warren called for the Supreme Court to uphold Biden's student-debt relief. It followed the Justice Department filing a defense of the relief to SCOTUS on Wednesday night. On Wednesday night, the Justice Department filed its fulled legal defense of President Joe Biden's plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt to the Supreme Court, ahead of oral arguments beginning on February 28. "The Biden Justice Department has made clear to the U.S. Supreme Court that cancelling student debt is legal under the HEROES Act and critical to millions of working people in need of relief," Warren wrote on Twitter after the legal defense was filed on Wednesday. Biden's administration has not yet commented on what alternative routes, if any, it would pursue if the Supreme Court ends up striking down the relief, noting that its focus right now is the current and ongoing litigation.

Both would be setbacks for the Biden administration. In another immigration-related case, the court has yet to rule on the Biden administration’s attempt to implement its immigration enforcement priorities. For Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, the administration’s top advocate at the court, arguing before such a conservative court is a constant uphill battle. The government similarly failed to convince the conservative majority not to expand gun rights in another major ruling issued that month. The Biden administration can point to some hard-fought victories.

New York CNN Business —Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Wednesday that the Justice Department formally introduced regulations barring department employees from secretly seeking journalists’ records except in limited circumstances. Within CNN, the Trump administration secretly sought and obtained the 2017 phone and email records of Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr. The Biden Justice Department informed Starr last May that prosecutors had obtained her records covering two months between June 1, 2017 and July 30, 2017. Under previous DOJ regulations, investigators could secretly obtain journalists’ records through a court order without the journalists’ knowledge. After news organizations first reported the records seizures in the summer 2021, President Joe Biden vowed to end the practice.

☆ Biden’s Antitrust Batters Strike Out
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Hard to believe, but the Biden antitrust squad is having a worse season than the Washington Nationals did. The Justice Department recently lost its third merger case in a month. The government traditionally hasn’t gone to court to challenge mergers unless it’s reasonably confident it can win. Justice also usually tries to address competition concerns with conditions on mergers such as asset divestitures. But the Biden Justice Department is choosing litigation first at the risk of striking out, and is it ever.

☆ Earnings playbook: How to play the second half of the season with Starbucks and Caterpillar on deck
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-31 | by ( Fred Imbert | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

Tuesday Caterpillar is set to report earnings before the bell, followed by a conference all with management at 8:30 a.m. What history shows: Caterpillar has reported a better-than-expected profit in each of the last eight earnings days, FactSet data shows. What history shows : FactSet data shows Airbnb has beaten analyst expectations in the last four quarters. What history shows: FactSet data shows Paramount has missed earnings expectations in two of the past four quarters. Block is set to report earnings after the close, with management set to hold a call at 5 p.m.

☆ Legal problems galore await Trump now that he's lost reelection — and, soon, his presidential immunity
▼ + stars: | 2020-11-06 | by ( Dave Levinthal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

"What the Biden Justice Department will do is let the Justice Department be the Department of Justice," Biden said during an ABC News forum when asked what he'd do about the evidence accumulated during the Mueller investigation. Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesAccusations of campaign-finance violationsThe most notable Trump campaign money drama of the moment is a doozy. It involves a complaint filed this summer by the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center that alleges the Trump campaign "disguised" nearly $170 million worth of campaign spending "by laundering the funds" through companies led by Brad Parscale, his former campaign manager, or created by Trump campaign lawyers. The Trump campaign has denied wrongdoing. They include accusations of illegal solicitation of a foreign national by Donald Trump Jr. and failure to publicly disclose campaign debts stemming from municipal police bills the Trump campaign refuses to pay.

☆ 'Cases up the wazoo for years to come': Legal insiders brace for a world where Trump loses and the ex-president faces down a slew of reinvigorated court fights
▼ + stars: | 2020-11-02 | by ( Dave Levinthal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

The Trump campaign did not respond to Insider's questions about the possible legal challenges ahead for the president and his team. Justice Department investigation 'plausible'Could Trump's own Justice Department, at this moment, be criminally investigating the Trump reelection campaign? And that means officials there would "likely be avoiding public investigative steps" even if they were examining Trump campaign activity, Petalas said. Separately, Insider in mid-July reported that the Trump campaign was conducting an internal review of campaign spending irregularities overseen by Parscale. "If I was President Trump, that's what I would be worried about."

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