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☆ Opinion: The world rushes to court Trump
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

She is a weekly opinion contributor to CNN, a contributing columnist to The Washington Post and a columnist for World Politics Review. Now, they’re urgently working on two fronts: seeking to Trump-proof their foreign policy and defense, and hoping to minimize the potential negative impact of a Trump victory. Making matters more unusual – and far more unethical – Trump has effectively launched his own shadow foreign policy, actively undermining Biden’s – America’s – policy. Not only is the former president leveraging his control of the Republican Party to block US aid to Ukraine ‑ Trump is interfering in US foreign policy elsewhere. Interfering in US foreign policy is bad enough, but there’s also an unseemly financial angle.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Fumio Kishida, David Cameron, Donald Trump, –, It’s, they’re, Putin, Trump, Jens Stoltenberg, Viktor Orban, ”, Orban, “, ’, Joe Biden’s, – Trump, Biden’s, Ukraine ‑ Trump, Richard Grenell, Grenell, Grennell, there’s, Jared Kushner, Aleksandar Vucic, ingratiate, Japan’s, Shinzo Abe, Ivanka Trump, —, Biden Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Washington , D.C, British, Trump, Ukraine –, NATO, European, Trump Heritage Foundation, ”, EU, Europe –, Republican Party, Serbian Locations: Washington ,, Japan, United States, Mar, Europe, Russia, European Union, Ukraine, EU, ” Russia, “, East, Guatemala, Washington, Serbia, New York

Republicans are expected to hold the seat easily, and the party’s fragile majority in the chamber is not at stake. The district, which cuts through the Central Valley farm belt including parts of Bakersfield and Fresno, is the most strongly Republican seat in heavily Democratic California. Fong and Boudreaux have advanced to the November election in that contest. The special election only covers the time remaining in McCarthy’s term, running through early next year. But there is an insider-outsider aspect to the race: Fong is McCarthy's handpicked choice and a product of his political operation, while the sheriff is not.

Persons: Donald Trump, Kevin McCarthy, Vince Fong, McCarthy, Mike Boudreaux, Joe Biden, —, Fong, Marisa Wood, Boudreaux, Boudreaux's, ” Fong, Ryan Gardiner, Trump, ”, Ric Grenell, Sen, Shannon, McCarthy's Organizations: ANGELES, GOP, Republicans, Republican, Trump Locations: California, Tulare County, Bakersfield, Fresno, Democratic California, Shannon Grove, Kern County, Tulare, Kings, Fresno County

In 2013, two years before he began running for president, Mr. Trump — Mr. Kushner’s father-in-law — told a top Serbian government official that he wanted to build a luxury hotel on the site. Associates of the Trump Organization traveled to Belgrade to inspect the location. The project did not come together before Mr. Trump’s election in 2016, and after being sworn in he vowed to not do any new foreign deals. But developing the site would again draw interest from Mr. Trump’s circle. Richard Grenell, whom Mr. Trump had appointed as a special envoy in the Balkans, pushed a related plan during the Trump administration that Serbia and the United States jointly work to rebuild the Defense Ministry site.

Persons: Jared Kushner, Donald J, Trump, Kushner, Kushner’s, —, Richard Grenell Organizations: Yugoslav Ministry of Defense, NATO, The New York Times, Serbian, Associates, Trump Organization, United, Defense Ministry Locations: Belgrade, Serbian, Balkans, Serbia, United States, American

Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of Donald J. Trump, confirmed on Friday that he was closing in on major real estate deals in Albania and Serbia, the latest example of the former president’s family doing business abroad even as Mr. Trump seeks to return to the White House. Mr. Kushner’s plans in the Balkans appear to have come about in part through relationships built while Mr. Trump was in office. Mr. Kushner, who was a senior White House official, said he had been working on the deals with Richard Grenell, who served briefly as acting director of national intelligence under Mr. Trump and also as ambassador to Germany and special envoy to the Balkans. One of the proposed projects would be the development of an island off the coast of Albania into a luxury tourist destination. A second — with a planned luxury hotel and 1,500 residential units and a museum — is in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, at the site of the long-vacant former headquarters of the Yugoslav Army destroyed in 1999 by the NATO bombings, according to a member of Parliament in Serbia and Mr. Kushner’s company.

Persons: Jared Kushner, Donald J, Trump, Kushner’s, Kushner, Richard Grenell Organizations: Mr, White House, Yugoslav, NATO Locations: Albania, Serbia, Germany, Balkans, Belgrade

☆ Caitlyn Jenner seemingly asks Elon Musk for legal help after claiming Disney and Bob Iger discriminated against her
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Eammon Jacobs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Caitlyn Jenner has asked Elon Musk for legal help after claiming Disney discriminated against her. The reality star also criticized Disney CEO Bob Iger in earlier social-media posts. AdvertisementCaitlyn Jenner asked Elon Musk for legal help on X (formerly known as Twitter) after claiming that Disney and Bob Iger discriminated against her. — Caitlyn Jenner (@Caitlyn_Jenner) February 7, 2024Musk had not publicly responded to Jenner as of Thursday morning. AdvertisementRepresentatives for Disney, Caitlyn Jenner, and Elon Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

Persons: Caitlyn Jenner, Elon Musk, Jenner, Bob Iger, —, Disney, Musk, Richard Grenell, Bruce ’, Bob, … — Caitlyn Jenner, Iger, Hunter Biden, Gina Carano Organizations: Disney, Service, Hulu, Marvel, ESPN, ABC, Iger, X Corporation, Business Locations: Hulu

☆ Billionaire FBI informant Peter Thiel dished about two Kremlin invites to private Putin meetings
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | Hans-Martin Tillack | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

It was Angermayer who introduced Bisslinger to Thiel at the party, Thiel would later tell the FBI. After some small talk, Bisslinger made a pitch to Thiel: Thiel should travel to Russia to attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. If Thiel chose to attend, Bisslinger said, Bisslinger would arrange for him to meet privately with Putin. "Even if Mr. Angermayer did introduce Mr. Thiel and Mr. Bisslinger," the lawyers wrote in another letter, "Mr. Angermayer is not—and cannot be—responsible for whatever Mr. Bisslinger and Mr. Thiel may or may not have discussed." At his 40th birthday, he connected Peter Thiel with a Russian diplomat, Thiel later told the FBI.

Persons: Peter Thiel, Christian Angermayer, Thiel, Daniil Bisslinger, Bisslinger, Vladimir Putin's, Angermayer, Putin, Maksim Konstantinov, —, Frank Figliuzzi, Vladimir Putin, — Charles Johnson —, Johnathan Buma, Johnson, Welt, Dmitry Peskov, John Lamparski, Donald Trump, — Thiel, Der Spiegel, he'd, Elon Musk, Musk, Thiel —, he's, Palantir, He's, Uma Thurman, Robbie Williams, Queen Latifah, Paul Kagame, Dan McCrum, John Kerry, Richard Grenell, Kerry, Sensei Biotherapeutics, Trump, Dmitry Medvedev, Medvedev, Maureen Dowd, Alexander Schütz, Eva Schütz, Schütz, — Heinz, Christian Strache, Markus Braun, Jan Marsalek, Marsalek, Caroline Haskins, Katherine Long, Jack Newsham, Mattathias Schwartz, Hans, Martin Tillack Organizations: Kremlin, Tech, Pentagon, CIA, Facebook, SpaceX, Kremlin's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russian Embassy, Thiel, St ., Economic, Getty, FBI, Atlantic, Bisslinger, Germany, Elon, Russia, NSA, US Special Operations Command, National Health Service, Apeiron Investment, Munich Security, intel, Trump, State Department, Angermayer's, PayPal, Nasdaq, Sciences, The New York Times, Deutsche Bank, Welt Locations: Silicon Valley, Schloss Neuwaldegg, Vienna, Silicon, Moscow, Russian, Berlin, Russia, St, St . Petersburg, Petersburg, Ukraine, Europe, Germany, NATO, Crimea, Ukrainian, Sevastopol, Palantir, Washington, Rwanda, Baltic, Belarus, Iran, Angermayer's Malta, Munich, China, China's, Austrian, Austria, Exxpress, Wirecard, schwartz79@protonmail.com

☆ Just 4 of Donald Trump's 44 former cabinet members have publicly endorsed his 2024 run
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Very few members of Trump's former cabinet have endorsed his 2024 re-election campaign. NBC News reached out to over 40 former cabinet members, finding just 4 publicly endorsed Trump. Other former cabinet members burned by Trump are advocating against him. Only four of Trump's former cabinet members openly endorsed his re-election run, according to NBC News. "They're not friends; they're not hanging on forever," Barbara Perry, the director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia, told NBC.

Persons: Trump, Donald Trump's, Matthew Whitaker, Mark Meadows, Russell Vought, Richard Grenell, Bill Barr, he's, Barr, Joe Biden, NBC he'd, Mick Mulvaney, Mulvaney, They're, they're, Barbara Perry, Mike Pence, Pence Organizations: NBC, Trump, Service, NBC News, Republican, University of Virginia Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ Ron DeSantis criticized over 'homophobic' video
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Jason Lange | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, July 1 (Reuters) - Gay Republicans criticized as "homophobic" a video posted by Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis' campaign highlighting rival Donald Trump's past statements in support of gay rights, and the former president declined at a rally on Saturday to respond to the attack. Florida Governor DeSantis' campaign posted the video on Twitter late on Friday, saying it marked the end of a month of LGBTQ+ pride celebrations. It was unclear who originally produced the video, which featured a montage of muscle-bound men, bolts of electricity flying from DeSantis' eyes, and activists lamenting what they characterized as his efforts to restrict transgender rights. Asked on Saturday for a comment on the video, Trump's campaign pointed to a tweet posted Friday night in which Trump adviser Jason Miller said "somebody's getting fired" over the DeSantis campaign's post. The Log Cabin Republicans, a conservative group that advocates for gay rights, said Republicans need to stand up against "radical Left gays" but that DeSantis had gone too far.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump's, DeSantis, Richard Grenell, Trump, Jason Miller, somebody's, Miller, Jason Lange, Nathan Layne, David Brunnstrom, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Gay Republicans, Republican, Twitter, White, Cabinet, Convention, Thomson Locations: Florida, Pickens , South Carolina, Washington, Wilton , Connecticut

☆ Exclusive: Former White House official told federal prosecutors Trump knew of proper declassification process and followed it while in office
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Zachary Cohen Paula Reid | Zachary Cohen | Paula Reid | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

During those voluntary interviews, the former official told CNN there was a distinct difference in the line of questioning from prosecutors in the two probes. Speaking to CNN on condition of anonymity, the former official said he told federal prosecutors that Trump knew the proper process for declassifying documents and followed it correctly at times while in office. Sources previously told CNN that Trump’s team returned some materials but not the document pertaining to Iran. “Nothing approaching an order that foolish was ever given,” Kelly told CNN. Most recently, Trump told CNN at a town hall that materials were “automatically declassified” when he took them.

Persons: Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Trump, Biden, Trump’s, ‘, John Eisenberg, Eisenberg, “, Don McGahn, John Kelly, McGahn, Jack Smith, Donald Trump's Mar, Kelly, ” Kelly, Mark Meadows, Jack Smith’s, Meadows, Robert O’Brien, O’Brien, National Intelligence Richard Grenell, Robert Hur, Hur, Kathy Chung, empaneled, Mike Pence’s Organizations: Washington CNN, White House, CNN, Trump, Obama, Mar, The Justice Department, National Security Council, White, National Archives, Department of Justice, Trump’s, Trump’s Mar, Prosecutors, National Intelligence, Biden Locations: Delaware, Russia, Iran, Lago

☆ The President, the Soccer Hooligans and an Underworld ‘House of Horrors’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Robert F. Worth | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

direction, and he chose not to.” Serwer speculated that Vucic has concluded the reforms required to join the E.U. The notion that Serbia can “balance” the West against Russia is largely a mirage, Bassuener said. One afternoon in Belgrade, I spent an hour talking to Boris Tadic, who served as Serbia’s president from 2004 until 2012, when he lost to Vucic’s party. Vucic, he said, had “helped put criminals in power” with the belief that he could control them. “What is the final outcome of your power if you’re going to destroy the foundations of society with hooligans and criminals?” he asked.

CNN —Former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell testified Thursday before a grand jury investigating Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents. Grenell was subpoenaed to testify in special counsel Jack Smith’s ongoing criminal probe, according to a source familiar with the matter. While serving in the administration, Grenell embarked upon an effort to declassify documents that were of interest to Trump because the then-president believed they could delegitimize the Russia investigation. Grenell remained in Trump’s orbit even after the former president left office and has been seen at his Mar-a-Lago resort as recently as last week. Grenell has also commented publicly about Trump’s retention of classified documents and the former president’s still-unproven claims that the materials he kept had been declassified.

PALM BEACH, Florida, April 4 (Reuters) - A subdued former President Donald Trump lashed out on Tuesday at New York prosecutor Alvin Bragg for bringing criminal charges against him and declared himself the victim of election interference without offering evidence. "I never thought anything like this could happen in America," Trump told supporters gathered at his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump accused Manhattan District Attorney Bragg of being out to get him "before he knew anything about me." "Trump should not be held above the law - if he does something wrong he should be held liable like anybody else. Reporting by Nathan Layne and Rich McKay in Palm Beach; Writing by Steve Holland; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Grant McCoolOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

REUTERS/Ricardo ArduengoPALM BEACH, Florida, April 4 (Reuters) - A subdued former President Donald Trump lashed out on Tuesday at New York prosecutor Alvin Bragg for bringing criminal charges against him and declared himself the victim of election interference without offering evidence. "I never thought anything like this could happen in America," Trump told supporters gathered at his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump accused Manhattan District Attorney Bragg of being out to get him "before he knew anything about me." "Trump should not be held above the law - if he does something wrong he should be held liable like anybody else. Reporting by Nathan Layne and Rich McKay in Palm Beach; Writing by Steve Holland; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Grant McCoolOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner knew the 2020 election wasn't stolen and began to distance themselves before the results were even called, a new book says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Peter Baker | Susan Glasser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

In their new book, journalists, Peter Baker and Susan Glasser go behind the scenes of the Trump White House. As the 2020 election results came in, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump had already moved on, the book says. They had their own future to think about, one that would no longer involve the White House. While still in the White House, he began writing a memoir focused on Middle East peacemaking. "We either have a vote WE control and WEwin OR it gets kicked to Congress 6 January 2021," Don Jr. wrote.

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