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☆ Your questions about Trump’s immunity claim at the Supreme Court, answered
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

The US Supreme Court, after refusing to hear the claim on an expedited basis, took up the case after a lower court tore Trump’s immunity claim to shreds. We asked for your questions about the immunity claim, some of which I’ve tried to answer below with help from CNN’s reporting and Supreme Court reporters. When Smith asked justices to expedite the case and consider Trump’s immunity claim before an appeals court, they declined. If Trump’s immunity claim is upheld by the Supreme Court, what can anybody or any government body do to challenge the decision? MichaelThe Supreme Court is the final word on legal matters, so there is no higher authority to overrule its decision.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, I’ve, Chris, CNN’s, Joan Biskupic, Jack Smith, Donald Trump’s, Biden, Here’s, Thomas, Jan, Greg, Clarence Thomas, John Eastman, Gilbert None, Trump – Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett –, he’ll, Randall, Smith, it’s, Shouldn’t, Gore, John, Devan Cole, ” Cole, Cole, Juan Here’s Biskupic’s, Nixon, Fitzgerald, Richard Nixon, ”, It’s, acquit, ’, Curt Trump’s, George Washington’s, Nixon’s, Gerald Ford, Ford, Michael, Charles, SCOTUS, Sheryl, Massachusetts Nobody, convicting, Joe, Johnson Organizations: CNN, US, Trump, DC, DC Circuit, Supreme, Iowa Trump, White, House, Department Locations: Iowa, Arizona, Bush, California, Colorado, Brady, United States, New Jersey, New York, Georgia, The, York, Washington , DC, Massachusetts, Mississippi

☆ How much Bill Gates pays in property taxes on his pricey real estate portfolio
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Madeline Berg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Bill Gates has amassed an extensive — and high value — real estate portfolio. Last year, the homes owned by Gates and his former wife, Melinda French Gates, racked up a $2.7 million property tax bill last year. That's more than 700 times as much as the average American pays in property taxes each year. Gates' highest property tax bill is in Washington state, where he has a 10.5-acre property in the tony Seattle suburb of Medina along Lake Washington. While high by most standards, Gates' property tax bill represents less than 0.01% of his $148 billion net worth — and a fraction of his total tax bill.

Persons: Bill Gates, Gates, —, Melinda French Gates, French Gates, ProPublica Organizations: Service, Yellowstone Club Locations: French, Seattle, Washington, tony Seattle, Medina, Lake Washington, California, Del Mar, Florida, Wellington, Montana

☆ Clarence Thomas didn't show up for work today
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas on Monday was absent from oral arguments without explanation. Thomas, 75, is the eldest member of the court and a key member of its influential conservative bloc. AdvertisementSupreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas on Monday was absent from oral arguments and the court didn't offer an explanation as to why he wouldn't be present. Related storiesBusiness Insider has reached out to the Supreme Court for comment. Thomas is the longest-tenured associate justice on the court, having been nominated in 1991 by then-President George H.W.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, Monday, John Roberts, Thomas, —, George H.W, Bush, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, ProPublica, Harlan Crow Organizations: Service, Associated Press, Senate

☆ Inside the Fight Over Software That Tells Landlords to Hike Your Rent
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

Rents soared thanks to a shortage of apartment units, remote workers' desire for more space, and a daunting for-sale market that kept many renters stuck in place. Without RealPage, the plaintiffs argue, landlords would be hesitant to jack up rents; instead, they'd focus on keeping their buildings full. In short, the lawsuits that started with apartment rents could one day change how we pay for everything. By turning over pricing to the algorithm, plaintiffs say, RealPage's clients are encouraged to push rents higher than if they'd left the decisions up to humans. The RealPage cases are about far more than apartment rents.

Persons: RealPage, Kris Mayes, they'll, they'd, —, Zillow, there's, Marie Claire Tran, Leung, Tran, Matt Damon, Maureen Ohlhausen, Bob, Ohlhausen, Ed Rogers, Ballard Spahr, Jeffery Cross, Smith Gambrell Russell, didn't, it'll Organizations: Revenue Management, ProPublica, National Housing Law, FBI, RealPage, Department, Federal Trade Commission, Politico, Washington, Justice Department, FTC Locations: Texas, you've, Phoenix, Tucson, Washington, DC, RealPage, Arizona, Tennessee

☆ Landlords Use a Popular Software Tool to Jack up Apartment, Home Rents
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

☆ Trump saved millions by keeping court in dark about billionaire's bond offer: report
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-06 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

By failing to report the offer, Trump's legal team may have violated ethics rules, ProPublica found. "I saw that they were rejected by everyone, and I said, 'Gee, that doesn't seem like a difficult bond to post,'" Hankey told ProPublica. However, legal experts told Business Insider, that if his lawyers knew about the offer and failed to notify the court, they may have violated ethics rules. However, he noted it would be difficult to prove what Trump's lawyers knew and when they knew it. The Trump campaign, lawyers representing the former president in his civil fraud case, and Knight Specialty Insurance Company representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

Persons: ProPublica, —, Donald Trump's, he'd, Don Hankey, Gee, Hankey, Trump, Neama Rahmani, Andrew Lieb, " Lieb Organizations: Service, Trump, Knight Specialty Insurance, New York, Bar Association, NY, Division, Supreme, Business, Knight Specialty Insurance Company Locations: ProPublica

☆ The AI Apocalypse: Computer Algorithms Are Already in Control
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Ed Zitron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

But increasingly, the algorithms that undergird our digital lives are making questionable decisions that enrich the powerful and wreck the lives of average people. There's no reason to be scared of AI making decisions for you in the future — computers have already been doing so for quite some time. As human control diminished, the real-world consequences of these algorithms have piled up: Instagram's algorithm has been linked to a mental-health crisis in teenage girls. AdvertisementAcross the public and private sectors, we've handed the keys to a spiderweb of algorithms built with little public insight into how they make their decisions. While generative AI is just the newest extension of the algorithm, it poses a unique threat.

Persons: who's, They've, Matthew Gray, Sergey Brin, Larry Page, It's, Elon Musk, Cambridge Analytica, algorithmically, ProPublica, Quora, OpenAI's ChatGPT, you've, they'll, superintelligence, — simulacrums Organizations: Knight Capital, Companies, Yahoo, Stanford, Google, Spotify, Netflix, Revenue, Facebook, Twitter, Elon, European Union, Associated Press, Black, Microsoft, Eating Disorders Association Locations: Cambridge

☆ Oklahoma Was a Legal Marijuana Utopia. Then Came the Mass Murder
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Matt Stroud | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +32 min

Fourteen months after the murders, the garage of the abandoned marijuana farm on prairie tableland northwest of Oklahoma City sits frozen and dark. Broadway Avenue in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, about 30 miles south of where Wu Chen, 47, executed four people at a marijuana farm. When Oklahoma legalized medical marijuana, the only real requirement was that Oklahoma residents had to be involved in marijuana growing and selling. But Oklahoma required 75% of any marijuana business to be owned by an Oklahoma resident. Deputies from the Kingfisher County Sheriff's Office were the first to arrive at the scene of a quadruple homicide at an abandoned marijuana farm.

Persons: Wu Chen, Mike Simons, Kevin Stitt, Sean Hannity's, Dan Newhouse, Liu, Chen, Yi Fei Lin, Mark Woodward, —, OBN, Adria Berry, BI Adria Berry, I'm, Barb Miuccio, Jeremy Grable, Jeremy, Barb, she's, Barbara Miuccio, Treez, Matt Stacy, Stacy, Stitt, Jeremy they'd, he'd, OMMA, didn't, Barb didn't, Barbara, Stacy —, she'd, Stacy hadn't, BI Jonathan Riedlinger, Riedlinger, Lin, Qirong Lin, Hechun Chen, Qiang Chen, Fang Lee —, Wenbo Lin, Wu Chen —, Wenbo Lin didn't, Reidlinger, Jed Green, Matthew Alan Stacy, Barb —, — he's, He'd, Woodward, Helen Carillo, He's, Kevin Pham, Pham, BI Pham, ProPublica, recriminations, Green, It's, they're, I'd, Ken Thompson, Thompson, Chen didn't, He'll, Jonathan Riedlinger, Kiki, I've Organizations: Oklahoma City, Broadway, BI, Marijuana, Oklahoma, Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, Republican, Sean Hannity's Fox, Fox News, Chen Inc, Narcotics, BI Adria, Oklahoma's Army National Guard, OBN, Business, Oklahoma State Bureau of, Sheriff's, Prosecutors, CSI Accounting Services, Whitney Economics, NBC, Cannabis, Virginia Slim, Florida . Police Locations: Oklahoma, Kingfisher County , Oklahoma, Ames , Oklahoma, Kingfisher , Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, California, Arkansas, Republican Washington, China, Kingfisher County, Dallas, Moore , Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine, He's, Moore, Kingfisher, Hennessey , Oklahoma, OMMA, Mexico, Edmond, Tulsa, Russia, Bulgaria, Armenia, Steakhouse, Virginia, Florida, Miami Beach, Miami

☆ The FTC is going to war with tax services that bill themselves as free
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The FTC filed a lawsuit against H&R Block over what the commission called deceptive advertising. AdvertisementSo-called "free" online tax filing services like Intuit's TurboTax and H&R Block's Online Filing option have, for a long time, not actually been free for many Americans. The consumer protection agency filed a complaint against H&R Block last week, accusing the company of deceptive advertising and unfairly deleting users' tax data. A 2019 ProPublica investigation found Intuit and H&R Block's practices — including hiding their free filing options from Google search — are part of a decadeslong lobbying effort by the companies to keep tax filing services complicated. It was partially because of those lobbying efforts that the IRS did not roll out its own online free tax filing pilot until last year.

Persons: —, Samuel Levine, Levine, Dara Redler, Derrick L, Plummer Organizations: FTC, H, Intuit, Service, Consumer, Business, NPR, Google, IRS Locations: FTC's

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Times was honored Monday with George Polk Awards for Foreign Reporting and Photojournalism for its coverage of the war between Israel and Hamas. They were among Polk Awards winners announced Monday in 13 categories. In all, five of the prestigious journalism prizes were for coverage of the Israel-Gaza and Russia-Ukraine wars. The winners will be honored in April as the university marks the 75th anniversary of the awards. That prize was established by journalist Jane Freiman Schanberg to honor long-form investigative or enterprise journalism and comes with a $25,000 award.

Persons: George Polk, Photographers Samar Abu Elouf, Yousef Masoud, “, ”, John Darnton, Elon Musk, Osher, Julia Cardi, Joshua Kaplan, Justin Elliott, Alex Mierjeski, Brett Murphy, ProPublica, Clarence Thomas, Jason Motlagh, Jane Freiman Schanberg, Luke Mogelson, Anna Werner, Brett Kelman, Fred Schulte, Holly K, Hacker, Daniel Chang, Julie Pace, Bob Woodward, Christiane Amanpour, Dean Baquet Organizations: New York Times, Foreign, Hamas, Photographers, University, Polk, CBS, Tesla, SpaceX, Supreme, New, The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Sydney Schanberg, Reuters, Yorker, CBS News, KFF Health, Food, Drug, Long, Long Island University, Journalism, Digital Media, Associated Press, Julie Pace , Washington Post, CNN Locations: Israel, Gaza, Long, Russia, Ukraine, New York, Haiti, Long Island, Manhattan, Julie Pace ,

☆ John Oliver just made Clarence Thomas an offer he thinks the SCOTUS judge can't refuse
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

AdvertisementJohn Oliver says he will give Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas a million bucks a year if he quits the Supreme Court immediately. Besides offering Thomas money, Oliver said he would also throw in a $2.4 million motorcoach. Oliver spent most of the episode discussing the Supreme Court and the issues he said were plaguing it — one of them being Thomas. But it is worth doing for the principle," Thomas told the Bar Association in Savannah, Georgia, according to the Post. He's said it's not worth doing 'for the grief,'" Oliver said of Thomas during his Sunday show.

Persons: John Oliver, Clarence Thomas, Thomas, Oliver, Ginni, ProPublica, Harlan Crow, Paul, Tony, Novelly, he's, He's, it's, he'd Organizations: GOP, The New York Post, Bar Association, HBO, Business Insider Locations: Savannah , Georgia

The small, primarily digital newsrooms are members of the Institute for Nonprofit News. On primary nights and the general election, AP will give these outlets ready-to-publish graphics with national and local results, along with information gleaned from talking to voters from AP's VoteCast survey. AP plays a central role tabulating results across the country on election nights, using them to declare winners of contested races, along with seeking an in-depth view of what is on voters' minds. Some larger and national organizations offer consumers detailed election information, but usually don’t have the capacity to cover local races of interest to readers of INN publications, he said. The organization's members have a median of four staffers and $271,000 in revenue, he said.

Persons: David Scott, Jonathan Kealing, ” Kealing, Newsrooms, ” Scott Organizations: Associated, Google News Initiative, Institute for Nonprofit News, AP, Mississippi Free Press, San Antonio, Iowa, New Locations: AP's, Texas, Charlottesville Tomorrow, Virginia, Fresnoland, California, New Hampshire

The report comes as access to sensitive taxpayer information has sparked calls for investigations — and calls for reform on taxes for the wealthy. Littlejohn had applied to work as a contractor to get Trump’s tax returns and carefully figured out how to search and extract tax data to avoid triggering suspicions internally, prosecutors said in court documents. Werfel said that since the agency has received funding through Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act, it has been able to markedly improve the security of sensitive information, including audit trail deficiencies. “Our data security and environment is dramatically better today than it was in 2017 to 2020 when this unauthorized access occurred," Werfel said. "And it’s dramatically better today because we now have the resources to make the right investments to strengthen our data security.

Persons: Daniel Werfel —, —, ”, “, TIGTA, Charles Edward Littlejohn of, Donald Trump, Littlejohn, Jason Smith, Werfel, Lindsay Whitehurst Organizations: WASHINGTON, IRS, Treasury, Associated Press, Charles Edward Littlejohn of Washington, Charles Edward Littlejohn of Washington , D.C, New York Times, Associated Locations: Charles Edward Littlejohn of Washington ,

☆ Senate probe zeroes in on Harlan Crow tax deductions for superyacht used for Clarence Thomas vacations
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Eamon Javers | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

How Crow uses his 160 foot yacht has drawn the attention of Senate Finance Committee investigators, who are probing Crow's financial and personal ties to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Thomas and his wife Ginni Thomas have taken several cruises aboard the ship, the Michaela Rose, including trips around Indonesia and New Zealand. Rochelle Charter, Inc., which was formed by the Crow family to lease out the yacht, reported tax-deductible business losses in 10 of the 13 years for which ProPublic has records. In order for business losses to be deducted from federal income taxes, a company must be engaged in an actual business with paying customers. "Mr. Crow engages professional accounting firms to prepare his tax returns and complies with tax law in good faith.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, Al Drago, Harlan Crow's, Crow, Thomas, Ginni Thomas, Michaela Rose, Ron Wyden, Sen, Erin Scott, ProPublic, Wyden, Harlan Crow, Mr Organizations: U.S, Supreme, White, Washington , D.C, Bloomberg, Getty Images WASHINGTON — Billionaire, IRS, CNBC, Finance, Democratic, Reuters Tax, Inc, Internal Revenue Service Locations: Washington ,, Indonesia, New Zealand, Washington, Rochelle

☆ Why U.S. renters are taking corporate landlords to court
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Carlos Waters | In Carloswaters | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Equity Residential purchased Portside Towers in 2019. A group of renters in the U.S. say their landlords are using software to deliver inflated rent hikes. Renters told CNBC they discovered how revenue management software is used in real estate after reading a 2022 ProPublica investigation. Equity Residential investor materials show that the company started to experiment with Lease Rent Options between 2005 and 2008. Equity Residential and other defendant landlords declined to comment on ongoing RealPage litigation.

Persons: RealPage, District of Columbia Brian Schwalb, We've, Kevin Weller, There's, Jeffrey Roper, Thoma, Thoma Bravo, Harry Gural, Gural, we're, Mark Parrell Organizations: Washington , D.C, District of Columbia, CNBC, Equity Residential, Towers, World Trade, RealPage, U.S . Department of Justice, Equity, U.S, Thoma Bravo, U.S . Locations: Washington ,, RealPage, Jersey City , New Jersey, Portside, U.S, Miami, Van Ness, Jersey City, Atlanta, Austin , Texas, U.S . East

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador immediately interpreted the reports as a U.S. attack on his government and his Morena party before Mexico’s June 2 presidential election. The stories described testimony by traffickers that they passed about $2 million to confidants of López Obrador in 2006, when he narrowly lost the race for president. Political Cartoons View All 253 Images“It is completely false, it's slander,” López Obrador said Wednesday at his daily media briefing. López Obrador is notoriously touchy about anything that tarnishes his own moral authority or reputation, upon which his entire party rests. Campaign operators linked to López Obrador have been caught on video several times receiving large sums of cash, but with no proof he knew about it.

Persons: —, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Salvador, López Obrador, ” López Obrador, “, ” “ It's, Mike Vigil, “ It's, ” Vigil, Cienfuegos, Vigil, Claudia Sheinbaum, López Obrador's, Mexico's, Beltran Leyva, didn't, Guadalupe Correa, Cabrera, ”, Correa, “ That's, Manuel López Obrador, Mexico’s Organizations: MEXICO CITY, ., Mexico’s, . Drug, Administration, López, ProPublica, Deutsche Welle, George Mason University, U.S, Republicans, Republican, DEA, Cienfuegos ’, United Locations: MEXICO, U.S, Mexico, Mexican, Salvador Cienfuegos, Cienfuegos, United States, López Obrador's Morena, ‘ Mexico, Los Angeles

Listen and follow The DailyApple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon MusicWarning: This episode contains strong language and audio excerpts of violence. About a decade ago, police departments across the United States began equipping their officers with body cameras. The technology was meant to serve as a window into potential police misconduct, but that transparency has often remained elusive. Eric Umansky, an editor at large at ProPublica, explains why body cameras haven’t been the fix that many hoped they would be.

Persons: Eric Umansky Organizations: Spotify, United States Locations: United

☆ Former Contractor Who Leaked Trump’s Tax Returns Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Eileen Sullivan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A former Internal Revenue Service contractor accused of leaking the tax documents of Donald J. Trump and other wealthy Americans was sentenced on Monday to five years in prison. The former contractor, Charles Littlejohn, known as Chaz, worked for the tax agency from 2017 to 2021, when he stole the tax records of thousands of the country’s wealthiest people, including Mr. Trump, prosecutors said. Mr. Littlejohn then provided the information to The New York Times and ProPublica. “Today’s sentence sends a strong message that those who violate laws intended to protect sensitive tax information will face significant punishment,” Nicole M. Argentieri, the acting assistant attorney general who oversees the Justice Department’s criminal division, said in a statement. Prosecutors said the harm from Mr. Littlejohn’s disclosures were “so extensive and ongoing that it is impossible to quantify.”

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Charles Littlejohn, Chaz, Littlejohn, Prosecutors, Mr, ” Nicole M Organizations: Internal Revenue, New York Times, ProPublica, Justice

☆ The man who leaked Trump's taxes eluded investigators for years but was finally found after leaking info on Musk and Bezos, WSJ reports
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Hannah Getahun | Katherine Tangalakis Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Charles Littlejohn confessed to leaking Donald Trump's tax returns. The investigators had focused on Littlejohn for a separate leak involving billionaires Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. On two separate occasions, Littlejohn provided tax documents belonging to Trump, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk to two news organizations. Trump's tax returns showed the former president paid just $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017. Musk's tax returns showed he paid $455 million in taxes on $1.52 billion in income between 2014 and 2018.

Persons: Charles Littlejohn, Donald, Littlejohn, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, —, Donald Trump's, Trump, Amazon's, ProPublica, Trump's, Bezos's, Barbara Jones Organizations: Federal, Wall, Service, Street Journal, IRS, New York Times, SpaceX, The Times, DOJ, Business, Republican, Prosecutors, Times, Trump Locations: New York

☆ FTC bans TurboTax from advertising ‘free’ services, calls it deceptive advertising
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —The Federal Trade Commission ruled in a final order and opinion Monday that TurboTax, the popular tax filing software, engaged in deceptive advertising and banned the company from advertising its services for free unless it is free for all customers. By running ads for “free” tax services that many customers were not qualified for, the tax filing software violated the FTC Act and deceived consumers, the agency said. The FTC had first sued Intuit, TurboTax’s owner, for its deceptive advertising in 2022. Intuit cannot advertise or market any goods or services as free unless it’s free for all customers, the FTC ordered. The FTC added if the service isn’t actually free for the majority of consumers, TurboTax could state that as well.

Persons: D, Michael Chappell, “, ”, —, Letitia James, ” CNN’s Jordan Valinsky Organizations: New, New York CNN, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Intuit Locations: New York

☆ Direct File is the most important tech product of 2024, helping you to finally file your taxes for free
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Alistair Barr | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

I'll go further and say this offering is the most important tech product of 2024. Direct FileI'm talking about Direct File , a new way for many Americans to file their taxes for free. She also questioned the value of the new Direct File service in various ways. Give Direct File a tryWhich brings us back to the new Direct File service. When I searched for "free file taxes" this weekend, the top of Google's results page was full of ads.

Persons: —, Dan Grover, ChatGPT, It's, ProPublica, Tania Mercado, Mercado, Janet Yellen, Guess Organizations: Service, Business, Apple, Forbes, IRS, Intuit, Google, Internal Revenue Service, Revenue Locations: Silicon, Arizona , California, Florida , New York, Texas, ProPublica

☆ The Senate’s Supreme Court Subpoena Games
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

The House Oversight Committee investigating Biden family business dealings has issued subpoenas to Hunter and James Biden to appear for depositions. Also requested for transcribed interviews are family members and associates including Sara and Hallie Biden. In a rush of rule-breaking at the end of a meeting, Mr. Durbin moved to bluster through subpoenas for two friends of Supreme Court Justices on a partisan vote. This is part of a Democratic political campaign to portray the High Court as a trinket bought by billionaires. “The pair have become genuine friends, according to people who know both men,” as even the left-leaning ProPublica admitted.

Persons: Biden, Hunter, James Biden, Sara, Hallie Biden, Mark Kelly Illinois, Dick Durbin, Durbin, Clarence Thomas, Harlan Crow, ProPublica Organizations: Reuters, Democratic

☆ Senate Democrats subpoena Harlan Crow, escalating probe of GOP megadonor's relationship with Justice Clarence Thomas
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Senate Democrats pushed forward on a subpoena of Harlan Crow. The GOP megadonor has been at the center of ethics concerns regarding Justice Clarence Thomas. Republican senators previously filed 177 amendments to the subpoena authorization, including a subpoena of Jeffrey Epstein's estate for his private flight logs. Crow has been in the news for months related to his friendship to Justice Clarence Thomas. ProPublica uncovered numerous trips and gifts Crow lavished on the justice and his family, which Thomas often did not list on his financial disclosure.

Persons: Harlan Crow, Clarence Thomas, —, Leonard Leo, Dick Durbin, Jeffrey Epstein's, Sen, John Cornyn, Durbin, Lindsey Graham, Graham, Crow, Leo, ProPublica, Crow lavished, Thomas, Samuel Alito, Paul Singer, Alito Organizations: GOP, Service, Durbin, United States Senate, Texas Republican, Republican, Supreme Court, Courthouse News Locations: Texas

People visit the U.S. Supreme Court building on the day that Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito released their delayed financial disclosure reports and the reports were made public in Washington, U.S., August 31, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Wurm/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Senate Democrats are expected on Thursday to vote on authorizing subpoenas to a pair of influential conservatives with ties to the U.S. Supreme Court as part of an ethics inquiry spurred by reports of undisclosed largesse directed to some conservative justices. Democrats are expected to face resistance from the panel's Republican members, who have painted the oversight effort as an attempt to tarnish the Supreme Court after it handed major defeats to liberals in recent years on matters including abortion, gun rights and student debt relief. Lawyers for Leo and Crow in letters to the committee criticized the committee's information requests as lacking a proper legal justification. Crow's lawyer proposed turning over a narrower range of information but Democrats rebuffed that offer, according to the panel's Democratic members.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Kevin Wurm, largesse, Harlan Crow, Leonard Leo, Donald Trump's, Dick Durbin, Crow, Leo, Paul Singer, Trump, Thomas, Alito, Singer, John Kruzel, Andrew Chung, Nate Raymond, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, REUTERS, Rights, Democratic, Republican, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Texas, Alaska, New York, Boston

☆ Trump's fraud trial defense has featured 1 son, 2 pals, and an expert who noted 'glaring' math snafus
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Donald Trump Jr. in court for his family's civil fraud trial in New York. AP Photo/Phelan M. EbenhackThe first defense expert witness: a Trump mega-donorThe third defense witness to take the stand, developer Steven Witkoff, was, like Donald Trump, Jr., hardly an objective source of testimony. But on Tuesday he became Trump's first expert witness, in the field of real estate valuation. His multi-billion-dollar brokerage firm, Lockton Companies, earned $1.2 million last year as Trump's insurance broker, he said. He said he didn't have a real estate license — he doesn't need one to be a broker, he explained.

Persons: —, Donald Trump, Donald Trump , Jr, Junior, Donald Trump Jr, David Dee Delgado, Christopher Kise, Trump, Kise, Phelan M, Ebenhack, Steven Witkoff, Witkoff, Trump's, Eduardo Munoz Alvarez, Jason Flemmons, Flemmons, James, Flemmons flubbed, Steven Laposa, Laposa, LIV, Timothy A, Clary, Gary Giulietti, Giulietti Organizations: Trump, Service, New, AP, Republican, Woolworth, Supreme, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Getty, Lockton Companies, Zurich Insurance Group Locations: New York, Manhattan, Trump, New Jersey

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