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☆ House Judiciary Committee subpoenas FTC for Twitter-related documents
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Ranking member Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, right, attends the House Judiciary Committee hearing titled Revoking Your Rights: The Ongoing Crisis in Abortion Care Access, in Rayburn Building, on Wednesday, May 18, 2022. A Republican-led House committee said Wednesday it subpoenaed the Federal Trade Commission for documents related to the agency's inquiry into Twitter. The subpoena comes after the House Judiciary Committee asked the FTC to hand over the information voluntarily last month. An FTC spokesperson said the agency had offered to brief congressional staff on its inquiry but that they hadn't yet taken the FTC up on that offer. "The FTC respects the important role of Congressional oversight," FTC spokesperson Douglas Farrar said in a statement.

☆ Manhattan DA Bragg sues Rep. Jordan over House probe of Trump investigation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Tuesday filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block a House Judiciary Committee subpoena issued last week to a former prosecutor who played a key role in Bragg's criminal investigation of ex-President Donald Trump. Bragg's suit escalates a battle that began when the Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and other Trump allies in the House recently opened an inquiry into the D.A. The suit calls that inquiry an "unprecedently brazen and unconstitutional attack by members of Congress on an ongoing New York State criminal prosecution and investigation of former President Donald J. The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan says that "Congress has no power to supervise state criminal prosecution." "The suit names as defendants Jordan, the Judiciary Committee and Mark Pomerantz, who resigned last year from Bragg's office as a special assistant D.A.

☆ Manhattan DA sues GOP Rep. Jim Jordan for launching an 'unprecedentedly brazen and unconstitutional' attack on Trump prosecution
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, the House Judiciary Committee, and a prosecutor who previously worked for Bragg. In the 50-page lawsuit, Bragg accused Jordan of launching an "unprecedentedly brazen and unconstitutional attack" on the DA's office while it's in the middle of an ongoing investigation and criminal prosecution against former President Donald Trump. Bragg's lawsuit went on to say that Jordan started a "transparent campaign to intimidate and attack District Attorney Bragg, making demands for confidential documents and testimony from the District Attorney himself as well as his current and former employees and officials." The letter called Bragg's investigation "an unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority." Insider reached out to spokespeople for Jordan, Bragg, and Pomerantz for comment.

☆ Alvin Bragg's staff urges Jim Jordan to stay at home in Ohio if he wants a look at high murder rates rather than trekking to NYC
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has charged Trump with falsifying business records. House Judiciary chair Jim Jordan is holding a field hearing in New York to try and shame Bragg. A Bragg aide said Jordan could more effectively crack down on crime by looking at murders in Ohio. A Bragg spokesman called the pending congressional visit a political stunt, telling Bloomberg News that murders in New York City were three times lower than the murder rate in Columbus, Ohio. New York City, which has a population of roughly 18.9 million, closed out 2022 with 433 murders, the Wall Street Journal reported, for a murder rate of 2.3 murders per 100,000 citizens.

☆ Here are all of the Republican elected officials backing Trump's 2024 campaign
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Bryan Metzger | Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Michael Burgess — the Texas congressman endorsed Trump in March after being named to the former president's campaign's Texas leadership team. Eli Crane — the Arizona freshman tweeted his support for Trump's 2024 bid the night of his announcement. Barry Moore — the Alabama congressman endorsed Trump in a radio interview in December, citing the former president's "experience level." 3 House Republican endorsed Trump days before his widely expected 2024 announcement in November. Roger Williams — the Texas congressman endorsed Trump in March after being named to the former president's campaign's Texas leadership team.

☆ House GOP's attempt to shut down Alvin Bragg is unlikely to save Trump but could serve despots in training, say oversight experts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Donald Trump's formal arraignment in Manhattan criminal court sent House Republicans into a tizzy. Stretton wondered about House Republicans' attempt to defang state prosecutors they consider to be political persecutors. "It's hard to say what overstepping bounds are any more," Davis told Insider. "When you defend somebody before you've even seen the indictment, you're kind of hitching your wagon to all the investigations," Goldberg told Insider. He also warned that spotlight-chasing House Republicans risk drowning in unfinished business at the end of the term by floating new Biden-focused inquiries "every couple of weeks."

Trump's indictment was unsealed Tuesday, revealing he was charged with 34 counts. The indictment didn't clarify the underlying crimes Trump allegedly committed to justify felony charges. Trump was indicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection to a 2016 hush-money payment to the adult film star Stormy Daniels. "If I were the prosecution, I would ask for a gag order covering the parties and their attorneys," Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, told Insider. Indeed, House Republicans vowed revenge on Trump's behalf and said Tuesday that they would go after Bragg and President Joe Biden in light of Trump's indictment.

☆ Republicans defend Trump by attacking criminal-justice system
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( David Morgan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Critics warn that the present partisan rhetoric could shake public trust in courts by undermining the institutional legitimacy of the criminal justice system. "Undercutting the system of government is a serious matter and a threat to our future," she said in an interview. Bragg, a Democrat, on Friday warned Republican Representatives Jim Jordan, James Comer and Bryan Steil, who are leading the probe, against attacking the criminal justice system. Historians including Princeton University professor Julian Zelizer said Republican statements about Bragg and the criminal justice system follow a long-established partisan line. Nicole Hemmer, director of the Rogers Center for the American Presidency at Vanderbilt University, warned that Republican attacks on the U.S. criminal justice system could ultimately have dire consequences for courts and juries.

☆ Manhattan DA office blasts House Republicans for collaborating with Trump's efforts to paint his indictment as 'politically motivated'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Manhattan district attorney's office blasted House Republicans in a letter dated Friday. Three committee chairmen have subpoenaed DA Bragg over the office's investigation into Trump. "What neither Mr. Trump nor Congress may do is interfere with the ordinary course of proceedings in New York State," the DA's general counsel, Leslie Dubeck, added. In the aftermath of the indictment, he rallied his congressional Republican allies, who had been trying to investigate the Manhattan district attorney's office, for support, according to CNN. Friday's letter says any interference in an ongoing criminal investigation would be "unprecedented and illegitimate," and jeopardize Trump's privacy rights.

☆ The IRS Makes a Strange House Call on Matt Taibbi
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Democrats are denouncing the House GOP investigation into the weaponization of government, but maybe that’s because Republicans are getting somewhere. That includes new evidence that the Internal Revenue Service may be targeting a journalist who testified before the weaponization committee. House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan sent a letter Monday to IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen seeking an explanation for why journalist Matt Taibbi received an unannounced home visit from an IRS agent. We’ve seen the letter, and both the circumstances and timing of the IRS focus on this journalist raise serious questions.

☆ Bragg pushes back after House Republicans escalate oversight into Trump hush money case
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Summer Concepcion | Julie Tsirkin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has dismissed another letter by three House Republican chairmen seeking more information related to the hush money probe that could lead to an indictment of former President Donald Trump. "Contrary to the central argument set forth in your letter, this matter does not simply involve local or state interests," the lawmakers wrote. It is not appropriate for Congress to interfere with pending local investigations," Bragg wrote. Their request came after Trump falsely predicted last weekend in a post to his social media platform Truth Social that he would be arrested Tuesday. The Manhattan DA's office then slammed the Republicans on Thursday, arguing they had overstepped with their request.

☆ Republicans Push for Access to Trump Case Documents on Potential Indictment
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Natalie Andrews | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg this week rebuffed an initial request by the lawmakers. House Republicans pressed Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to cooperate with their request for information about the potential indictment of former President Donald Trump over his role in paying hush money to a porn star. In a Saturday letter to Mr. Bragg, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R., Ohio), Oversight Chairman James Comer (R., Ky.), and House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil (R., Wis.) outlined their reasoning for why Congress should have access to communications, documents and testimony relating to the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation.

☆ Parkland parents forcibly removed, arrested at U.S. House hearing on gun control
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Moira Warburton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, March 23 (Reuters) - The parents of one of the 17 people killed in a 2018 mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, were forcibly removed on Thursday from a U.S. House of Representatives hearing on guns, videos showed. Manuel Oliver was pinned to the ground outside the hearing and arrested by Capitol Hill Police. His wife, Patricia Oliver, was also removed from the hearing by police. The Olivers' son, Joaquin, was 17 when he was killed by a mass shooter at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School. The incident led to a mass movement among youth and parents of gun violence victims to push for stricter gun laws in the United States.

☆ Manhattan prosecutor's office says Trump created a 'false expectation' of immediate arrest and accuses House Republicans of interfering with investigation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office fired back at Republicans on Thursday. In a letter, the DA's office accused the GOP of interfering in a legal investigation. Former President Donald Trump had earlier claimed he would be arrested on Tuesday. The letter from Bragg's office was published Thursday afternoon by Axios. That came after Trump, over the weekend, asserted that he would be arrested on Tuesday of this week.

☆ Jim Jordan's push for Alvin Bragg's testimony on Trump probe is 'unprecedented,' Manhattan DA's office says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A push from House Republicans to get Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to testify about his probe and expected indictment of former President Donald Trump is "unprecedented," an advisor to Bragg told GOP lawmakers Thursday. In responding to Republicans, Dubeck questioned congressional authority to look into Bragg's investigation. "Congress is not the appropriate branch to review pending criminal matters," Dubeck said in the letter to Jordan and the two other House Republicans dated Thursday. "To assist Congress in understanding the ways in which the DA's Office has used federal funds, we are preparing and will submit a letter describing its use of federal fund," Dubeck said. Dubeck's response to House Republicans comes as Jordan and other Trump defenders leverage the power of their committees to try to discredit the Manhattan investigation.

☆ Trump is surging in 2024 polls ahead of a possible indictment: Monmouth University poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Prior to news of a possible indictment, a poll showed support for former President Trump's 2024 run was surging. 41% of GOP respondents in the Monmouth University poll wanted Trump as the 2024 Republican nominee. According to the poll, when Republican respondents were asked who they'd like to see as the Republican nominee in 2024, 41% said Trump compared to 27% for Florida Gov. Monmouth University's not the only pollster showing Trump in the lead — a recent Morning Consult survey showed that 54% of potential GOP primary voters said they'd support Trump in the runup to the election. And despite a looming possible indictment, there isn't a lot of evidence that support for Trump will dwindle.

☆ Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's ties to billionaire George Soros are not as close as Republicans claim
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

As Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg moves to bring an expected indictment against Donald Trump, Republicans lawmakers leaping to the former president's defense have fixated on what they call Bragg's ties to billionaire George Soros. There is also no indication the Open Society Policy Center's donation was directed toward an eventual Color of Change campaign to influence Bragg. The funding from Soros' nonprofit was not targeted toward the campaign to support McCarter, the Color of Change official told CNBC. Open Society's website says the group's donation was intended "to support [Color of Change]'s social welfare activities" over the course of five years. Months before Bragg won a 2021 Democratic primary on his way to becoming Manhattan DA, George Soros' son, Jonathan, and his wife, combined to donate $20,000 to Bragg's campaign, state records show.

☆ Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg defiant after House GOP demands answers over a possible Trump indictment: 'We will not be intimidated'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Alvin Bragg's office responded to House GOP demands that he testify about his investigation of Trump. The DA is investigating Trump's role in a hush-money payment made during his 2016 campaign. The lawmakers, who chair the powerful House judiciary, oversight and administration committees, said a possible indictment of Trump by Bragg would be "an unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority." Trump has denied the affair with Daniels and any wrongdoing related to the payment. Legal experts say it's unlikely that Bragg would appear before House lawmakers to testify about the investigation, largely because it remains ongoing.

☆ US House Republicans launch investigation of Manhattan DA in Trump probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( David Morgan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

His fellow Republicans including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have accused Bragg, a Democrat, of abuse of power and using his office to pursue a political agenda. McCarthy had also said he would direct House committees to determine whether federal funds have been used in the district attorney's probe. The letter was signed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil. "Congress has no jurisdiction to investigate the Manhattan DA, which receives no federal funding nor has any other federal nexus," added Goldman, who was lead counsel in a 2019 House impeachment of Trump. Trump, who is seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has said he would continue campaigning even if charged with a crime.

☆ House Republicans are rallying to Trump's defense, but they're unlikely to be able to stop a possible indictment
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Sonam Sheth | Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

House Republicans are demanding documents and testimony from Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg. It's the latest major step the GOP-led House has taken to defend Trump as he faces a possible criminal indictment. And without the backing of the Justice Department, it's unclear what consequences, if any, Congress can impose on Bragg's office. Yet while the lawmakers may have made valid criticisms, former Trump White House attorney Ty Cobb said, the letter is "bad form." Monday's letter also comes after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy pledged to subject Bragg's office to congressional investigations in anticipation of a possible Trump indictment.

Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Ken Buck, R-Colo., are seen during a House Judiciary Committee markup in Rayburn Building on Wednesday, May 8, 2019. The GOP also doesn't want to give the Biden administration more power and resources, House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told CNBC in a separate interview. "We just felt that Thomas Massie was a good fit with how we were structuring the Judiciary committee. While the tech companies may be spared costly new regulations that threatened to break them apart — for now — the industry may not be totally safe from scrutiny on Capitol Hill. Though it passed through the Senate Judiciary Committee and similar legislation advanced out of the House Judiciary Committee, it didn't get to the floor of either chamber for a vote.

☆ Elon Musk says it was 'not cool' for Democrats to ask Twitter Files reporter Matt Taibbi to reveal his sources in a hearing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Elon Musk said it wasn't cool for Democrats to ask journalist Matt Taibbi to reveal his sources. Rep. Sylvia Garcia asked Taibbi if Musk first approached him, but he refused to answer. In response to a clip shared from the hearing, Musk tweeted: "I'm not his source, but, yeah, obviously asking journalists to reveal sources is not cool." Garcia asked Taibbi in the hearing if Musk was his direct source behind the files. Plaskett tweeted on Thursday: "No one was interested in revealing 'journalists'' sources.

☆ US FTC asked Twitter for details on Musk's internal communications -House report
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The FTC has sent more than a dozen letters to Twitter and its lawyers since Musk's takeover in October. The FTC also wants Musk to testify in connection with the probe, the Wall Street Journal reported. "There is no logical reason why the FTC, on the basis of user privacy, needs to analyze all of Twitter's personnel decisions. And there is no logical reason why the FTC needs every single internal Twitter communication about Elon Musk," the report said. Twitter in May agreed to pay a fine of $150 million to settle allegations that it misused private information, and also improve its compliance practices.

☆ FTC says it’s conducting an investigation into Twitter’s privacy practices
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

If proven, violations of Twitter’s consent decree could pave the way for billions in fines, new limitations on Twitter’s operations or potentially even binding obligations on Musk or other executives. “Protecting consumers’ privacy is exactly what the FTC is supposed to do,” said agency spokesman Douglas Farrar. Those allegations prompted a Senate hearing and, as the FTC acknowledged this week, a formal investigation into whether Twitter has breached its commitments. Testifying before the Senate last year, FTC Chair Lina Khan told lawmakers that Twitter’s executives could “absolutely” be held personally accountable if an investigation finds those executives facilitated violations of an FTC consent decree. “No CEO or company is above the law, and companies must follow our consent decrees,” the FTC said at the time.

☆ House weaponization panel seeks to eclipse January 6 committee's $18M+ budget despite rocky start
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

House weaponization panel chair Jim Jordan is already seeking more money from leadership. Jordan requested a $19 million budget, which is roughly what the January 6 select committee spent. His pitch for an additional $17 million in resources, first reported by Axios, includes doubling his initial $2 million budget and carving out a $15 million "reserve fund" the new political investigation unit can draw from as needed. Between the select committee disbanding after releasing its politically damning final report and House Republicans rearranging things on every committee after narrowly reclaiming control of the chamber last fall, tracking every select committee financial statement has gotten tricky. Sherman scolded House GOP leaders for demanding budget cuts elsewhere, but then throwing money at poorly received pet projects like the "flameout that the weaponization committee just experienced with its so-called whistleblowers hearing."

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