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☆ Trump was recorded acknowledging he kept classified doc after leaving White House
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A recording of former President Donald Trump shows him acknowledging a document he kept after leaving the White House was classified, NBC News reported Thursday, citing a source directly familiar with the matter. Trump's remarks on that tape, recorded in 2021, indicate the document was related to Iran, NBC reported. CNN first reported Wednesday that federal prosecutors had acquired audio of Trump acknowledging he had held onto a classified document about a possible attack on Iran. A spokesman for Trump said of CNN's report, "Leaks from radical partisans behind this political persecution are designed to inflame tensions and continue the media's harassment of President Trump and his supporters." Trump is also embroiled in a Fulton County prosecutor's investigation of potential criminal interference in Georgia's 2020 election.

Persons: Donald Trump, LIV Golf, Trump, Mark Meadows, President Trump, Jack Smith, General Merrick Garland, Smith Organizations: U.S, Trump National Golf Club, D.C, White, NBC, National Archives, Records Administration, FBI, CNN, Trump, White House, U.S . Department of Justice, Republican Locations: Washington, Sterling , Virginia, Iran, Trump's Mar, Florida, Trump's Florida, Bedminster , New Jersey, Manhattan, Fulton County

☆ Trump was recorded talking about a classified document he kept from the White House: CNN
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Madison Hall | Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Federal prosecutors have obtained audio of Trump admitting he held onto classified material after leaving office, CNN reported. The classified documents detail a "potential attack on Iran," per CNN's sources. In a statement shared with Insider, a spokesperson for Trump said: "Leaks from radical partisans behind this political persecution are designed to inflame tensions and continue the media's harassment of President Trump and his supporters." "It's just more proof that when it comes to President Trump, there are absolutely no depths to which they will not sink as they pursue their witch hunts," the spokesperson said. Soon after the Wall Street Journal's report, Trump's attorneys sent US Attorney General Merrick Garland a letter requesting a meeting to discuss Smith's investigation.

Persons: Trump, Jack Smith, —, Donald Trump, Trump's, President Trump, Jack, Smith, General Merrick Garland Organizations: Trump, CNN, Trump ., Service, FBI, Trump's Mar Locations: Iran, Florida, Trump's, Bedminster , New Jersey

☆ DeSantis doesn't rule out pardoning Trump, Jan. 6 defendants if elected president
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

DeSantis, Trump's top rival in the 2024 Republican presidential primary race, was asked on a conservative talk show if he would consider pardoning the former president, should he be charged with federal crimes. The governor was also asked if he believed the next Republican president should look at pardoning defendants charged in relation to the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol. The governor filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday and then confirmed his candidacy in a live Twitter discussion with Elon Musk that was plagued with technical difficulties. Trump is the clear front-runner in most polls of the Republican primary, with DeSantis his closest competitor. The New York criminal case is set for trial starting March 25, 2024, in the thick of the primary election season.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump, DeSantis, Clay Travis, Trump, Buck Sexton, Elon Musk, Jack Smith, Trump's, General Merrick Garland Organizations: Florida Gov, Republican, Justice, Trump, U.S . Capitol, Justice Department, Capitol, Federal, Commission, Manhattan, The New, DOJ, FBI Locations: Florida, The New York, Lago

☆ Premarket stocks: Debt ceiling woes could kill Wall Street dealmaking
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Before the Bell spoke with Mitch Berlin, EY Americas Vice Chair, Strategy and Transactions, to discuss the effect the debt ceiling drama is having on dealmaking:This interview has been slightly edited for clarity. Uncertainty around the debt ceiling is threatening to stall any momentum in the M&A market. If the debt ceiling is not raised within the next few weeks, dealmaking will largely be put on hold and [it] could set M&A dealmaking back to the lows of the early pandemic or worse. Janet Yellen stands by June 1 debt ceiling deadlineUS Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Sunday reaffirmed June 1 as the “hard deadline” for the United States to raise the debt ceiling or risk defaulting on its obligations. “There will be hard choices to make if the debt ceiling isn’t raised,” reiterated Yellen after Biden’s warning.

[1/2] An American Airlines Airbus A321-200 plane takes off from Los Angeles International airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, California, U.S. March 28, 2018. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin said the partnership "substantially diminishes competition in the domestic market for air travel." Garland said the Justice Department will continue to protect competition and enforce U.S. antitrust laws across industries, including the airline industry. The judge gave the airlines 30 days to end the alliance. TD Cowen analyst Helane Becker said she believes the American JetBlue ruling "has negative implications for the JetBlue/Spirit merger."

☆ Justice Department wins lawsuit to end JetBlue and American Airlines alliance
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —American Airlines and JetBlue Airways have to break up their alliance on Northeast US flight routes, a US District Court judge ordered Friday. US District Judge Leo Sorokin ruled in favor of the the Justice Department, giving the Biden administration a victory in its years-long lawsuit against the airlines’ collaboration. The airlines have 30 days to end their partnership, Sorokin ruled – just as the busy summer travel season kicks off. The Justice Department also alleged the two airlines shared revenues earned at these airports, eliminating their incentives to compete with one another. CNN has reached out to American Airlines, JetBlue and the Justice Department for comment.

☆ Trump is weaponizing the Russia report he demanded -- even though it lacks bombshells
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Another Trump ally, South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, argued the report showed the “rule of law in America is subservient to political outcomes. In another politically sensitive part of his report, Durham found that the FBI did not pursue allegations against Clinton with the same vigor with which they acted against Trump. He pointed out that the Trump investigation was launched at a time when Russia was attacking Democratic National Committee servers and had used stolen information to attack Clinton. The investigation was only launched after the bureau received evidence from a friendly foreign government that the Trump campaign had been offered help by the Russians. But all Trump needed from the report was a headline and a general narrative of suspicion against the FBI.

☆ Massachusetts US attorney to resign amid Justice Dept ethics probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | Thomson Reuters | Sarah N. Lynch Is The Lead Reporter For Reuters Covering The U.S. Justice Department Out Of Washington | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins will resign her post by Friday, her lawyer said on Tuesday, after the prosecutor became the subject of a wide-ranging ethics investigation by the Justice Department inspector general's office. Bromwich announced her decision to resign her post not long after Rollins met with officials in Washington at the Justice Department on Tuesday. Rollins was narrowly confirmed by the Senate in December 2021 after Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote. "I warned Democratic senators that Rachael Rollins wasn't only a pro-criminal ideologue, but also had a history of poor judgment and ethical lapses," Cotton said in a statement on Tuesday. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland had vowed when he assumed his post as the nation's top law enforcement official to protect the Justice Department from partisan influence.

☆ US special counsel faults FBI's handling of 2016 Trump-Russia probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The FBI lacked “actual evidence” to investigate Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and relied too heavily on tips provided by Trump’s political opponents to fuel the probe, U.S. Special Counsel John Durham concluded in a report released on Monday. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks at his final campaign event at the Devos Place in Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S. November 8, 2016. That Crossfire Hurricane investigation would later be handed over to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who in March 2019 concluded there was no evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia. In his new 306-page report, Durham concluded that U.S. intelligence and law enforcement did not possess any “actual evidence” of collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia prior to launching Crossfire Hurricane. He also accused the bureau of treating the 2016 Trump probe differently from other politically sensitive investigations, including several involving Trump’s Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

☆ Special counsel issues report criticizing FBI for launching Trump-Russia investigation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Ken Dilanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The special counsel who spent four years investigating the Trump-Russia probe accused the FBI of acting negligently by opening the investigation based on vague and insufficient information in a sweeping 300-page report made public Monday. The FBI responded to the report, indicating that the missteps identified by Durham have already been addressed. Durham's report examines in painstaking detail various aspects of the now infamous FBI investigation code-named "Crossfire Hurricane," which led to the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Durham's investigation found that at the time, neither the FBI nor CIA had any intelligence suggesting an improper relationship between Trump and Russia. Durham appears to suggest that the intelligence information should have given the FBI pause in its pursuit of allegations involving the Trump campaign.

☆ Special counsel John Durham concludes FBI never should have launched full Trump-Russia probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Zachary Cohen Devan Cole Tierney Sneed Evan Perez Hannah Rabinowitz Jeremy Herb Marshall Cohen | Zachary Cohen | Devan Cole | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

“Strzok, at a minimum, had pronounced hostile feelings toward Trump,” Durham wrote, while quoting in a footnote previously known texts between Strzok and Lisa Page, then an FBI attorney. Witness testimony exposed the FBI’s overreliance on the dossier as it sought court approval to wiretap a former Trump campaign adviser in 2016. Mixed results over 3+ yearsBarr tapped Durham in 2019 to review the origins of the Russia probe, and the scope of Durham’s work grew over the years. Former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, which inherited the initial Russia probe, released a detailed accounting of Russia’s effort to interfere in the 2016 election. Mueller found no evidence of a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, but investigators documented numerous contacts between Trump associates and Russians.

"That combination of overclassification and then too many people having clearances has led us to this problem," Warner told a news conference. He said more than 4 million people in the United States now have security clearance. Attorney General Merrick Garland has also appointed special counsels to investigate the handling of classified records by Republican former President Donald Trump and the handling of classified records from his time as vice president by current Democratic President Joe Biden. The path forward for the bills was not immediately clear but the senators said they hoped the recent attention on the clearance issue would help. "This is a piece of legislation that can become law and it is desperately needed for that to happen," Moran said.

☆ Ukraine says it routs Russia brigade, Kremlin admits campaign 'very difficult'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The unit's claim appeared to back up comments by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner private army, who on Tuesday said the Russian brigade had abandoned its positions. "We managed to beat up the Ukrainian military machine quite a bit," said Peskov, citing Russian missile strikes in Ukraine. His comments did not address claims that Russia's 72nd Separate Motor-rifle Brigade had abandoned positions on the southwestern outskirts of Bakhmut. Prigozhin's report about the flight of Russia's 72nd Independent Motorized Rifle Brigade from near Bakhmut and the '500 corpses' of Russians left behind is true." A Russian brigade is typically formed of several thousand troops.

☆ U.S. attorney general OKs transfer of forfeited funds from Russia oligarch for use in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, May 10 (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has authorized the first transfer of forfeited Russian assets for use in Ukraine, he said on Wednesday. The Justice Department last year charged Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev with violating sanctions imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, saying he provided financing for Russians promoting separatism in Crimea. In February, Garland said he authorized the transfer of that money for use in Ukraine. "While this represents the United States’ first transfer of forfeited Russian funds for the rebuilding of Ukraine," Garland said, "it will not be the last,” he said in a statement. Reporting By Paul Grant; editing by Jasper Ward and Doina ChiacuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ FBI takes down Russian malware network that attacked allies, journalist computers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Taxis move past the headquarters of Russia's Federal Security Service, known as the FSB, in central Moscow, May 12, 2022. The Federal Bureau of Investigation disrupted a Russian government-controlled malware network that compromised hundreds of computers belonging to NATO-member governments and other Russian targets of interest, including journalists, the Justice Department said Tuesday. The unit, called Turla, used the malware to selectively target high-value devices used by allied foreign ministries and governments. Disrupting the malware was part of an effort by U.S. law enforcement to protect victims around the world. Snake's targeted capacities fed Russian intelligence huge amounts of information until U.S. law enforcement took down the network on Monday.

☆ Russian security agents have been using a secret network of corrupted computers to spy on NATO for decades, but the US just busted it open, feds say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

US authorities have busted open a secret computer network run by Russian security agents. FBI agents have neutralized what the Justice Department called "sophisticated malware." "Globally, the FSB has used Snake to collect sensitive intelligence from high-priority targets, such as government networks, research facilities, and journalists." Director of Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) Alexander Bortnikov attends a meeting of the service's collegium in Moscow, Russia, February 28, 2023. Top Justice Department officials praised the FBI's ability to neutralize the FSB's network.

☆ Factbox: An overview of Donald Trump’s legal troubles
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Trump denies the allegations and the affair but has admitted to reimbursing Cohen for his payment to Daniels. Trump's reimbursement checks for the suppression payment falsely stated that the money was for a "retainer agreement," prosecutors said. Prosecutors say Trump falsified records in part to cover up the fact that the payment to Daniels exceeded federal campaign contribution limits. U.S. CAPITOL ATTACKThe U.S. Justice Department has an investigation under way into Trump's actions after he lost the 2020 election. NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL CIVIL LAWSUITNew York Attorney General Letitia James sued Trump and his Trump Organization last September for fraud.

☆ Donald Trump: Fresh January 6 convictions raise the stakes for the former president
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

The first scene of his reelection announcement video released last month showed smoke rising over the US Capitol and rioters with Trump flags. The legal complications facing Trump and GarlandGiven the fraught situation, the Justice Department’s next moves will be hugely significant. Thursday’s Proud Boys convictions are among the most significant of hundreds of successful Justice Department prosecutions of people linked to the US Capitol riot. So while a prosecution of Trump and his closest political associates over January 6 could be tough, it may not be impossible. So for now, at least with GOP primary voters, what doesn’t convict Trump, makes him stronger.

☆ A federal immigration judge rated female colleagues and lawyers by which ones he wanted to have sex with, shocking lawsuit alleges
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Jack Newsham | Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A federal immigration judge's former staffer accused him of sexual harassment in a shocking lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges LA judge Scott Laurent ranked female colleagues and lawyers by which ones were "fuckable." Esocoto also alleged Laurent ranked female colleagues, judges, and lawyers by which ones he deemed were "fuckable." Escoto also alleges Laurent often asked her to come "sit on Daddy's lap," referring to himself as "Daddy." The lawsuit alleges Garland then "acted on Judge Laurent's recommendation to fire" Escoto "shortly after receiving" her "complaints of sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation."

☆ Prosecutors are reportedly close to deciding whether to indict Hunter Biden in connection to his taxes and a gun purchase
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Prosecutors are nearing a charging decision in the Hunter Biden case, The Washington Post reported. A lawyer for Hunter Biden and a spokesperson for the president did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story. The Hunter Biden investigation has been underway for nearly four years, and he first announced the existence of the probe in December 2020. CNN reported prosecutors started investigating Biden's taxes in 2018 but temporarily halted the inquiry because of Justice Department rules barring prosecutors from taking actions that could influence the outcome of an election. The letter did not name the subject, but ABC News reported that lawmakers had been made aware that the individual was Hunter Biden.

☆ US Senator Rubio seeks probe of Ford's Chinese partnership on nickel plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Senator Marcio Rubio on Wednesday asked the Biden administration to investigate Ford Motor Co's (F.N) plan to partner with PT Vale Indonesia (INCO.JK) and China's Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt in a $4.5 billion nickel processing plant in Indonesia. Indonesia, which has the world's biggest nickel reserves, has been trying to develop downstream industries for the metal, ultimately aiming to produce batteries and electric vehicles. Vale and Huayou began construction of the plant in November and commercial operation is expected to start in 2026. He had already asked the Biden administration to review the deal to use technology from CATL. Rubio wants to block tax credits for electric vehicle batteries produced using Chinese technology, in a bid to prevent Chinese companies from benefiting.

☆ Nearly 300 Arrested in ‘Dark Web’ Fentanyl Crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Sadie Gurman | Dustin Volz | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

‘There is a bit of a whack-a-mole problem here, and we are whacking as hard as we can,’ Attorney General Merrick Garland said. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesWASHINGTON—International authorities have shut down an online marketplace and arrested nearly 300 people who allegedly used it and other parts of the so-called dark web to buy and sell fentanyl and other dangerous opioids, in a sweep officials said underscores how hard it is to stem the tide of drug trafficking in the internet’s hidden corners. The operation went on for more than 18 months and spanned three continents, U.S. officials said Tuesday. Law-enforcement agencies also seized more than $53 million in cash and virtual currencies, along with guns and nearly 2,000 pounds of drugs.

☆ Drugs, guns and crypto seized, 288 arrested, in 'unprecedented' dark web crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington, Friday, April 14, 2023, on significant international drug trafficking enforcement action. A consortium of U.S. and international law enforcement made 288 arrests and seized over $53 million in cash and crypto as part of a dark-web drug "unprecedented" enforcement action called Operation SpecTor, Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a press conference Tuesday. "The Justice Department is cracking down on criminal cryptocurrency transactions," Garland said, "and the online criminal marketplaces that enable them." Dozens of firearms and more than 850 kilograms of drugs were also seized in Operation SpecTor, an allusion to the dark-web browsing protocol. The operation began in Oct. 2021, Garland said.

☆ How Randi Weingarten Landed at the Heart of America’s Political Fights
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Jonathan Mahler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

But Weingarten was friendly with McAuliffe from the Clinton days and was supporting his candidacy on Twitter and cable news, and the A.F.T. By the fall of 2021, America’s public schools were fully open, but mask mandates were still being hotly contested. gave more than $1 million to McAuliffe, and Weingarten even knocked on doors for him in Alexandria. The tabloid, which had been gleefully attacking Weingarten for years — dubbing her Whine-garten — trumpeted the story: “Powerful Teachers Union Influenced C.D.C. Senator Susan Collins of Maine grilled the C.D.C.’s director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, at a committee hearing over what she called the C.D.C.’s “secret negotiations” with the teachers’ union.

☆ Canada and U.S. agree to trace guns intercepted at border
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Steve Scherer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Canada and the United States have agreed to strengthen the bilateral cooperation to reduce gun violence," Mendicino said. The United States traces guns by requiring firearm dealers to record the serial numbers of the guns they sell and who purchased them. "Data and information sharing are powerful tools in the fight against gun violence," said U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, who was also present. Previously, gun tracing in Canada has been inconsistent. Canada traced only 6-10% of guns involved in crimes, according to 2019 data from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), a federal agency.

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