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Representative George Santos, the New York Republican who fell under numerous investigations over his personal and campaign finances after his biography was found to be a web of lies and exaggerations, has been charged by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, two people familiar with the investigation said. Mr. Santos, his lawyer and a spokeswoman in his Washington office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn could not be reached for comment; an F.B.I. The specific charges against Mr. Santos, who last month announced he would run for re-election in his district in Long Island and part of Queens, are not yet clear. CNN reported that Mr. Santos could appear as soon as Wednesday in federal court.

☆ Ajay Banga: Indian American businessman is the new president of the World Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The election came after World Bank board members interviewed Banga for four hours on Monday. Biden congratulated Banga on his “resounding approval” to run the World Bank, which he described as “one of humanity’s most critical institutions to reduce poverty and expand prosperity around the globe.”“Ajay Banga will be a transformative leader, bringing expertise, experience, and innovation to the position of World Bank President,” Biden said. “It is a challenging moment, but it’s a moment where the World Bank remains more vital than ever, and where getting the evolution of the World Bank is absolutely critical,” the official said. “The Board looks forward to working with Mr. Banga on the World Bank Group Evolution process … on all the World Bank Group’s ambitions and efforts aimed at tackling the toughest development challenges facing developing countries,” the bank said. The World Bank has been led by an American since its founding at the end of World War Two, while the International Monetary Fund has been led by a European.

☆ Fact check: Trump’s own campaign can’t find proof for his ‘mental institutions’ immigration story
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Daniel Dale | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

How we searched for proof of Trump’s storyCNN conducted a broad search for any proof for Trump’s story. These articles did not mention anything about South American mental health facilities being emptied under President Joe Biden, nor feature any quote from a doctor at any such facility. We then reached out to a pro-Trump super PAC asking for evidence for Trump’s “mental institution” story, but a spokesperson didn’t respond. We next turned to two groups that advocate for reduced immigration, the Center for Immigration Studies and the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which would be good candidates to be aware of any such evidence. As a last resort, we posted Trump’s quotes on Twitter and invited the public to try to find support for them.

☆ Jane Roberts, who is married to Chief Justice John Roberts, made $10.3 million in commissions from elite law firms, whistleblower documents show
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +20 min

Jane Roberts was paid more than $10 million by a host of elite law firms, a whistleblower alleges. At least one of those firms argued a case before Chief Justice Roberts after paying his wife hundreds of thousands of dollars. And I realized that even the law firms who were Jane's clients had nowhere to go. Mark Jungers, another one of Jane Roberts' former colleagues, said that Jane was smart, talented, and good at her job. But whether that committee has the authority to discipline Thomas or any other Supreme Court Justice remains a matter of murky constitutional interpretation, to be ultimately decided by the Supreme Court itself.

☆ Elon Musk meets with Democratic leader Schumer in Senate office
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) - Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of electric vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA.O) and social media platform Twitter, is meeting U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in the Democratic lawmaker's Washington office, an aide to Schumer said on Wednesday. The aide did not say what the topic of the meeting was. Schumer has long been an advocate of shifting to electric vehicles and helped push for new tax credits as part of the $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act in August. In January, Musk met two top White House officials in Washington to discuss how Tesla and the administration of President Joe Biden could work together to advance electric vehicle production and speed electrification of U.S. vehicle networks. Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Meta opens up its Horizon Worlds VR app to teens for the first time, prompting outcries from US lawmakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington CNN —Meta is forging ahead with plans to let teenagers onto its virtual reality app, Horizon Worlds, despite objections from lawmakers and civil society groups that the technology could have possible unintended consequences for mental health. On Tuesday, the social media giant said children as young as 13 in Canada and the United States will gain access to Horizon Worlds for the first time in the coming weeks. Zuckerberg has pushed to spend billions developing VR hardware and software, even as Meta has scaled back significantly in other parts of its business. “Meta is despicably attempting to lure young teens to Horizon Worlds in an attempt to boost its failing platform,” said Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who last month, along with Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ed Markey, urged Zuckerberg to reconsider letting teens use the app. Lawmakers have previously raised alarms about the impact of some of Meta’s other products, including Instagram, on younger users.

☆ I Helped Make Corporations Woke, and I Regret It
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Gregory T. Angelo | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

I sat in the Washington office of a major airline’s head of government relations, where we were joined by the top lobbyist for one of America’s largest hotel chains. It was 2013, and I was president of the gay conservative group Log Cabin Republicans. I had come to secure corporate support for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would have banned discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Pressure from leading corporations, I correctly assumed, would push waffling Republicans to vote for the legislation.

☆ Spooked dealmakers scurry back into their foxholes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Jeffrey Goldfarb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

NEW YORK, March 23 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Jonathan Kanter, a lawyer by training, has become something of a magician. Pay closer attention, however, and Kanter is methodically rewriting a decades-old regulatory playbook. Last year, these breakup charges reached their highest level in a decade, at an average 4.5% of deal prices. The Department of Agriculture partnered with the DOJ on the case, another feature of Kanter’s plan of attack. As legal weaknesses emerge, dealmakers should be in position to better structure transactions and defend themselves at trial.

☆ Search of Pence Think Tank Yields No Classified Documents
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( C. Ryan Barber | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON–The FBI on Friday searched the office of a think tank affiliated with former Vice President Mike Pence and found no materials with classified markings, a Pence adviser said. The search at the Washington office of the think tank, Advancing American Freedom, lasted several hours and came a week after the Federal Bureau of Investigation discovered a sensitive document at the former vice president’s Indiana home. Last month lawyers for Mr. Pence discovered classified documents at his Indiana home and turned them over to the National Archives, saying they had been “inadvertently boxed and transported” to his residence.

☆ FBI to search ex-U.S. VP Pence's home, office for classified records
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence tours the U.S.-Mexico border in Cochise County south of Sierra Vista, Arizona, U.S., June 13, 2022. REUTERS/Rebecca NobleWASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The FBI is soon expected to search former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's Indiana home and Washington, D.C., office for classified material, U.S. media reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. CNN reported Pence's Washington office was also expected to be searched. CNN, citing a source, reported that Pence's team does not believe there are classified records at either his home or his office. FBI agents searched Biden's Delaware beach house on Wednesday, but no classified documents were found, the president's attorney said.

The morning search by FBI agents appeared to represent an expansion of the probe into Biden's handling of classified documents. The White House counsel's office did not have representatives present at the search, White House spokesperson Ian Sams told reporters. Classified documents have also been found in the home of Trump's former vice president, Mike Pence, giving some political cover to Biden. Trump resisted efforts to return materials in his possession, prompting a FBI search of his Florida home and resort last year. It is unlawful to knowingly or willfully remove or retain classified material, although no current or former president or vice president has been charged with wrongdoing.

☆ House Judiciary chair Jim Jordan pushes narrative the FBI is being 'weaponized'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Summer-Concepcion-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Summer Concepcion | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Rep. Jim Jordan argued that federal agencies are handling President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump's classified documents cases in different ways on NBC News' "Meet the Press" Sunday. The Republican lawmaker, who now leads the House Judiciary Committee, accused the FBI and other agencies of being "weaponized": "The FBI raided the home of a former president 91 days before an election, took the phone of a sitting member of Congress, and on and on." The subpoena was issued 60 days before they actually executed a subpoena.”“And more importantly, the only time the public found out about it is because Donald Trump told the public about it. “They raided Trump’s home. “Because Biden didn’t defy a subpoena, congressman,” Todd pushed back, adding that Trump had 60 days to comply before the FBI executed a search warrant.

A "small number" of classified documents were discovered last week at former Vice President Mike Pence’s Indiana home, according to two letters Pence’s counsel sent to the National Archives obtained by NBC News on Tuesday. Pence's team “immediately” secured the classified documents in a locked safe, Jacob said. The transfer was facilitated by Pence’s personal attorney, who has experience in handling classified documents and was involved with the Jan. 16 discovery. Pence spokesman Devin O’Malley later told NBC News that “no potential classified documents” were found at the offices of Pence’s organization Advancing American Freedom after Pence’s team searched the offices and the former vice president’s home in Indiana. In a statement Tuesday, Comer said Pence reached out to the panel about classified documents found at his Indiana residence.

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday defended the Justice Department's handling of separate special counsel investigations into classified documents linked to former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, saying it does not have different rules for Republicans and Democrats. In his first public remarks on the topic after even more classified documents were found at Biden's home in Delaware, Garland was asked whether he believed the Justice Department was handling the two probes fairly. Garland announced this month that Robert Hur, who was a Trump-appointed federal prosecutor, would serve as a special counsel in the Biden probe. Congressional Republicans have launched their own investigations into the Biden documents. Biden and Trump have had contrasting responses to the discovery of classified documents, which are supposed to be handed over to National Archives when presidents or vice presidents leave office.

☆ White House tells House Republicans probing Biden documents that it will cooperate with 'legitimate oversight'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — The White House Counsel's Office said it is reviewing recent requests from a GOP committee chair related to Biden's handling of classified documents and signaled they plan to cooperate to an extent. Delery, however, suggested that there will be a limit to what the White House is willing to share with Congress. To that end, White House staff will reach out to Committee staff to arrange a time to discuss this matter." Delery acknowledged that the FBI conducted a "thorough, consensual search" of Biden's Wilmington residence on Friday after the president's lawyers offered to provide access to his home. Comer's probe is one of two major House Republican investigations into the Biden documents.

☆ Sen. Joe Manchin criticizes Biden’s handling of classified documents: ‘Irresponsible’
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Summer-Concepcion-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Summer Concepcion | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., on Sunday criticized President Joe Biden for his handling of classified documents after six additional items were found at the president’s Delaware home. In an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Manchin called Biden having classified documents in unsecured places “irresponsible” and voiced his support for Attorney General Merrick Garland’s decision to appoint a special counsel to review the materials. Biden, Manchin continued, should own up to making mistakes after batches of classified records were found in recent weeks at his residence and a Washington office he used. Biden's personal attorney said Saturday that six additional items, including documents with classified markings, were found at the president’s home after Justice Department officials searched the residence. The DOJ has appointed special counsel Robert Hur, a former federal prosecutor who has worked with many Republicans throughout his law enforcement career, to oversee the investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents.

Those confidentiality interests include not divulging information on ongoing investigations, Urierte said. Jordan sent Garland a letter demanding information on that investigation last week. Longstanding Department policy prevents us from confirming or denying the existence of pending investigations in response to congressional requests or providing non-public information about our investigations,” the letter said. Without prioritization, requests will take longer to resolve and will be more likely to yield irrelevant information," the letter said. The committee responded in a tweet later Friday, saying, "Why’s DOJ scared to cooperate with our investigations?"

☆ Poll: Majority of voters believe Biden acted inappropriately handling classified docs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Mark-Murray-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Mark Murray | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

A new national Quinnipiac University poll finds 62% of registered voters believing that President Joe Biden acted inappropriately in how he handled classified documents after leaving the White House as vice president, versus 21% who say he acted appropriately. By party, 85% of Republican voters, 64% of independents and 36% of Democrats say Biden acted inappropriately. Asked how serious Biden’s handling of classified documents is, 41% of voters say it’s “very serious,” 32% say it’s “somewhat serious,” and a combined 22% say it’s not too serious or not serious at all. President Biden’s overall approval rating in the Quinnipiac poll is at 38% approve, 53% disapprove among registered voters. Biden receives his highest job rating on handling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (46% of voters approve of his job), and he gets his lowest marks on handling the US-Mexico border (17% approve).

BOSTON, Jan 17 (Reuters) - The husband of a Massachusetts woman who has been missing since New Year's Day was charged on Tuesday with her murder after authorities earlier said they had found a knife and blood in the basement of their home, a prosecutor said on Tuesday. Walshe will be arraigned Wednesday in Quincy District Court. Ana Walshe, who worked in real estate company Tishman Speyer's Washington office, was reported missing on Jan. 4 by her employer and husband. Brian Walshe initially said had taken a ride-hailing service to the airport for a flight to Washington for work, authorities have said. Beland said investigators later discovered that Brian Walshe on Jan. 2 bought $450 of cleaning supplies at a Home Depot.

☆ House GOP Seeks Biden Residence Visitor Logs as Classified-Document Saga Continues
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Daniella Cheslow | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Republicans want to see visitor logs from the home of President Biden, who was at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta on Sunday. House Republicans are seeking two years of visitor logs from President Biden’s Delaware home as part of a push for more details about documents marked as classified that were found in Mr. Biden’s home and at a Washington office he used after his vice presidency. “Given the serious national security implications, the White House must provide the Wilmington residence’s visitor log,” House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R., Ky.) wrote in a Sunday letter to White House chief of staff Ron Klain .

☆ House Oversight chair calls for release of visitor logs from Biden’s Delaware home
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julie-Tsirkin-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Julie Tsirkin | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

WASHINGTON — House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., on Sunday asked for the release of visitors logs from President Joe Biden’s home in Delaware in a letter to White House chief of staff Ron Klain. “Given the serious national security implications, the White House must provide the Wilmington residence’s visitor log,” Comer wrote in the letter to Klain. The former president’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida was searched by the FBI last year after multiple attempts to obtain classified documents. The president is cooperating with the Justice Department and National Archives amid the discovery of the classified documents, she said. "He showed no interest in investigating the far more serious situation with about 100 classified documents at Mar-a-Lago with evidence in the public domain of obstruction.

More classified documents from the Obama administration were found in President Joe Biden’s Delaware residence this week — in addition to the two batches that were previously disclosed — the White House said Saturday. The newest set of pages were discovered by White House lawyer Richard Sauber on Thursday in a box initially uncovered by the president's personal lawyers on Wednesday. The White House revealed earlier this week that Biden's lawyers had discovered one document with classified markings in a room adjacent to the garage of his Delaware home. "The President’s personal attorneys discovered one document with a classified marking consisting of one page in a room adjacent to the garage. At that point, the President’s personal attorneys stopped searching the immediate area where the document was found," Sauber said.

The House Judiciary Committee announced Friday it's opened an investigation into the Obama-era classified documents that were found in President Joe Biden's Delaware home and his former Washington office. The White House acknowledged Thursday that classified documents dating back to Biden's time as vice president had been discovered in his garage in Delaware. Jordan and Johnson also renewed a request for information on the Trump investigation they made last year, when the committee was controlled by Democrats. "On August 15, 2022, Committee Republicans wrote to you and FBI Director Christopher Wray requesting documents and information related to the FBI’s raid of President Trump’s residence. The Justice Department has confirmed receipt of the letter but declined a request for comment.

☆ Who is Robert Hur? Special Counsel looking into Biden’s classified documents
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — Robert Hur, named Thursday by Attorney General Merrick Garland to oversee the investigation into President Joe Biden's handling of classified documents, is a former federal prosecutor who has worked with many Republicans throughout his law enforcement career. Garland appointed Hur as special counsel on Thursday after the White House acknowledged that Obama administration documents with classified markings were found in one of Biden’s Delaware homes. On Monday, the White House said that similar documents had been found in a Washington office. Hur has served as a partner at the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher since April 2021 where he has focused on enforcement, investigations and litigation. In between his jobs at the Justice Department, Hur worked at another private law firm, King & Spalding.

☆ Multiple Biden aides have been interviewed by federal law enforcement in classified document review
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Carol-Lee-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Carol E. Lee | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — Multiple aides who worked for President Joe Biden in the final days of the Obama administration have been interviewed by federal law enforcement officials reviewing how classified documents ended up in his Delaware residence and a Washington office, according to two people familiar with the matter. One of the sources said that those who were asked to be interviewed by law enforcement officials complied "quickly." “The people who were boxing [up the vice presidential office] had no idea that there was anything in there that shouldn’t leave the White House,” the source said. On Thursday, the White House acknowledged that documents with classified markings had been found in a garage at Biden's residence in Wilmington, Delaware. No documents were found in Biden’s residence in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

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