DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Trump asks court to unseal search warrant affidavit in documents probe
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Prosecutors are conducting a criminal probe into the retention of government records at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort after his presidency ended. The request to unseal the search warrant affidavit was made to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in Florida. The Justice Department said the redactions included information from "a broad range of civilian witnesses" as well as investigative techniques that, if disclosed, could reveal how to obstruct the probe. Trump, a Republican, has accused the Department of Justice (DOJ) under President Joe Biden of conducting a political witch hunt. A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

☆ Trump's day of reckoning is overdue. Garland's special counsel move adds to the delay.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Michael Conway | Michael Conway Was Counsel For The House Judiciary Committee In The Impeachment Inquiry Of President Richard Nixon In In That Role | He Assisted In Drafting The Committee'S Final Report To The House In Support Of The Three Articles Of Impeachment Adopted The Committee. Conway Is A Graduate Of Yale Law School | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Attorney General Merrick Garland’s decision to appoint a special counsel to investigate former President Donald Trump is a miscalculation, with the main problem being timing. Despite assurances from Garland that a special counsel will not bog down the investigation, reality suggests otherwise. Not to mention that past practice demonstrates that the Justice Department has regularly shown that anyone can be held accountable — without resorting to a special counsel. No special counsel was used. I believe Trump’s day of reckoning is long overdue, and Garland’s overly cautious decision to appoint a special counsel may continue postponing that day.

A federal appeals court will hear arguments Tuesday as it looks to resolve a simmering procedural dispute in the Justice Department’s escalating investigation of former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. Days after Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to take over the investigation, Justice Department attorneys are expected to urge the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to end a document-vetting arrangement, instated by a lower court, that prosecutors have argued has slowed the investigation into the material the FBI seized from the Florida resort in August.

☆ House Republicans expected to soup up their Biden-centric investigations by taking pages from the Jan. 6 committee's groundbreaking playbook: oversight veterans
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Newly empowered House Republicans are preparing to launch myriad investigations next year. Oversight veterans expect the GOP to take some cues from the January 6 committee hearings. "I think Republicans will go to school on that," Davis told Insider. The recent development Davis said GOP leaders might soon regret is their decision to dodge the January 6 committee subpoenas. Aides to anticipated Oversight committee chair James Comer and Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan did not respond to requests for comment about the January 6 committee's work or their forthcoming investigations.

☆ An appeals court sounded skeptical of Donald Trump's arguments in the Mar-a-Lago records dispute
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( C. Ryan Barber | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

An appeals court panel grilled a Trump lawyer but had few questions for the Justice Department. One judge scolded Trump's lawyer for referring to the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago as a "raid." asked Grant, a Trump appointee who clerked for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his tenure on the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. During Tuesday's arguments, Justice Department lawyer Sopan Joshi likened Trump's arguments to "shifting sands," saying that the former president had initially claimed seized records were subject to attorney-client privilege. At the Supreme Court, he said, Trump's lawyers then argued that the dispute centered on the issue of whether classified documents had been declassified.

Trump, a Republican, has accused James, a Democrat, of suing him because she dislikes him and his politics. The Trump Organization is now on trial in another Manhattan courtroom on criminal tax fraud charges. Trump also faces a criminal investigation in Georgia into whether he interfered with the 2020 election results in that state. "Who stands to gain from this highly-politicized farse [sic], aside from the politically-compromised Attorney General of the State of New York?" Both testified as prosecution witnesses in the Manhattan criminal trial in which prosecutors accused the company of engaging in tax fraud spanning 15 years.

☆ Live Nation, Ticketmaster may need breakup, some senators say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Taylor Swift poses on the red carpet for the 2022 MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs) at the PSD Bank Dome in Duesseldorf, Germany, November 13, 2022. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Ticketmaster and owner Live Nation Entertainment, the events ticketing giant behind the recently botched sale of Taylor Swift concert tickets, should be broken up by the Department of Justice if any misconduct is found in an ongoing investigation, Democratic senators said Monday. "This may be the only way to truly protect consumers, artists, and venue operators and to restore competition in the ticketing market." Live Nation and Ticketmaster merged in 2010 after a DOJ-brokered settlement that officials said would encourage competition and send ticket prices down. Instead, "across all genres and venues, Ticketmaster prices have more than tripled in the past 20 years," the senators wrote.

The company, which has pleaded not guilty, could face up to $1.6 million in fines for the three tax fraud counts and six other counts it faces, if convicted. The first witness called by the defense was Donald Bender, an accountant with the firm Mazars who handled the Trump Organization's taxes. Bender was granted immunity from prosecution for testifying before the grand jury that indicted the company and Weisselberg. Bender said he prepared tax returns for Weisselberg and his family members free of charge as an "accommodation." Mazars in February dropped the company as a client and said it could no longer stand behind a decade of Trump's financial statements.

☆ Prosecutors rest case in Trump Organization's criminal tax fraud trial
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Trump Organization, which operates hotels, golf courses and other real estate around the world, could face up to $1.6 million in fines for the three tax fraud counts and six other counts it faces, if convicted. Trump, a Republican who last week launched another bid for the presidency in 2024, has called the charges politically motivated. The district attorney's office charged the Trump Organization and Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty to charges including grand larceny and tax fraud in an August deal with prosecutors calling for a jail sentence of five months if he testified truthfully in the trial. Weisselberg, who has worked for the company for nearly half a century, is on paid leave from the Trump Organization. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday named a special counsel to oversee the Justice Department's investigations related to Trump including his handling of sensitive government documents after leaving office and efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

"Donald Trump is the only Republican that would lose" in 2024, he said. Trump launched a fresh campaign for the Republican nomination on Tuesday, before the final midterm votes have even been tallied. "We have to stay strong and we have to fight and frankly, you better hope a certain person wins the election in 2024," Trump said to cheers. The man who could pose the largest threat to Trump, DeSantis, also received a fervent response as the final featured speaker on Saturday night. Trump's false claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent had "diminished" the party, he said.

☆ CBS News Suspends Twitter Posting ‘In Light of the Uncertainty’ About Musk-Owned Social Platform
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

CBS News is halting its activity on Twitter over Elon Musk’s turbulent and potentially devastating moves following his takeover of the company. A statement with nearly identical wording was shared Friday by the Twitter account of KPIX, the CBS-owned station in San Francisco. Another looming question: whether Musk will allow Trump back on Twitter. On Friday, Musk launched a poll asking his 116 million-plus followers whether Twitter should reinstate Trump. After the mass resignations at Twitter, Musk — the richest individual in the world — called an emergency meeting of engineers Friday, requesting that “anyone who actually writes software” report to the company’s San Francisco headquarters.

☆ Jack Smith Brings Broad Resume, Low Political Profile to High-Visibility Post
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Aruna Viswanatha | Sadie Gurman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—When John L. “Jack” Smith surfaced on Attorney General Merrick Garland ’s radar as a prospect to serve as special counsel overseeing investigations connected to former President Donald Trump, he had several things working in his favor. Mr. Smith had a wide-ranging prosecutorial career on the local, national and international levels, handling a range of complex investigations that involved some of the most serious offenses committed by government officials, including corruption and war crimes.

☆ Bill Barr said he thinks the DOJ probably has a 'basis for legitimately indicting' Trump over Mar-a-Lago documents
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Lloyd Lee | Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Barr said he believed that the Justice Department may have enough evidence to indict Donald Trump. He declined to say if he would have indicted Trump if he was still attorney general. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday named a special counsel to take over investigations involving the former president. Barr, who was once a staunch ally of Trump, served as his attorney general from February 2019 to December 2020. Barr has since continued to rebuke Trump, saying in September the Justice Department was likely justified in raiding Mar-a-Lago.

☆ Trump encourages GOP to 'fight' special counsel decision as Republicans attack DOJ
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

In an interview with Fox News, Trump said he has been "going through this for six years," referring to various investigations into his actions, including both impeachments and special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe. A Trump campaign spokesman added that, "This is a totally expected political stunt by a feckless, politicized, weaponized Biden Department of Justice." Trump noted that the announcement of a special counsel comes just days after he announced a 2024 White House bid, which Garland said was a factor in his decision to seek an independent prosecutor. Asa Hutchinson, who has sometimes rebuked Trump, said in a statement that Garland's decision was "not good news for our country." Garland named John L. Smith, known as Jack Smith, a prosecutor at The Hague and a former federal prosecutor, to begin serving as special counsel “immediately."

☆ Pence on Trump and January 6: 'No one is above the law'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Isabelle Schmeler | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who huddled in the bowels of the U.S. Capitol on Jan 6, 2021 as angry Trump supporters searched for him, tells “Meet the Press” that “no one is above the law” when asked about former President Donald Trump. But the former vice president, who Trump publicly blamed for not halting a peaceful transfer of power, also warned the Biden administration about over-reaching in their attempts to hold Trump to account. “I don’t know if it is criminal to listen to bad advice from the lawyers,” Pence told “Meet the Press” Moderator Chuck Todd in an interview on Thursday. But I would hope the Justice Department would give careful consideration before they take any additional steps in this matter,” Pence said. Pence says he has not hesitated to criticize the former president when he thinks he was wrong, though stops short of calling him unfit for office.

☆ Republicans identify 42 Biden administration officials they want to testify
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( David Morgan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday identified 42 employees from Democratic President Joe Biden's White House and administration, who they expect to testify next year after their party takes control of the chamber. There was no immediate response from the White House. The letters represent the House Judiciary Committee's first request for testimony and documents since Republicans won a narrower-than-expected House majority on Wednesday. Angered by the FBI seizure of classified documents from Trump's Florida home in August, Republicans accuse the Biden administration of politicizing the FBI and Justice Department. The Judiciary and Oversight probes are expected to be among a raft of Republican investigations into Biden and his administration next year.

Garland's decision to appoint a special counsel was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Given that Garland was appointed by President Joe Biden, naming a special counsel would give Garland more distance from the investigation into Trump, who could be Biden’s rival if the president decides to run for re-election. Trump was previously under investigation by former special counsel Robert Mueller, who issued his report in 2019 focusing on Russian interference in the 2020 election and Trump’s efforts to interfere with the Justice Department investigation. Garland said he was confident in the DOJ's ability to investigate Trump, but, "I also believe that appointing a special counsel at this time is the right thing to do. Garland added that he will ensure Smith “receives the resources to conduct this work quickly and completely.”

WASHINGTON — Jack Smith, the newly named special counsel in the Trump investigations, most recently served as the chief prosecutor for the special court in The Hague, where he investigated war crimes committed during the Kosovo War. Before The Hague, Smith served as the vice president of litigation for the Hospital Corporation of America, the nation’s largest nongovernmental health care provider. Smith began his prosecutorial career in 1994 as an assistant district attorney with the New York County District Attorney’s Office. From 2008 to 2010, Smith worked at the International Criminal Court where he oversaw war crimes investigations. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Friday that Smith would be returning to the U.S. from his position at The Hague, and would begin his role as special counsel immediately.

☆ Jack Smith Named Special Counsel to Lead DOJ Probes of Donald Trump
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Aruna Viswanatha | Sadie Gurman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a former federal and international war-crimes prosecutor as special counsel on Friday to oversee Justice Department investigations into former President Donald Trump. Jack Smith, who once led the Justice Department unit that investigates public corruption and since 2018 was the chief prosecutor at The Hague investigating war crimes in Kosovo, will be the third special counsel in five years to examine issues involving Mr. Trump.

☆ Donald Trump’s Fate in Justice Department Probes Headed for Special Counsel
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Aruna Viswanatha | Sadie Gurman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ U.S. Justice Dept. names war crimes expert as special counsel for Trump probes
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Trump called the special counsel appointment a "rigged deal." Biden did not respond to shouted questions from reporters about the special counsel during his only public appearance of the day. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein 1 2 3This marks the second time in five years that the Justice Department has appointed a special counsel to probe Trump's conduct. Smith is the Justice Department's third special counsel to be appointed since 2017 to handle a politically sensitive case. In 2019, Barr appointed John Durham as special counsel to investigate the origins of the FBI's probe into Trump's 2016 campaign.

☆ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tells pissed-off Swifties to demand the Justice Department break up Ticketmaster after Taylor Swift tickets debacle
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Lawmakers have previously called for the Justice Department to investigated the company. Take action with @MorePerfectUS," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted after the news broke, directing her followers to a tweet that said: "Tell the DOJ to break Ticketmaster up here." The tweet also included a link to a form that allowed users to sign up to send an email to the Justice Department requesting the investigation. It's time for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate their conduct and move to break them up." The White House has not indicated whether it plans to investigate Live Nation Entertainment, although President Joe Biden indicated last month federal regulators were working to address "junk fees" tacked onto things like entrainment and travel.

☆ Watch live: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland names Trump special counsel for criminal probes
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

[The stream is slated to start at 2:15 p.m. Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.] A special counsel is expected to be named Friday by Attorney General Merrick Garland to determine whether criminal charges should be filed against former President Donald Trump. The announcement is being made days after Trump said he would run for the White House again in 2024. Garland was appointed to his post by President Joe Biden, who well could be Trump's election opponent.

☆ Attorney General Merrick Garland is naming a special counsel to take over investigations involving Donald Trump
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( C. Ryan Barber | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Attorney General Merrick Garland will appoint a special counsel to oversee criminal cases involving Trump. Garland appointed Jack Smith, a veteran federal prosecutor who has served since 2018 as chief prosecutor for the special court in The Hague. Smith's term as special counsel begins immediately. As special counsel, Smith will preside also preside over key aspects of the investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. His term as special counsel begins immediately.

☆ Fact check: Trump responds to special counsel news with debunked claim about Obama and the Bushes
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Daniel Dale | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

They took documents with them. As NARA explained in an August statement, Barack Obama did not take the presidential documents Trump claimed Obama had taken. Again, it was NARA that took the Bushes’ presidential documents to facilities that NARA managed near the future locations of their presidential libraries. Trump’s claim about a bowling alley and restaurantTrump’s suggestion that past presidents’ documents were stored in an insecure manner is also false. Bush’s presidential documents were temporarily stored, in College Station, Texas, was indeed a former bowling alley connected to a former Chinese restaurant.

Search resuls for: "Attorney General Merrick Garland"

25 mentions found