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☆ Trump claims clemency requests taken by FBI from Mar-a-Lago should be returned to him
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | 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 — Former President Donald Trump is claiming clemency requests that he received while serving in the White House as well as other documents seized by the FBI from Mar-a-Lago related to immigration initiatives are his property and should be returned to him. "For its part, the government categorizes those nine documents as presidential records," the DOJ lawyers wrote to Dearie. The letter to Dearie didn't provide specific details about those documents, such as who made the clemency requests. The federal government argued that the nine documents do not belong to Trump and are presidential records that should not be returned to him. The lawyers also rejected Trump's argument that personal records were taken by the FBI when they searched his Florida estate.

☆ Judge says Trump knew his voter fraud numbers were false, orders ex-lawyer to give more emails to Jan. 6 committee
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | Dareh Gregorian | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

In his order, Judge David Carter found Eastman should hand over eight documents under the "crime-fraud exception" to attorney-client and attorney work privileges. But, the judge said, Trump signed off on the suit, "swearing under oath" that the numbers were correct, anyway. Nevertheless, the judge noted, "Trump and his attorneys ultimately filed the complaint with the same inaccurate numbers without rectifying, clarifying, or otherwise changing them. Andy Cross / The Denver Post via Getty Images file“The emails show that President Trump knew that the specific numbers of voter fraud were wrong but continued to tout those numbers, both in court and to the public, the judge ruled. The Jan. 6 committee, which has prominently featured Eastman in its hearings, had subpoenaed Eastman's emails from his former workplace, Chapman University.

☆ Taxpayers group asks Supreme Court to block Biden's student debt relief program
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | 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 — A Wisconsin organization promoting taxpayers' rights asked the Supreme Court Wednesday to halt implementation of President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness program, just two days after the administration began accepting online applications for debt relief from borrowers. The Brown County Taxpayers Association filed the request for emergency relief arguing that Biden's program would cost U.S. taxpayers more than $1 trillion and that it circumvents Congress, which controls federal spending. "The blow to the United States Treasury and taxpayers will be staggering — perhaps costing more than one trillion dollars. If this program goes forward as planned on Sunday, then the President will unilaterally spend roughly 4% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product," the emergency application said. The emergency application was addressed to Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who oversees the 7th Circuit where the group is based.

A contractor works on a crude oil pipeline at the U.S. Department of Energy's Bryan Mound Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Freeport, Texas, in 2016. There are now about 400 million barrels of crude oil left in the SPR. Since its establishment, only three presidents other than Biden have directed the sale of oil from the petroleum reserve, while exchanges have been more common. Barack Obama directed the release of 30 million barrels in 2011 to offset supply disruptions caused by Libya’s civil war; in 2005, George W. Bush released 11 million barrels to help refiners hurt by Hurricane Katrina; and in 1991, George H.W. Bush released 17 million barrels in response to the Gulf War.

☆ Fetterman 'has no work restrictions,' but auditory processing issues continue, doctor says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | 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

Fetterman, who is Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor, saw his doctor, Clifford Chen, on Friday. The doctor also said Fetterman's "speech was normal and he continues to exhibit symptoms of an auditory processing disorder which can come across as hearing difficulty. Governor Fetterman is well and shows strong commitment to maintaining good fitness and health practices. He has no work restrictions and can work full duty in public office," Chen wrote. The Democratic lieutenant governor recently spoke with NBC News about the race and his recovery.

WASHINGTON — An ex-police officer "betrayed" his sworn oath by warning a fellow Donald Trump supporter who entered the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 to remove his Facebook content about the attack, a federal prosecutor told a jury Tuesday. Afterward, Riley told Hiles he would give him a tour of the Capitol next time. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Dohrmann told jurors Tuesday that "there was nothing legal or funny about what happened at the Capitol on Jan. "He was duped" by Hiles, Macchiaroli said. "He made a mistake, he had a lapse in judgment," Macchiaroli added, arguing that Riley didn't intend to obstruct a federal grand jury.

Dolan has not pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy, but three other Oath Keepers have. Dolan testified Tuesday that before the Jan. 6 attack, he was drinking — often alone and in his garage — and getting sucked into online conspiracy theories. "I think my biggest trouble is trying to convince myself to say good bye," Dolan wrote in the message to other Florida Oath Keepers. Five members of the Oath Keepers, including Rhodes, are on trial for seditious conspiracy. The government introduced photos of Dolan entering the Capitol, and Dolan testified that he was chanting “treason!” along with other members of the pro-Trump mob.

WASHINGTON — The White House on Monday criticized former President Donald Trump for telling American Jews over the weekend to "get their act together" and "appreciate" Israel "before it is too late." Speaking at a press briefing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Trump’s comments on his Truth Social website were "antisemitic" and "insulting" both to "Jews and to our Israeli allies." "For years now, Donald Trump has aligned with extremist and antisemitic figures," she added. "He has been invoking antisemitic tropes for years about Jewish power, about Jewish greed, about dual loyalty." The White House has in the past been reluctant to respond directly to inflammatory comments from the former president.

☆ Biden administration officially opens application for student debt cancelation
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Lauren-Egan-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Lauren Egan | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Monday that the online application to receive student debt cancelation is now available. In a speech at the White House, Biden said that it takes less than five minutes to fill out the form. President Joe Biden speaks about the student debt relief portal beta test in Washington on Oct. 17, 2022. Brendan Smialowski / AFP - Getty ImagesAfter promising for months to take action on student debt, Biden announced in August that he would cancel up to $10,000 for many borrowers who earned less than $125,000 in the 2020 or 2021 tax years. The Biden administration is also facing several legal challenges to its student debt relief plan, which threaten to delay or derail its efforts.

☆ DOJ asks federal judge to sentence Steve Bannon to 6 months in prison, $200K fine
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | 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 — The Department of Justice asked a federal judge Monday to sentence former Trump adviser Steve Bannon to six months in prison and a fine of $200,000 for contempt of Congress. The memo said that Bannon, who served as an adviser to former President Donald Trump, "deserves severe punishment" for his actions. A jury found Bannon guilty in July on two counts of contempt of Congress for blowing off the House Jan. 6 committee. Bannon surrendered to federal authorities over the charges in Nov. 2021 after he was indicted by a federal grand jury. Bannon provided informal advice to Trump and his team after the 2020 election and ahead of the Jan. 6 riot.

The Justice Department on Friday asked a federal appeals court to vacate an order appointing a special master to review documents seized during the FBI's search of former President Donald Trump's Florida estate — and to throw out Trump's legal challenge altogether. The 11th Circuit also blocked the special master and Trump's lawyers from being able to review those classified documents, citing the DOJ's national security concerns. The Justice Department also said that Trump's team has not provided any evidence the documents were wrongly seized or that the former president has any need for their return. Trump's team is scheduled to file its response in the case on Nov. 10. Trump's team had sought to allow the special master, federal Judge Raymond Dearie, to review the more than 100 documents taken from Mar-a-Lago that were marked classified.

☆ Congress asks Secret Service for account of contacts with Oath Keepers up to and on Jan. 6, 2021
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julia-Ainsley-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Julia Ainsley | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The House Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection has asked the Secret Service for records of all communications between the far-right Oath Keepers group and Secret Service agents prior to and on the day of the attack, after a preliminary accounting by the agency indicated multiple contacts in 2020, according to a Secret Service spokesman. “Following the (Oath Keepers) trial, the committee reached out to the Secret Service and a verbal briefing as provided to staff, which was specific to the comments made at trial,” said Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. The Washington Post first reported an agent from the protective intelligence division was in communication with the Oath Keepers prior to Jan. 6, 2021. Two Secret Service officials told NBC News once the Oath Keepers had the phone number of the member of the agency’s protective intelligence detail, they made numerous calls directly to that agent. But regular contact with a militia type group like Oath Keepers, especially if treating them as a legitimate security partner, raises lots of concerns.”

☆ FBI official was warned after Jan. 6 that some in the bureau were 'sympathetic' to the Capitol rioters
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Ryan J. Reilly | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dilanianmug.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

The next month, he was named deputy director, the highest-ranking official under FBI Director Christopher Wray. But sources close to the investigation have told NBC News that there have been some special agents in the country who have resisted Jan. 6 cases. Many special agents have been very proactive, while others in various field offices have engaged in half-hearted investigative efforts and seem content to let things peter out, the sources said. After receiving support from 30 former FBI special agents, Friend joined Trump’s Truth Social platform this week, where he was welcomed by Kyle Seraphin, another suspended FBI special agent who joined Truth Social and did an interview with conservative firebrand Dan Bongino after his suspension. A tip the FBI received about the Proud Boys ahead of Jan. 6, highlighted by the committee, was even starker.

Pelosi's daughter, documentary filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi, captured the moment and many others on Jan. 6 in footage shot for HBO and first obtained by CNN. "Tell him if he comes here, we’re going to the White House," the speaker jokes, reacting to Trump's speech at the White House ellipse earlier in the day. The video at the hearing also showed Pelosi speaking to Virginia Gov. The footage also showed Pelosi speaking to Vice President Mike Pence by phone two separate times that day about how they could resume the certification of the 2020 election results. Pelosi and Trump had a highly strained relationship throughout his presidency, which included the moment in 2019 when she and other Democratic leaders walked out of a White House meeting with Trump after he had what Pelosi described as a "meltdown."

☆ Oz says he supports Biden on marijuana pardons and opposes federal mandatory minimum prison sentences
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Dasha Burns | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Jonathan-Allen-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

PHILADELPHIA — Mehmet Oz opposes federal mandatory minimum prison sentences and thinks President Joe Biden made a “rational move” by announcing a broad pardon for certain marijuana users, Oz, the Republican Senate nominee in Pennsylvania, said Thursday in an exclusive interview with NBC News. Oz said he supports Biden’s decision to clear the records of ex-convicts who were in federal prison solely on charges of simple marijuana possession, a rare area of agreement with Biden and Fetterman. “I really think judges should be empowered to make the difficult decisions, and they generally do it well,” Oz said. On abortion, Oz reiterated that he opposes the procedure except in cases of rape, incest or risk to the life of the woman. “Being released from prison, especially if you’ve been sentenced to life in prison, it’s a whole different game,” he said.

☆ Jan. 6 committee shows video footage of congressional leaders pleading for help during attack
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

WASHINGTON — The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection presented previously unseen video Thursday of congressional leaders pleading for help from governors, the acting secretary of defense and the acting attorney general as rioters attacked the Capitol. The video montage began with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., walking through the Capitol flanked by security guards at 2:23 p.m. The video from Thursday's hearing shows Pelosi and other congressional leaders repeatedly asking for help from law enforcement. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Democratic Senate whip, appeared in another clip with leaders. "What we are being told very directly is it’s going to take days for the Capitol to be OK again," Pelosi told Pence.

WASHINGTON — The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol plans to vote to subpoena former President Donald Trump, sources familiar with the committee's plans told NBC News Thursday. On his way to the hearing, Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., told reporters the panel had not yet ruled out a subpoena for Trump. He said at the start of the hearing that the committee would take a vote "based on new evidence." Thursday's hearing would once again place Trump at the center of plans to overturn the election, ultimately leading to the violence on Jan. 6, committee Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said in her opening statement. Several sitting and former presidents and vice presidents have also testified before congressional committees, including Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson and Gerald R. Ford.

“We’re going to bring a focus, particular focus, on the former president’s state of mind and his involvement in these events as they unfolded,” a committee aide said. Ginni Thomas, who advocated for Trump to remain in power, embraces the lie that the 2020 election was stolen. “What we’re going to be doing is taking a step back,” the aide said of Thursday’s hearing. The panel is working under a time crunch as it gathers and publicizes evidence prior to issuing a final report. If Republicans win control of the House in November’s elections, as most prognosticators predict, the committee will be disbanded in January.

☆ A Trump employee told the FBI that the former president ordered staff to move boxes of documents at Mar-a-Lago
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dilanianmug.Jpg | Ken Dilanian | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

One of Donald Trump's employees told FBI agents the former president ordered boxes of documents at Mar-a-Lago to be moved before federal agents searched the property, according to a source familiar with the matter. The source also told NBC News that the FBI obtained security video showing people moving boxes out of a storage room at Trump's Florida estate. When reached by NBC News, the FBI and Justice Department declined to comment. But the witness’ account suggests that the boxes were moved to Trump’s private residence at Mar-a-Lago after the subpoena was issued. She said that Trump officials added a lock to the facility and that FBI agents broke the lock when they searched the property.

The Jan. 6 committee's ninth and likely final investigative hearing Thursday will feature new testimony and evidence, including Secret Service records and surveillance video. ET, will not include any live witnesses, a committee aide said. All nine committee members are expected to lead segments of the hearing. That’s a departure from this summer when each of the eight hearings featured only a few panel members at a time. Part of the committee's charge is to issue legislative recommendations to prevent another Jan. 6 attack, and some panel members Thursday will present on the ongoing threats to democracy that remain.

The Oath Keeper, Terry Cummings, testified that there were "a lot of firearms cases" in the hotel room when he dropped off his weapon at the Comfort Inn in Arlington, Virginia, on Jan. 5, 2021. Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes is on trial for seditious conspiracy alongside four other Oath Keeper associates: Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins and Thomas Caldwell. Another Oath Keeper previously told the court that Rhodes tried unsuccessfully to reach Trump on the night of Jan. 6. He said he was aware of the strict gun laws in Washington, D.C., and saw no Oath Keepers carrying guns in the city on the day of the riot. Under cross examination, Cummings said multiple times that he never heard of any plans for the Oath Keepers to enter the Capitol.

☆ Biden says Supreme Court is 'more of an advocacy group' than 'evenhanded'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | 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 — President Joe Biden on Tuesday issued his most pointed criticism of the Supreme Court yet, describing the high court as "more of an advocacy group these days" than "evenhanded." "The Supreme Court is more of an advocacy group these days than it is ... evenhanded about it," Biden said when speaking about the upcoming midterm elections on Nov. 8. Biden's comments come several months after the Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 decision that made abortions legal nationwide. Republican leaders changed the Senate rules in 2017, lowering the threshold to confirm Supreme Court nominees from 60 votes to 51 and allowing then-President Donald Trump to put three justices on the high court. Biden this year nominated his first Supreme Court justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson — the first Black woman on the court.

☆ Fetterman says his stroke recovery 'changes everything,' but that he’s fit to serve as senator
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Dasha Burns | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Jonathan-Allen-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +10 min

During the interview, Fetterman occasionally stuttered and had trouble finding words. Tune in to “Nightly News with Lester Holt” at 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT for more of our interview with Fetterman. “It changes everything,” Fetterman said, responding to a question about how his recovery has changed his day-to-day. “If you’re going to be our next senator, you have to give the answer,” said Fetterman, who opposes the Graham legislation. Oz has criticized Fetterman for agreeing to just one debate — and accused his rival of hiding from voters during the stroke recovery.

WASHINGTON — Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii announced Tuesday that she's leaving the Democratic Party because she said it's "now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness." Gabbard said that the Democratic Party stands for a government of, by and for the "powerful elite" and called on her fellow "independent-minded Democrats" to leave the party as well. Though Gabbard ran for the Democratic nomination for president in the 2020 cycle, she has often questioned where the party has stood on various issues and has criticized Democratic leaders. She served in the House from 2013 to 2021 and as the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2013 to 2016. Since her White House run, Gabbard has frequently appeared as a political commentator on Fox News, where she has mostly railed against Democrats.

☆ NAACP denounces 'flat out racist' remarks by GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville at Trump rally
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | 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 — Leaders of major civil rights organizations on Monday condemned Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., for suggesting at a Trump rally over the weekend that descendants of Black slaves are criminals in remarks about reparations. "Senator Tuberville’s comments are flat out racist, ignorant and utterly sickening," NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement. As a speaker at former President Donald Trump's rally Saturday in Minden, Nevada, Tuberville called Democrats "soft on crime" and "pro-crime." National Urban League President Marc H. Morial on Monday called Tuberville's comments "bigoted" and "stunning." A request for comment was not immediately returned by Tuberville’s Senate office.

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