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CNN —Former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell testified Thursday before a grand jury investigating Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents. Grenell was subpoenaed to testify in special counsel Jack Smith’s ongoing criminal probe, according to a source familiar with the matter. While serving in the administration, Grenell embarked upon an effort to declassify documents that were of interest to Trump because the then-president believed they could delegitimize the Russia investigation. Grenell remained in Trump’s orbit even after the former president left office and has been seen at his Mar-a-Lago resort as recently as last week. Grenell has also commented publicly about Trump’s retention of classified documents and the former president’s still-unproven claims that the materials he kept had been declassified.

☆ Notable legal clouds that continue to hang over Donald Trump in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Dan Berman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels and says the probe by Bragg, a Democrat, is politically motivated. According to the lawsuit, the Trump Organization deceived lenders, insurers and tax authorities by inflating the value of his properties using misleading appraisals. A federal judge ruled that Trump and FBI Director Christopher Wray can be deposed for two hours each as part of the lawsuit. “What (Trump’s lawsuit) lacks in substance and legal support it seeks to substitute with length, hyperbole, and the settling of scores and grievances,” US District Judge Donald Middlebrooks wrote. Woodward later released “The Trump Tapes,” an audiobook featuring eight hours of raw interviews with Trump interspersed with the author’s commentary.

Special counsel Jack Smith’s probe has taken steps to obtain the testimony of former Vice President Mike Pence and former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. WASHINGTON—The special counsel investigating former President Donald Trump appears to have reached the advanced stages of his sweeping inquiry after a flurry of aggressive steps in recent weeks, some of which have set the stage for court fights that could take months to resolve. In recent days, special counsel Jack Smith’s office asked a federal judge to override Mr. Trump’s assertion of executive privilege to shield former Vice President Mike Pence from testifying before a grand jury about the former president’s efforts to stay in office after his 2020 election loss, people familiar with the effort said. Mr. Pence has vowed to mount his own challenge to the subpoena and take it as far as the Supreme Court.

☆ Howard Schultz declined Bernie Sanders’ request to testify before Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Dayun Park | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Howard Schultz has declined Bernie Sanders’ request to testify before Congress. While Starbucks Workers United has sought better pay and benefits, the company has apparently put efforts into retaliating against workers who tried to unionize. About 100 Starbucks stores across the U.S staged a three-day strike in December, following a one-day strike in November, to protest unfair labor practices. One of the main reasons Starbucks workers organized is to hold billionaire executives, like Schultz, accountable for their actions,” Starbucks Workers United said in a statement to CNN. A total of 338 Starbucks stores have voted to unionize since 2021, 282 have been certified across 36 states and 56 didn’t get certified.

Governors gathered in the nation’s capital in recent days for the National Governors Association winter meeting. And while they were focused on their jobs at hand, questions about the 2024 presidential race were unavoidable. Asked on Saturday if she would like to see Biden run again, Michigan Gov. At a Democratic Governors Association press conference on Thursday, a group of 11 governors echoed support for Biden’s potential re-election campaign. Spencer Cox also joined “Meet” and weighed in on the presidential race, saying he would like to see his party nominate a governor.

“If it’s a room of five people, Anita and Bob are two of them,” said a former White House aide, who asked to remain anonymous because the person was not authorized to speak on the record about White House business. The White House declined to comment for this piece. The group of White House aides that were looped in on the discovery immediately was slightly larger and included Dunn, this person said. “Whatever strategy they had has not served him well — the lack of transparency from November to January,” said a second former White House official. Bauer, who didn’t join the administration, has acted as a sounding board for White House lawyers on potential hires.

On other pages, they said he memorialized in writing some of his experiences or thoughts as vice president at the time. The number of notebooks Biden kept is large, according to the person familiar with the investigation, but they did not know the precise number. Trump and Biden’s possession of classified documents is the subject of separate special counsel investigations. Attorney General Merrick Garland has so far not named a special counsel to investigate Pence’s handling of classified documents. On Friday, Pence apologized for having classified documents in his possession and said he takes full responsibility for it.

☆ 'Bellyaching': Democratic unity defending Biden begins to see defections
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Peter Nicholas | Peter Nicholas Is Senior White House Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

WASHINGTON — A Democratic push to discredit the congressional Republicans who are launching a slew of investigations into President Joe Biden may be fracturing because of an unexpected obstacle: fellow Democrats. And former Vice President Mike Pence revealed this week that he, too, had discovered classified documents in his Indiana home. On Capitol Hill, House Republicans have opened an oversight inquiry into Biden’s handling of the records. (Both the White House and the Secret Service said they don’t keep such records for his personal residence.) The White House counsel’s office now has a communications arm to quickly respond to Republican allegations of presidential wrongdoing.

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.

☆ After criticism for silence, Biden White House takes questions on classified documents
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Peter Nicholas | Peter Nicholas Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

A White House official, Ian Sams, spoke to reporters Tuesday about documents dating back to Biden’s vice presidency — the first time the White House has solicited questions about the classified materials. Sams, a senior adviser to the White House Counsel’s office, said in the press briefing that because of an ongoing Justice Department investigation, the White House is limited in what it can responsibly disclose. At issue is whether the White House kept quiet about documents that had been stored improperly in hopes of sparing Biden the political fallout from such a disclosure. Biden’s personal attorneys found more classified documents while searching his home in Wilmington on Dec. 20. Yet the White House didn't acknowledge the found documents until a CBS News report earlier this month.

The White House and U.S. Secret Service said Monday they do not maintain visitor logs for President Joe Biden’s personal home in Wilmington, Del., a day after a top House Republican called for their release. “Like every President across decades of modern history, his personal residence is personal,” White House counsel’s office spokesman Ian Sams said in a statement. The White House acknowledged on Saturday that more pages with classified markings were discovered at Biden's Delaware home than had been previously disclosed. On Saturday, the White House said additional pages marked classified from the Obama administration were found at Biden’s Wilmington residence, in addition to the two batches that were previously disclosed earlier in the week. In a Sunday interview with CNN”s “State of the Union,” Comer was pressed why his committee was focused on Biden’s documents but not Trump’s.

Biden's special counsel, Richard Sauber, said he traveled to Biden's Wilmington home on Thursday to facilitate the handover to the Justice Department of a document with classified markings that was found there earlier. Aides previously found another batch of classified documents at his residence, and at a Washington think tank he was associated with. "How many more classified documents will they find at Joe Biden’s house?" "People know I take classified documents and classified material seriously." Republicans have sought to compare the investigation of Biden's handling of classified documents to the ongoing probe into how former President Donald Trump handled classified documents after his presidency.

☆ Classified documents from Biden's vice presidency found at think tank
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Steve Holland | Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Henry RomeroWASHINGTON (Reuters) -Classified documents from Joe Biden’s vice-presidential days were discovered in November by the U.S. president’s personal attorneys at a Washington think tank, a White House lawyer said on Monday. He added the White House was cooperating with the Justice Department and the National Archives. The Justice Department, the National Archives and the think tank did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sauber’s statement did not mention the number of the classified documents or what they contained or their level of classification. The Justice Department is separately probing former President Donald Trump’s handling of highly sensitive classified documents that he retained at his Florida resort after leaving the White House in January 2021.

☆ Jan. 6 committee highlights: Panel votes on criminal referrals for Trump and others
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Rebecca Shabad | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Jonathan-Allen-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +48 min

“By the time President Trump was preparing to give his speech, he and his advisors knew enough to cancel the rally. “Some have suggested that President Trump gave an order to have 10,000 troops ready for January 6th. On far-right groups drawing inspiration from Trump: Trump has not denied that he helped inspire far-right groups, including the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, to violently attempt to obstruct the official certification proceedings on Jan. 6. "There is no question from all the evidence assembled that President Trump did have that intent." Share this -Link copiedInside the final Jan. 6 committee meeting The Jan. 6 committee met for what’s likely its final public meeting, with many of the usual faces present.

☆ Jan. 6 committee live updates: Panel votes on criminal referrals for Trump and others
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Summer Concepcion | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Summer-Concepcion-Byline-Jm.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +42 min

Committee details Trump allies' efforts to obstruct its investigation In its report summary, the committee detailed some of the efforts to obstruct its investigation. On far-right groups drawing inspiration from Trump: Trump has not denied that he helped inspire far-right groups, including the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, to violently attempt to obstruct the official certification proceedings on Jan. 6. "There is no question from all the evidence assembled that President Trump did have that intent." Share this -Link copiedInside the final Jan. 6 committee meeting The Jan. 6 committee met for what’s likely its final public meeting, with many of the usual faces present. The committee will likely reveal Eastman’s referrals during Monday’s meeting, in addition to expected criminal referrals for Trump.

☆ Biden and Senate Democrats set to close out historic two years in judicial confirmations, pledging more
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Phil Mattingly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Biden and Senate Democrats, even while holding the barest of majorities, confirmed 97 Article III judges over the last two years, including a Supreme Court justice, 28 circuit court judges and 68 district court judges, according to White House data obtained by CNN. “You can be sure that judges will remain a top priority in the Congress to come,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. For Biden and other Democrats, the filling of federal judicial openings took on a new level of significance in the wake of the historically successful push by former President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans. While a Senate rule change easing the pathway to confirmation rapidly accelerated McConnell’s efforts in Trump’s final two years, the pace Biden and Senate Democrats have maintained make clear what officials continue to pledge will be followed by action: that judicial nominations will remain a top priority. Biden’s senior team and counsel’s office tightly coordinated with their Senate counterparts throughout first two years to prioritize the efforts.

Smith takes over a staff that’s already nearly twice the size of Robert Mueller’s team of lawyers who worked on the Russia probe. Smith will also take on national security investigators already working the probe into the potential mishandling of federal records taken to Mar-a-Lago after Trump left the White House. Those lawyers maintain the former president is unlikely to be indicted, according to two sources familiar. Special Counsel Robert Mueller makes a statement about the Russia investigation on May 29, 2019 at the Justice Department in Washington, DC. Trump allies have consistently maintained that nothing Trump did related to the election and January 6 itself amounts to a crime.

☆ There is a growing shadow campaign to defend Joe Biden from House Republicans
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Alex-Seitz-Wald-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Alex Seitz-Wald | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Three new "war rooms" have sprung up in the past two weeks to combat the House Republican investigations, each backed by multimillion-dollar dark money budgets and some of the best-known operatives in the Democratic Party. Every White House has faced congressional investigations. The White House itself has been preparing for months for the barrage of inquiries, adding both legal and public relations firepower to the White House Counsel’s Office, which is quarterbacking its effort, and encouraging federal agencies to take similar moves. And the White House prefers to stay above the political fray, anyway. I also think it’s the story of Joe Biden as an empathetic father.”

☆ 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.

☆ Godiva accused of post-settlement meddling with claims in Belgium chocolate class action
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Alison Frankel | Thomson Reuters | Alison Frankel Has Covered High-Stakes Commercial Litigation As A Columnist For Reuters Since A Dartmouth College Graduate | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

At issue is the settlement claims process, funded by Godiva and executed by Kroll Notice Media Solutions. According to class counsel, Godiva recently directed Kroll “to conduct several additional rounds of review” of class claims that had already been validated. Adding to the intrigue: In September, class counsel told Preska that Godiva had informed them that the company did not have enough money to pay class members. It's also rare, Frank said, for class counsel to ask a judge to get involved in the post-settlement claims administration process. Read more:State AGs, objectors hoist red flags in proposed Godiva class actionOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ DC Attorney General sues Washington Commanders, owner Dan Snyder and NFL for deceiving residents
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Jessica Schneider Eric Levenson David Close Jacob Lev | Jessica Schneider | Eric Levenson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —DC Attorney General Karl Racine announced a lawsuit against embattled Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder, the team and the NFL on Thursday, alleging they colluded to deceive DC residents about an NFL investigation into the team’s toxic workplace culture and allegations of sexual assault. The lawsuit cites the District of Columbia’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act, which gives the Attorney General broad authority to hold individuals or a company accountable for misleading customers. At the same time, Snyder and the team tried to interfere with and obstruct the investigation, the lawsuit states. The Attorney General said the penalties could run into the millions of dollars. Robinson’s agent Ryan Williams tweeted his displeasure with the Commanders’ statement on Wednesday night.

As in Danchenko’s trial, Durham failed to convict Sussmann of making false statements to the FBI. And therein lies the reason underlying Durham’s losing trial record. On Monday, during Durham’s closing argument against Danchenko, the special prosecutor made a point of rebuking the FBI’s 2016 investigation. The Hartford Courant reported her concern about “pressure from Barr ... to produce results before the election.”Durham, however, stuck with Barr. And Barr’s energetic attempts after Jan. 6 to rehabilitate his image cannot erase his sad final legacy as a Trump enabler.

☆ Analyst who provided Trump-Russia dossier information acquitted of lying to FBI
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Julia Jester | Julia Jester Is A Producer For Nbc News Based In Washington | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Prosecutors alleged Danchenko provided false information to the FBI in 2017 when the agency was trying to verify information in a dossier detailing Trump’s alleged ties to Russia that was compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele. The largely unsubstantiated dossier was used by the FBI to support its surveillance of former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. Millian has denied being a source of information for the dossier. When asked by the FBI whether he had talked to Dolan for the information, Danchenko said he had not. Trump had called the dossier fake news and evidence of a political witch hunt against him.

☆ The podcast 'Serial' got Adnan Syed conviction vacated. But injustices continue
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Andrey Spektor | Maryclaire Kennedy | Andrey Spektor Is A Litigation Partner At Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

It also shed light on the deficient representation Syed received from his counsel, who was disbarred just a year after Syed’s conviction. A judge in Maryland granted Syed a new trial, and an appellate court upheld that decision. It agreed that the performance of Syed’s trial counsel in investigating the case was unacceptable but concluded that the proof presented against Syed at trial was too strong for that deficiency to have made a difference. They have the right to see the prosecutors’ evidence before trial and to confront their witnesses in court. For convicted defendants like Syed, journalists are often the only remaining hope.

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