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☆ Milley says the military doesn’t swear oath to a ‘wannabe dictator’ in apparent swipe at Trump
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Katie Bo Lillis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“We don’t take an oath to a country, we don’t take an oath to a tribe, we don’t take an oath to a religion. We don’t take an oath to a king, or a queen, or a tyrant or a dictator.”“And we don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator,” he spat. Milley, who was in uniform, later apologized publicly for “creat[ing] a perception of the military involved in domestic politics.” The apology outraged Trump. Their relationship became even more contentious in the wake of the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. We will take appropriate measures to ensure my safety and the safety of my family.”

Persons: Mark Milley, Donald Trump, Milley, ”, “, ” Milley, Trump, George Floyd, CQ Brown, Sen, Dianne Feinstein, Kevin McCarthy, Trump “, ” –, Bob Woodward, Robert Costa’s, ” Trump, “ I’ve Organizations: CNN, America, ’, Corps, Princeton, Trump, Capitol, Army, US, National Military Command Center, Pentagon, CBS Locations: Lafayette, United States, “, American, Beijing, China

WASHINGTON (AP) — With a government shutdown five days away, Congress is moving into crisis mode as Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces an insurgency from hard-right Republicans eager to slash spending even if it means curtailing federal services for millions of Americans. Against the mounting chaos, President Joe Biden warned the Republican conservatives off their hardline tactics, saying funding the federal government is “one of the most basic fundamental responsibilities of Congress." Political Cartoons View All 1179 Images“We made a deal, we shook hands, and said this is what we’re going to do. With five days to go before Saturday's deadline, the turmoil is unfolding as House Republicans hold their first Biden impeachment inquiry hearing this week probing the business dealings of his son, Hunter Biden. With just days remaining before a shutdown, several of the holdouts say they will never vote for any stopgap measure to fund the government as they push for Congress to engage in the full-scale debate.

Persons: Kevin McCarthy, it's, McCarthy, Joe Biden, Biden, reneging, ” Biden, “, ”, Donald Trump, retakes, Hunter Biden, ” Trump, ” McCarthy, Let’s, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Trump, Ken Buck, Buck, he's, ” Buck, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Matt Gaetz, ” Gatez, “ I’m, McCarthy “, Seung Min Kim, Kevin Freking, Mary Clare Jalonick Organizations: WASHINGTON, Senate, Republicans, Trump, Biden, Capitol, Defense, Homeland Security, Agriculture, Foreign, Republican, Democratic, Ukraine, Washington, Russia, Fox, White, Office of Management, Budget, Associated Press Locations: Ukraine, U.S, “, State, Florida

☆ Democrats plan to track and corner Republican 2024 candidates on Trump
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Jarrett Renshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a 2024 presidential campaign rally in Dubuque, Iowa, U.S. September 20, 2023. Democrats are hoping to exploit what they see as a structural weakness for Republicans in battleground states in 2024: any Republican candidate who criticizes Trump risks losing the party's Trump-loving voter base. But they believe any Republican who doesn't condemn Trump risks losing more moderate Republicans and independent voters they need to beat a Democrat. Republican party officials say Democrats' time would be better spent worrying about their own presidential candidate Joe Biden's popularity. "The amount of damage Trump has done to the Republican Party in the suburbs is extraordinary.

Persons: Donald Trump, Scott Morgan, Representative Don Bacon, Donald Trump's, hadn't, Bacon, Joe Biden, Trump, party's, doesn't, Jennifer Holdsworth, Joe Biden's, It's, Emma Vaughn, Pat Dennis, Dennis, That's, Biden, Dave McCormick, Bob Casey Jr, McCormick, Dave, Jarrett Renshaw, Heather Timmons, Alistair Bell Organizations: U.S, Republican, REUTERS, Rights, Republican U.S, Representative, White, Democratic, Trump, Democrat, Republicans, Democrats, Reuters, Republican National Committee, Pennsylvania Democrats, Democratic Party, Republican Party, Pennsylvania, Thomson Locations: Dubuque , Iowa, U.S, Nebraska, Arizona, Afghanistan, North Carolina , Arizona, Pennsylvania

CNN —Former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro goes on trial Tuesday as the second ex-aide to former President Donald Trump to be prosecuted for criminal contempt of Congress. With the judge finding that Trump did not make a formal invocation of privilege, Navarro will be severely limited in the defenses he can put in front of the jury. It declined to prosecute former Trump White House officials Mark Meadows and Dan Scavino, who were also subpoenaed by the committee and referred by the House to the Justice Department for contempt. Navarro told reporters outside the courthouse last week that his legal bills, including appeals of the case, would exceed $1 million. This is the same suit I wore in 2017 going into the White House,” he said.

Persons: Peter Navarro, Donald Trump, Navarro, Trump, Steve Bannon, Bannon, Amit Mehta, ” Navarro, he’d, crosshairs Navarro, Jared Kushner, Mehta, Prosecutors, –, ” Mehta, Mark Meadows, Dan Scavino, ” Organizations: CNN, Former White House, US, Appeals, Justice Department, Trump, Trump White House, National Archives, Prosecutors Locations: Washington, DC, China, Navarro’s

☆ Trump says Jack Smith has given him 4 days to appear in front of the January 6 grand jury
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Special counsel Jack Smith has been looking into the lead up before the Capitol riot. The former president said he has been given less than a week to appear before Smith's grand jury. "Deranged Jack Smith, the prosecutor with Joe Biden's DOJ, sent a letter (again, it was Sunday night!) stating that I am a TARGET of the January 6 Grand Jury investigation, and giving me a very short 4 days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an Arrest and Indictment." When Smith sent a target letter to Trump about his alleged mishandling of classified evidence, the former president declined to appear before the grand jury.

Persons: Trump, Jack Smith, Donald Trump, HUNT, Joe Biden's, Smith, Mike Pence, Mark Meadows, Pence Organizations: Service, Trump, Joe Biden's DOJ, White House, Republican Locations: Wall, Silicon, Florida

☆ Fox News pays $12 million to former producer who accused the network of rampant sexism
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Fox News will pay $12 million to settle a pair of major lawsuits brought by former producer Abby Grossberg, her lawyer said Friday. The settlement marks the fourth case Fox and its owners have put to an end this year, including the blockbuster Dominion defamation case, where the network paid out a whopping $787 million. In addition to the Dominion saga, Grossberg claimed that she suffered through a treacherous onslaught of workplace sexism and rampant misogyny. According to the lawsuits, Grossberg witnessed flagrant use of the C-word, male colleagues openly debating which female politicians were “more f–kable,” and was asked uncomfortable sexual questions. Fox News aggressively rebutted these claims while Grossberg’s lawsuits were pending.

Persons: CNN —, Abby Grossberg, Grossberg, Tucker Carlson, “, ” Grossberg, ”, Grossberg’s, Maria Bartiromo, “ Tucker Carlson, —, Jack Smith, Carlson, Jesse Watters, Gerry Filippatos Organizations: CNN, CNN — Fox, Fox, Systems, Fox News, Network, ” CNN, Bartiromo, Trump Locations: New York, Delaware

☆ Exclusive: Former White House official told federal prosecutors Trump knew of proper declassification process and followed it while in office
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Zachary Cohen Paula Reid | Zachary Cohen | Paula Reid | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

During those voluntary interviews, the former official told CNN there was a distinct difference in the line of questioning from prosecutors in the two probes. Speaking to CNN on condition of anonymity, the former official said he told federal prosecutors that Trump knew the proper process for declassifying documents and followed it correctly at times while in office. Sources previously told CNN that Trump’s team returned some materials but not the document pertaining to Iran. “Nothing approaching an order that foolish was ever given,” Kelly told CNN. Most recently, Trump told CNN at a town hall that materials were “automatically declassified” when he took them.

Persons: Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Trump, Biden, Trump’s, ‘, John Eisenberg, Eisenberg, “, Don McGahn, John Kelly, McGahn, Jack Smith, Donald Trump's Mar, Kelly, ” Kelly, Mark Meadows, Jack Smith’s, Meadows, Robert O’Brien, O’Brien, National Intelligence Richard Grenell, Robert Hur, Hur, Kathy Chung, empaneled, Mike Pence’s Organizations: Washington CNN, White House, CNN, Trump, Obama, Mar, The Justice Department, National Security Council, White, National Archives, Department of Justice, Trump’s, Trump’s Mar, Prosecutors, National Intelligence, Biden Locations: Delaware, Russia, Iran, Lago

☆ Exclusive: Special Counsel investigating Trump set to receive 16 records showing he knew process to properly declassify documents
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Jamie Gangel Zachary Cohen Evan Perez Paula Reid | Jamie Gangel | Zachary Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Trump and his allies have insisted that as president, Trump did not have to follow a specific process to declassify documents. The 16 records may help federal investigators overcome a significant obstacle to a potential prosecution of the former president. The special counsel was also given access to other records not challenged by the Trump team. Ultimately, the special counsel identified the 16 records in question as relevant to the grand jury investigation. “You have the Presidential Records Act.

☆ Jack Smith is investigating the Trump White House meeting with Sidney Powell where a plan to seize voting machines was discussed: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Special Counsel Jack Smith is investigating a December 2020 meeting at the Trump White House, per CNN. At the meeting, participants, including Sidney Powell, discussed a plan to seize voting machines. Of particular interest to Smith is a December 18, 2020 meeting at the White House where Trump was joined by attorney Sidney Powell, who was falsely claiming that electronic voting machines were hacked by foreign adversaries, sources told CNN. Flynn, prior to the meeting, had for weeks been pushing the idea of seizing voting machines, arguing that Trump could unilaterally demand it be done. O'Brien told prosecutors that he "had made clear there was no evidence of foreign interference affecting voting machines," according to the outlet.

☆ Inside a shake-up at the world's 'most feared law firm'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Casey Sullivan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +30 min

It's been a tumultuous period for Quinn and the storied law firm he built over the past 37 years — now the world's largest litigation firm with hourly rates that can be north of $2,000. But behind the scenes, a shift at QE has been the talk of elite law firm circles. Indeed, the firm – known as a singular, even freewheeling, institution that brands itself as the "#1 Most Feared Law Firm in the World" — may appear to be less in the image of its founder as a generational shift brings changes. "We all thought it was important that the world understands this is not a one generation law firm." One former firm partner in California says he believes Quinn's inner circle generally got better deals.

☆ Trump was once so annoyed that Jimmy Kimmel was making fun of him that he ordered White House staff to call Disney to complain, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Then-President Donald Trump urged White House staff to complain to Disney about Jimmy Kimmel. In 2018, Trump's aides called a top Disney executive on at least two occasions, per Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone was the first to report that Trump directed aides in 2018 to call the late Disney lobbyist Richard Bates on at least two occasions because of his frustrations over gags on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Trump felt that Kimmel had been "very dishonest" and had been saying things that he would have "once sued over," according to a senior unnamed official, per Rolling Stone. "Nobody thought it was going to change anything but DJT was focused on it so we had to do something," another source told Rolling Stone.

☆ Biden aides briefed former Trump officials on the Chinese spy balloon intrusions the ex-president has claimed never happened
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Biden administration has briefed key former Trump administration officials on China's spy balloons. "It never happened with us under the Trump administration and if it did, we would have shot it down immediately," he said on Sunday. He referenced "recent balloon/"object" incidents," but nothing from the Trump administration. During a February 6 briefing, Kirby told reporters that the Chinese surveillance balloons transited US airspace "for brief periods of time" during the Trump administration. Biden officials reached out to key officials from the Trump administration to offer briefings on the forensics they did.

☆ Trump's 2020 presidential campaign hired a research firm to probe the results for election fraud but found no evidence, with the findings kept away from the public: WaPo
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Trump campaign commissioned a firm to probe the 2020 election, but researchers came up empty, per The WaPo. Roughly a dozen people at the Berkeley Research Group were part of a team analyzing Trump's claims. The research didn't deliver what the Trump campaign sought and the findings were kept undisclosed. The Trump campaign envisioned using evidence from the report to bolster the then-president's claims in the public arena and in court. An individual with knowledge of the findings told The Post that the Trump team pushed for at least a dozen hypotheses to be tested.

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.

While there is still much that is not known about the Biden documents, there are key differences between the two cases — as well as some similarities. Court papers show officials found classified documents in 14 of the 15 boxes, including 25 that were marked top secret. Justice Department investigationIn both cases, the Archives reported the discovery of classified documents to the Department of Justice. The FBI then learned Trump had not fully complied with the subpoena and still had more classified documents. McQuade posted on Twitter that the Justice Department prosecutes the mishandling of classified documents when there is an aggravating factor present.

☆ Jared Kushner blocked Biden's access to COVID-19 planning in the final days of the Trump era, former aide says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Jared Kushner denied Biden's team access to COVID-19 plans in late 2020, a former aide said. Kushner said Biden's team should "absolutely not" be looped in, claimed Alyssa Farah Griffin. "Jared just said, 'Absolutely not,'" Farah Griffin told the panel. Biden officials complained at the time that the Trump administration was refusing them access to COVID-19 data in the weeks after the election. In the same speech, Biden pressed the Trump administration to provide more details about the allocation of COVID-19 vaccinations.

☆ How to watch the final House January 6 committee hearing on the Capitol attack
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Grace Panetta | Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack is holding its last public meeting. The panel has held nine public hearings since the beginning of June. The committee held nine blockbuster public hearings, including one in primetime, over the course of the last seven months. Here's when and how to watch the hearings:When are the next January 6 Committee hearings? And that even though he knew full well he had lost the election, Trump fought it anyway because he was embarrassed about losing Biden.

Trump tried to convince Vos that the ruling should apply retroactively, which Vos informed him was not possible. The speaker's refusal to attempt to throw out the election results led Trump to campaign against his re-election. Vos was previously criticized by Wisconsin Democrats for appropriating close to $700,000 to investigate the state’s 2020 election results. The House committee has held a series of interviews with former Trump officials in recent weeks. The panel is not expected to continue beyond January, when Republicans take control of the House.

☆ Trump's White House blocked government websites aimed at helping Americans vote, fighting human trafficking, easing homelessness, and stopping fraud, federal records show
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Dave Levinthal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Federal agencies asked the Trump White House to approve dozens of new ".gov" websites. Such custom ".gov" website domains enhance government agencies' ability to effectively provide and market services to an American public that's all but universally connected to the internet. On December 23, 2019, the CIA asked Trump's White House to approve the website domain DataTransport.gov. Chiu/APBlock and delayIn at least one case, Trump's White House denied a website request — the United States Agency for International Development-sponsored ProsperAfrica.gov — that Biden's White House later approved. In March 2021, Office Management and Budget officials denied Insider's FOIA request, stating that "no responsive records were located."

☆ Special Report: Voting-system firms battle right-wing rage against the machines
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Helen Coster | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +19 min

Across the country, election officials have received hundreds of threats or menacing messages that cite debunked conspiracies involving the machines. Some have alleged without evidence that Dominion machines were rigged in plots involving Chinese communists, Venezuelan socialists or Antifa, the loosely organized U.S. anti-fascist movement. Among those calling for Louisiana to ditch Dominion machines is the state’s Republican National Committeewoman, Lenar Whitney. Authorities in the heavily Republican state acknowledge that their aging Dominion machines, most of them bought in 2005, are outdated. Dominion machines remain in use in 14 of Nevada’s 17 counties.

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☆ White House chief of staff Ron Klain warned after Hatch Act violation flagged by former Trump official Stephen Miller
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain received a warning for violating the Hatch Act after he retweeted a political group's post from his government Twitter account. The Hatch Act prohibits government officials from using government resources for political activities. Miller was not the only member of the Trump administration to violate the Hatch Act during his time in office. Jean-Pierre herself is cautious about running afoul of the Hatch Act. She frequently reminds reporters from the White House briefing room podium that she cannot comment on political issues because of the act.

☆ 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.

☆ Pelosi, Schumer and McConnell huddled together in a secure location on January 6, calling Pence and Trump officials to help stop the violence
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Congressional leaders huddled together in a secure location on January 6, according to new footage. Pelosi, Schumer, McConnell and others had called Pence and national security officials for more support. Schumer, Pelosi, McConnell, and other congressional leaders also huddled to ask for help and updates from the Defense Department as the hours went by. And let me say, you can logistically get people there as you make the plan," Pelosi said on the phone. Other members of Congress seen in the footage include Republicans House Minority Whip Steve Scalise and Senate Minority Whip John Thune.

☆ Feds plan to call Leonardo DiCaprio and former Trump White House chief of staff John Kelly at trial of Fugees rapper Pras Michel
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( C. Ryan Barber | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Pras Michel, a founding member of the Fugees hip-hop group, is standing trial in DC next month. He's accused of illegally lobbying Trump officials to resolve an inquiry into the 1MDB scandal. In a court filing Sunday, prosecutors revealed a witness list that includes DiCaprio and top Trump administration officials, including former White House chief of staff John Kelly and former national security advisor H.R. As part of the scheme, prosecutors said, Michel recruited about 20 so-called "straw donors" who made campaign contributions with Low's money. Michel is charged with violating both FARA and that other statute, known as 951, in his alleged lobbying schemes.

The committee had been planning to hold another hearing on Wednesday but postponed it due to the hurricane approaching Florida. “Nothing provided by the Jan. 6 committee can be considered credible, or unedited or not manipulated," Stone told NBC News Tuesday. The committee has also obtained a trove of Secret Service documents from the period around the Jan. 6 attack. "I think it’s certainly something that will be explored," at the hearing, said the committee member who requested anonymity. “We all swore the same oath to the Constitution,” Cheney told NBC News in a statement, responding to the GOP criticism she’s faced.

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