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First lady Jill Biden had two cancerous lesions removed Wednesday, the White House doctor said in a memo. "The procedure confirmed that the small lesion was basal cell carcinoma," Dr. Kevin O'Connor said in a statement afterwards. O'Connor said that "as anticipated," Biden "is experiencing some facial swelling and bruising" after the outpatient procedure, "but is in good spirits and is feeling well. Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer and is easily treatable if detected early. O'Connor noted that basal cell carcinoma lesions "do not tend to 'spread' or metastasize, as some more serious skin cancers such as melanoma or squamous cell carcinoma are known to do.

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.

Allen Weisselberg, former chief financial officer for the Trump Organization, is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday for his role in the company's sweeping 15-year tax fraud scheme. As part of his deal with prosecutors, Weisselberg could have faced added time behind bars if he did not testify truthfully at trial, which ended with the Trump Organization being convicted of all counts. Lawyers for the two Trump Organization subsidiaries charged in the case maintained during the trial that Weisselberg was the lone bad actor and the companies shouldn't be held responsible. Had Weisselberg been convicted at trial, he could have faced up to 15 years in prison. At Tuesday's sentencing hearing, the judge will decide whether Weisselberg must go to jail that day or at a later date.

The special purpose grand jury is different than a typical grand jury — it submits its findings in a report to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who then decides whether to present evidence to a grand jury for criminal indictments. Willis called for the special grand jury last year because the panel had the power to issue subpoenas to force witnesses to testify. Because we won the state,” Trump said in the call. Trump has maintained he did nothing wrong in the Raffensperger call and described it as “perfect.”It's unclear when the grand jury report might become public. McBurney's order said the grand jury "certified that it voted to recommend that its report be published."

WASHINGTON — George Santos, the 34-year-old New York Republican who's confessed to lying about part of his background, was sworn into the House early Saturday amid several investigations into his campaign and calls for him to resign. Santos officially took office when the new Congress was convened after Republicans finally elected Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as House speaker. And despite presenting himself as Jewish during his congressional campaigns, Santos told the Post, "I never claimed to be Jewish." Several House Democrats have criticized Santos, but none more than Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York, who's taken to trolling Santos on social media. Former Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, who recently retired from Congress, said Sunday that Santos should consider resigning.

House Democrats marked the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot Friday with a solemn ceremony on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, which Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called "a citadel of democracy" that had come under assault that day. "We stand here today with our democracy intact because of those officers," he said. A bipartisan group of lawmakers observe a moment of silence on the steps of the Capitol on the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot. "They failed because of the bravery and valor of the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department officers who fought heroically to defend our democracy," he said. Last year, only then-Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., joined House Democrats for a moment of silence on the first anniversary of the attack.

About an hour after the Russian cease-fire began, air raid sirens sounded in the capital, Kyiv. Ukrainian officials accused Putin of using Christmas as cover to buy time for his military to regroup. Putin's surprise order instructed his defense minister to institute the cease-fire “along the entire line of contact between the parties in Ukraine” from Friday, which is Christmas Eve for the Orthodox church. The Russian Orthodox Church, which uses the ancient Julian calendar, celebrates Christmas on Jan. 7 — later than the Gregorian calendar. Some Orthodox Christians in Ukraine recently started celebrating Christmas on Dec. 25 to show their anger at and defiance of Moscow.

President Joe Biden on Friday will mark the second anniversary of the attack on the Capitol by awarding the Presidential Citizens Medal to a dozen election workers, officials and law-enforcement officers for "contributions to our democracy" before and during the riot, a White House official said. "These 12 heroes demonstrated courage and selflessness during a moment of peril for our nation," the official said. Other elected officials receiving the medal are Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Al Schmidt, the former vice chair of Philadelphia’s Board of Elections. Wandrea "Shaye" Moss, left, is comforted by her mother, Ruby Freeman, during a House select committee hearing on June 21, 2022. Biden is also posthumously awarding the medal to Brian Sicknick, the Capitol Police officer who died the day after the riot after suffering two strokes.

“We’ll see what happens,” Trump said when asked directly whether he was sticking with McCarthy, the GOP leader, in a brief phone conversation. But let’s see what happens and we’ll go — I got everybody calling, wanting my support,” he said. Trump had repeatedly backed McCarthy for the job and urged his allies in the conservative Freedom Caucus to unite behind McCarthy as well. Trump's distancing himself from McCarthy could prove fatal to his already imperiled bid for speaker. McCarthy was a top ally of Trump when he was in the White House, and the then-president repeatedly referred to him as "my Kevin."

☆ Federal prosecutors open investigation into Rep.-elect George Santos over congressional campaign
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Michael-Kosnar-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Michael Kosnar | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Federal prosecutors in New York have opened an investigation into Rep.-elect George Santos, a law enforcement source confirmed to NBC News on Thursday. A spokesperson for Santos did not immediately respond to a request for comment. ABC News first reported the federal investigation into Santos. Last week, the New York attorney general’s office said it is “looking into a number of issues” surrounding him. The office, however, did not confirm whether it had opened an official investigation.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, a prominent member of the Jan. 6 committee and a former Trump impeachment manager, announced Wednesday that he's been diagnosed with cancer. “After several days of tests, I have been diagnosed with Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma, which is a serious but curable form of cancer," Raskin, D-Md., said in a statement, adding that he'll undergo "a course of chemo-immunotherapy on an outpatient basis." Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., on Twitter called Raskin "a national treasure—an oasis of legal integrity and intellect at a time when both are desperately needed in democracy’s defense. I am praying for his strong and swift recovery as he undergoes cancer treatment. The diagnosis comes almost two years to the day after the death of Raskin's 25-year-old son, Thomas "Tommy" Bloom Raskin, by suicide.

George Santos, the congressman-elect from New York who's admitted to "embellishing" his résumé, is being investigated by a New York prosecutor. "The numerous fabrications and inconsistencies associated with Congressman-Elect Santos are nothing short of stunning. He said his work included “specialty consulting” for “high net worth individuals.” Santos' company was dissolved in September, which Santos told Semafor was the result of his accountant's turning in late paperwork. In an interview Monday with the New York Post, Santos acknowledged having fabricated details about his background, saying: “My sins here are embellishing my resume. Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background I said I was ‘Jew-ish,’” he said.

Lawmakers and staffers must delete TikTok from any House-issued mobile phones and are prohibited from downloading the popular app on those devices, according to an internal memo obtained by NBC News. "House staff are NOT allowed to download the TikTok app on any House mobile devices," the memo said. "If you have the TikTok app on your House mobile device, you will be contacted to remove it." The move comes after a measure banning TikTok on some government devices was included in the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill passed by Congress last week. FBI Director Christopher Wray warned members of Congress after the midterm election that the Chinese government could use TikTok to control users’ devices, for influence or espionage purposes.

The House Ways and Means Committee plans to release Donald Trump’s tax returns on Friday, a spokesperson for the Committee said Tuesday. The assortment of six years of the former president's personal returns and some of his business returns are expected to be placed into the Congressional record on Friday as part of the House’s pro-forma session. The clock is ticking for the committee, which will turn over control to Republicans when the new Congress is sworn in next week. The committee obtained the returns in November, following a years-long court fight for the closely-held documents that other presidents have routinely made public for the last four decades. A 39-page report from the Joint Committee on Taxation released last week showed Trump had been paying relatively little in taxes, including paying only $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017 and none in 2020.

House Democrats are scrutinizing why the Internal Revenue Service failed to fully audit Donald Trump's tax returns when he was in the White House, despite an agency policy mandating such a review. Some insight into the lapse came in a report Tuesday from the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), a bipartisan congressional panel that examined Trump's tax returns from 2015-20. The JCT report was issued Tuesday, after the House Ways and Means Committee voted to make Trump's 2015-20 tax returns public. Trump was the first president not to make his tax returns public since the 1970s. Neal is pressing for legislation that would require the IRS to publish and audit presidential tax returns.

The House Ways and Means Committee voted Tuesday to make six years of former President Donald Trump’s tax returns public — potentially ending years of speculation about what they might reveal about his business dealings and personal wealth. Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., said the vote will make public the tax returns and a separate report about Trump's tax information. It is the power to embarrass, harass or destroy a private citizen through disclosure of their tax returns," Brady said. Trump was the first president to refuse to make his tax returns public since the 1970s. In order to fairly make that determination, we must obtain President Trump’s tax returns and review whether the IRS is carrying out its responsibilities," Neal said in a statement in April 2019.

Investigators from the Department of Justice reviewed numerous email exchanges between Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., Trump lawyer John Eastman and two DOJ officials who were pushing the then-president's plan to overturn the 2020 election results, newly unsealed court filings show. Earlier this year, federal investigators seized phones belonging to Perry and Eastman and also searched Clark's home. The Justice Department had asked Howell to unseal a pair of decisions from June and September, but some parts are still redacted. “He wanted Mr. Clark — Mr. Jeff Clark to take over the Department of Justice,” Hutchinson said. It's unclear why the Justice Department asked the judge to unseal the rulings now.

The committee obtained six years' worth of Trump's tax returns in November, following a years-long court fight for documents that other presidents have routinely made public since the 1970s. The meeting in "consideration" of the Trump documents comes just before Republicans are set to reclaim control of the House — and the committee — next month. While tax returns are confidential under federal law, there are some exceptions — including if the chair of the Ways and Means committee requests them. “No one believes that Chairman Neal requested President Trump’s tax returns so he can study legislation about IRS audits. Every president since Richard Nixon has made their tax returns public.

Former House Speaker John Boehner paid a tearful tribute to Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday at the unveiling of her official portrait in the U.S. Capitol. "My girls told me tell the speaker how much we admire her," Boehner said, choking back tears as he spoke. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., greets former Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, during a portrait unveiling ceremony for Pelosi in the U.S. Capitols Statuary Hall on Dec. 14, 2022. Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty ImagesPelosi, who in 2007 became the first female speaker of the House, had joked about Boehner’s penchant for tears when she spoke at his portrait ceremony in 2019. She will be succeeded by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the first Black lawmaker to lead a congressional caucus.

A source familiar with the matter confirmed the DOJ's request, which was first reported by The Washington Post. The request comes after Trump's lawyers recently discovered at least two documents with such markings in a storage unit in West Palm Beach, Florida. That search turned up over 100 documents with such markings, including some marked top secret, in a storage room in Mar-a-Lago and in Trump's office there. Judge Beryl Howell's hearing on the DOJ’s request, and the legal arguments underpinning it, are being kept under wraps because they involve grand jury proceedings. Corcoran drafted the June letter certifying all documents with classification markings had been returned, NBC News has previously reported.

The appeals court had given Trump until Thursday to appeal to the full 11th Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court and try to get a stay before the order took effect. After the FBI executed its Mar-a-Lago search warrant, a top Trump adviser familiar with his legal strategy told NBC News that the former president would probably “appeal everything to the Supreme Court. It also barred the special master from reviewing those documents, a decision that Trump appealed to the Supreme Court in October and lost. Under federal law, official White House papers are federal property and must be handed over to the National Archives when a president leaves office. The most recent defeat came last month, when the court allowed Trump's tax returns to be disclosed to a Democratic-led House committee.

That search came after the feds issued a subpoena in May demanding the return of any documents marked classified that left the White House with Trump. Trump’s lawyers hired an outside firm to conduct searches last month at the storage facility and other locations. One of the sources said Trump has never been inside the storage facility. The pallets were delivered in August of 2021, with four going to the storage facility and two going to Mar-a-Lago, the emails show. The discovery of the new documents is further evidence that Trump and his team did not fully comply with a grand jury subpoena issued in May seeking all documents marked classified still in their possession.

The Georgia Supreme Court on Wednesday denied the state Republican Party's bid to block early voting in the state's hotly contested Senate runoff from moving forward this Saturday. Early voting is required to be available statewide Monday through Friday of next week. The state Republican Party appealed the decision, arguing it was allowing “illegal advance voting.”The dispute centered on a provision of Senate Bill 202, signed by Republican Gov. Raffensperger contended that meant there could be no early in-person voting on Nov. 26, the Saturday following Thanksgiving. In a court filing, Democrats said at least 19 counties with a total of over 4 million residents were planning on offering early voting on Saturday.

Attorneys for former President Donald Trump on Tuesday asked a federal judge in Florida to unseal the probable cause affidavit outlining the Justice Department's criminal investigation into their client. A redacted version of the search warrant affidavit was made public in late August. A spokesperson for the Justice Department declined to comment. The request to Cannon came shortly before lawyers for Trump and the Justice Department were set to face off over Trump's lawsuit in the 11th U.S. The Justice Department is asking the appeals court to dismiss Cannon's order appointing a special master in the case.

Raffensperger, a Republican, had maintained that changes to Georgia voting laws meant that there could be no early voting on Nov. 26, the only Saturday when it would have been possible for Georgians to cast an early vote in the hotly contested race. Brian Kemp in March 2021, which stipulates early in-person voting must end the Friday before the runoff. The law also stipulates early in-person voting not be held on any Saturday that follows a “public or legal holiday” on the preceding Thursday or Friday. Raffensperger contended that meant there would be no early in-person voting on Nov. 26, the Saturday following Thanksgiving. Voting rights groups have pushed counties in Georgia to open up early in-person voting on Nov. 22, 23 and 27.

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