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Video footage obtained by Insider shows Trump being deposed in the NY AG's investigation into his business. Trump repeatedly invoked the 5th Amendment and declined to answer questions. "Anyone in my position not taking the Fifth Amendment would be a fool, an absolute fool," he said. "If you're innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?" "I once asked, 'If you're innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?'"

☆ Mike Pompeo is using his memoir to try to demolish the Trump adviser-turned-critic John Bolton
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Pompeo compares Bolton writing a memoir to Edward Snowden, who leaked classified information from the National Security Agency to reporters in 2013. "At least Snowden had the decency not to lie about his motive," Pompeo writes. Former President Donald Trump listens to former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the White House, on October 21, 2019. "Memo to John Bolton: I'm talking about you," Pompeo writes. Pompeo writes that he was having lunch with reporters the day of the firing and got a note saying that the president needed to speak with him.

A Brazilian drag performer said Thursday that GOP Rep. George Santos "couldn't cut it" as a drag queen. Santos has denied having performed as a drag queen. Santos had an "outgrown sense of grandeur" and "lied all the time," Rochard told NBC, adding Santos "never the type of drag queen who could hold down the show." "The most recent obsession from the media claiming that I am a drag Queen or 'performed' as a drag Queen is categorically false," Santos said in a tweet from his official account. She added that Santos competed as a drag queen at a 2008 beauty pageant in Rio.

☆ White House aides were reportedly blindsided by AG Garland's appointment of a special counsel to investigate Biden
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Many in the White House were blindsided when AG Garland appointed a special counsel to investigate Biden, WaPo reported. The GOP has accused the special counsel Robert Hur of being partisan, but a former Trump lawyer disagreed, saying he's "smart and experienced." That's why many in the White House were blindsided, according to The Washington Post, when Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to investigate Biden's mishandling of classified information. Republicans and Democrats alike have criticized the Biden White House for failing to disclose the existence of the DOJ's investigation for two months, despite having known about it since November. But Ty Cobb, who once served as Trump's White House counsel, dismissed those concerns.

☆ Trump claims documents found at Mar-a-Lago were empty folders labeled 'classified' that he'd kept because they were 'cool'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Trump claimed that government records seized from Mar-a-Lago last year were empty folders marked "classified" or "confidential." He went on to say that he kept the "ordinary, inexpensive folders" because they were a "'cool' keepsake." He added: "Remember, these were just ordinary, inexpensive folders with various words printed on them, but they were a 'cool' keepsake." Documents seized by FBI at Mar-a-Lago. Following that discovery, Biden's legal team undertook an "exhaustive" search and uncovered a second batch of classified documents at another location, NBC News reported last week.

☆ 2 batches of classified documents found in Biden's offices: a complete timeline
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Taiyler Simone Mitchell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

President Joe Biden previously called out the former president for holding onto classified documents. Here, a timeline lays out Biden's involvement with the classified documents — and how it sometimes overlapped with the turmoil around Trump's classified documents probe. In September, President Joe Biden commented on the matter: "How that could possibly happen, how anyone could be that irresponsible." November 2, 2022: First batch of classified documents found at Biden's officeMonths later, Biden's team discovered about 10 classified documents at Penn Biden Center, a nonprofit think tank in DC that Biden started in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania. "He takes classified documents very seriously."

☆ Biden's mishandling of classified records isn't as legally perilous as Trump's, but may pose serious national security risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Trump's former White House lawyer told Insider that AG Garland should appoint a special counsel to investigate Biden. A source familiar with the matter told CNN that Lausch has finished the initial part of his investigation and presented his preliminary findings to Garland. Still, he criticized the White House for waiting more than two months to disclose the existence of the inquiry. "It appears that at least two of the aggravating factors, obstruction and willfulness, are present in the Trump case, but absent in the Biden case." Cobb, Trump's former White House counsel, went further, saying that drawing a distinction between the two cases is akin to "putting lipstick on a pig."

☆ Biden's aides discovered a second batch of classified documents at another location, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Sonam Sheth | Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Biden's aides discovered another batch of classified docs at a second location, NBC News reported. They've been conducting an exhaustive search for additional documents since first discovering what the White House described as a "small" batch at Biden's old office in November. Biden's team notified the National Archives and turned the documents over, and they're cooperating with a DOJ investigation into the matter, the White House said. "He takes classified documents very seriously." Fox News' Peter Doocy pointed to Biden calling Trump's retention of classified documents "totally irresponsible" and asked, "How can President Biden be trusted moving forward with America's secrets?"

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are sounding the alarm about how a nonfunctional House hurts national security. "If a national security crisis arises, the President of the United States is right down the street," he said. "I'm informed by House Security that, technically, I don't have a clearance," Gallagher, a former Marine Corps intelligence officer, told reporters. "I'm a member of the [House Intelligence Committee], I'm on the Armed Services Committee, and I can't meet in the SCIF to conduct essential business." "President Xi says, 'Our system of governance works because democracy don't,'" Bacon, a Nebraska Republican, told reporters.

☆ Behind-the-scenes C-SPAN footage from the House chamber shows chaos and frustration after nearly a dozen failed attempts to elect a Speaker
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Lauren Frias | Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Democratic Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was seen speaking with GOP Rep.-elect Paul Gosar, who once stirred controversy for sharing a violent edited anime video of him slaying her. The edited anime, "Attack of Titan," has been co-opted by alt-right factions when discussing white supremacist narratives. Source: Insider

☆ Photos capture the GOP's mutiny against Rep.-elect Kevin McCarthy as Democrats refuse to throw him a lifeline
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Rep.-elect Kevin McCarthy has been dealt defeat after defeat in his bid for the House speakership. He's lost a record 8 times as a hardline faction of his party refuses to support him becoming speaker. Democrats, meanwhile, have watched with glee while rejecting pleas to throw McCarthy a lifeline. McCarthy needs 218 votes to take the gavel, but he's failed to reach that number eight times as 20 members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus refuse to support his speakership bid. Multiple Democratic representatives-elect have also made it clear that the party will not throw McCarthy a lifeline as his path to the speakership narrows with each round of voting.

☆ Rep.-elect George Santos dodged reporters and sat alone in the House chamber on his first day in Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Embattled Rep.-elect George Santos arrived for his first day in Congress on Tuesday. Santos — who lied about his education, religion, and work background — was also seen dodging reporters. Later in the afternoon, Santos was loudly booed by Democrats when he cast a vote for California Rep. Kevin McCarthy to be House speaker, according to CBS News. On Tuesday evening, the chamber adjourned for the day and voting will resume at noon on Wednesday. In a previous campaign for Congress, Santos claimed he had attended Horace Mann School, a prestigious preparatory school in the Bronx.

☆ Trump says Democrats 'weaponized' his tax returns while simultaneously boasting that the records show what a clever businessman he is
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Trump accused Democrats of weaponizing his tax returns against him. But he simultaneously said the documents, released Friday, show he's a savvy businessman. The documents released Friday — which span thousands of pages — showed that Trump and then First Lady Melania Trump reported millions in losses from 2015 to 2020. The Trump Organization now has felony status and could be ordered to pay up to $1.6 million in fees when it's sentenced next month. That's in addition to the $250 million civil lawsuit that New York Attorney General Letitia James' office filed against Trump, his three eldest children, and the Trump Organization in September.

☆ Trials, pardons, prison time: How Trump's legal woes could play out and what it means for 2024
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

The warrant also indicated that the Justice Department was investigating whether Trump violated three federal laws, including the Espionage Act, related to the handling of national security information. Here are some possibilities:The investigations conclude with no charges filedIn the US's 250-year history, no ex-commander in chief has ever faced criminal charges. In all, the former president, if convicted, would be facing up to 33 years of incarceration, according to legal experts. That begs the question: If Trump is charged, convicted, and winds up in prison, can he still run for president in 2024? He made headlines during his presidency for wondering why he couldn't have "my guys" at the "Trump Justice Department" do his bidding.

☆ GOP Sen. Mike Lee said that 'Rudy is walking malpractice' after Giuliani left him an accidental voicemail on January 6
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

GOP Sen. Mike Lee described Rudy Giuliani as "walking malpractice" following the Capitol riot. Lee texted then national security advisor Robert O'Brien after getting a voicemail from Giuliani that was intended for GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville. I just got this voice message [from] Rudy Giuliani, who apparently thought he was calling Senator Tuberville," Lee's text said. And, you know, sure enough, you know, Mayor Giuliani tried to, you know, get in my office and ordered her to unlock the door, and she didn't do that, you know." Some of the claims Giuliani and his allies made were so outlandish that even Trump found them hard to believe.

☆ Jan. 6 committee says it has no evidence Trump 'expressed any remorse' when he was informed about Ashli Babbitt's shooting during the Capitol riot
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Trump showed no "remorse" when he was told Babbitt had been shot, the Jan. 6 committee found. "We found no evidence that the President expressed any remorse that day," the committee said. Babbitt was among several Trump supporters who tried to break into the House chamber on January 6. Babbitt was in a group of Trump supporters who tried to break into the House chamber, where several lawmakers were sheltering amid the siege. Trump sent the tweet despite "knowing the riot was underway and that Vice President Pence was at the Capitol," the committee said in its introductory report.

☆ January 6 committee expected to ask the DOJ to prosecute Trump for conspiracy, obstruction, and inciting an insurrection
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The January 6 committee is set to ask the DOJ to prosecute Trump in connection to the Capitol riot, per the Washington Post. The panel will recommend 3 charges: conspiracy to defraud the US, obstruction of an official proceeding, and inciting an insurrection. It's set to recommend three charges against Trump at the conclusion of a public meeting Monday: conspiracy to defraud the US, obstruction of an official proceeding, and inciting an insurrection. Specifically, lawmakers said they believed Trump tried to obstruct an official proceeding; conspired to defraud the United States; and engaged in common law fraud. He's also accused the bipartisan congressional select committee of going on a politically motivated witch hunt.

☆ Far-right troll and Capitol rioter 'Baked Alaska' tweets that he can't believe he's 'going to jail for an nft salesman' after Trump announces digital trading card series
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The far-right personality known as "Baked Alaska" tweeted that he can't believe he's "going to jail for an nft salesman." "Baked Alaska," whose real name is Anthime Gionet, participated in the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. His sentencing hearing is in January. "i can't believe i'm going to jail for an nft salesman," "Baked Alaska," whose real name is Anthime Gionet, tweeted Thursday afternoon. The charge carries a sentence of up to six months, and Gionet's sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 12.

☆ DC disciplinary counsel says Rudy Giuliani's law license should be revoked because his 'misconduct' was 'so serious that it should never be allowed to happen again'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A prosecutor for the DC bar's Office of Disciplinary Counsel said Giuliani should be disbarred. Hamilton Fox said Giuliani's "misconduct" after the 2020 election was "so serious that it should never be allowed to happen again." The DC Board of Professional Responsibility made a preliminary finding that a lawsuit Giuliani filed in 2020 violated ethics rules. Giuliani's "misconduct" after the 2020 election was "so serious that it should never be allowed to happen again," disciplinary counsel Hamilton Fox said. Giuliani vehemently defended himself after Fox made his comments, accusing the disciplinary counsel of engaging in a "personal attack" without presenting proper evidence.

☆ Trump's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad campaign kickoff
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Trump pledged when he launched his 2024 campaign that "America's comeback starts right now." Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also said Trump's actions make him less likely to be the party's nominee. Trump endorsed Florida Sen. Rick Scott in the contest, but McConnell handily defeated Scott, another sign of Trump's slipping hold on the Republican Party. The DA's office notched a huge victory this week when a jury convicted the Trump Organization of nine tax-fraud counts. US District Judge Beryl Howell has not made a final decision on the request to hold Trump's team in contempt of court, according to The Post.

☆ The DOJ has asked a court to hold Trump's office in contempt in the Mar-a-Lago documents case
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The Justice Department has asked a federal judge to hold former President Donald Trump's office in contempt of court for failing to comply with a subpoena for all the classified documents Trump took from the White House, The Washington Post reported. Trump's team initially turned over 15 boxes of documents to the National Archives in January. The DOJ's request for US District Judge Beryl Howell to hold Trump's team in contempt is indicative of the increasingly combative nature of prosecutors' communications with Trump's office. The report said that Trump's team has refused to designate a custodian despite months of back and forth. Those include the Mar-a-Lago records case as well as the department's inquiry into events surrounding the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

☆ Rudy Giuliani repeatedly lost his cool during his attorney-misconduct hearing and accused the disciplinary counsel of asking 'sneaky' questions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Rudy Giuliani repeatedly lost his temper on day two of his attorney-misconduct proceedings. He accused the disciplinary counsel of asking "sneaky" and unfair questions. "If we can get answers, then—"Giuliani interjected, saying Fox had made an "unfair comment," and adding, "I'm defending myself, Mr. The former mayor also repeatedly failed to answer the questions he was asked and veered into long-winded explanations about Pennsylvania's voting procedures and purported voter fraud in other states. Specifically, the 2005 report by the Carter-Baker Commission said that "absentee ballots remain the largest source of potential voter fraud."

☆ Rudy Giuliani struggled to answer basic questions at his attorney misconduct hearing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rudy Giuliani appeared as a witness in his attorney misconduct hearing Monday. Opposing counsel grew increasingly frustrated as Giuliani failed to answer straightforward questions, veered off course, and aired nonsense allegations of voter fraud. "Mr. Giuliani, I am trying to find out what your role was in writing — in drafting — the initial complaint in Pennsylvania," Fox said. "It was hardly —"Fox then interjected, saying, "Mr. Giuliani, I ask the questions." Earlier in the day, Bernius interrupted another long-winded rant from Giuliani to remind him that he was testifying as a "witness."

☆ Former Florida tax official and ex-Gaetz associate Joel Greenberg sentenced to 11 years in prison
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A federal judge sentenced former Florida tax official Joel Greenberg to 11 years in prison. Greenberg was a longtime associate of Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz before he struck a plea deal last year. Before striking a plea deal, Greenberg was a close associate of Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz. Greenberg's plea deal said he conducted 150 financial transactions totaling $70,000 between December 2016 and December 2018 to pay women for "commercial sex acts." "Those who told lies about Congressman Matt Gaetz are going to prison, and Congressman Matt Gaetz is going back to Congress to continue fighting for America," a spokesperson for Gaetz's office previously told Insider.

☆ Trump brags that he 'openly and transparently' took government documents from the White House to Mar-a-Lago
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Trump boasted about "openly and transparently" moving official government records to Mar-a-Lago. The DOJ is investigating if Trump broke federal law when he moved and refused to return the documents after leaving the White House. "When will you invade the other Presidents' homes in search of documents, which are voluminous, which they took with them, but not nearly so openly and transparently as I did?" Trump wrote on his social media website, Truth Social. The Justice Department is currently investigating whether Trump broke federal law by moving documents to Mar-a-Lago upon leaving the White House.

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