Scandal

NBC News reports: Matt Schlapp, one of the nation’s most prominent conservative leaders and a top ally of former President Donald Trump, is being accused of sexually groping a male aide on Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker’s campaign in October. “He reached in between my legs and fondled me,” the former Walker staffer told NBC News in a telephone interview …

Raw Story reports: Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), who has for the last two weeks been relentlessly ridiculing scandal-plagued Rep.-elect George Santos (R-NY), proposed new legislation on Thursday night that’s named after his embattled soon-to-be colleague. However, the legislation in question is not meant as an honor. The kicker lays in the title, as Torres writes that “it will be called …

Patch New York reports: As allegations of a fabricated background swirl around Long Island Congressman-elect George Santos, several people have detailed how they worked alongside him in a Queens customer service center. Patch spoke with multiple people who said they worked alongside Santos at Dish Network in College Point in 2011 and 2012. They offered details of his background not …

New York City’s NBC affiliate reports: The New York Attorney General’s Office said it is “looking into a number of issues” surrounding Congressman-elect George Santos, who was the subject of a bombshell New York Times investigation that questions whether the incoming Republican lawmaker fabricated much of his biography. Santos’ competitor in the November election, Democrat Robert Zimmerman, said members of …

Via press release from the CFPB: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is ordering Wells Fargo Bank to pay more than $2 billion in redress to consumers and a $1.7 billion civil penalty for legal violations across several of its largest product lines. The bank’s illegal conduct led to billions of dollars in financial harm to its customers and, for …

The Daily Beast reports: Four European Union leaders have been charged with participation in a criminal organization, money laundering and corruption, tied to alleged bribes from FIFA World Cup host Qatar. Raids on diplomats’ homes in Brussels and Strasbourg, where the E.U. parliament meets, uncovered “bags of money.” Greek EU vice president Eva Kaili—who is languishing in a Belgium jail …

The Mississippi Free Press reports: Brett Favre sought Gov. Tate Reeves’ help to get state funds to pay for volleyball facilities that the former NFL star had vowed to personally fund at his alma mater, according to text messages the Mississippi Free Press obtained through a public-records request to the governor’s office. In 2017, before Reeves was governor, the Mississippi …

From Florida state Rep. Joe Harding’s Facebook page: When I decided to run in in 2019 for the Florida House, I did so for two simple reasons: I love people, and I love Florida. Today, I am resigning from my position for the same two reasons: I love people, and I love Florida. I believe in Floridians and want what …

Florida Politics reports: A federal grand jury has indicted Republican Rep. Joe Harding of House District 24 on six felony counts, including money laundering and wire fraud, the DOJ announced Wednesday. The indictment alleges that between Dec. 1, 2020 and March 1, 2021, Harding committed two acts of wire fraud through a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration and …

Politico reports: Sen. Marco Rubio acknowledged on Tuesday through a spokesperson that he met with indicted ex-Rep. David Rivera to discuss a potential deal to normalize relations between the United States and Venezuela — but didn’t know that his one-time friend and long-time political ally was working on behalf of strongman Nicolás Maduro. Rubio’s dealings with Rivera emerged Monday night …

The Associated Press reports: A former Miami congressman who signed a $50 million consulting contract with Venezuela’s socialist government was arrested Monday in connection with an ongoing federal criminal investigation, law enforcement officials told The Associated Press. David Rivera, a Republican who served from 2011 to 2013, was arrested at Atlanta’s airport. Pressure has been building on Rivera for more …

The Tampa Bay Times reports: Tampa police Chief Mary O’Connor resigned Monday effective immediately after an investigation into a Pinellas County traffic stop where she flashed a badge and asked a deputy to “just let us go.” Mayor Jane Castor asked for and received the resignation, Castor announced Monday in a news release. An internal review by the department’s Professional …

ESPN reports: Florida backup quarterback Jalen Kitna was arrested Wednesday on two counts of distribution of child exploitation material and three counts of possession of child pornography. Kitna, the 19-year-old son of former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna, was arrested by the Gainesville Police Department and booked into the Alachua County jail at 3:20 p.m. ET. He is expected to appear …

The Guardian reports: The Conservative peer Michelle Mone and her children secretly received £29 million originating from the profits of a PPE business that was awarded large government contracts after she recommended it to ministers, documents seen by the Guardian indicate. Lady Mone’s support helped the company, PPE Medpro, secure a place in a “VIP lane” the government used during …

NBC News reports: Four years ago, Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre joined forces with a Florida neuroscientist to promote an experimental drug — a nasal spray designed to quickly treat brain injuries from a concussion. Favre, a major investor in the company, touted the substance on podcasts, radio interviews and national television, including on NBC. And he did more …

Reuters reports: The Golden State Warriors were sued on Monday by an FTX customer who accused the reigning National Basketball Association champions of fraudulently promoting the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange. Elliott Lam, a Canadian citizen and Hong Kong resident, filed his proposed class-action lawsuit in San Francisco federal court on behalf of “thousands, if not millions” of people outside the United …

CoinDesk reports: The beleaguered crypto exchange FTX suffered a $400 million hack over the weekend, and at least one blockchain expert says the clues are point to a high-level insider who committed an amateur misstep that might have inadvertently revealed their identity. The attacker appears to have “had access to all the cold wallet storages which he exploited,” Dyma Budorin, …

Reuters reports: The collapse of FTX is the subject of scrutiny from investigators in the Bahamas, who are looking at whether any “criminal misconduct occurred,” the Royal Bahamas Police said on Sunday. FTX filed for bankruptcy on Friday, one of the highest profile crypto blowups, after traders rushed to withdraw $6 billion from the platform in just 72 hours and …

Reuters reports: At least $1 billion of customer funds have vanished from collapsed crypto exchange FTX, according to two people familiar with the matter. The exchange’s founder Sam Bankman-Fried secretly transferred $10 billion of customer funds from FTX to Bankman-Fried’s trading company Alameda Research, the people told Reuters. A large portion of that total has since disappeared, they said. One …

ESPN reports: Nike has suspended its relationship with Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving in the wake of the controversy surrounding his social media post about a book and movie containing antisemitic tropes, the company announced Friday night. Nike also said it will no longer launch Irving’s new shoe, the Kyrie 8. The shoe, Irving’s eighth with the company, had been …