Scandal

The Toledo Blade reports: The FBI has taken into custody multiple Toledo city council members accused of taking cash in exchange for votes during what is described in court records as a years-long, sweeping bribery scandal involving some of the city’s highest elected officials. City council members Tyrone Riley, Yvonne Harper, Larry Sykes, and Gary Johnson are all accused of …

NBC News reports: Federal prosecutors in New York have formally requested through the British government to speak with Prince Andrew as part of their criminal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s history of sexual abuse, according to a person familiar with the matter. The request, made under a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, or MLAT, is similar to a subpoena in this case …

The Associated Press reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday launched a tirade against the nation’s justice system as his long-awaited corruption trial got underway, accusing police and prosecutors of conspiring to “depose” him. Netanyahu’s comments opened what is sure to be a tumultuous period for Israel as he becomes the country’s first sitting prime minister ever to go …

“Not only am I not dropping out, but I’m gonna win. And no one’s going to intimidate me into thinking that that’s the right course for our party, for our state, for our country. I’m working hard to help reelect the president. “I’m working hard to win my seat and keep the Senate in Republican hands. This is the liberal …

The Christian Post reports: Arts-and-craft retailer Hobby Lobby, led by billionaire evangelical Steve Green, has filed a lawsuit against renowned British auction house Christie’s for deceiving the company about the legality of the sale of a rare cuneiform tablet it acquired for display in the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. The rare cuneiform tablet, which bears a portion …

ABC News reports: Lori Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, have agreed to a plea deal in connection with their involvement in the so-called “Varsity Blues” college admissions scandal. The “Full House” actress will serve two months in prison, pay a $150,000 fine and have two years of supervised release with 100 hours of community service, while her husband, a …

Seems like somebody doesn’t want to be prosecuted: Jeff Sprecher, the husband of Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), sent a $1 million check to the leading pro-Trump super PAC even as she been fending off criticism around her family’s stock trading. Sprecher, the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, donated to America First Action on April 29, according to a …

The Washington Examiner reports: In the special election for appointed Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s seat, again, none of the rivals attract the 50% support needed to skip a runoff. Loeffler’s campaign in the so-called jungle primary has been derailed by allegations she and her New York Stock Exchange chairman husband Jeffrey Sprecher made favorable trades after she received a private …

Axios reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Monday that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) will serve as the acting chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee while a federal investigation into Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) is ongoing. The backdrop: Last week, the FBI seized Burr’s phone as part of an investigation into stock trades he made shortly before the coronavirus …

CNBC reports: Sen. Richard Burr will step down as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee amid an FBI probe of Burr’s stock sales in the early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic. “Senator Burr contacted me this morning to inform me of his decision to step aside as Chairman of the Intelligence Committee during the pendency of the investigation,” Senate Majority …

NBC News reports: A senior law enforcement official confirms to NBC News that the FBI obtained the cellphone of Sen. Richard Burr pursuant to a search warrant, as part of an investigation of possible insider trading. Burr turned over his phone to agents after they served a search warrant at his Washington, D.C.-area residence. Burr, R-N.C., who chairs the Senate …

The Daily Beast reports: Shelley Luther, the Texas hair salon owner who received national attention for defying orders to keep her shop temporarily closed during the coronavirus pandemic, admitted on Monday morning that she had received $18,000 in stimulus funds days before her fateful court appearance. Luther was also the beneficiary of a GoFundMe campaign that raised more than $500,000. …

The Associated Press reports: Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill, who has sought national attention as an anti-abortion and tough-on-crime crusader, will have his law license suspended for 30 days over allegations that he drunkenly groped a state lawmaker and three other women during a party, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday. The unanimous court decision said that the state’s attorney …

CNN reports: The Supreme Court threw out fraud convictions on Thursday against two New Jersey officials involved in the “Bridgegate” political scandal, the George Washington Bridge traffic jam that rocked the administration of then-Gov. Chris Christie. Writing for a unanimous court, Justice Elena Kagan said that “for no reason” other than “political payback” the aides “used deception” to cut access …

ProPublica reports: Sen. Richard Burr was not the only member of his family to sell off a significant portion of his stock holdings in February, ahead of the market crash spurred by coronavirus fears. On the same day Burr sold, his brother-in-law also dumped tens of thousands of dollars worth of shares. The market fell by more than 30% in …

The Washington Post reports: As a coronavirus outbreak swept through a U.S. aircraft carrier crippled off the coast of Guam, the ship’s commander tapped out an e-mail urging senior Navy leaders to evacuate most of the 4,800 sailors onboard. Capt. Brett Crozier opened his March 30 message to three admirals by saying he would “gladly” follow them “into battle whenever …

The Daily Beast reports: Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) pledged on Wednesday to liquidate her personal stock holdings amid a firestorm over trades that coincided with non-public Senate briefings on the novel coronavirus. “ Although Senate ethics rules don’t require it, my husband and I are liquidating our holdings in managed accounts and moving into exchange-traded funds and mutual funds,” Loeffler …

CNN reports: Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly resigned on Tuesday, a day after leaked audio revealed he called the ousted commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt “stupid” in an address to the ship’s crew, according to a US official and a former senior military official. The Navy and Department of Defense did not respond to a request for comment. Undersecretary …

The Daily Beast reports: Two weeks after calling on Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr (R-NC) to resign if he couldn’t explain his suspicious stock dumps, Fox News host Tucker Carlson said Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) must leave office if it is revealed she knew in advance about stock trades her financial advisers made. Last month, after news broke that Burr …

From the editorial board of the Charlotte Observer: Seven days have passed since news reports revealed how U.S. Sen Richard Burr profited off the coronavirus while failing to warn his constituents at the early, critical stages of the crisis. It has not been a good week. Burr has been abandoned by fellow Republicans, some of whom have called for his …