Trump Corruption

Politico reports: California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Friday he’s prepared to sue if appropriate to defend the state’s companies like Apple after President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on the iPhone maker unless it moves production fully to the U.S. “We definitely will assess our potential role,” Bonta said in response to a question from POLITICO at a San Francisco …

The New York Times reports: Boeing reached a deal with the Justice Department on Friday that would spare the company from taking criminal responsibility for a pair of deadly 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019. Under the deal, which was staunchly opposed by many families of the victims of the fatal crashes, Boeing would admit to obstructing federal oversight, …

The Washington Post reports: A federal judge on Friday struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order sanctioning the law firm Jenner & Block, the second time a court has struck down one of Trump’s efforts to punish a firm. U.S. District Judge John D. Bates wrote that Trump’s order was unconstitutional, saying the president was trying “to chill legal representation …

REPORTER: “When you said Walmart should eat the cost of tariffs, isn’t that an acknowledgment it is companies that bear the brunt of tariffs?” TRUMP: “Sometimes the country will eat it. Sometimes Walmart will eat it. And sometimes there’ll be something to pay something extra. Because they’ll do a lot of business, but, you know, they announce record profits and …

“We have numbers. Nobody’s ever seen numbers like we have. I’m not looking for any deal. I mean, we’ve set the deal. It’s at 50 percent. But again, there are no tariffs if they build a plant here. Now, if somebody comes in and wants to build a plant here, I can talk to them about a little bit of …

CBS News reports: Security for Trump administration border czar Tom Homan costs more than $500,000 a month, multiple sources within the administration told CBS News, an amount that has drawn attention from allies of President Trump who have been seeking to shrink government spending. The total cost of Homan’s security — with roughly $500,000 in salaries for agents plus airfare, …

Newsweek reports: President Donald Trump signed multiple executive orders on Friday aimed at boosting the domestic nuclear energy industry. The orders aim to simplify the regulatory process for approving new nuclear reactors and to strengthen nuclear fuel supply chains amid mounting concerns over U.S. dependence on foreign suppliers. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, “Energy security is national security. By having …

The Daily Beast reports: Buried deep in the text of the more than 1,000-page bill is a measure that would restrict the federal courts’ authority to hold government officials in contempt if they violate court orders. “No court of the United States may use appropriated funds to enforce a contempt citation for failure to comply with an injunction or temporary …

Forbes reports: The Secret Service has paid Trump’s political committees about $13 million for air travel since 2016, a spokesperson confirmed to Forbes, to cover the costs of having the security detail travel with Trump. FEC data from Trump’s committees, which runs through Dec. 31, list $10.4 million in payments and about another $5 million in outstanding bills. Trump’s political …

Mediaite reports: Leaked videos on social media show President Donald Trump using the official presidential seal at his crypto investors’ gala despite White House claims it was a strictly “private” event. The president’s schedule Thursday contained an opaque entry that read “7:00 PM: THE PRESIDENT attends a Private Dinner, Trump National Golf Club, Closed Press.” The occasion was a gala …

The New York Times reports: Harvard University sued the Trump administration for a second time on Friday, less than 24 hours after the Department of Homeland Security said it would block international students from attending the nation’s oldest university and one of its most prestigious. The lawsuit, and a letter issued by Dr. Alan M. Garber, Harvard’s president, signified a …

“The European Union, which was formed for the primary purpose of taking advantage of the United States on TRADE, has been very difficult to deal with. Their powerful Trade Barriers, Vat Taxes, ridiculous Corporate Penalties, Non-Monetary Trade Barriers, Monetary Manipulations, unfair and unjustified lawsuits against Americans Companies, and more, have led to a Trade Deficit with the U.S. of more …

The Washington Post reports: President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to put a 25% tariff on Apple products unless iPhones are manufactured in the United States. The threat delivered over social media could dramatically increase the price of iPhones, potentially hurting sales and the profits of one of America’s leading technology companies. The company now joins Amazon, Walmart and other …

“When you hear 10,000, it was 1 in 10,000, and now it’s 1 in 31 for autism, I think that’s just a terrible thing. It has to be something on the outside, has to be artificially induced, has to be. And we will not allow our public health system to be captured by the very industries it’s supposed to oversee. …

The Washington Post reports: A divided Supreme Court on Thursday refused to immediately reinstate a pair of independent regulators fired by Trump administration, saying the president may have the power to summarily oust the board members and calling into question a 90-year-old legal precedent that has protected the independence of key regulatory bodies. The court’s order, which drew a sharp …

The Associated Press reports: Between a barrage of executive orders, foreign trips and norm-shattering proclamations, Donald Trump has also been busy raking in cash. The president has amassed a war chest of at least $600 million in political donations heading into the midterm elections, according to three people familiar with the matter. It’s an unprecedented sum in modern politics, particularly …

The New York Times reports: The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday opened an investigation into Media Matters, a liberal advocacy organization that has published research on hateful and antisemitic content on X, according to two people familiar with the investigation. The regulator said in a letter sent to the organization that it was investigating the group, which is aligned with …

FactCheck.org reports: Pointing to the screen, which showed an aerial view of a rural highway dotted on each side with white crosses, Trump said, “These are burial sites, right here. Burial sites — over a thousand of white farmers. And those cars are lined up to pay love on a Sunday morning. Each one of those white things you see …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Crypto billionaire Justin Sun for years wouldn’t set foot in the U.S. for fear of arrest. The Chinese-born tycoon, facing scrutiny from U.S. authorities, even missed a chance to fly on Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket despite paying $28 million for the opportunity. Now, Sun isn’t just back in America. He is about to attend …

NBC NEWS: “Karoline, you guys are very proud of your record on transparency. On the president’s dinner tonight, will the White House commit to making a list of the attendees public so people can see who’s paying for that kind of access to the president?” KAROLINE LEAVITT: “Well, as you know, Garrett, this question has been raised with the president. …