Trump Corruption

The Independent reports: Rudy Giuliani has once again pushed back on claims that he was drunk on election night 2020, claiming that he had refused all alcohol and chose instead his favourite soda – diet Pepsi.“I am disgusted and outraged at the out right lie by Jason Miller and Bill Steppien. I was upset that they were not prepared for …

CNN reports: The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol has postponed its hearing scheduled for Wednesday. The next hearing is scheduled for Thursday afternoon. Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California, a member of the committee, told reporters that the reason for the rescheduling was due to “technical issues” and “not a big deal.” …

Mediaite reports: Ari Melber thinks former President Donald Trump is trying to use the “Costanza defense” when he repeats the big lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him. The MSNBC host referenced a 1995 episode of Seinfeld, where Jerry is scheduled to take a polygraph test after saying he doesn’t watch Melrose Place. Jerry’s love interest at the …

The Hill reports: Former President Trump on Monday issued a 12-page rebuttal to testimony and evidence presented by a House committee investigating the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, accusing Democrats of seeking to distract from a series of domestic issues facing the country. One section of Trump’s statement focuses on ballot trafficking claims, for which he cites the Dinesh …

“How about, tell me the number of Antifa members in that riot. Five days after the riot, I submitted to the FBI unequivocal evidence that Antifa organized one of the main break-ins, that Antifa was involved in the killing of Ashli Babbitt, that the cops abandoned the position so that the people could go into the Pelosi office. The cops …

CNN reports: More than $5 million went to Event Strategies Inc., the company that ran President Trump’s Jan. 6 rally on the ellipse that preceded the attack on the Capitol, according to the committee. Also among the groups that received donations from Trump’s newly-created PAC was the Conservative Partnership Institute, a political organization led by former White House chief of …

MSNBC reports: As one former Trump campaign staffer told the bipartisan congressional committee, “I don’t believe there is actually a fund called the ‘Election Defense Fund.'” And where, pray tell, did this quarter of a billion dollars go? Some of the money helped pay for Trump’s pre-riot rally just south of the White House on Jan. 6, but the bulk …

The Independent reports: Donald Trump’s presidential campaign raised $250 million from supporters by telling them the money would be used to fight voter fraud, but the campaign knew those claims of fraud were bogus and instead diverted the money to his own political organisation, the House committee investigating the January 6 attacked claimed on Monday. Mr Trump’s campaign sent millions …

The Daily Beast reports: Assuming that a criminal prosecution against Trump is all but inevitable, state TV host Vladimir Solovyov seemed perturbed during his show The Evening With Vladimir Solovyov last Friday: “Look at what’s going on in America. A criminal prosecution against Trump and his followers is an obvious step towards a dictatorship.” Solovyov failed to mention the kind …

NBC News reports: Barr said Trump told him the report showed “absolute proof the Dominion machines were rigged,” a favorite post-election claim of voter fraud Trump spread. “The report means that I’m going to have a second term,” Barr said Trump told him before handing him a copy of the report. “And as he talked more and more about it, …

NPR reports: Today’s hearing is focused on the “the decision by the former president to ignore the will of the voters, declare victory on election he lost, spread claims of fraud and then decide to ignore the rulings of the courts when the judgment of the courts didn’t go his way,” House select committee aides told reporters. On the first …

The death threats probably got to him: Former Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien will no longer appear before the House Jan. 6 panel Monday, removing a key witness as the panel seeks to show how the campaign forwarded baseless claims of election fraud. “Due to a family emergency, Mr. William Stepien is unable to testify before the Select Committee this …

Rolling Stone reports: Donald Trump in recent months has been telling confidants that he may launch his 2024 presidential campaign early — and that he’s considering launching it in Florida to stick it to Gov. Ron DeSantis. Trump has kicked around staging a large, flashy launch rally (with fireworks, of course) that would announce his White House bid before the …

Axios reports: Federal securities regulators have expanded their investigation into the planned merger between a blank check acquisition company and former President Trump’s social media business, known as Truth Social, according to a Monday morning filing with the SEC. Why it matters: Truth Social’s financial prospects are heavily reliant on investment tied to the merger, which may never come to …

Yahoo News reports: The Jan. 6 committee’s series of public hearings will resume Monday morning with a number of in-person witnesses who are expected to shed new light on former President Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the results of the election. One of the witnesses will be Bill Stepien, Trump’s 2020 campaign manager. Committee members are likely to press Stepien, …

The Associated Press reports: Members of the House committee investigating the Capitol riot said Sunday they have uncovered enough evidence for the Justice Department to consider an unprecedented criminal indictment against former President Donald Trump for seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Additional evidence is to be released in hearings this week, Democrats say, that will demonstrate …

From the editorial board of the New York Post: Trump has become a prisoner of his own ego. He can’t admit his tweeting and narcissism turned off millions. He won’t stop insisting that 2020 was “stolen” even though he’s offered no proof that it’s true. Meanwhile, reports that Trump was pleased that the Jan. 6 crowd chanted for Vice President …

Mediaite reports: The former White House strategic communications director for Donald Trump ripped the Jan. 6 committee on Friday, accusing the panel of having “doctored” footage it presented in Thursday’s hearing. Appearing on Kudlow, Mercedes Schlapp said the committee, which is investigating the 2021 Capitol riot and the role Trump played in inciting it, has failed to produce a “smoking …

Reuters reports: An estimated 20 million people tuned in to live U.S. television broadcasts of Thursday’s hearing by lawmakers probing the 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol, the Nielsen ratings agency said on Friday. The viewership across 12 networks ranked below other political events such as President Biden’s State of the Union address, which pulled in 38 million viewers in …

CNN reports: The attorney discipline arm of the DC Bar has brought a case against Rudy Giuliani for pushing unsubstantiated election fraud accusations in a Pennsylvania federal court on behalf of Donald Trump after the 2020 election. The disciplinary office filing, called a charge, further puts Giuliani’s status as a lawyer in jeopardy. Giuliani had already been suspended from practicing …