Trump Corruption

Politico reports: Sen. Tommy Tuberville revealed late Wednesday that he spoke to Donald Trump on Jan. 6, just as a violent mob closed in on the the Senate, and informed the then-president directly that Vice President Mike Pence had just been evacuated from the chamber. “I said ‘Mr. President, they just took the vice president out, I’ve got to go,’” …

The Associated Press reports: Democrats at former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial played audio recordings of police officers begging for more help against rioters storming the Capitol, the fear and panic apparent in many of their voices. As the mob breached the Capitol, one officer told dispatch, “We’re still taking rocks, bottles and pieces of flag and metal pole.” In …

NBC News reports: The second day of the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump will kick off Wednesday at noon ET, with the Democratic impeachment managers commencing their opening arguments. They have 16 hours over two days to make their presentations and then Trump’s attorneys begin their defense with the same amount of time allotted — proceedings that …

The Atlantic reports: Soon after the November election, a business colleague of Donald Trump’s close ally Corey Lewandowski offered a whistleblower and convicted ex-banker an expensive deal: In exchange for a $300,000 fee up front—plus another $1 million if successful—the two men would push the then-president for a pardon, according to the ex-banker and an associate who heard the pitch. …

Fox News reports: Trump lawyer Bruce L. Castor Jr. defended his performance Tuesday in the Senate, saying it has “not been communicated” to him that former President Trump was angry over his statements during the first day of the Senate impeachment proceedings. During an exclusive interview with Fox News, Castor addressed reports that Trump was “furious” and “beyond angry” over …

Open Secrets reports: As former President Donald Trump faces a Senate impeachment trial on charges of inciting attacks on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, unanswered questions about the full extent of his ties to a nearby rally the same day highlight the need for more campaign finance transparency. Newly identified payments in recent Federal Election Commission filings show people …

The New York Times reports: Prosecutors in Fulton County have initiated a criminal investigation into former President Donald J. Trump’s attempts to overturn Georgia’s election results, including a phone call he made to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which Mr. Trump pressured him to “find” enough votes to help him reverse his loss. On Wednesday, Fani Willis, the recently …

Bloomberg News reports: Mitch McConnell is signaling to Senate Republicans that he will not be holding them to uniform opposition of the incitement of insurrection charge against Trump. That would free GOP Senators to vote to convict — as a handful of them are strongly leaning — without any fear of punishment within the conference. It could also remove pressure …

CNN reports: Former President Trump was unhappy with Bruce Castor’s opening argument on the Senate floor this afternoon, according to two people familiar with his reaction. Trump was almost screaming as Castor made meandering arguments that struggled to get at the heart of his defense team’s argument, which is supposed to be over the constitutionality of holding a trial for …

Forbes reports: Dominion Voting Systems had to hire private investigators and employ other costly measures to serve attorney Sidney Powell in its defamation case against her after she “evaded” their summons, the company said in a court filing Tuesday, as the former Trump campaign attorney faces multiple billion-dollar legal challenges for spreading an outlandish conspiracy theory that its voting machines …

Reuters reports: A divided Senate voted 56 to 44 on Tuesday to proceed with the impeachment trial of former president Donald Trump, rejecting his lawyers’ argument that it is unconstitutional. Most Republicans stood with Trump and his legal team, which contended the Senate cannot convict a person no longer in office. The House impeachment managers, in pressing for the trial …

The Washington Post reports: Last year, Philadelphia lawyer Michael T. van der Veen filed a lawsuit against then-President Donald Trump accusing him of making “repeated claims” that mail voting is ripe with fraud “despite having no evidence in support of these claims.” This week, van der Veen is adopting a different posture as part of the team of attorneys defending …

NPR reports: After the gavel at 1pm ET on Tuesday, there will be four hours that will be split between House impeachment managers and Trump’s defense team to debate whether the trial is constitutional. The Senate will then vote on this question, and in this case, given last month’s 55-45 vote on a very similar question, they will be expected …

Mediaite reports: Trump defense lawyer Bruce Castor made an extensive argument that the 2020 election was indeed legitimate. Castor’s case — part of a meandering opening argument that baffled viewers — was that Democrats’ motives for impeachment are singular: “The majority in the House of Representatives does not want to face Donald Trump as a political rival in the future.” …

Reuters reports: As former U.S. President Donald Trump goes to trial this week in the Senate on charges of inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, criminal and civil investigations into his businesses are accelerating in New York. Manhattan prosecutors probing Trump’s real-estate business for possible insurance and tax fraud have stepped up witness interviews in recent months and hired forensic …

CNN reports: A major focus of the upcoming trial will be the speech Trump gave on the morning of January 6 on the Ellipse just south of the White House at a “Stop the Steal” rally meant to protest Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 election. That rally was followed by thousands of Trump supporters storming the US Capitol in …

The New York Times reports: The office of Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, on Monday started an investigation into former President Donald J. Trump’s attempts to overturn the state’s election results, including a phone call he made to Mr. Raffensperger in which Mr. Trump pressured him to “find” enough votes to reverse his loss. Jason Miller, a senior adviser …

The New York Times reports: The office of Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, on Monday started an investigation into former President Donald J. Trump’s attempts to overturn the state’s election results, including a phone call he made to Mr. Raffensperger in which Mr. Trump pressured him to “find” enough votes to reverse his loss. Such inquiries are “fact-finding and …

CNBC reports: Paul Manafort, the Republican consultant who at one point ran Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, cannot be prosecuted in New York state court for conduct related to his prior federal criminal convictions, a court ruling has ensured. The New York Court of Appeals last week refused to hear an appeal of a lower-court ruling that had barred Manafort’s …

Spectrum News reports: Speaking on the floor of the Senate on Monday, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced that a deal has been reached with the Republican minority and House Impeachment Managers on the rules for the second impeachment trial of former president Donald Trump. On Tuesday, there will be another debate on the constitutionality of the trial — not …