Trump Corruption

Mother Jones reports: In late January, Trump announced details for the Dome. A land-based missile-interceptor system—like the one Israel has—would not be possible to build for a country the size of the United States. Instead, military commentators coalesced around another plan: build a cloud of “satellite missile interceptors” similar to former President Ronald Reagan’s ill-fated 1980s “Star Wars” proposal. In …

Breitbart reports: President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Friday halting federal funds for schools and universities that require students to be vaccinated against coronavirus before they can attend classes in person, Breitbart News has learned. According to a White House document provided to Breitbart News, the expected order also applies to education service agencies, state …

Variety reports: The Associated Press is still referring to the Gulf of Mexico by that name — despite President Trump’s decree that it now be called the Gulf of America — and now the White House said it will indefinitely bar the news organization from access to the Oval Office and Air Force One. “It is alarming that the Trump …

Politico reports: NASA astronauts, speaking from space, debunked President Donald Trump’s claims that they had been left behind. Sunita Williams said she and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore were not stranded on the International Space Station despite comments Trump made last month that they were “virtually abandoned” by former President Joe Biden and needed saving. “We don’t feel abandoned, we don’t …

The Guardian reports: In May 2024, a flashy ad went viral on social media warning that “across the country, there are real cases of fraud and abuses of the [election] system that have eroded our trust”. The ad pledged that “whistleblowers” who shared evidence of election fraud “will be rewarded with payment from our $5m fund”. This reward was courtesy …

FOIA Files reports: The lack of transparency surrounding DOGE’s efforts is off the charts. The DOGE strike team itself operates in secrecy. In the case of the CFPB, after the team members appeared at the agency’s Washington headquarters, they often refused to talk to employees or disclose their names, and carried out work in a basement conference room where they …

REPORTER: “President Trump, first of all, congratulations for a fantastic 24 days of your presidency and the historic and unprecedented decisions that you’ve made.” TRUMP: “I like her!” [The reporter.] REPORTER: “I’m particularly impressed by the exposé on USAID. And I would like you to share with us, if you think USAID had a role in election interference in the …

NBC News reports: A group of 14 states sued Elon Musk and President Donald Trump on Thursday, arguing that the authority the White House granted the tech billionaire and his advisory DOGE is unconstitutional. The suit, filed by Democratic attorneys general takes aim at the magnitude and scale of Musk’s power, noting that DOGE has led the Trump administration’s efforts …

The Daily Beast reports: Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump seemed oblivious to McConnell’s history with polio. “I don’t know anything about ‘he had polio’,” Trump said. CNN’s Kaitlan Collins proceeded to ask the president, “Are you doubting that he had polio?” Trump responded with a rant against McConnell. “I have no idea if he had polio. All …

“Canada, their taxes would come down greatly. Their security would go up greatly. Amazing things happen to Canada; and really, Canada in this particular — why would we pay $200 billion a year in subsidies to Canada when they’re not a state? You do that for a state, but you don’t do that for somebody else’s country; so I think …

The New York Times reports: Manhattan’s acting U.S. attorney resigned on Thursday after the Justice Department ordered her to drop a corruption case against New York City’s mayor, Eric Adams, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. The resignation of the U.S. attorney, Danielle R. Sassoon, after the order to dismiss the charges just weeks into President Trump’s …

From the Wall Street Journal editorial board: Does President Trump understand money? Not money as in cash, but the supply of money, the price of money as measured by interest rates, and their impact on inflation? The answer would appear to be no after Mr. Trump called for lower interest rates on Wednesday—the same day the Labor Department reported an …

CNN reports: The firings mark the first from the Trump administration as President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE aim to dramatically shrink the federal workforce. Until now, federal employees across all government agencies had only been placed on paid administrative leave. A form letter sent to Department of Education employees, obtained by CNN, informing them of their termination stated: …

The New York Times reports: For years, journalists have written about the social media posts of government employees to help reveal the positions, motivations and actions of public officials. But when a journalist recently trained that same lens on Elon Musk’s new government efficiency program, the billionaire suggested that the reporting might be illegal, joining other powerful figures connected to …

JAKE TAPPER: “Well, the votes to make Donald Trump the chairman of the Kennedy Senator Kennedy Center was not unanimous as he said it was. There were some votes that were abstentions. There were some votes against. President Trump called in in the middle of the call. The first was to get rid of the current director, Deborah Rutter, who …

“Look, the Department of Education’s a big con job. So we have a Department of Education where people from Washington, D.C., who many in many cases don’t care about the kids out in the country, They don’t care about the farms and the farmer’s daughter and the father’s – farmer’s sons. We have a massive bureaucracy in Washington, D.C. “We …

The Washington Post reports: A federal judge on Wednesday lifted his pause on the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program, a win for President Donald Trump as he pushes to shrink the federal workforce. The program — which encourages federal workers to resign with the promise of pay through September — had been halted since last Thursday, when U.S. District Judge George …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Elon Musk’s X has agreed to pay about $10 million to settle a lawsuit that Donald Trump brought against the company and its former chief executive, according to people familiar with the matter. The agreement makes X the second social-media platform to settle litigation that Trump filed when the companies deplatformed him over his role …

Drop Site reports: The State Department’s procurement forecast, revised as of late December 2024, lists Tesla as the recipient of the largest expected contract, with Marco Rubio’s department planning to buy $400,000,000 worth of “Armored Tesla.” The award is targeted for Q4, and is forecast to last for five years. The procurement forecast is listed as having been modified on December …

KAITLAN COLLINS: “Which White House official made the decision to bar the AP reporter from the Oval Office and the diplomatic reception room last night?” KAROLINE LEAVITT: “First of all, let me just set the record straight. It is a privilege to cover this White House. It is a privilege to be the White House press secretary. And nobody has …