Trump Corruption

The Associated Press reports: A federal judge in Seattle is set to hear the first arguments Thursday in a multi-state lawsuit seeking to block President Donald Trump’s executive order ending the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship regardless of the parents’ immigration status. U.S. District Judge John Coughenour, a Ronald Reagan appointee, scheduled the session to consider the request from Arizona, …

The Daily Beast reports: President Donald Trump called for the MSNBC cable news network to be shuttered in an evening rant on Truth Social. Reacting to reports that CNN is planning to lay off hundreds of employees amidst a ratings crisis, Trump wrote on his social media platform: “MSDNC is even worse than CNN. They shouldn’t have a right to …

The Military Times reports: Congressional lawmakers this week expressed concern that President Donald Trump’s new federal hiring freeze could hurt operations at Veterans Affairs medical centers by complicating efforts to fill critical health care specialties. VA ended fiscal 2024 with about 454,000 staffers, about 417,000 of whom work in department medical centers and clinics. About 10% of the workforce leaves …

The New York Times reports: Ross Ulbricht launched Silk Road in 2011 and turned it into one of the most popular outposts of the so-called Dark Web, a hidden corner of the internet that people can access only through a special browser. Silk Road facilitated over 1.5 million transactions, generating more than $200 million in revenue from the sale of …

“The Democrats don’t care about North Carolina. What they’ve done with FEMA is so bad. FEMA is a whole ‘nother discussion because all it does is complicate everything. FEMA has not done their job for the last four years. “You know, I had FEMA working really well. We had hurricanes in Florida, we had Alabama, tornadoes. But unless you have …

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports: A Milwaukee TV weather forecaster has been dropped by her station one day after she criticized Elon Musk on social media for his straight-arm gesture that many have likened to a Nazi salute. Staffers at WDJT-TV (Channel 58) were alerted by email on Wednesday that meteorologist Sam Kuffel had left the station. Her biography and picture …

The New York Times reports: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump’s pick to be health secretary, is keeping his financial stake in major litigation against Merck over a widely used vaccine given to young people, according to an ethics agreement made public on Wednesday and court documents. That conflict of interest could raise questions for lawmakers as Mr. Kennedy aims …

Politico reports: Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to visit Panama — the country whose canal President Donald Trump has suggested he’d seize — as early as next week, according to three U.S. officials briefed on the plan. The trip is expected to be Rubio’s first foreign travel as secretary of State, said one former official who was also …

Forbes reports: President Donald Trump said Tuesday he issued a pardon for Ross Ulbricht, who was sentenced to life in prison nearly a decade ago for creating the Silk Road, a website law enforcement called the “most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace” on the internet—best-known for sales of illicit drugs. Ulbricht developed a “deep interest” in libertarian philosophy and joined …

“It was supposed to be a unifying and bipartisan church service. Everybody there was shocked and mortified by the disturbing comments from this bishop who chose to weaponize the pulpit. She spewed lies. She should apologize to President Trump for the lies that she told. It’s despicable.” – White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, speaking to a nodding state television …

Axios reports: President Trump has issued a sweeping executive order revoking decades of diversity and affirmative action practices in federal government. This takes the current pushback on diversity, equity and inclusion into the next stratosphere — abolishing decades of government standards on diversity and equal opportunity, and seeking to crack down on the same in the private sector. Trump’s order …

The Washington Post reports: The Trump administration late Tuesday directed federal prosecutors nationwide to investigate and potentially prosecute state and local officials who don’t cooperate with the president’s plans to carry out the largest mass deportation campaign in U.S. history, according to a document obtained by The Washington Post. In a memo to Justice Department employees, acting deputy attorney general …

The Hill reports: President Trump is facing backlash after he and first lady Melania Trump launched two cryptocurrency tokens just days before his inauguration. “It undermines the seriousness of any liberalization of regulations that Trump undertakes for the crypto space because it makes it look self-interested,” said Nic Carter, a founding partner at crypto investment firm Castle Island Ventures. But …

“I like both sides of the argument, but I also like very competent people coming into our country, even if that involves them training and helping other people that may not have the qualifications they do. But I don’t want to stop, and I’m not just talking about engineers. I’m talking about people at all levels. We want competent people …

Just in via press release: The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) have had long standing and positive relationships with both President Trump and President Biden and have greatly appreciated their support of the policing profession. However, the IACP and FOP are deeply discouraged by the recent pardons and commutations granted by …

Mint reports: Debate around the nationality of Kamala Harris resurfaced this week as US President Donald Trump sought to end birthright citizenship. The executive order signed by Trump on Monday seeks to revoke birthright citizenship for children born to foreign passport holders in the United States. Such a rule (had it existed at the time of Harris’ birth) would have …

Axios reports: President Trump’s sweeping pardons for 1,500 Jan. 6 criminals and defendants were a last-minute, rip-the-bandage-off decision to try to move past the issue quickly, White House advisers familiar with the Trump team’s discussions tell Axios. Trump’s move to “go big” on the pardons sheds light on his unpredictable decision-making process, and shows his determination to fulfill a campaign …

NBC News reports: The Trump administration is ordering all federal employees in diversity, equity and inclusion roles placed on paid leave by Wednesday evening, according to a new memo from the Office of Personnel Management. The memo, issued Tuesday to heads of departments and agencies, sets a deadline of no later than 5 p.m. ET Wednesday to inform the employees …

Washington DC’s NBC affiliate reports: As a D.C. police officer, Mike Fanone devoted more than 20 years to protecting his neighbors. Now, he’s trying to protect himself and his family. Fanone went to the Prince William County Courthouse on Tuesday to seek protective orders against the five men who pleaded guilty to violently assaulting him during the Jan. 6, 2021 …

Variety reports: An average of 24.6 million viewers watched Donald Trump‘s inauguration as the 47th president of the United States on Monday per Nielsen. That’s a lower total than what was achieved by both of the two most recent inauguration broadcasts: 27% below the 33.8 million viewers who tuned into Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration in 2021, and 21% below the …