Trump Corruption

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump said he was considering “getting rid of FEMA” as he visited hurricane-battered North Carolina on Friday during the first trip of his second term. The comment, made during a briefing on the monthslong recovery from Hurricane Helene, was the latest signal of how Trump is planning sweeping changes to the federal government’s role …

NOTUS reports: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed in amended campaign filings on Thursday that her unsuccessful 2022 congressional campaign owes more than $300,000 in unpaid debts, with Leavitt failing to disclose for years that her campaign took in hundreds of thousands of dollars in inappropriate donations and never paid the money back. The vast majority of that debt, …

The New York Times reports: Trump has repeatedly blamed Gov. Gavin Newsom and other California leaders for the fires that devastated Los Angeles. The president has charged that the state’s Democrats have stubbornly refused to send enough water to Southern California to fight fires. Trump’s view of the situation could have very real consequences. He threatened on Wednesday to withhold …

The New Jersey Monitor reports: Immigrant officials raided a business in Newark, detaining a U.S. military veteran and multiple undocumented residents without producing a warrant, according to city officials. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka released a statement describing ICE’s actions Thursday and condemning the agency for the raid. “This egregious act is in plain violation of the Fourth Amendment of the …

From the Wall Street Journal editorial board: The possibility of falling out of President Trump’s good graces is an occupational hazard for good people who serve in his Administration, but this looks like a new low: Mr. Trump reportedly has ordered an end to security protection for three former advisers who are living under threat of assassination by Iran. Pray …

Axios reports: The attack on DEI from the Trump administration could set back recent progress for disabled workers, particularly within the federal workforce, according to advocates and legal experts. People with disabilities face obstacles in landing jobs, but their employment rates soared in the wake of the pandemic as remote work became more common. At the same time there was …

“Putin shouldn’t have done it. He shouldn’t have done it and it has to stop. You know, they’ve lost about 850,000 Russian soldiers and 700,000 Ukrainian soldiers. “And Zelensky, I will say he wants to settle now. He’s had enough. He shouldn’t have allowed this to happen either. You know, he’s no angel. “He shouldn’t have allowed this war to …

Ars Technica reports: Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr has revived three complaints against broadcast stations accused of bias against President Donald Trump. The revived complaints target WNBC in New York, WCBS in New York, and 6 ABC in Philadelphia. The complaints were filed by the Center for American Rights and supported Trump’s claims of bias regarding ABC’s fact-checking during …

The Washington Post reports: The Trump administration is moving to abolish a Pentagon office responsible for promoting civilian safety in battlefield operations, suggesting that incoming Defense Department leaders may attempt to loosen restrictions on U.S. military operations worldwide. The office, housed within the Department of the Army, is tasked with helping the military to limit unintended civilian deaths. Trump’s nominee …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump signed pardons Thursday for 23 anti-abortion protesters whom the White House said were prosecuted under his predecessor Joe Biden’s administration. “They should not have been prosecuted. Many of them are elderly people,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office the day before a major anti-abortion march in Washington. “This is a great honor …

The New York Times reports: A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked President Trump’s executive order to end automatic citizenship to babies born on American soil, dealing the president his first setback as he attempts to upend the nation’s immigration laws and reverse decades of precedent. In a hearing held three days after Mr. Trump issued his executive order, a …

“I told them that what I want you to do is build your electric generating plant right next to your plant as a separate building connected. And they said, wow, you’re kidding. “If there were a problem with a pipe coming in, as an example, you’re going with gas, oil, and gas, and a pipe gets blown up or for …

“It has come to my attention that a fake crypto coin called ‘Ivanka Trump’ or ‘$IVANKA’ is being promoted without my consent or approval. “To be clear: I have no involvement with this coin. This fake coin risks deceiving consumers and defrauding them of their hard-earned money, and the unauthorized use of my name and likeness is a violation of …

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 …