Trump Corruption

The Washington Post reports: A lawsuit claiming billionaire Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” violates federal transparency rules will be filed within minutes of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration Monday, kicking off a legal battle over a key aspect of the incoming administration’s agenda. In a 30-page complaint obtained by The Washington Post ahead of its filing, the public interest law …

The Washington Post reports: Scores of senior career diplomats are resigning from the State Department effective at noon on Monday after receiving instructions to do so from President-elect Donald Trump’s aides, three U.S. officials familiar with the matter said. The forced departures, aimed at establishing a decisive break from the Biden administration, will result in an exodus of decorated veterans …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis said Donald Trump’s plans to impose mass deportations of immigrants would be a “disgrace,” as he weighed in on the incoming U.S. president’s pledges nearly a decade after calling him “not Christian” for wanting to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. Francis made the comments during an appearance at an evening talk show, …

The Independent reports: Donald Trump closed his pre-inauguration victory rally in Washington, D.C. with a live performance of “Y.M.C.A.” The president-elect hosted the “Make American Great Again Victory Rally” at Washington’s Capital One Arena on Sunday, less than 24 hours before Inauguration Day. As Trump ended his final speech before taking the White House for a second term, the band …

CNBC reports: Incoming first lady Melania Trump launched her own meme coin ahead of her husband’s inauguration as the 47th president of the United States on Monday. In a Sunday evening post on the X social media platform, she announced that investors “can buy $MELANIA now.” The Melania token was trading at $11.16 at 10:48 a.m. London time on Monday, …

The Associated Press reports: President-elect Donald Trump says he plans to issue an executive order that would give TikTok’s China-based parent company more time to find an approved buyer before the popular video-sharing platform is subject to a permanent ban in the U.S. Trump announced the decision in a post on his Truth Social account on Sunday as millions of …

The Associated Press reports: Donald Trump returned to Washington Saturday evening to celebrate with family, supporters and political allies ahead of his second inauguration. Trump made his way from West Palm Beach, Florida, with his wife Melania Trump and their son Barron aboard a U.S. military C-32 aircraft on a flight dubbed Special Air Mission 47 — a nod to …

The Hill reports: Former Trump White House press secretary Sean Spicer predicted that President-elect Trump will sign over 100 executive orders on a range of topics “early next week. “My guess is that by the time we wake up Wednesday morning, there’s over 100 executive orders in action, signed by this president,” Spicer said on NewsNation’s show “The Hill.” Spicer …

NBC News reports: Incoming administration staffers are being warned to weigh the threat of a pricey legal defense and consider purchasing a form of legal insurance that would provide them a lawyer if needed, a protection that many now consider part of doing business after former Trump aides were hauled before congressional committees and grand juries over the past eight …

Forbes reports: In a move that perfectly encapsulates the peculiarities of our times, Donald Trump launched a meme coin on January 17th, 2025, just a few days before his presidential inauguration. Within less than 24 hours it has reached a staggering market capitalization of $4.8 billion and a fully diluted valuation of $24.3 billion. “Trump Coin” has taken the cryptocurrency …

Investing.com reports: Paramount Global has been considering options to settle a $10 billion lawsuit filed by Donald Trump over a CBS News interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, according a report from the Wall Street Journal. The lawsuit alleges that CBS News committed election interference by editing portions of the interview, favoring Harris’s presidential campaign. The media conglomerate, which owns …

Axios reports: President-elect Trump sent shockwaves through Capitol Hill on Friday by announcing that his inaugural ceremonies will take place indoors, leaving members of Congress guessing about their plans. Monday’s proceedings will now take place in the Capitol rotunda — an extremely limited space — meaning many lawmakers will likely not be able to attend. When Ronald Reagan was inaugurated …

“January 20th cannot come fast enough! Everybody, even those that initially opposed a Victory by President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Administration, just want it to happen. It is my obligation to protect the People of our Country but, before we even begin, we have to think of the Inauguration itself. “The weather forecast for Washington, D.C., with the …

CNN reports: President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration is expected to be moved indoors Monday due to dangerously cold temperatures projected in the nation’s capital, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the plans told CNN. Plans are underway to have Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance sworn into office inside the US Capitol Rotunda, the sources said. Discussions regarding where to hold …

Rahm Emanuel writes for the Washington Post: What’s 18-karat gold, bears the face of a Swedish inventor and keeps Donald Trump awake at night? The Nobel Peace Prize. Trump began obsessing over the annual award long before he failed to win one during his first term as president. Much of his griping has been aimed at Barack Obama, who was …

Mediaite reports: President-elect Donald Trump signaled he might investigate FBI Office of Diversity, and Inclusion, demanding the agency “preserve and retain all records, documents” after the organization shuttered the office the month after Trump’s election win. The DEI office within the FBI closed its doors in December 2024, according to Fox News, but did not give a reason as to …

Variety reports: President-elect Donald Trump is hoping to make Hollywood “stronger than ever before” by naming Sylvester Stallone, Mel Gibson and Jon Voight as “special ambassadors,” whose goal will be to bring back business lost to “foreign countries.” It appears that the newly appointed ambassadors had little advance notice on the news, as Gibson said he found out at the …

Bloomberg Law reports: Trump’s attorney general selection Pam Bondi is worth $12.2 million, $3.9 million of which is held in Trump Media shares she received after the Truth Social parent company went public last year, financial disclosures obtained by Bloomberg Law show. After a long career in public service, Bondi appeared to accumulate much of her wealth once she entered …

Rolling Stone reports: President-elect Donald Trump’s Treasury Secretary pick, a billionaire who has been accused of evading taxes, says that “the most important economic issue of the day” is extending Trump’s tax cuts for the ultra rich. Scott Bessent spoke about his economic plans while sitting for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday. Bessent is an …

CBS News reports: Quietly, just before the calendar turned for the new year, an already whopping debt tentatively owed by President-elect Donald Trump and co-defendants in his New York civil fraud case hit an eye-popping, interest-accumulating milestone: half a billion dollars. The total crossed $500 million on Dec. 29, and stands at more than $502 million on Thursday, a spokesperson …