Trump Corruption

PolitiFact reports: As he described his intention to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, President Donald Trump derided the U.S. education system, arguing the country performs the worst globally despite spending the most. In an interview with Fox News host Bret Baier that aired Feb. 10, Trump said the U.S. performs poorly on the global scale despite spending more than …

The New York Times reports: President Trump on Saturday posted on social media a single sentence that appears to encapsulate his attitude as he tests the nation’s legal and constitutional boundaries in the process of upending the federal government and punishing his perceived enemies. “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” Mr. Trump wrote, first on his social …

The New York Times reports: President Trump has been busy upending the federal government, reorienting U.S. foreign policy, threatening trade wars and winning confirmation for his Cabinet choices. But he has managed to find time for a project closer to home: He has told associates that he wants to rip up the grass in the Rose Garden, one of the …

The New York Times reports: Federal prosecutors in Washington formally asked a judge on Friday to drop corruption charges against Mayor Eric Adams of New York City after the acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan resigned in the face of an order to carry out the request. The prosecutors, Emil Bove III, Edward Sullivan and Antoinette T. Bacon, filed the request …

The New York Times reports: President Trump said on Friday that he planned to move forward with tariffs on foreign cars on April 2, but did not specify how much the tariffs would be or which nations could be targeted. Automakers have been bracing for the impact of tariffs and have forecast significant job losses. Asked about when he might …

Axios reports: The former chief technologist at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warns that twelve years of critical records could be “irretrievably lost” in the DOGE purge of the agency, per an affidavit filed in federal court Friday. The stability of the financial system is at stake, claims Erie Meyer, who served in that position at the agency until last …

USA Today reports: Photographs taken from inside the White House show President Donald Trump has his mug shot framed and hung just outside the Oval Office. Images taken during a Thursday meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Oval Office went viral after an open doorway revealed the New York Post’s cover of the infamous photo hanging on …

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: …