Trump Corruption

“Over the last 40 years, even conservatives, we’ve talked a big game for 40 years about cutting the federal government, about reducing the scope of the federal government. “Politicians haven’t been able to do it. And so Elon and I, we’re not politicians. We’re businessmen. We’re coming at it from the outside. Sometimes if you go inside, you become native …

NBC News reports: The Trump transition team is compiling a list of senior current and former U.S. military officers  and exploring whether they could be court-martialed. Officials working on the transition are considering creating a commission to investigate the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, including gathering information about who was directly involved in the decision-making for the military, how it was …

The New York Times reports: President-elect Donald J. Trump chose his attorney general almost on a whim, in the sky between Washington and Palm Beach, Fla. He scoffed at a candidate for the Department of Homeland Security, then abruptly changed his mind. His defense secretary pick was a snap judgment during a slide presentation at Mar-a-Lago. Much of the action …

The Associated Press reports: Rudy Giuliani has relinquished dozens of watches and a Mercedes once owned by movie star Lauren Bacall to two former Georgia election workers who won a $148 million defamation judgment, his lawyer said. Joseph Cammarata said in a letter filed late Friday in Manhattan federal court that the trove of watches and a ring were delivered …

Fox News reports: President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Karoline Leavitt to serve as his press secretary for his upcoming administration. Leavitt has already acted as Trump’s spokesperson throughout his campaign. “Karoline Leavitt did a phenomenal job as the National Press Secretary on my Historic Campaign, and I am pleased to announce she will serve as White House Press Secretary,” Trump …

CNN reports: President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is bypassing traditional FBI background checks for at least some of his Cabinet picks while using private companies to conduct vetting of potential candidates for administration jobs, people close to the transition planning say. Trump and his allies believe the FBI system is slow and plagued with issues that could stymie the president-elect’s plan …

Law & Crime reports: Rudy Giuliani’s legal woes continued to worsen this week. On the heels of his bankruptcy attorneys seeking to quit, a Colorado appeals court on Thursday handed down a significant victory to a former Dominion Voting Systems executive, allowing him to proceed with a defamation lawsuit. The ruling was issued by a three-judge panel on the Colorado …

Politico reports: Steven Cheung, who served as Donald Trump’s principal spokesperson on his 2024 campaign and also served on his 2020 and 2016 campaigns, is joining the White House as communications director, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. Cheung has been a near constant presence at Trump’s side and a key member of his tight-knit presidential …

“It’s breathtaking in its extremism. Matt Gaetz has no experience whatsoever with the Department of Justice other than being a subject of investigation for trafficking, sex trafficking minors. “That’s his experience with the Department of Justice. We’re talking about someone who would be responsible for the entire system of justice, who has been and investigated by the system of justice …

The Columbia Journalism Review reports: The letter, addressed to lawyers at the New York Times and Penguin Random House, arrived a week before the election. Attached was a discursive ten-page legal threat from an attorney for Donald Trump that demanded $10 billion in damages over “false and defamatory statements” contained in articles by Peter Baker, Michael S. Schmidt, Susanne Craig, …

Bloomberg Law reports: President-elect Donald Trump announced plans to nominate John Sauer, his personal lawyer who argued his immunity case at the Supreme Court last term, to be US Solicitor General. Sauer is a former federal prosecutor who served as Missouri’s Solicitor General from 2017 to 2023. In that role, he tried to intervene on behalf of Missouri and five …

The New York Times reports: President-elect Donald J. Trump said on Thursday that he would name Todd Blanche, who oversaw his legal defense against multiple indictments, to become the No. 2 official at the Justice Department. The selection of Mr. Blanche, a former supervising federal prosecutor in Manhattan, as the deputy attorney general at the Justice Department serves as a …

The New York Times reports: Elon Musk, a close adviser to President-elect Donald J. Trump, met with Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations on Monday in New York in a session that two Iranian officials described as a discussion of how to defuse tensions between Iran and the United States. The Iranians said the meeting between Mr. Musk and Ambassador …

The Washington Post reports: All spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid undermining their own preparations. The planning, they acknowledge, responds to a hypothetical worst case in which a second Trump presidency ushers in systematic suppression of free speech and criminalization of dissent. Trump’s victory alone has set off alarms among some of his most outspoken critics, as well …

The Daily Beast reports: A notable new name has joined the chorus of calls for someone inside the House Ethics Committee to release a “highly damaging” report about its probe into Matt Gaetz, who is now Donald Trump’s attorney-general-in-waiting. John Clune, a lawyer for the woman who has accused Gaetz of having an inappropriate relationship with her as a high …

Via press release from Sen. Dick Durbin: U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding the preservation and sharing of the House Ethics Committee report with the Senate Judiciary Committee about allegations against former Congressman Matt Gaetz, who resigned from Congress yesterday after President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention …

Axios reports: With 67 days until President-elect Trump is sworn in, his administration-in-waiting is still bypassing the official process designed to facilitate the transfer of control over the vast federal bureaucracy. For now, future Trump administration officials won’t have access to the agencies they’ll soon lead, to secure communications systems, or potentially to security briefings and clearances. Trump’s team has …

From the Wall Street Journal editorial board: This is a bad choice for AG that would undermine confidence in the law. Mr. Trump lauded Mr. Gaetz’s law degree from William and Mary, but it might as well be a doctorate in outrage theater. He’s a performer and provocateur, and his view is that the more explosions he can cause, the …

The Daily Mail reports: Donald Trump and Elon Musk looked more like Simon and Garfunkel at Mar-a-Lago during a rendition of God Bless America – but fans spotted one minor problem. The duo returned to a hero’s welcome at the ‘Winter White House’ Wednesday night and Trump joked he can’t get rid of his billionaire “first buddy.” But as Musk …

“If I am able to serve, I would love to serve the people of Florida. This is my home state now and has been for three years. This is where Eric and I live and truly to have that opportunity, I think would be incredible, and no one knows better than I do the America first agenda or the goals …