Trump Corruption

The Washington Post reports: A top adviser to President-elect Donald Trump asked potential administration nominees to give him monthly consulting fees in exchange for advocating for them to Trump, a written review by Trump’s legal team concluded. The scathing review of Boris Epshteyn, a top lawyer to Trump who has extensive sway in the transition, was prepared by Trump’s attorneys …

Axios reports: Trump is considering naming an AI czar in the White House to coordinate federal policy and governmental use of the emerging technology, Trump transition sources told Axios. Elon Musk won’t be the AI czar, but is expected to be intimately involved in shaping the future of the debate and use cases, the sources said. Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy …

The New York Times reports: The civil lawsuit from District Attorney Larry Krasner of Philadelphia against Elon Musk and his super PAC, America PAC, has been officially dropped, according to a new filing from Krasner’s office. Krasner had sued Musk and the group because of their attempt to stage what Krasner called an illegal lottery in which Musk’s group gave …

CNN reports: President-elect Donald Trump on Monday promised massive hikes in tariffs on goods coming from Mexico, Canada and China starting on the first day of his administration, a policy that could sharply increase costs for American businesses and consumers. The move, Trump said, will be in retaliation for illegal immigration and “crime and drugs” coming across the border. “On …

The Meidas Touch reports: It looks like another grift of Donald Trump’s may be ending before it even starts. Today, Gibson Guitars sent a cease and desist letter to the owner of Trump Guitars, 16 Creative. While Donald Trump does not own Trump Guitars, he has publicly called on his supporters to purchase the guitars and the company dubs the …

The New York Times reports: Trump has always demanded loyalty from his aides, but few have answered the call quite like Natalie Harp. A 33-year-old former far-right cable host, Ms. Harp is nearly always at Mr. Trump’s side. She has written him a series of devotional letters, including one that said, “You are all that matters to me.” Once, when …

Reuters reports: A U.S. judge on Monday dismissed the federal criminal case accusing Donald Trump of attempting to overturn his 2020 election defeat after prosecutors moved to drop that prosecution and a second case against the president-elect, citing Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president. The order from U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan puts an end to the federal …

“These cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless, and should never have been brought. Over $100 Million Dollars of Taxpayer Dollars has been wasted in the Democrat Party’s fight against their Political Opponent, ME. “Nothing like this has ever happened in our Country before. They have also used State …

CNN reports: Attorneys for Donald Trump conducted an internal investigation into allegations that one of his top aides, Boris Epshteyn, has sought to gain financially from his influence with Trump and others in the president-elect’s orbit, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. The internal investigation, which was confirmed by half a dozen sources and is not criminal in …

The New York Times reports: The special counsel, Jack Smith, asked a federal judge in Washington on Monday to dismiss the indictment charging President-elect Donald J. Trump with plotting to subvert the 2020 election, bowing to a Justice Department policy that says it is unconstitutional to pursue prosecutions against sitting presidents. Minutes after the filing in Washington, Mr. Smith made …

MSNBC reports: Special counsel Jack Smith on Monday asked U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to dismiss the federal election interference case against President-elect Donald Trump. Once Trump won the presidential election, that meant that his two federal criminal cases (this one and the classified documents case) would eventually go away, whether by lawyers in the current Justice Department or the …

From a Washington Post opinion column: Let’s be clear: From a legal standpoint, Trump does not need a presidential pardon. Special counsel Jack Smith is in the process of shutting down his federal investigations. If Smith does not close his cases, Trump can simply fire him the second he takes office. But while Trump might not need Biden’s pardon, America …

The Independent reports: Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order that would remove transgender servicemembers from the military as soon as his first day in office. The president-elect is reportedly preparing to issue an order following his inauguration on January 20 that would effectively ban trans people serving in the military — and then medically discharge the thousands …

The New York Times reports: Trump is keeping secret the names of the donors who are funding his transition effort, a break from tradition that could make it impossible to see what interest groups, businesses or wealthy people are helping launch his second term. Mr. Trump has so far declined to sign an agreement with the Biden administration that imposes …

The Washington Post reports: Again and again, when Donald Trump has faced scandal and scrutiny, Pam Bondi was there to defend him. Bondi said the Justice Department’s special counsel investigation into whether Trump associates coordinated with Russian interference in the 2016 election needed to be dissolved. She declared that the 45th president’s first impeachment in 2019 was a “sham.” And …

The Hill reports: Rudy Giuliani has appealed a judge’s decision last month ordering him to turn over most of his assets to two Georgia election workers to satisfy their $146 million defamation judgment. After months of collection efforts, U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman on Oct. 22 ordered Giuliani to hand over his New York apartment, Mercedes-Benz, luxury watches, signed New …

The Washington Post reports: President-elect Donald Trump plans to fire the entire team that worked with special counsel Jack Smith to pursue two federal prosecutions against the former president, including career attorneys typically protected from political retribution, according to two individuals close to Trump’s transition. Trump is also planning to assemble investigative teams within the Justice Department to hunt for …

Politico reports: Is it newsworthy that Donald Trump’s share of the 2024 presidential vote has fallen below 50 percent? You wouldn’t think it’s a big deal based on the relatively few headlines triggered by the milestone, which passed quietly last weekend as California and other states continued their glacially slow vote counts. Trump’s 49.9 percent (for now) is still more …

CNN reports: The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial has adjourned his sentencing, which was set for next week. Judge Juan Merchan also agreed to hold off on issuing his decision on presidential immunity until after he reviews the parties’ filings. Merchan granted Trump’s request to file a motion to dismiss the case – ordering them to submit …

The Huffington Post reports: A civil contempt hearing is now on the books in Washington, D.C., for Rudy Giuliani — just a day after two election workers he defamed, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, notified a judge that they believed the former New York City mayor has continued to smear them publicly. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ordered Giuliani on …