Trump Corruption

CNN reports: Former Rep. Matt Gaetz is quietly urging GOP senators to give him a chance to prove himself suitable to be attorney general amid growing calls from top Republicans to access a House Ethics Committee report expected to detail allegations of sexual misconduct involving the ex-congressman. The pressure is all building ahead of a planned Wednesday meeting of the …

Vanity Fair reports: For now, Donald Trump is reportedly standing by Pete Hegseth, his embattled pick for defense secretary, but some Trump transition officials are beginning to doubt whether the Fox News host can survive the controversy. According to two Republicans close to Trump, the transition team is quietly preparing a list of alternative defense secretary candidates should Trump abandon …

CNN reports: Trump transition co-chair Linda McMahon is expected to be named as secretary of the Department of Education, four sources familiar with the matter told CNN. She is the board chair of the America First Policy Institute, a pro-Trump think tank that was formed in 2021 by McMahon, Larry Kudlow and other advisers from the first Trump administration. McMahon …

The Washington Post reports: A thousand miles from the austere buildings where Washington runs, Donald Trump’s transition team in his Mar-a-Lago resort has begun what a close ally calls a hostile takeover of the federal government. Since his victory, Trump has ignored many of the rules and practices intended to guide a seamless transfer of power and handover of the …

CNBC reports: Walmart’s CFO, John David Rainey, said the retailer could have to raise prices on some items if President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs take effect. “We never want to raise prices,” he said in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday. “Our model is everyday low prices. But there probably will be cases where prices will go up for consumers.” …

“You know, there’s a lot the FCC can do. Broadcasters are differently situated than other speakers. They get free access to a valuable public resource, the airwaves. And they’re licensed by the FCC. And the exchange for that is the extra the public interest. “I think it’s important that we take another look at that and we reinvigorate it. There’s …

Axios reports: Trump will nominate billionaire Howard Lutnick as Commerce secretary, a top transition source tells Axios. The Commerce Department will have a key role in implementing the tariffs Trump has vowed to implement — and Lutnick has been a vocal supporter. Lutnick, co-chair of Trump’s transition, was hoping to become Treasury secretary, but Trump recently soured on the finalists …

USA Today reports: President-elect Donald Trump’s Nov. 26 sentencing date in his New York hush money case has been cancelled as the judge considers how to proceed in light of Trump’s election victory. On Nov. 10, after his victory, Trump lawyer Emil Bove argued in an email to Judge Juan Merchan that the case should also be dismissed based on …

The New York Times reports: President-elect Donald J. Trump plans to attend a SpaceX launch in Texas on Tuesday, according to two people familiar with the planning, in yet another demonstration of the billionaire Elon Musk’s increasing closeness to the incoming president. SpaceX will be conducting its sixth test of its Starship rocket, the largest and most powerful rocket ever …

The New York Times reports: In his private conversations over the past few days, President-elect Donald J. Trump has admitted that his besieged choice for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, has less than even odds of being confirmed by the Senate. But Mr. Trump has shown no sign of withdrawing the nomination, which speaks volumes about his mind-set as he staffs …

Axios reports: President-elect Trump is personally calling senators to press them to confirm former Rep. Matt Gaetz to be his attorney general, according to senators who have spoken with Trump. Trump is digging in on his embattled and controversial nominee and is sending an unmistakable message to Senate Republicans that he expects him to be confirmed. “He clearly wants Matt …

The Washington Post reports: Civil-liberties lawyers alarmed by President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to launch mass deportations of undocumented immigrants sued the federal government Monday for information about how authorities might quickly remove people from the United States. The federal lawsuit alleges that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has failed to respond to requests for basic information about its existing contracts …

The Huffington Post reports: A New York judge has reportedly agreed to postpone the start of Steve Bannon’s trial on charges that he defrauded supporters of President-elect Donald Trump after his defense requested it be pushed back into the new year. Judge April Newbauer moved his Dec. 9 trial start date to Feb. 25, according to Courthouse News and reporter …

CNN reports: Trump’s pick for chairman of the FCC, Brendan Carr, wasted no time in stating his priorities on Sunday night. Just one hour after thanking the president for the appointment, Carr wrote on X, “We must dismantle the censorship cartel and restore free speech rights for everyday Americans.” Musk immediately replied with one word of affirmation: “Based.” Carr has …

The Hill reports: President-elect Trump on Monday recirculated a social media post suggesting his incoming administration will declare an immigration national emergency and use military assets to support his mass deportation pledge, labeling the claim “TRUE!!!” On his Truth Social site, Trump at 4:03 a.m. re-posted Tom Fitton, the president of Judicial Watch, a conservative organization that’s been active, both …

The Daily Beast reports: Trump is calling for the investigation of pollster Ann Selzer after she released a bombshell Iowa poll just days before the presidential election that showed Democratic nominee Kamala Harris up in the state by three points. Ultimately, Selzer was off by 16 points. On Sunday, just a few weeks after the poll was released, Selzer announced …

Bloomberg News reports: Members of President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team have told advisers they plan to make a federal framework for fully self-driving vehicles one of the Transportation Department’s priorities, according to people familiar with the matter. If new rules enable cars without human controls, that would directly benefit Elon Musk, the Tesla Inc. chief executive officer and Trump mega-donor …

“The stuff that Trump eats is really, like, bad. Campaign food is always bad, but the food that goes onto that airplane is like just poison. You don’t have the choice, you’re either given KFC or Big Macs. That’s when you’re lucky and then the rest of the stuff I consider kind of inedible. And then he drinks Diet Coke.” …

“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 …