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Showing posts from July, 2023

Trump team launching legal defense fund to help pay legal bills

Former President Donald Trump's team is launching a legal defense fund. Former President Donald Trump's team is launching a legal defense fund aimed at helping to handle the onslaught of legal bills the former president and his allies face as the investigations into him mount, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News. On Sunday, ABC News reported that a super PAC supporting Trump spent more than $40 million on legal costs in the first half of 2023 to defend Trump, his advisers and others, sources familiar with a filing detailing the costs told ABC. The filing from the Save America PAC is expected to be released on Monday. MORE: Trump says he's 'more committed' than ever as he holds first 2024 campaign events For now, the legal fund is not meant to cover Trump's own bills, the sources said. The legal defense fund will be called the Patriot Legal Defense Fund Inc., the sources said. It is expected to be led by Michael Glassner, who has previously served

Timeline: Special counsel's probe into Trump's handling of classified documents

A timeline into the special counsel's probe into former President Donald Trump's handling of classified documents Special counsel Jack Smith has filed additional charges against former President Donald Trump and his aide Walt Nauta and added a new defendant to Smith’s case over Trump's handling of classified documents after leaving office in early 2021. The superseding indictment adds a new count charging Trump with willful retention of national defense information. Carlos De Oliveira, a Trump Organization worker who sources tell ABC News is the head of maintenance at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, was added to the obstruction conspiracy charges. Prosecutors allege he conspired to delete security footage from Mar-a-Lago as federal officials were investigating the retention of the classified documents . Here is how the latest charges came about. June 22, 2022 After observing security footage near the storage room in which classified information was found, the Justice De

Presidential candidates converge on Iowa for a week full of events

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Presidential candidates are converging on Iowa, the first-in-the-nation Republican primary state whose coveted nomination remains up for grabs. With six months until nomination contests begin, presidential candidates are once again converging on Iowa, the first-in-the-nation Republican primary state whose coveted nomination remains up for grabs. On Friday night, GOP candidates will flock to the state's capital of Des Moines for the Lincoln Dinner, an event hosted by the Iowa Republican Party. With 13 candidates in attendance, the event marks one of the largest campaign gatherings in the state so far this year. Each candidate will have 10 minutes to address the crowd. Capping off that event is former President Donald Trump, whose presence in Iowa has been closely watched since he began a spat with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds earlier this month. Trump has criticized Reynolds on social media for remaining neutral in the nomination contest, claiming that his endorsement allowed her to

Biden administration criticizes ruling striking down asylum policy

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Justice Department appeals a federal judge's ruling striking down the "rebuttable presumption" of asylum ineligibility. The Biden administration expressed a federal judge's ruling striking down the Biden administration's asylum policy that established a "rebuttable presumption" of asylum ineligibility. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said he disagreed with the court's ruling. "It does not limit our ability to deliver consequences for unlawful entry," he said. "Do not believe the lies of smugglers. Those who fail to use one of the many lawful pathways we have expanded will be presumed ineligible for asylum and, if they do not have a basis to remain, will be subject to prompt removal, a minimum five-year bar on admission, and potential criminal prosecution for unlawful reentry." Shortly after the decision was handed down, the Justice Department said it stood by the policy. "We remain confident in our position

White House, Secret Service respond to report of Bidens' dog biting people

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The White House and the U.S. Secret Service react to report of the Bidens' dog, Commander Biden, biting seven people in four months. Another Biden pup is in the doghouse. The White House and Secret Service are responding to a report of first dog Commander Biden biting several people, including Secret Service agents, at the president's various residences. The New York Post cites US Secret Service emails obtained by Judicial Watch via a Freedom of Information Act request that detail incidents of the German Shepard biting seven people in a four-month period -- including one incident that resulted in the victim, a Secret Service agent, being transported to a hospital after getting treatment from White House medical personnel. Neither the White House nor the Secret Service addressed the specifics of the report in their statements but seemingly confirmed the bad behavior by Commander. The communications director for first lady Jill Biden, Elizabeth Alexander, said the first family

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff makes historic visit to Samoa

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Second gentleman Doug Emhoff became the highest-profile U.S. official to visit Samoa Monday to underscore the Biden administration’s commitment to Pacific island nations. Second gentleman Doug Emhoff became the highest-profile U.S. official to visit Samoa Monday, looking to underscore the Biden administration's commitment to Pacific island nations in an effort to curb China's influence in the region. "President Biden and Vice President Harris are committed to our partnership with Samoa. Our relationship has never been stronger. And we will strengthen it further. We are neighbors and friends," Emhoff said, according to a transcript of remarks released by the White House. "We have shared goals: tackling the climate crisis, investing in economic development and empowering women. And we have long standing people-to-people ties. I am here to help strengthen these ties." MORE: Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff to announce USAID In Samoa Second gentleman Douglas Emhoff

'I worry' about 'price' to get soldier Travis King back from North Korea, McCaul says

North Korea could impose demands in order for the U.S. to retrieve Travis King, Michael McCaul said Sunday House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul said Sunday that he's concerned North Korea will demand concessions from the United States in exchange for releasing American Travis King, the soldier who last week fled across the border from South Korea. "Is he defecting? I think he was running from his problems," McCaul, R-Texas, told ABC "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz, referencing King's pending discipline in the U.S. after being detained in South Korea for nearly two months following a local altercation. "That was the wrong place to go. But we see this with Russia, China, Iran -- when they take an American, particularly a soldier , captive, they exact a price for that," McCaul said. "And that's what I worry about." MORE: What we know about Travis King, the American soldier detained in North Korea Officials have sa

DeSantis says Jan. 6 was 'unfortunate' but not an insurrection

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis this week refused to call the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol an “insurrection." Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis this week refused to call the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol an "insurrection" and blamed the press for having "spun up" the attack to "get as much mileage out of it and use it for partisan and political aims." In Friday's interview on the "Stay Free with Russell Brand" podcast, DeSantis declared the attack "was not an insurrection." "These were people that were there to attend a rally, and then they were there to protest," he added. "Now, it devolved into a riot, but the idea that this was a plan to somehow overthrow the government of the United States is not true and it's something that the media had spun up to try to basically get as much mileage out of it and use it for partisan and political aims." The governor said he would be willing to label the a

Sununu will not run for reelection as New Hampshire governor: 'The time is right'

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Gov. Chris Sununu said Wednesday that he will not run for reelection in New Hampshire, elevating the race to replace him to the heart of the 2024 gubernatorial map New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said Wednesday that he will not run for reelection next year, elevating the race to replace him to the heart of the gubernatorial map in 2024. Sununu, a Republican who is serving his fourth two-year term as his state's executive, hails from a prominent family in New Hampshire and is considered near-royalty in local political circles. His announcement leaves the GOP field wide open -- but not empty. Former state Senate President Chuck Morse quickly jumped into the race and former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte teased an upcoming announcement, too. In a letter to supporters, Sununu wrote that "public service should never be a career, and the time is right for another Republican to lead our great state." MORE: Republicans on campaign trail, Capitol Hill seek to dismiss seriousness of Trump

Senate committee to advance Supreme Court ethics bill after alleged justice misconduct

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The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday will vote on whether to advance legislation that would require the U.S. Supreme Court to adopt a binding code of ethics The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday will -- for the first time -- vote to advance legislation that would require the U.S. Supreme Court to adopt a binding code of ethics, adhere to more stringent disclosure requirements and explain recusal decisions to the public. The unusual step follows a wave of news reports that Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito failed to disclose ties to wealthy Business men and political donors, including acceptance of luxury Travel and accommodations, and that Justice Sonia Sotomayor used taxpayer-funded court staff to help sell her books. Alito personally defended himself -- arguing, in a rare op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal, that he acted appropriately. In Thomas' case, he maintained that he thought he didn't have to disclose those ties; while in Sotomayor's ca