US Politics

Ken Paxton to pay $3.3m to ex-staffers who accused Texas AG of corruptionState attorney general must also apologize to four former aides whose claims initiated ongoing FBI investigation The attorney general for the state of Texas, Ken Paxton, has agreed to apologize and pay $3.3m in taxpayer money to four former staffers who accused him of corruption in 2020, igniting an ongoing FBI investigation of the three-term Republican.Under terms of a preliminary lawsuit settlement filed on Friday, Paxton made no admission of wrongdoing to accusations of bribery and abuse of office, which he has denied for years and called politically motivated.Texas attorney general who tried to flee abortion subpoena ordered to testifyRead moreBut Paxton did commit to making a remarkable public apology toward some of his formerly trusted advisers whom he fired or forced out after they reported him to the FBI. He called them “rogue employees” after they accused Paxton of misusing his office to help one of his campaign contributors, who also employed a woman with whom the attorney general acknowledged having an extramarital affair.Both sides signed a mediated agreement that was filed in the Texas supreme court and will be followed by a longer, formalized settlement.“Attorney general Ken Paxton accepts that plaintiffs acted in a manner that they thought was right and apologizes for referring to them as ‘rogue employees’,” the final settlement must state, according to court records.In all, eight members of Paxton’s senior staff joined in the extraordinary revolt in 2020, and they either resigned or were fired. The attorney general said he settled with the four who sued under Texas’s whistleblower law to put to rest “this unfortunate sideshow”.“I have chosen this path to save taxpayer dollars and ensure my third term as attorney general is unburdened by unnecessary distractions,” Paxton said in a statement.The $3.3m payout would not come from Paxton’s own pocket but from state funds, which means it would still require approval by the Republican-controlled Texas legislature.Settlement of the case, which Paxton’s office fought in court for years, means he will avoid sitting for a civil deposition at a time when a corruption investigation by federal agents and prosecutors remains open. In turn, the attorney general’s office agreed to remove an October 2020 news release from its website that decries Paxton’s accusers and to issue the statement of contrition to former staffers David Maxwell, Ryan Vassar, Mark Penley and James Blake Brickman.The settlement also prevents Paxton from seeking the withdrawal of a 2021 appeals court ruling that state whistleblower law applies to the attorney general. But it does not include any provisions limiting the ability of Paxton’s accusers to make public statements or cooperate with federal investigators.The deal comes more than two years after Paxton’s staff accused him of misusing his office to help Austin real estate developer Nate Paul, whose business was also under federal investigation. The allegations centered on Paxton hiring an outside lawyer to investigate Paul’s claims of misconduct by the FBI.Paxton and Paul have broadly denied wrongdoing and neither has been charged with a federal crime.The investigation, accusations and a separate 2015 securities fraud indictment for which Paxton has yet to face trial have done little to hurt him politically. He easily defeated challenger George P Bush in a contested GOP primary last spring, went on to decisively beat his Democratic opponent and secure a third term in November and has filed a steady stream of legal challenges against the Joe Biden White House.While swearing in Paxton to another four years on the job last month, Texas’s Republican governor, Greg Abbott, described it as an easy call during the midterm elections to keep backing him.“I supported Ken Paxton because I thought the way he was running the attorney general’s office was the right way to run the attorney general’s office,” Abbott said.TopicsTexasUS politicsRepublicansnewsReuse this content More

Koch brothers’ advocacy group courts far-right Republicans it vowed to thwartAmericans for Prosperity Action recently invited two politicians who tried vigorously to overturn the 2020 presidential election At an event in California last weekend, the Koch family political network announced it would move away from Donald Trump, and invest in congressional elections in a bid to break from the far-right, Trump-supporting politicians who have come to the fore in recent years.Americans for Prosperity Action, founded by Republican megadonors Charles Koch and David Koch, who died in 2019, would be seeking to “turn the page on the past”, it said, in remarks that were covered extensively, and favorably, in the US media.But it didn’t take much to expose the hypocrisy of AFP Action’s commitment to move away from Maga politicians who, it said, “go against core American principles”.Present at the network’s meeting in Palm Springs were two of the reactionary and far-right Republicans AFP Action claims it is trying to thwart.In Eric Schmitt, a Missouri senator, and Andrew Ogles, a congressman from Tennessee, AFP Action had invited two newly elected men who tried vigorously to overturn the 2020 presidential election, and seem to have little interest in turning the page on history.Schmitt, who has invoked the “great replacement” conspiracy theory, has already backed Trump for 2024, while Ogles, a culture warrior whose campaign pitch was that the US needs to “go back to honoring God and country”, giddily accepted Trump’s endorsement last year.If, in inviting two politicians who appear to embody the essence of Trumpism, AFP Action exposed a separation between what it says and what does, then it should come as no surprise.For much of the last decade the Koch-funded group has pledged to move away from far-right Republicans, before sending tens of millions of dollars towards those very officials.As the investigative newsletter Popular Information put it: “The reality is that few individuals have spent more money to legitimize Trump and his allies than Charles Koch.”In 2020, Charles Koch, who has an estimated net worth of $68bn, told the Wall Street Journal he would focus on “building bridges across partisan divides to find answers to sprawling social problems”. In a book, published that year, Koch said he regretted his funding of the Tea Party, a far-right movement that emerged under Barack Obama’s presidency.At the beginning of 2021, AFP Action chided Republicans’ actions around the January 6 insurrection and their efforts to prevent Biden taking office. A total of 147 Republicans in Congress voted to overturn the results of the 2020 election.“Lawmakers’ actions leading up to and during last week’s insurrection will weigh heavy in our evaluation of future support,” the organization said.But the pledges from Koch and his network did not come to pass. AFP Action spent $63.4m in the two years leading up to the 2022 midterm elections. Popular Information reported that 86.7% of that spending went to candidates who had been endorsed by Trump.More than $5m of that spending went towards Schmitt’s campaign, according to Open Secrets, while AFP Action spent $302,453 supporting Ogles.In announcing its move away from Trump, AFP Action said: “The Republican Party is nominating bad candidates who are advocating for things that go against core American principles.”“To write a new chapter for our country, we need to turn the page on the past,” AFP Action said in an accompanying memo.“So the best thing for the country would be to have a president in 2025 who represents a new chapter. The American people have shown that they’re ready to move on, and so AFP will help them do that.”AFP Action said it would get involved in elections “earlier and in more primaries” in a bid to turn out more voters and elect what it described as “better people”.But in inviting Schmitt and Ogles – their attendance was first reported by the Washington Post – AFP Action sent a mixed message. Both candidates have tied themselves to a former president that Koch’s network says it is ready to ditch.Neither Schmitt nor Ogles replied to requests for comment, but they would appear to have a history of advocating for things that go against what some would define as core American principles.Ogles, a former county mayor who previously described himself as the “most conservative mayor in Tennessee”, said people were “defrauded out of a true and honest election” as he denied the legitimacy of Biden’s 2020 victory.Mitt Romney to mull Republicans’ ‘slide toward authoritarianism’ in biographyRead moreIn one of his first acts in Congress, Ogles joined with a gang of hard-right Republicans to vote against Kevin McCarthy for the House speaker, a move which triggered an embarrassing saga for the GOP and was condemned by Republican leadership.Ogles, who during his campaign for the House said conservatives need to “go after gay marriage”, used a flamethrower last July to illustrate what he thinks of Joe Biden’s policies.“We’re at war. This is a political war, a cultural war, and it’s a spiritual war,” Ogles said in his victory speech in November. “And as we go forward, we’ve got to get back to honoring God and country.”During his primary campaign, Ogles called for Biden and Harris to be impeached. He has also said Alejandro Mayorkas, the Department of Homeland Security secretary, should be charged with treason over the administration’s handling of immigration issues.Perhaps unsurprisingly, on Tuesday, Ogles was one of the Republicans who heckled Biden during his State of the Union address.During the weekend at AFP Action’s California retreat, Ogles probably found a kindred spirit in Schmitt, who has already said he will support Trump for president in 2024.As Missouri attorney general, Schmitt was one of the Republican attorneys general who challenged election results in Pennsylvania in 2020. He also signed on to a separate lawsuit, which attempted to overturn election results in Michigan, Georgia, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.While in the same office, Schmitt signed a lawsuit, with others, arguing LGBTQ people were not protected against discrimination under federal law.Since then, Schmitt has spoken of the “great replacement” conspiracy theory, which charges that Democrats are seeking to disempower white people through changing the racial makeup of the US. Democrats, Schmitt said, are “fundamentally trying to change this country through illegal immigration”.Neither candidate represents a break with the past, and it raises questions as to the seriousness of AFP Action’s new path. The organization did not respond to requests for comment.As Popular Information reported, this is not AFP Action’s first contradiction.In 2018, Koch criticized Trump’s presidency, and said he would be willing to back Democrats. AFP Action went on to spend $3,948,640 supporting Republicans and $2,835,924 opposing Democrats, Popular Information reported, and zero dollars on Democrats.Nikki Haley presidential run would sink DeSantis and hand Trump victory – pollRead moreGoing back further, Koch said in 2016 that he not support Trump – or Hillary Clinton – in the presidential election. But, Popular Information found: “He spent millions on ads that, while formally opposing Democratic Senate candidates, savaged Trump’s opponent Hillary Clinton.”Given Koch’s, and AFP Action’s history, it seems unlikely there will be much change in the future.And for all AFP Action’s talk of “bad candidates who are advocating for things that go against core American principles”, and of ending bipartisanship, it seems perfectly happy with the Republican members of Congress so far.On an AFP Action “national scorecard”, which gives elected officials scores out of 100 for their performance in office, so far every single Republican has a score of 100.TopicsUS politicsKoch brothersRepublicansDonald TrumpnewsReuse this content More

ReviewPeople vs Donald Trump review: Mark Pomerantz pummels Manhattan DAProsecutor who helped convict John Gotti thinks Alvin Bragg let Trump slip from the hook. His memoir proves controversial Mark Pomerantz is a well-credentialed former federal prosecutor. As a younger man he clerked for a supreme court justice and helped send the mob boss John Gotti to prison. He did stints in corporate law. In 2021, he left retirement to join the investigation of Donald Trump by the Manhattan district attorney. Pomerantz’s time with the DA was substantive but controversial.Trump porn star payment a ‘zombie case’ that wouldn’t die, ex-prosecutor says in bookRead moreIn summer 2021, he helped deliver an indictment for tax fraud against the Trump Organization and Alan Weisselberg, its chief financial officer. At the time, Cy Vance Jr, the son of Jimmy Carter’s secretary of state, was Manhattan DA. Pomerantz also interviewed Michael Cohen, Trump fanboy turned convicted nemesis, pored over documents and clamored for the indictment of the former president on racketeering charges.For Pomerantz, nailing Trump for his hush money payment to Stormy Daniels, the adult film star who claims an affair Trump denies, didn’t pass muster. But that avenue of prosecution was a “zombie case” that wouldn’t die. It still hasn’t: a Manhattan grand jury again hears evidence.Pomerantz saw Trump as a criminal mastermind aided by flunkies and enforcers. He believed charges ought to align with the gravity of the crimes. But as Pomerantz now repeatedly writes in his memoir, Alvin Bragg, elected district attorney in November 2021, did not want to move against Trump. In early 2022, Bragg balked. In March, Pomerantz quit – and leaked his resignation letter.“I believe that Donald Trump is guilty of numerous felony violations of the penal law,” Pomerantz fumed. “I fear that your decision means that Mr Trump will not be held fully accountable for his crimes.”Now comes the memoir, People vs Donald Trump: An Inside Account. It is a 300-page exercise in score-settling and scorn. Pomerantz loathes Trump and holds Bragg in less than high regard. He equates the former president with Gotti and all but dismisses the DA as a progressive politician, not an actual crime-fighter.In a city forever plagued by crime and political fights about it, Bragg’s time as DA has proved controversial: over guns, trespassing, turnstile jumping, marijuana and, yes, the squeegee men.Bragg is African American. This week, a group of high-ranking Black officials protested against Pomerantz’s attacks. In response, Pomerantz called Bragg “respected, courageous, ethical and thoughtful” but said: “I disagreed with him about the decision he made in the Trump case.”In his resignation letter, Pomerantz wrote: “I have worked too hard as a lawyer, and for too long, now to become a passive participant in what I believe to be a grave failure of justice.”Trump, he now writes, “seemed always to stay one step ahead of the law”. That may conjure up images of Road Runner and Wile E Coyote but Pomerantz is serious. “In my career as a lawyer, I had encountered only one other person who touched all of these bases: John Gotti, the head of the Gambino organised crime family.”The Goodfellas vibe is integral to Trumpworld. In The Devil’s Bargain, way back in 2017, Joshua Green narrated how Trump tore into Paul Manafort, his then campaign manager, shouting: “You treat me like a baby! Am I like a baby to you … Am I a fucking baby, Paul?” It was if Trump was channeling Joe Pesci.With the benefit of hindsight, Pomerantz concludes that the US justice department is better suited to handle a wholesale financial investigation of Trump than the Manhattan DA. Then again, the attorney general, Merrick Garland, has a lot on his plate. An insurrection is plenty.Pomerantz’s book has evoked strong reactions. Trump is enraged, of course. On Truth Social, he wrote: “Crooked Hillary Clinton’s lawyer [Pomerantz says he has never met her], radically deranged Mark Pomerantz, led the fake investigation into me and my business at the Manhattan DA’s Office and quit because DA Bragg, rightfully, wanted to drop the ‘weak’ and ‘fatally flawed’ case. This is disgraceful conduct by Pomerantz, especially since, as always, I’ve done nothing wrong!”Really?In December, a Manhattan jury convicted the Trump Organization on 17 counts of tax fraud and the judge imposed a $1.6m fine. Alan Weisselberg pleaded guilty and testified against his employer. Trump and three of his children – Ivanka, Don Jr and Eric – are defendants in a $250m civil lawsuit brought by Letitia James, the New York attorney general, on fraud-related charges. That case comes to trial in October 2023, months before the presidential primary. Sooner than that will be the E Jean Carroll trial, over alleged defamation and a rape claim Trump denies.Significantly, state prosecutors say Pomerantz may have crossed an ethical line.“By writing and releasing a book in the midst of an ongoing case, the author is upending the norms and ethics of prosecutorial conduct and is potentially in violation of New York criminal law,” J Anthony Jordan, president of the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York, announced.Never Give an Inch review: Mike Pompeo as ‘heat-seeking missile for Trump’s ass’Read moreBragg accused Pomerantz of violating a confidentiality agreement. Pomerantz is unbowed. “I am comfortable that this book will not prejudice any investigation or prosecution of Donald Trump,” he states on the page. No formal ethics complaint has appeared.Pomerantz also offers a window on personalities that crossed his path. Cohen receives ample attention. Pomerantz lauds Trump’s former fixer for his cooperation but reiterates that Cohen pleaded guilty to perjury.His conduct left Pomerantz shaking his head. Cohen’s liking for publicity could be unsettling. So was his Oval Office tête-a-tête with Trump over the payment to Daniels. Pomerantz was disgusted. Trump and Cohen, he writes, defiled America’s Holy of Holies, its “sanctum sanctorum”.No harm, no foul. Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, announced: “Mr Cohen will continue to cooperate with DA Bragg and his team, speaking truth to power – as he has always done.” On Wednesday, Cohen met the Manhattan DA for the 15th time. Pomerantz is gone. The show goes on.
People vs Donald Trump: An Inside Account is published in the US by Simon & Schuster
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US senator John Fetterman discharged from Washington DC hospital Senator from Pennsylvania was admitted after feeling light-headed but tests confirmed he did not suffer a second stroke John Fetterman was discharged from George Washington University Hospital on Friday, his staff said, two days after the US senator was admitted to the Washington DC facility because he was feeling light-headed.US congresswoman poured coffee over attacker to deter him, chief of staff saysRead moreFetterman, 53, suffered a stroke last year. Tests showed he did not suffer a second stroke during the latest incident, the hospital said.“In addition to the CT, CTA, and MRI tests ruling out a stroke, his EEG test results came back normal, with no evidence of seizures,” the senator’s office said in a written statement. “John is looking forward to spending some time with his family and returning to the Senate on Monday.”Fetterman had a stroke last year while campaigning for one of Pennsylvania’s two Senate seats.It initially left lingering problems with his speech and hearing that sometimes caused verbal miscues, but Fetterman’s doctor said the politician could serve in office with no restrictions as long as he followed recovery instructions.Fetterman, in a statement on his recovery last year, said he had been diagnosed with a heart condition years earlier but had stopped taking his medication, avoided going to the doctor and ignored warning signs.TopicsUS SenateDemocratsPennsylvaniaUS politicsReuse this content More

John Kirby confirmed that a second “high-altitude object” was taken down over Alaska, during today’s press briefing.Kirby confirmed that the Department of Defense was tracking the flying object, which could be a second balloon, and that the object posed a “reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight”.Kirby said that Biden ordered the military to “down” the object within the last hour.Biden administration to end national Covid emergency in MayThe Biden administration confirmed in a statement on Friday it anticipates ending the national Covid emergency on 11 May. The proclamation had been in place since the president declared a national emergency concerning the Covid-19 pandemic on 13 March 2020.“Today, we are in a different phase of the response to that pandemic than we were in March of 2020, and my Administration is planning for an end to the national emergency, but an orderly transition is critical to the health and safety of the Nation,” Biden said in the statement.Experts have expressed concern that once it is lifted Americans will have less access to the Covid treatments, vaccines, and tests that have been made more widely available under the state of emergency.Once the order is lifted most Americans will still be able to get vaccines at no cost but fewer free tests will be available. See our full story on what health experts are saying about the end of the national state of emergency here.Family of Tyre Nichols urges the United Nations to condemn his killingAttorneys for the family of Tyre Nichols, the man who was fatally beaten by Memphis police last month, have filed an urgent appeal before the United Nations asking it to condemn the killing.Civil rights attorney and international legal counsel Jasmine Rand and Yetunde Asika released the following statement on behalf of the family:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Today, we filed an Urgent Appeal before the United Nations asking it to condemn the tragic killing of Tyre Nichols, to demand transparency from the police department, and to demand that Officer Preston Hemphill and all officers that participated in the incident are criminally charged. The video evidence shows that all who were involved in Tyre’s death committed reprehensible acts that require international condemnation.The family has also urged the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, reform legislation introduced by Democrats that is stuck on Capitol Hill, and made an appearance at Joe Biden’s State of the Union address to the nation on Tuesday night.Hello readers, Kari Paul here on the West Coast taking over the blog for the next couple hours. Stand by for updates.Here’s more information on Biden’s upcoming trip to Poland, from a statement released by the White House..css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}From February 20th – 22nd, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. will travel to Poland. He will meet with President Andrzej Duda of Poland to discuss our bilateral cooperation as well as our collective efforts to support Ukraine and bolster NATO’s deterrence.
He will also meet with the leaders of the Bucharest Nine (B9), a group of our eastern flank NATO Allies, to reaffirm the United States’ unwavering support for the security of the Alliance.
In addition, President Biden will deliver remarks ahead of the one year anniversary of Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, addressing how the United States has rallied the world to support the people of Ukraine as they defend their freedom and democracy, and how we will continue to stand with the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes.The FAA closed off an area near Deadhorse, Alaska, in the state’s northern area, as the US military took action against a high-altitude object.From CNN correspondent Jim Sciutto:The Federal Aviation Administration issued a temporary flight restriction Friday in the area around Deadhorse, Alaska, as the military took action against a high-altitude object. The notice tells aircraft to clear airspace the FAA classifies as National Defense Airspace.— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) February 10, 2023
The Pentagon is now providing more information about the high-altitude object that was shot over US territorial water in Alaska.The object was shot at 1.45 pm eastern time and was at around 40,000ft, said a spokesperson during a Pentagon briefing.A Pentagon spokesperson added that an F22 fighter aircraft assigned to NORTHCOM shot down the “high altitude airborne object”.Pentagon spokesman BGen Pat Ryder: U.S. fighter aircraft assigned to NORTHCOM took down a “high altitude airborne object” over US territorial water in Alaska.— Jennifer Hlad (@jhlad) February 10, 2023
The Pentagon reiterated that it is unsure about the origin of the object, but is hoping to learn more after assessing any recovered debris.Unidentified object shot down over Alaska by US military, White House saysRead moreThe FBI has removed at least one additional classified document from Mike Pence’s Indiana residence after a five hour search.Pence’s team tweeted about the search and discovery, noting that the search did not require a warrant and was “thorough”.At least one document marked ‘classified’ was removed from Pence’s residence and six additional pages that did not include the marking.Pence has “directed his legal team to continue its cooperation with appropriate authorities and to be fully transparent through the conclusion of the matter,” noted Pence advisor Devin O’Malley.From CBS correspondent Robert Costa:New statement from Pence adviser Devin O’Malley: “Following the discovery and disclosure of a small number of potentially classified documents that had inadvertently been transported to his home in Indiana, Vice President Pence and his legal team have fully cooperated… “— Robert Costa (@costareports) February 10, 2023
“… with the appropriate authorities and agreed to a consensual search of his residence that took place today. The Department of Justice completed a thorough and unrestricted search of five hours and removed one document with classified markings and six additional pages… “— Robert Costa (@costareports) February 10, 2023
“…. without such markings that were not discovered in the initial review by the vice president’s counsel.”— Robert Costa (@costareports) February 10, 2023
“The vice president has directed his legal team to continue its cooperation with appropriate authorities and to be fully transparent through the conclusion of this matter.”— Robert Costa (@costareports) February 10, 2023
The knowledge about the object came last evening, said Kirby.Kirby misspoke at one point, calling the object a balloon. Kirby quickly clarified that officials are not sure of what the object is and that the object’s debris could help get more knowledge on what the object was.In response to questions about if the US has spoken to Chinese officials about the recently discovered object, Kirby said: “We don’t know who owns this object.”Kirby noted that a pilot assessment of the object, prior to it being shot down, found that the object was unmanned.Kirby also added that the the object was at 40,000 ft, noting that the object could have posed a threat to civilian aircrafts.Kirby also said that the object did not appear to have maneuvering capabilities, compared to the Chinese surveillance balloon, and was largely steered by the wind.Unlike the object that was shot down, the Chinese surveillance balloon was on a flight path that took it over sensitive military sites, added Kirby.More details are emerging on the high-altitude object that was taken down within the last hour.Kirby confirmed that Biden ordered the object be taken down at the advice of Pentagon leaders and that a fighter aircraft was used for the operation.The object is being called an “object” as officials are unsure of who owns it. Kirby added that officials are unsure if the object is state owned or private owned, and that the purpose of the object has not been determined.Kirby also noted that the object is “much smaller” than the Chinese surveillance balloon that was shot down last week.The object that was taken down within the house is “roughly the size of a car”, said Kirby.John Kirby confirmed that a second “high-altitude object” was taken down over Alaska, during today’s press briefing.Kirby confirmed that the Department of Defense was tracking the flying object, which could be a second balloon, and that the object posed a “reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight”.Kirby said that Biden ordered the military to “down” the object within the last hour.The White House press briefing with press security Karine Jean-Pierre has begun.The briefing opened up with an announcement that Biden will travel to Poland on 20 February to 22 February to meet with Poland president Andrzej Duda and discuss the situation in Ukraine.John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the National security council in the White House, is giving remarks ahead of Biden’s visit with Brazil president Lula.Kibry also announced that the US plans to increase aid to support those impacted by the deadly earthquake in Syria and Turkey.Kate Bedingfield, the White House Communications director, will leave her job at the end of February, reported the White House earlier today.In a statement, the White House confirmed Bedingfield’s departure and said that Ben LaBolt will succeed her as Communications director.Biden commented on Bedingfield’s departure in the statement:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Since my time as Vice President, Kate has been a loyal and trusted adviser, through thick and thin…She was a critical strategic voice from the very first day of my presidential campaign in 2019 and has been a key part of advancing my agenda in the White House.
The country is better off as a result of her hard work and I’m so grateful to her – and to her husband and two young children – for giving so much. Ben has big shoes to fill.Trump has received his 5th Senate endorsement ahead of his 2024 presidential run. Republican senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma endorsed the former president on Friday, calling Trump “the strongest president of my lifetime” in a statement.“Not only am I proud to endorse President Trump, I’m proud to call him my friend,” said Mullin.#NEWS: I’m proud to endorse the strongest president of my lifetime, Donald J. Trump, for a second term in 2024. 🇺🇸Full statement: ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/xXFH61XCvh— Markwayne Mullin (@MarkwayneMullin) February 10, 2023
Mullin was elected to the Senate through a special election and received Trump’s endorsement, reported NBC News.Four other senators have endorsed Trump, including Ohio senator JD Vance, Alabama senator Tommy Tuberville, and South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham.Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has agreed to apologize and pay $3.3m in taxpayer money to four former staffers who accused him of corruption in 2020, igniting an ongoing FBI investigation of the three-term Republican.Under terms of a preliminary lawsuit settlement filed Friday, Paxton made no admission of wrongdoing to accusations of bribery and abuse of office, which he has denied for years and called politically motivated, the Associated Press writes.But Paxton did commit to making a remarkable public apology toward some of his formerly trusted advisers whom he fired or forced out after they reported him to the FBI. He called them “rogue employees” after they accused Paxton of misusing his office to help one of his campaign contributors, who also employed a woman with whom the attorney general acknowledged having an extramarital affair.Both sides signed a mediated agreement that was filed in the Texas Supreme Court and will be followed by a longer, formalized settlement.“Attorney General Ken Paxton accepts that plaintiffs acted in a manner that they thought was right and apologizes for referring to them as ‘rogue employees,’” the final settlement must state, according to court records.In all, eight members of Paxton’s senior staff joined in the extraordinary revolt in 2020, and they either resigned or were fired. The attorney general said he settled with the four who sued under Texas’ whistleblower law to put to rest “this unfortunate sideshow.”“I have chosen this path to save taxpayer dollars and ensure my third term as attorney general is unburdened by unnecessary distractions,” Paxton said in a statement.The $3.3 million payout would not come from Paxton’s own pocket but from state funds, which means it would still require approval by the GOP-controlled Texas Legislature.Settlement of the case, which Paxton’s office fought in court for years, means he will avoid sitting for a civil deposition at a time when a corruption investigation by federal agents and prosecutors remains open. In turn, the attorney general’s office agreed to remove an October 2020 news release from its website that decries Paxton’s accusers and to issue the statement of contrition to former staffers David Maxwell, Ryan Vassar, Mark Penley and James Blake Brickman.Hello again, it’s been a lively day so far with developing and breaking news mainly revolving around former US vice president Mike Pence. Ordinary business is going on at the White House, with Joe Biden meeting US state governors and preparing this afternoon to receive Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva (AKA Lula) to the White House. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is due to brief the media at 1.30pm ET.Here’s where things stand:
It appears Joe Biden will not do the traditional presidential TV interview with the company airing the Super Bowl, the climax to the football season, given that this year it’s Fox. Who snubbed whom? The politics and media chatterverse is abuzz.
The FBI is searching former VP Mike Pence’s Indiana home for any more classified documents, after Donald Trump’s former sidekick and possible 2024 rival for the Republican presidential nomination previously acknowledged that he had some classified docs at home. Biden’s in similar bind, whereas Trump is under criminal investigation for something on a much larger scale – boxes of secret government documents hoarded at Mar-a-Lago that he refused to hand over.
Jill Biden has cancelled her events for the day, with a White House official reporting that Biden is not feeling well but has tested negative for Covid. Let’s hope the first lady is shipshape by Sunday, as she’s a big Philadelphia Eagles fan, apparently, as they take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
Donald Trump and writer E Jean Carroll have jointly filed a plan for the April civil trial in the case where Carroll is suing Trump for rape and defamation.
Mike Pence and his legal team are weighing the subpoena issued to the former-veep by special counsel Jack Smith who is, on the request of the Department of Justice, investigating Trump’s role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol by thousands of the-then president’s most extreme supporters who wanted Pence to block the Congressional certification of Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
It looks as though Joe Biden won’t be doing the traditional presidential pre-Super Bowl TV interview.The President was looking forward to an interview with Fox Soul to discuss the Super Bowl, the State of the Union, and critical issues impacting the everyday lives of Black Americans. We’ve been informed that Fox Corp has asked for the interview to be cancelled.— Karine Jean-Pierre (@PressSec) February 10, 2023
There has been much chatter about the annual interview between the US president and the channel airing the Super Bowl. Fox is broadcasting the Super Bowl, so some people had assumed the interview would be with Fox News, likely Brett Baier.But now the White House press secretary has tweeted that Biden will not be doing an interview – and it looks like it was supposed to be with Fox Soul, a Fox streaming service.Last night and this morning, various outlets were abuzz with chatter about how the US president had been “ghosting” Fox News, as, if the traditional interview was going ahead they would have been making arrangements ages ago, but were experiencing radio silence. Variety magazine did a story yesterday afternoon, headlined “Fox news believes interview with President Biden won’t take place.”CNN’s Reliable Sources news letter chimed in, quoting “a source at Fox News” who told the outlet that they had “not heard back on whether Biden will grant it the traditional pre-Super Bowl interview, and that at this point the outlet is proceeding as if it is not going to take place. ‘We don’t have a formal no, but we are operating like it’s not happening’,” the source explained to CNN, which goes on: “Bret Baier first hinted at the possibility of a potential Biden rebuff during State of the Union coverage on Tuesday, telling viewers that Biden had yet to commit to an interview. At the time, he had signaled that he hoped the White House would ultimately agree to a sit-down.“Biden has sat down for at least two interviews this week, one with PBS NewsHour and another with Telemundo, which would make the possible snub all the more notable. It goes without saying that Biden has had a frosty relationship with Fox News … If Biden were to agree to an interview with Fox News, it would almost certainly be conducted by Baier.”We’ll no doubt hear more from Jean-Pierre at the White House press briefing due at 1.30pm. Fox Soul is the Fox Corp-owned streaming service geared towards a Black audience, and we assume if the interview had gone ahead it would be with a Black anchor, not Baier. Eagerly awaiting clarifying details!Biden and Harris are currently in a meeting with several governors as apart of the annual National Governors Association meeting, which includes a bipartisan group of governors.⁦@POTUS⁩ arrives at a gathering of state governors from around the nation – not including the governors of Florida, Texas or indeed Arkansas (whose governor says Biden’s Democrats are all “crazy”) pic.twitter.com/0TWSPgbjyh— Sebastian Smith (@SebastianAFP) February 10, 2023
In meeting with governors, Biden is pressing what the infrastructure bill, CHIPS act and other priorities have meant for states — lots of money for improvements.— Elizabeth Crisp 🦩 (@elizabethcrisp) February 10, 2023
A stream of the meeting is available here. More

FBI search of Pence’s Indiana residence finds new classified documentLawyer for Trump’s former vice-president reportedly present for search, which followed discovery of documents there last month FBI agents searched an Indiana property belonging to Mike Pence on Friday and found new official papers, including one with classified markings. The search was the latest step in a saga over the improper retention of classified documents by Pence, Donald Trump and Joe Biden.The Washington Post reported that Pence, Trump’s former vice-president, was in California while the search was carried out at his home in Carmel, north of Indianapolis. A Pence lawyer was present, the paper said.Biden and Pence documents reveal US crisis of ‘overclassification’, expert saysRead moreThe US justice department did not immediately comment. Pence issued a statement.Since the discovery of classified records at the Carmel property last month, a spokesperson said, Pence and his lawyers had “fully cooperated with the appropriate authorities and agreed to a consensual search of his residence that took place today.“The Department of Justice completed a thorough and unrestricted search of five hours and removed one document with classified markings and six additional pages without such markings that were not discovered in the initial review by the vice-president’s counsel.”Similar discoveries were made at Delaware properties owned by Biden and an office in Washington DC the president used after his time as VP to Barack Obama.Last August, a much larger number of documents were discovered at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida residence.Amid strenuous attempts by Trump to obstruct authorities seeking retrieval, the Mar-a-Lago search was carried out via a search warrant. Trump and his supporters have since characterised the search as a “raid”, part of supposed victimisation by the former president’s political enemies.In stark contrast, Biden and Pence have cooperated with authorities.A lawyer for Pence, Greg Jacob, previously told the National Archives a “small number of documents” were “inadvertently boxed and transported” to Pence’s home after the end of the Trump administration in January 2021.“Vice-President Pence immediately secured those documents in a locked safe pending further direction on proper handling,” Jacob wrote.In Florida recently, Pence said: “Let me be clear: those classified documents should not have been in my personal residence.“Mistakes were made, and I take full responsibility. We acted above politics and put national interests first.”For the attorney general, Merrick Garland, cooperation and eager mea culpas do not lessen the political danger of the documents issue.Biden, who nominated Garland, is expected to run for re-election in 2024. Trump is still the only declared candidate for the Republican nomination, but Pence is thought likely to run.Special counsels appointed by Garland but operating independently of him are investigating Biden and Trump.Robert Hur is investigating Biden’s retention of classified records. Jack Smith is investigating Trump’s retention of records and other matters, including his attempt to overturn the 2020 election.Garland has not commented on the Pence document discoveries.But it emerged this week that Smith has served Pence a subpoena in relation to the investigation of Trump’s incitement of the deadly attack on Congress on 6 January 2021.That was the day Pence presided over the certification of Biden’s victory over Trump, having rejected pleas to block it from Trump and his advisers.In November, in an interview with NBC, Pence was asked if by fomenting an insurrection, Trump had committed a criminal act.Pence said he did not “know if it is criminal to listen to bad advice from lawyers”, alleged malpractice at the justice department in its investigations of Trump, criticised the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago and said: “I think the American people join me in hoping we can move past this.”Pressed on the matter, he conceded: “No one’s above the law.”On Friday, commenting on the former vice-president’s extreme predicament, Joe Walsh, a former Republican congressman turned anti-Trump conservative, said: “Mike Pence did this to himself. For six years, he encouraged, enabled and fed the monster.“Then for one day he did his job, and the monster got really angry. And now, nobody wants him. The monster’s fans don’t want him, and the monster’s opponents don’t want him. He did this to himself.”TopicsMike PenceUS politicsFBInewsReuse this content More

US congresswoman poured coffee over attacker to deter him, chief of staff saysMan, 26, arrested after attack in elevator in Angie Craig’s Washington apartment building early on Thursday morning Angie Craig, a Democratic congresswoman from Minnesota who was assaulted in her Washington apartment, reportedly deterred her attacker by pouring hot coffee over him, it emerged on Friday.“Representative Craig defended herself from the attacker and suffered bruising, but is otherwise physically OK,” her chief of staff, Nick Coe, said in a statement on Thursday.George Santos: puppy theft charge news follows Romney’s ‘sick puppy’ barbRead moreCoe said Craig called 911 and the attacker fled the scene. He said there was “no evidence” that the incident was politically motivated.Craig was elected to the House of Representatives in 2018. She became the first openly gay person elected to Congress from Minnesota.District of Columbia police said on Thursday night that they had arrested a suspect. The police report noted that Craig tossed hot coffee at her assailant.Craig was assaulted in the elevator in her Washington apartment building around 7.10am on Thursday, police said, but the assailant fled when she defended herself.Craig suffered bruises while escaping serious injury in the attack, which did not appear to be politically motivated, Coe had said in a statement.Washington’s Metropolitan police department said it had arrested 26-year-old Kendrick Hamlin, of no fixed address, and charged him with simple assault.Craig, 50, is in her third term in the House and later headed for Capitol Hill to vote.The police said Craig told them that she initially saw the stranger in her building and said good morning before she entered the elevator and the man followed her in. He apparently began randomly doing push-ups. She told the police he was “acting erratic as if he was under the influence of an unknown substance”.However, he then punched Craig on the chin and grabbed her by her neck, the police noted. She told them that she managed to throw her coffee on him and he then fled.Law enforcement who responded to her emergency call searched the building and the parking garage and asked for tips from the public, offering a potential $1,000 reward and, a few hours later, apprehended the suspect.To give you a sense of how strong @AngieCraigMN is, she went straight to the Hill this morning and attended a meeting in the Senate with the Governor and me and several members of our delegation about legislation for the people of her district. No one messes with Angie. https://t.co/D7TizOeTQ9— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) February 9, 2023
Senator Amy Klobuchar, a fellow Minnesota Democrat, tweeted: “To give you a sense of how strong Angie Craig is, she went straight to the Hill this morning and attended a meeting in the Senate with the Governor and me and several members of our delegation about legislation for the people of her district. No one messes with Angie.”Hakeem Jeffries, House leader of the Democrats, said his caucus was “horrified” by Craig’s assault.TopicsUS CongressDemocratsHouse of RepresentativesUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

George Santos: puppy theft charge news follows Romney’s ‘sick puppy’ barbRepublican at centre of string of scandals was charged in Pennsylvania with theft over purchase of puppies in 2017 The New York Republican congressman George Santos, who is at the centre of a bizarre string of scandals and who the Utah senator Mitt Romney this week called a “sick puppy”, was charged with theft in Pennsylvania in 2017 – over a purchase of “puppies”.George Santos is a ‘sociopath’, fellow New York Republican congressman saysRead moreThe scandal, reported by Politico, is not Santos’s first involving dogs and his charity, Friends of Pets United. A New Jersey veteran alleges Santos raised money for an operation for his dog, then absconded with the money.In the Pennsylvania case, in Amish Country, $15,125 in bad checks were made out for “puppies”, Politico reported.Days later, Santos held an adoption event at a Staten Island pet store. Citing court records and a lawyer who helped Santos, Politico said the theft charge was dropped and Santos’s record expunged, after Santos said someone had stolen his checkbook.It is not Santos’s first case involving a checkbook. Prosecutors in Brazil have reopened a case involving the alleged use of a stolen checkbook.Santos denies all alleged wrongdoing and says he will not resign. He did not comment about the Amish Country case. The lawyer, Tiffany Bogosian, told Politico “she now doesn’t believe” his story, given subsequent developments.Bogosian told the New York Times: “I should have never got involved. He should have went to jail. And I wish nothing but bad things for him.”Santos, 34, won in New York’s third district last year. He has since admitted embellishing his résumé.Bizarre claims, including playing volleyball for a college he didn’t attend and being a producer on the Spider-Man musical, have been exposed. Claims about his family, including descent from Holocaust survivors and that 9/11 “claimed” his mother’s life, have been disproven. Santos has denied reports he was a drag queen in Brazil.He has also been accused of sexual harassment, by a former aide. His charity is being investigated.Republicans, Democrats and constituents have called for Santos to quit. But Santos supported Kevin McCarthy through 15 votes for House speaker and the Republican leader, who must work with a narrow majority, has not said Santos should go.McCarthy and other senior Republicans have said they are waiting on investigations of Santos’s campaign finance filings, amid questions about the source of his wealth and activities under a different name, Anthony Devolder.Resignations from Congress are common but expulsions are not. Only five representatives have been expelled – three for fighting for the Confederacy in the civil war. Regardless, on Thursday Democrats filed a resolution for Santos’s expulsion.“We gave him plenty of time to resign and he has chosen not to do so,” said Robert Garcia of California.Santos said again he would not resign voluntarily.00:28Romney’s clash with Santos came at the State of the Union address on Tuesday.Romney said he told Santos he did not belong in Congress. He also called Santos a “sick puppy” and poured scorn on his résumé claims. Santos claimed Romney called him an “ass” and to have called the senator an “asshole”.On Thursday, Santos told Newsmax that the same night, the independent Arizona senator Kyrsten Sinema was “very polite, very kindhearted” and said: “Hang in there buddy.”On Friday, a spokesperson for Sinema told CNN: “This is a lie.”TopicsGeorge SantosUS politicsRepublicansUS CongressHouse of RepresentativesUS SenateMitt RomneynewsReuse this content More