Trump administration

Subterms

    More stories

    • 163 Shares115 Views

      in US Politics

      Donald Trump and Elon Musk meet and shake hands months after messy split

      by

      Donald Trump met with billionaire Elon Musk, his once trusted adviser with whom the president had a spectacular public falling out, at a memorial event for right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, raising speculation that the two could be reconciling.Trump shook hands with and chatted to Musk, who once led the president’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which took a hatchet to the US federal workforce and agencies in the early months of Trump’s second administration.The pair sat in the stands of a stadium in Glendale, Arizona, where tens of thousands had gathered to pay tribute to Kirk, who was shot dead on 10 September at a Utah university campus.Video of the two was shared by the official White House account on social media platform X, which Musk owns.Musk donated more than $270m to Trump’s presidential campaign, barnstorming key battleground states for the Republican.After the election, he oversaw the launch of the DOGE, a controversial initiative that eliminated thousands of government jobs deemed by the agency to be part of a pattern of waste, fraud and abuse.But Musk broke with Trump over the White House’s flagship tax and spending bill, which Musk called “utterly insane and destructive.” The extraordinary feud, which largely played out over social media, saw Musk accuse Trump of being named in the so-called “Epstein files” – documents related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In July, Trump said he would “take a look” at the idea of deporting Musk.After the falling out, Musk went as far as to announce he was launching his own “America First” party, but little has materialised so far. Musk on his X account posted an image of him and Trump sitting together at the memorial, captioning it: “For Charlie.”It is not known whether Sunday’s meeting was the first between the pair since their falling out.With Agence France-Presse More

    • 163 Shares106 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump news at a glance: president calls Charlie Kirk a ‘martyr’ at memorial

      by

      Donald Trump gave a rambling, freewheeling address at the Charlie Kirk memorial in Arizona on Sunday, taking aim at Joe Biden and trailing a major announcement on autism as well as praising Kirk, who was shot dead on 10 September.In front of a crowd of tens of thousands, Trump said Kirk was a “great American hero” and “martyr” for freedom. During the event he sat side-by-side with billionaire Elon Musk, a once trusted adviser with whom the US president had a spectacular public falling out.He frequently veered into topics entirely unrelated to Kirk, discussing his use of federal forces to police cities and taking a moment to promote an announcement at the White House on Monday.Here are the key stories at a glance.Trump says ‘I hate my opponents’ at Kirk memorial Trump’s remarks were an awkward mix of eulogy and campaign speech, during which he frequently veered away from reading somber remarks about Kirk’s life and violent death to make offhand comments and jokes.“He did not hate his opponents, he wanted the best for them,” Trump said, before breaking from his prepared remarks to add: “That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponents, and I don’t want the best for them, I’m sorry.”Read the full storyErika Kirk says she forgives shooter During an emotional address at his public memorial in Glendale, Arizona, the widow of rightwing youth organizer Charlie Kirk said she forgives the man charged with killing her husband.“My husband, he wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life,” Erika Kirk said, before an at-capacity crowd. “That man, that young man – I forgive him. I forgive him because it was what Christ did, and it is what Charlie would do.”Those in the stadium rose to their feet in applause.Read the full storyKirk memorial mixes rally and revival as mourners vow to spread Maga messageLauren Gambino was at the memorial and writes: The memorial was part spiritual revival and part political rally … Mourners obliged the red, white and blue “Sunday best” dress code, filling the at-capacity venue with stars, stripes and Maga hats …As the afternoon wore on, the speeches became sharper and more political – a battle cry that implored the government officials present to be aggressive in “wielding the sword against evil”. There were only a handful of explicit references to Democrats and the left – but many speeches mixed personal remembrances of Kirk with a searing vilification of his ideological opponents.Read the full storyAnalysis – Vance speech at Kirk memorial has an eye on 2028 David Smith writes that JD Vance’s appearance at the event comes as he methodically builds a profile that blends Trump’s populist bombast with a sharper focus on economic nationalism and cultural warfare.Smith writes: Vance’s presidential campaign for 2028 is already said to be in “soft launch” mode as he positions himself as the frontrunner for the Republican nomination. He has reportedly expressed a desire for Susie Wiles, the White House of chief staff, to manage his potential campaign.His most overt move came in March, when he was appointed finance chair of the Republican National Committee – a role unprecedented for a sitting vice-president. It positions him at the nexus of Republican money, allowing frequent interactions with mega-donors.Read the full storyTrump officials reportedly set to tie Tylenol to autism riskDonald Trump’s administration is on Monday expected to tie pregnant women’s use of the popular medicine Tylenol – known as paracetamol elsewhere in the world – to a risk of autism, contrary to medical guidelines, the Washington Post has reported.Trump officials are also expected to announce an effort to explore how the drug leucovorin could purportedly and potentially treat autism, according to the Post report published Sunday, which cited four sources with knowledge of the plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the announcement had not been made.Read the full storyTrump says Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch likely part of US TikTok dealRupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan Murdoch will probably be involved in the effort to buy TikTok in the US, Donald Trump said in an interview on Sunday.The president was asked about the status of the sale of the app during an interview with Peter Doocy on The Sunday Briefing on Fox News. Trump administration officials have signaled that a deal for the Chinese-owned social media platform was imminent, though there has been some confusion about the status of the agreement.Read the full storyWhat else happened today:

      Donald Trump said he was appointing his former lawyer Lindsey Halligan to be US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia after an extraordinary outburst in which he overtly put pressure on his attorney general to more aggressively pursue senior public officials he regards as his political enemies.

      Nineteen people detained at an immigration detention center that the Trump administration opened within Louisiana’s infamous Angola prison were entering their fifth day on hunger strike on Sunday, according to advocacy groups.

      Seven US states and the nation’s largest city announced this week that they have formed the Northeast Public Health Collaborative, in an effort to strengthen the region’s health guidance as the national health landscape fractures. Maryland announced they would join the alliance on Friday.
      Catching up? Here’s what happened on 20 September. This article was amended on 22 September 2025 to clarify the Charlie Kirk memorial was held in Arizona, not Alabama. More

    • 188 Shares164 Views

      in US Politics

      Vance puts Charlie Kirk’s Christian faith front and center – with an eye on 2028

      by

      JD Vance went into confessional mode. “I was telling somebody backstage that I always felt a little uncomfortable talking about my faith in public,” he said. “As much as I love the Lord, and as much as it was an important part of my life, I have talked more about Jesus Christ in the past two weeks than I have my entire time in public life.”The crowd at rightwing political activist Charlie Kirk’s memorial service at a football stadium in Glendale, Arizona on Sunday rose to its feet and roared its approval.The apparent ad lib by the US vice-president showed his ability to read the room. The service had put Kirk’s Christian faith front and centre. Vance’s moment of self-revelation could also have political utility if and when he runs to succeed Donald Trump as president in 2028.Trump, a thrice-married New Yorker with little knowledge of scripture, secured the evangelical vote with promises that included a pliant supreme court. Candidate Vance would have to win them all over again, and knows the new generation of young Christians who idolised Kirk would be a good start.The 41-year-old former Ohio senator has already taken a lead role in mobilising Kirk’s online army at Turning Point USA, likely to be a crucial part of the next Republican electoral coalition, and seeking to claim his mantle as “youth whisperer”.After Kirk was shot dead at an event in Utah, Vance posted a heartfelt tribute on social media, describing him as “true friend” who had advocated for him to be Trump’s running mate.He personally escorted Kirk’s casket from Utah to Arizona on the vice presidential plane Air Force Two. After disembarking, his wife Usha held hands with Kirk’s widow Erika – both dressed in all black and wearing sunglasses – as Vance followed dutifully behind.Vance then guest-hosted Kirk’s podcast from his ceremonial office and demanded that anyone caught celebrating the murder be named and shamed. “Hell, call their employer,” he said.Some of this may be the genuine response of a friend. But it is also impossible to ignore Vance’s ruthless ambition. The author of Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, drawing on his upbringing in Ohio and Kentucky, only joined the Senate in 2023 and is now vice-president.In her new book, 107 Days, former Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris described Vance as a “shape-shifter” and “a shifty guy” who, in last year’s vice presidential debate against Tim Walz, “sane-washed the crazy” and played the role of “a mild-mannered, aw-shucks Appalachian”.Vance’s presidential campaign for 2028 is already said to be in “soft launch” mode as he positions himself as the frontrunner for the Republican nomination. He has reportedly expressed a desire for Susie Wiles, the White House of chief staff, to manage his potential campaign.His most overt move came in March, when he was appointed finance chair of the Republican National Committee – a role unprecedented for a sitting vice-president. It positions him at the nexus of Republican money, allowing frequent interactions with mega-donors.Vance has methodically built a profile that blends Trump’s populist bombast with a sharper focus on economic nationalism and cultural warfare. Vance is sceptical of foreign intervention in Ukraine and elsewhere. He bared his teeth in February when, sitting in the Oval Office, he berated Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for showing insufficient gratitude to Trump.His media strategy builds on Trump’s “podcast election” playbook, emphasising unfiltered platforms to rally the base. His appearance on the memorial Charlie Kirk Show demonstrated a merger of Maga’s grassroots fervour with Turning Point’s youth-focused activism – a partnership likely to define the party’s outreach strategy in future elections.Vance’s willingness to engage critics in online debate has an echo of Kirk’s go-everywhere, talk-to-anyone approach. When US forces recently struck a vessel allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela, Vance wrote on X: “Killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military.”Brian Krassenstein, a podcaster and Trump critic, responded to Vance’s post by stating: “Killing the citizens of another nation who are civilians without any due process is called a war crime.” Vance shot back “I don’t give a shit what you call it.” (Rand Paul, a Republican senator, responded: “What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial.”)Charlie Sykes, a political commentator and author of How the Right Lost Its Mind, says: “The only question I have is whether JD Vance wants to be the heir apparent to Donald Trump or to Charlie Kirk.“The line between people wanting to be influential podcasters and real political power is getting somewhat shaky. Apparently JD Vance has decided his route to power is to essentially try to fill Charlie Kirk’s shoes and engage in his kind of rhetoric.”Vance’s lead in hypothetical 2028 Republican primary polls is commanding, a testament to his proximity to Trump. A June 2025 Emerson College Polling survey of 416 likely Republican primary voters found Vance at 46% support, dwarfing secretary of state Marco Rubio (12%) and Florida governor Ron DeSantis (9%).His performance on Sunday will have done no harm, especially with the religious right. He referenced God 10 times, spoke of “the truth that Jesus Christ was the king of kings” and said of Kirk “He would tell me to pray for my friends, but also for my enemies. He would tell me to put on the full armour of God and get back to work.”His white shirt, red tie and blue suit were all the same shade as Trump’s, and he delivered his remarks from a lectern with the presidential seal. It was a glimpse of a possible future featuring an occupant of the White House who could prove even more hard-edged, pitiless and authoritarian than Trump himself.Sykes adds: “I would never describe Trump as more moderate but I do think that JD Vance’s rhetoric could be a warning that, if you think things are bad, they can possibly get even worse.” More

    • 125 Shares173 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump officials reportedly set to tie Tylenol to autism risk

      by

      Donald Trump’s administration is expected to tie pregnant women’s use of the popular medicine known as Tylenol to a risk for autism, contrary to medical guidelines, the Washington Post has reported.Trump officials on Monday are also expected to announce an effort to explore how the drug leucovorin could purportedly and potentially treat autism, according to the Post report published Sunday, which cited four sources with knowledge of the plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the announcement had not been made.Medical guidelines say it is safe for pregnant women to take Tylenol, the over-the-counter pain medication whose active ingredient is acetaminophen.Yet earlier in September, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump’s health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr planned to announce that use of Tylenol by pregnant women was potentially linked to autism spectrum disorder, which is defined as a neurodevelopmental condition marked by social as well as communication difficulties and behaviors that are repetitive.Meanwhile, as the Post reported, some medical trials involving administering leucovorin to children with autism have shown “what some scientists describe as remarkable improvements in their ability to speak and understand others” – though those trials are considered early.The Post’s report came a day after Trump publicly said “we’re going to have an announcement on autism on Monday”.Without offering specifics, the president added: “I think it’s gonna be a very important announcement. I think its gonna be one of the most important things that we will do.“Reuters contributed reporting More

    • 200 Shares185 Views

      in US Politics

      Thousands gather at Charlie Kirk memorial in Arizona where Trump to pay tribute to slain organizer

      by

      Thousands were gathering in Arizona on Sunday for a public memorial honoring Charlie Kirk, the rightwing youth organizer who was fatally shot during an event at a Utah college.Donald Trump, his vice-president, JD Vance, and Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, were among a long list of prominent officials and figures expected to pay tribute to the slain activist, a reflection of his deep imprint on the president’s Make America Great Again (Maga) movement.The memorial service was being held at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, a 63,000-seat home of the Arizona Cardinals football team and the venue where Taylor Swift launched her Eras tour. A massive security presence, led by the US Secret Service, was in place, with the event expected to receive security on par with the Super Bowl. A man armed with a gun and a knife was detained on Saturday at the venue, with inactive law enforcement credentials and claims that he was providing private security.A spokesperson for Kirk’s Turning Point USA organization said the man was doing “advance security for a known guest” but it wasn’t properly coordinated with the Secret Service or Turning Point. The spokesperson also said it was not believed the man was “attempting anything nefarious”.Americans are grappling with the brutal killing and complicated legacy of the 31-year-old conservative “youth whisperer”, Trump ally and podcasting provocateur, who was gunned down on 10 September in a brazen act of what prosecutors have labeled political violence – and which has deepened fears about the trajectory of a profoundly divided nation.Kirk was struck by a single bullet in broad daylight as he spoke before a crowd of 3,000 mostly college students at Utah Valley University, the first stop on his national “American Comeback” campus tour. Prosecutors have charged Tyler Robinson, 22, with capital murder in Kirk’s killing and said they will seek the death penalty.In the wake of Kirk’s death, Trump and his advisers have sought to cast blame on Democrats, even though elected leaders and party officials have uniformly condemned the killing. Officials have said they believe the suspect acted alone.Prosecutors have said that they suspect Robinson killed Kirk because he personally had become sick of what he perceived to be Kirk’s “hatred”. But, citing three sources familiar with the investigation into Kirk’s killing, NBC reported Saturday that federal authorities have not found any link between Robinson and leftwing groups, on which the Trump administration has threatened to crack down after the deadly shooting.Fueled by an outpouring of grief and rage on the right, conservatives are demanding punishment for those who mocked or disparaged Kirk – a campaign of retribution critics say mirrors the very cancel culture he railed against. Since his death, teachers, students, journalists and late-night show host Jimmy Kimmel have been fired, suspended or disciplined over comments related to Kirk or his death, in a clampdown that free speech advocates, democracy scholars and other comedians say amounts to government censorship.The speaker program underscores Kirk’s personal relationship with Trump, the president’s family and other prominent Republicans. Vance traveled to Utah after Kirk’s death to fly his casket to Phoenix aboard Air Force Two. After the 2024 presidential election, Kirk was a frequent presence at Mar-a-Lago as Trump put together his cabinet and had a prime seat for his second inauguration in January.Kirk founded Turning Point USA in 2012, at the age of 18, to organize young conservatives. Over the course of 13 years, he transformed it into a rightwing juggernaut with a deep reach into high schools, colleges – and social media feeds.On Thursday, the board announced that Erika Kirk was unanimously elected to succeed her husband as CEO and chairperson of Turning Point’s board of directors. More

    • 200 Shares166 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump picks his former lawyer to be top prosecutor, as he pushes Bondi to investigate foes

      by

      Donald Trump said he was appointing his former lawyer Lindsey Halligan to be US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia after an extraordinary outburst in which he overtly put pressure on his attorney general to more aggressively pursue senior public officials he regards as his political enemies.“Pam Bondi is doing a GREAT job as attorney general of the United States. She is very careful, very smart, loves our country, but needs a tough prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia, like my recommendation, Lindsey Halligan, to get things moving,” Trump wrote on Truth Social post, announcing his decision.In an earlier online outburst that read as much like a direct message to Bondi as a public post, Trump demanded she appoint Halligan – his special assistant and a onetime beauty queen – to replace Erik Siebert, a former police officer and experienced prosecutor and US attorney who resigned after finding no grounds for prosecuting the New York attorney general, Letitia James.“We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW,” Trump wrote.Halligan was among the lawyers who represented Trump in civil litigation after his Mar-a-Lago resort was raided in a search for classified documents.It was not immediately clear if Halligan would serve in the role on an interim basis before a confirmation vote by the US Senate.Prior to the announcement of Halligan’s appointment, Mary “Maggie” Cleary, a US justice department lawyer who once said Joe Biden’s presidential administration targeted her for being conservative, told colleagues she had been unexpectedly tapped for the post, according to an email seen by Reuters.Trump administration officials previously told Siebert that the president was frustrated his office had not yet brought criminal mortgage fraud charges against James, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The office is also involved in an investigation targeting James Comey, a former FBI director who like the New York attorney general is regarded as an enemy by Trump. That investigation is tied to the bureau’s investigation of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.Regarding both officials, Siebert had previously said he did not believe the evidence was strong enough to bring charges, the sources told Reuters. More

    • 200 Shares175 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump news at a glance: fears president will seize on Kirk’s murder for campaign of vengeance

      by

      On Sunday the late rightwing activist Charlie Kirk is set to be hailed by Donald Trump as a martyr of the Make America Great Again (Maga) movement.But Kirk’s memorial service at a football stadium in Arizona could, critics fear, be exploited by the US president to turn collective grief into a campaign of vengeance against his political opponents.Trump has spent the past 10 days escalating threats against what he calls the “radical left” after the fatal shooting of Kirk, 31, on a university campus in Utah.The White House is considering classifying some groups as domestic terrorists and revoking tax-exempt status for certain non-profits, even though there is no evidence linking these groups to the killing.How Trump is capitalizing on Charlie Kirk’s killingTrump and his allies have sought to undermine the legitimacy of the Democratic party, branding it an extremist organisation despite it having roundly condemned the attack on Charlie Kirk.Officials insist their focus is preventing violence, but critics see an extension of Trump’s campaign of retribution against his political foes and an erosion of free speech. They warn his administration is trying to harness outrage over Kirk’s killing to crush dissent.“Political violence is very often used as a pretext to crack down on civil liberties and on opponents – this is page one of the autocrats’ playbook,” said Steven Levitsky, a political scientist at Harvard University.Read the full storyTrump’s reported pause on Taiwan weapons aid sparks fears he is using island for China trade dealDonald Trump’s reported pause on US$400m in weapons aid to Taiwan has fuelled fears he is using US support of the island to negotiate with China.Trump’s pause on weapons provisions, if confirmed, included orders for lethal munitions and autonomous drones, but could still be reversed, the Washington Post reported on Friday.It came amid US efforts to negotiate a trade deal with China and before Trump and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, spoke on the phone on Friday. Trump said they had made “productive” progress on a range of issues. But analysts said respective readouts of the call did not mention Taiwan.Read the full storyTulsi Gabbard did not alert White House before revoking 37 security clearancesTulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, did not inform the White House that her office was revoking the security clearances of 37 people – including top deputies to the CIA director, John Ratcliffe – before it happened last month, according to three people familiar with the matter.The move meant the White House did not having an opportunity to closely vet the list before it became public and there appeared to be no paper trail from the president directing the effort, the people said.Officials only realized after the fact that Gabbard had managed to pull the security clearances of career CIA officials. Several of Trump’s top advisers view the episode as a serious blunder that comes as Trump is sceptical of the intelligence community.Read the full storyWhy is Trump so obsessed with Jimmy Kimmel and US late-night TV shows?Since ABC made the decision to indefinitely suspend comedian Jimmy Kimmel from his late-night talkshow after on-air remarks about the killing of Charlie Kirk, Donald Trump has encouraged further action against other late-night hosts.Most presidents have accepted the relentless punchlines on the Tonight Show as part of the job since the show became hugely popular in the 1960s under comedian Johnny Carson.But Trump is a different political animal. He has singled out Kimmel, who has kept the Maga movement in his crosshairs since candidate Trump backed out of a scheduled 2015 appearance at the last minute.Read the full storyWhat else happened today:

      A man armed with a gun and a knife was arrested on Saturday after he allegedly pretended to be a member of law enforcement outside State Farm Stadium near Phoenix a day before Charlie Kirk’s planned memorial service at that venue.

      The FBI reportedly recorded Donald Trump’s border tsar Tom Homan accepting $50,000 in cash from undercover agents posing as business contractors last year.

      The US military has issued new media restrictions demanding that journalists pledge not to gather any information that has not been authorized for release or else risk revocation of their press passes.

      Immigrant advocacy organizations and activists are bracing for a crackdown from the federal government after threats from the Trump administration to root out and criminally prosecute non-profit groups it believes are sympathetic to “leftwing” politics.

      California will be the first state to ban most law enforcement officers, including federal immigration agents, from covering their faces while conducting official business under a bill signed by the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom.
      Catching up? Here’s what happened on 19 September 2025. More

    • 175 Shares166 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump border czar Tom Homan reportedly accepted $50,000 in cash from undercover FBI agents

      by

      The FBI reportedly recorded Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan accepting $50,000 in cash from undercover agents who were posing as business contractors last year.A new report from MSNBC on Saturday reveals that the agents recorded Homan, six weeks before the 2024 election, allegedly promising to assist in securing government contracts across the border security industry during Trump’s second term.Six sources familiar with the matter told MSNBC that the FBI and justice department – then run by Joe Biden’s administration – had intended to hold off and assess whether Homan would follow through on his alleged promises after he was appointed as Trump’s border czar. However, the investigation stalled after Trump took office, and in recent weeks, officials appointed by Trump decided to close the case, according to MSNBC.According to the sources, a justice department official who was appointed by Trump called the case a “deep state” investigation.In a separate statement to MSNBC, the FBI director, Kash Patel, and the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, said: “This matter originated under the previous administration and was subjected to a full review by FBI agents and justice department prosecutors. They found no credible evidence of any criminal wrongdoing.”They added: “The Department’s resources must remain focused on real threats to the American people, not baseless investigations. As a result, the investigation has been closed.”The White House deputy press secretary, Abigail Jackson, told MSNBC the investigation was “blatantly political”. Jackson added that it was “yet another example of how the Biden Department of Justice was using its resources to target President Trump’s allies rather than investigate real criminals and the millions of illegal aliens who flooded our country”.Homan was captured on video accepting $50,000 in cash at a meeting spot in Texas on 20 September 2024, according to an internal summary of the case reviewed by MSNBC and sources who spoke to the outlet.Four sources familiar with the matter told MSNBC that multiple federal officials believed they had a solid criminal case against Homan for conspiracy to commit bribery. However, since Homan was not a public official at the time he accepted the money and Trump had not yet become president, his actions did not meet the criteria for a standard bribery charge.Officials eventually decided to continue monitoring Homan once he joined Trump’s second presidential administration. MSNBC reports that officials had been looking at four potential criminal charges including conspiracy, bribery and two kinds of fraud, before Trump’s new justice department shut down the investigation.Homan, who was previously the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) during Trump’s first term, was appointed by Trump to run what he has described as the “biggest deportation” project the US has ever seen. Prior to his appointment as border czar, Homan was a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, the Washington DC-based thinktank behind Project 2025.After the MSNBC report was published, Adam Schiff, a California Democratic senator and a former federal prosecutor, wrote on social media: “Border Czar Tom Homan was caught by the FBI accepting bribes – on camera – to deliver government contracts in exchange for $50,000 in cash. Pam Bondi knew. Kash Patel knew. Emil Bove knew. And they made the investigation go away. A corrupt attempt to conceal brazen graft.”In an angry outburst on his social media platform on Saturday night, Trump appeared to direct his attorney general, Pam Bondi, to appoint a White House aide, Lindsey Halligan, interim US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia, so that she could seek criminal charges against Schiff and another of the president’s political rivals, New York’s attorney general, Letitia James. Trump has demanded that both Schiff and James be prosecuted on mortgage fraud claims both deny.On Friday, the prosecutor who was serving as the district’s interim US attorney, Erik Siebert, was forced out, reportedly for refusing to bring charges against James, due to a lack of evidence. Trump insisted on Saturday that he had fired Siebert for political reasons. Late Saturday, Trump announced that he would nominate Halligan, his former personal lawyer and a one-time contestant in the Miss Colorado USA beauty pageant now serving as a special assistant to the president, to replace Siebert. More