Politics

Trump burrowed at least 26 political appointees into career jobs, making them harder for the Biden administration to fire

Getty Trump burrowed at least 26 political appointees into career jobs during his last year in office. Their appointments to civil servant positions make it harder for Biden's administration to fire them. At least nine more Trump appointments are awaiting review. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. President Donald Trump appointed 26 political appointees into career civilian positions, with at least nine more appointments awaiting review, The Washington Post reported. Thei...
Tags: Energy, Post, Politics, Congress, Washington Post, Nsa, Senate, White House, Defense, US, Trends, Department Of Defense, Joe Biden, House, Biden, Interior Department

Some Capitol rioters could go free to stop local courthouses being swamped, report says

Protesters broke into Capitol Building on January 06, 2021. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) DOJ and FBI officials are considering not charging all the Trump supporters involved in the Capitol siege. Some have argued that charging all of the rioters could swamp local courthouses, sources told the Washington Post. Others have pushed back against this proposal, saying it would undermine the DOJ's credibility. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Justice Department and FBI o...
Tags: Post, Politics, Washington Post, US, Trends, Fbi, Washington Dc, News UK, Department Of Justice, Doj, Justice Department, Trump, U S District Court, Capitol, Capitol Building, Raimondi

Biden ordered a review of domestic extremism in the US after the Capitol siege, but a number of political, legal, and cultural obstacles lie ahead

President Joe Biden speaks before signing executive orders on his first day in White House on January 21, 2021. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) President Joe Biden on Friday said several intelligence departments would be working together to assess domestic terrorism.  There have been calls to expand state security in light of the January 6 Capitol siege.  However, those efforts face some legal and cultural obstacles.  Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Presiden...
Tags: Post, Politics, Obama, Congress, White House, US, Trends, Joe Biden, Fbi, Gop, Associated Press, Cia, Republican Party, Republican, Biden, Department Of Homeland Security

Trump wanted the Justice Department to sue individual states to overturn their election results, but top officials refused, WSJ report says

President Donald Trump. Getty Trump wanted the Justice Department to sue states directly in the Supreme Court to overturn the election results. DOJ officials refused, prompting Trump to plot to replace the acting attorney general with a loyalist. That effort was foiled by DOJ leaders when some threatened to resign if Jeffrey Rosen was removed. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. President Donald Trump wanted the Department of Justice to file lawsuits in the Supreme Court ag...
Tags: Politics, Texas, Supreme Court, Trends, Georgia, United States, Department Of Justice, Biden, Donald Trump, Doj, Wall Street Journal, Justice Department, Journal, WSJ, Trump, Election 2020

A Republican congressman from Pennsylvania was instrumental in Trump's plan to shake up the Justice Department and overturn the election

Th House Homeland Security Committee's Oversight and Management Efficiency Subcommittee Chairman Scott Perry (R-PA) holds a hearing about the possibility of transferring Guantanamo Bay detainees out of Cuba and into the United States on Capitol Hill April 28, 2016. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images A little-known GOP congressman from Pennsylvania helped former President Donald Trump with a plan to oust the acting attorney general in an effort to overturn the election, reported. Republi...
Tags: Politics, Guantanamo Bay, Supreme Court, Congress, Senate, US, Trends, Georgia, Fraud, Pennsylvania, Gop, United States, House, Ted Cruz, The Times, Capitol Hill

Trump's pardons may be poorly worded enough to leave some people on the hook

President Donald Trump gives a presidential 'pardon' to the National Thanksgiving Turkey Butter in the Rose Garden of the White House November 26, 2019 in Washington, DC. While Butter may be safe, Paul Manafort still faces risks, experts say. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images President Trump's pardons leave some of their subjects open to additional prosecution, experts say. His former campaign chair Paul Manafort could still be prosecuted for specific crimes he wasn't pardoned for. Eve...
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Trump reportedly worked with a Justice Department lawyer in a plot to appoint a loyalist as acting attorney general to help him overturn the election

Donald Trump is pictured attending the D-day 75 Commemorations on June 05, 2019 in Portsmouth, England. Chris Jackson/Getty Images Trump reportedly worked with a Justice Department lawyer to try and oust the acting attorney general.  He wanted to replace Jeffrey Rosen with lawyer Jeffrey Clark, The New York Times reported.  Trump backed down after a group of top DOJ leaders said they'd resign if Rosen was fired. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Donald Trump reportedly pl...
Tags: Politics, Congress, Washington Post, Attorney General, Senate, White House, US, Trends, Georgia, Joe Biden, Gop, House, New York Times, The Times, Republican Party, Republican

McConnell blamed Trump for inciting the Capitol riot, but the senator - and everyone else who refused to acknowledge Biden's win - was complicit too

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks to reporters as Senate Republican leaders hold a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, December 1, 2020. Kevin Lamarque/Reuters On Tuesday, McConnell blamed Trump for inciting the mob that violently stormed the US Capitol. But incitement of the mob started with lies about widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. Republicans who did not admit Biden's win, and let those lies spread unchecked, are complicit. Visit Business Insider's h...
Tags: Politics, Congress, Washington, Senate, White House, US, Trends, Analysis, Gop, Mitch McConnell, Capitol Hill, Republican, Biden, Vox, Donald Trump, Justice Department

Lawyers representing the Capitol insurrectionists are building a damning case against Trump

Former President Donald Trump speaks at the "Stop The Steal" Rally on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images Attorneys representing people arrested in connection to the Capitol riot are taking aim at former President Donald Trump. They're laying the blame at his feet for inciting the deadly siege by spreading disinformation about the election. The allegations bolster House Democrats' impeachment case against Trump and expose him to more legal risk. Visit Business ...
Tags: Politics, Texas, News, Nbc, Congress, Senate, White House, Russia, US, Trends, Joe Biden, Analysis, Fbi, Williams, Washington Dc, House

'He can't argue that nobody took him seriously': Lawyers representing the Capitol insurrectionists are building a damning case against Trump

Former President Donald Trump speaks at the "Stop The Steal" Rally on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images Attorneys representing people who were arrested in connection to the Capitol riot are taking aim at former President Donald Trump. They're laying the blame at his feet for inciting the deadly siege by spreading disinformation about the election and telling supporters: "If you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore." The allegation...
Tags: Politics, Texas, News, Nbc, Congress, Senate, White House, Russia, US, Trends, Joe Biden, Analysis, Fbi, Williams, Washington Dc, House

Lawyer for the 22-year-old accused of stealing Pelosi's laptop blamed Trump for the Capitol riot, saying her client 'took the president's bait'

Riley June Williams in a photo from the Dauphin County Prison in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Dauphin County Prison/Handout via Reuters The lawyer of the woman accused of stealing Pelosi's laptop blamed Trump for the January 6 riot. Riley June Williams "took the president's bait," Lori Ulrich told a Thursday court hearing. Trump had told supporters to "fight like hell" moments before a mob stormed the Capitol. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. The lawyer for the woman accuse...
Tags: Politics, Senate, Russia, Trends, Joe Biden, Fbi, Williams, Washington Dc, House, House Of Representatives, News UK, Nancy Pelosi, Wendy Williams, Hewlett Packard, Donald Trump, Justice Department

A Columbia man was charged with threatening to 'explode the IRS' building and kill Nancy Pelosi

Chip Somodevilla /Staff/Getty Images A man from Columbia, Maryland, was charged after tweeting threats to "explode the IRS headquarters" and kill House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Cody Wolf Gideon Mohr, 27, of Columbia, Maryland, was arrested earlier Thursday after a criminal complaint was filed related to his tweets. Investigators identified Mohr as the user behind the Twitter account @BonaFried where he made threats to blow up federal property and kill the House Speaker. Visit Business Inside...
Tags: Twitter, Politics, News, US, Trends, House, Nancy Pelosi, Justice Department, Irs, Columbia, Internal Revenue Service, Mohr, Baltimore Maryland, Columbia Maryland, Robert K Hur, Lauren Frias

Vice President Kamala Harris comes from a family of lawyers and Stanford graduates. Meet the family.

Kamala Harris with her husband and niece's daughter. Mason Trinca/Getty Images Kamala Harris made history on Wednesday as the first female US Vice President. Harris was born in California to immigrant parents from Jamaica and India.  Harris' extended family includes five lawyers and several Stanford graduates. Harris' representatives did not reply to a request for comment. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. On January 20, 2021, Kamala Harris became the first Black ...
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Trump did not pardon himself on his way out of office even as he faces a mountain of legal and political risk

US President Donald Trump stepping off Air Force One upon arrival in Harlingen, Texas, on January 12, 2021. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images Former President Trump did not preemptively pardon himself before leaving office on Wednesday. Several Trump associates reportedly warned him against pardoning himself. Trump would have forfeited his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination if he'd pardoned himself. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Former President Donald Tr...
Tags: Politics, New York, News, Maryland, Supreme Court, Congress, Washington, Senate, White House, Russia, US, Trends, Fbi, Washington Dc, House, New York Times

Latest on Inauguration Day: Acting attorney general resigns as Biden enters

WASHINGTON — Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen will resign when President-elect Joe Biden takes the oath of office. The Justice Department says Rosen’s resignation goes into effect at noon Wednesday. Rosen has run the department since former Attorney General William Barr resigned on Dec. 23. He was previously the deputy attorney general and deputy transportation secretary. Rosen has kept a low profile since he assumed the top job at the Justice Department. He has not held a press conference ...
Tags: News, Congress, Abc, Washington, Senate, White House, America, Sport, Joe Biden, Cnn, Soccer, House, Celtic, Mitch McConnell, John F Kennedy, Catholic

The DOJ has closed its investigation into Senator Burr's $1.7 million stock trades during the pandemic

Senator Richard Burr leaves the Capitol in May 2020. Erin Scott/Reuters DOJ officials closed an investigation into Sen. Richard Burr's financial transactions, according to the senator. Burr sold up to $1.72 million in stock in the weeks before coronavirus concerns rattled markets, said ProPublica.  "The case is now closed," Burr said in a statement. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. The Justice Department closed its investigation into stock trades by Senator Richard Burr ...
Tags: Politics, Senate, US, Trends, Fbi, Gop, Mitch McConnell, Fox News, Department Of Justice, Stock Market, North Carolina, Doj, Senate Intelligence Committee, Justice Department, Cortez, Trump

The 22-year-old accused of stealing Pelosi's laptop and planning to sell it to Russia has been given new charges that could see her jailed for 20 years

Riley June Williams seen in a booking photograph obtained from the Dauphin County Prison in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on January 19, 2021. Dauphin County Prison/Handout via Reuters Riley June Williams, the woman accused of stealing Nancy Pelosi's laptop and trying to sell it to Russia, was charged with theft of government property Tuesday. The Justice Department had charged the 22-year-old on Sunday with breaking into the Capitol on January 6, but a new charge was added after the FBI inves...
Tags: Politics, Russia, US, America, Trends, Cnn, Fbi, Britain, Pennsylvania, Williams, House, News UK, Nancy Pelosi, Hewlett Packard, Donald Trump, Doj

The DOJ has closed its investigation into Senator Burr's $1.7 million stock trades during the pandemic, according to reports

Senator Richard Burr leaves the Capitol in May 2020. Erin Scott/Reuters DOJ officials reportedly closed an investigation into Sen. Richard Burr's financial transactions, per CNBC. Burr sold up to $1.72 million in stock in the weeks before coronavirus concerns rattled markets, said ProPublica.  "The case is now closed," Burr reportedly said in a statement. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. The Justice Department closed its investigation into stock trades by Senator Richard...
Tags: Politics, Senate, US, Trends, Fbi, Gop, Mitch McConnell, Fox News, Department Of Justice, Stock Market, North Carolina, Doj, Senate Intelligence Committee, Justice Department, Cnbc, Cortez

Trump issues 73 pardons and 70 commutations in a final wave of executive clemency grants before leaving office

President Donald Trump AP Photo/Alex Brandon President Trump issued 73 pardons and 70 commutations on Tuesday as one of his final actions in office. Trump was criticized for bypassing the DOJ review process that decides who gets executive clemency. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. President Donald Trump issued more than 140 pardons and commutations late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, as one of his final acts before he leaves office on Wednesday.The Washington...
Tags: Politics, News, Washington Post, White House, Trends, Cnn, Fbi, Donald Trump, Detroit, Pardon, Doj, Border Patrol, Justice Department, Baghdad, Trump, Duncan Hunter

Trump has reportedly pardoned his former chief strategist Steve Bannon

In November of 2020, Bannon was permanently suspended from Twitter after suggesting National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci and FBI Director Christopher Wray should both be beheaded. Getty President Donald Trump has pardoned his former campaign CEO and chief strategist Steve Bannon, The New York Times reported. The report said Bannon was a last-minute addition to the list of people Trump wanted to grant executive clemency to before his term ended. Banno...
Tags: Mexico, White House, US, Trends, Joe Biden, Fbi, United States, House, New York Times, House Of Representatives, Italy, Donald Trump, Anthony Fauci, Justice Department, Trump, Breitbart

20-year-old US Army soldier charged with providing kill targets for ISIS, plotting ways to attack the 9/11 Memorial in New York

An ISIS fighter waves a flag while standing on captured government fighter jet in Raqqa, Syria, 2015. y: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images A 20-year-old US Army soldier was arrested on federal terrorism charges and is accused of trying to help ISIS kill other service members in the Middle East, according to the Justice Department. Private First Class Cole Bridges is accused of helping plan targets like the 9/11 Memorial in New York City, and giving "advice a...
Tags: Politics, New York, Isis, News, New York City, US, International, Trends, Georgia, Fbi, United States, Bridges, Middle East, Army, US Army, Justice Department

Biden's pick for assistant health secretary would be the first transgender person confirmed by the Senate

Biden on Tuesday tapped Dr. Rachel Levine, seen here in 2015, for a key health role in a historic pick of a transgender person. REUTERS/Daniel Shanken President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday selected Dr. Rachel Levine as his nominee for assistant health secretary. Levine is a physician who is currently serving as Pennsylvania's secretary of health.  If confirmed, Levine would be the first transgender person confirmed by the US Senate. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Presi...
Tags: Politics, News, Senate, US, Trends, Georgia, Joe Biden, Pennsylvania, US Senate, Biden, Justice Department, Cabinet, Kamala Harris, Tom Wolf, Levine, Trump White House

Biden has set sky-high expectations. Can he meet them?

WASHINGTON — Back when the election was tightening and just a week away, Joe Biden went big. He flew to Warm Springs, the Georgia town whose thermal waters once brought Franklin Delano Roosevelt comfort from polio, and pledged a restitching of America’s economic and policy fabric unseen since FDR’s New Deal. Evoking some of the nation’s loftiest reforms helped Biden unseat President Donald Trump but left him with towering promises to keep. And he’ll be trying to deliver against the backdrop of s...
Tags: Health, Politics, News, Supreme Court, Obama, Republicans, Congress, Washington, Mexico, Senate, Massachusetts, America, Barack Obama, Georgia, Sport, Joe Biden

James Comey says the GOP needs to be 'burned down or changed,' calling the pro-Trump riot at the Capitol 'our own Chernobyl'

Former FBI Director James Comey. Alex Wong/Getty Images Former FBI Director James Comey eviscerated President Donald Trump, his supporters, and the Republican Party in an interview with The Guardian. He described the pro-Trump riot at the Capitol as the US's "Chernobyl" — referring to the 1986 nuclear accident — saying it was the result of a breakdown in the country's checks and balances caused by Trump. Comey has been forthright about the president in recent days, telling ABC News he has ...
Tags: Politics, White House, Russia, US, America, Trends, Fbi, Gop, News UK, Guardian, Capitol Hill, Republican Party, Donald Trump, Abc News, Chernobyl, Republican National Committee

Biden Vows to Defeat America’s Oldest and Largest Civil Rights Group

Joe Biden with a sign behind him telling a very uncomfortable truth for the Democratic Presidential Candidate. IMG NRA-ILA U.S.A. -(AmmoLand.com)- Joe Biden wants Americans to believe that he will focus on what he calls “the renewal of a politics that’s about solving problems – not stoking the flames of hate and chaos.” Yet what “problem” is Biden promising to “solve” before he even takes office? Why the “defeat” of the National Rifle Association, a group of over 5 million Americans of all dif...
Tags: Guns, Washington, America, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Biden, Justice Department, Nra, U S Supreme Court, National Rifle Association, District, Garland, Civil Rights Division, NRA-ILA, Gun Rights News, Institute for Legislative Action ILA

A 22-year-old woman accused of stealing Pelosi's laptop and planning to sell it to Russia has been arrested

An image of Riley June Williams released by the FBI. FBI/Handout via REUTERS A woman accused of stealing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's laptop during the January 6 riot at the Capitol has been arrested. Riley June Williams, 22, was arrested on Monday and charged with illegally entering the Capitol and with disorderly conduct, the Associated Press reported. According to an FBI affidavit released Sunday, a person identifying as Williams' ex had called in to say that Williams planned to sell Pe...
Tags: Politics, Youtube, Russia, Nbc News, Trends, Joe Biden, Cnn, Fbi, Williams, House, News UK, Associated Press, Nancy Pelosi, New Mexico, Justice Department, Griffin

Trump is starting his last full day in office hiding from the public and plotting to steal Biden's thunder, as his approval ratings plummet to historic lows

President Donald Trump. SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images President-elect Joe Biden will be inaugurated on Wednesday, meaning Tuesday is President Donald Trump's last full day in the White House. Trump has spent the last days of his presidency hidden from public view, and with his approval ratings the lowest they have ever been. Trump is not attending Biden's inauguration and is instead planning on stealing focus from the event, including by flying out early. Vice President Mike Pence has tak...
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Former Trump campaign spokesman claims the only reason the president isn't denouncing the Capitol riot more is because Twitter and Facebook banned him

J. Hogan Gidley appearing on Fox News on Sunday. Fox News A former spokesman for President Donald Trump has claimed that the president cannot denounce the Capitol rioters because he no longer has a platform to. In the wake of the January 6 storming of the US Capitol, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and YouTube barred Trump for inciting violence. J. Hogan Gidley told Fox News on Sunday it was "disingenuous" of the media not to take this into account while criticizing the president's silence. P...
Tags: Facebook, Twitter, Politics, Nbc, Youtube, Senate, White House, US, Trends, Fbi, Gop, United States, House Of Representatives, News UK, Mitch McConnell, Fox News

Republicans and conservatives are whining about being 'silenced,' but these complaints are completely detached from reality

An image on a monitor shows US President Donald Trump speaking during in a video posted on the White House Twitter feed, in the empty Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC on January 13, 2021 Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post/Getty Images Conservatives have complained about being "silenced" in the wake of Trump's boot from Twitter and the Parler ban. But Fox News, the highest rated news channel, is conservative and GOP officials and conservative pundits have a variety o...
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Federal government executes Dustin Higgs, the 13th person to be killed since July. Justice Sonia Sotomayor writes scathing dissent: 'This is not justice.'

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Supreme Court Associate Justice Elena Kagan look on as U.S. President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of the U.S. Congress on February 28, 2017 in the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. Trump's first address to Congress focused on national security, tax and regulatory reform, t...
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