Category: Trump Administration

Unmasking the far right: An extremist paid a price when his identity was exposed online after a violent clash in Washington

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In a flash, Laura Jedeed was surrounded by screaming men. The freelance journalist was filming a group of Trump supporters walking the streets of the District after the “Million MAGA March” on Nov. 14 when a man wearing an American flag gaiter mask approached her, stepped on her toes and began yelling.

“What’s up, you stupid b—-?” the man shouted, his mask slipping down his face.

Jedeed yelled at the man to stop touching her. A crowd formed around her and another journalist, with unmasked men screaming at them from all directions. Jedeed kept her camera rolling, and when she got away from the crowd, she uploaded video of the incident to YouTube and Twitter, and it went viral. Continue reading.

Biden’s First Task at Housing Agency: Rebuilding Trump-Depleted Ranks

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An exodus of top-level officials during the previous administration has left the Department of Housing and Urban Development short of expertise even as its role expands.

WASHINGTON — During the 2020 campaign, President Biden pledged to transform the Department of Housing and Urban Development into a frontline weapon in the fight against racial and economic inequality.

But when his transition team took over last fall, it found a department in crisis.

The agency’s community planning and development division, the unit responsible for a wide array of federal disaster relief and homelessness programs, had been so weakened by an exodus of career officials that it was faltering under the responsibility of managing tens of billions of dollars in pandemic aid, according to members of the team. Continue reading.

Betsy DeVos left Washington 5 months ago. Her legacy is alive and well.

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On issues like charter schools and sexual misconduct, conservative lawmakers and activists have stepped in to preserve the work of Donald Trump’s education secretary.

The Biden administration is trying to scrub Betsy DeVos’ policy fingerprints from the Education Department on everything from for-profit colleges to sex-based discrimination.

Standing in their way is an array of conservative politicians and advocacy groups eager to keep her policy agenda afloat after she has largely receded from public view.

DeVos’ devotion to using her government position to advocate for charter schools and those accused of sexual misconduct now relies on Republicans like Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) to defend her turf. Continue reading.

Trump’s announcement of rallies with Bill O’Reilly sets off furious backlash among QAnon supporters: report

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According to a report from Newsweek, Donald Trump’s announcement that he will be touring with former Fox News personality Bill O’Reilly in December was greeted with dismay and incredulity by QAnon followers who believed he would already have been reinstalled as president in August.

The tour, which will include stops in Sunrise, Florida, then Orlando before moving on to Houston and ending in Dallas on December 19, carries a ticket price of $100, with Trump announcing, “My tour with Bill O’Reilly is getting a lot of attention, and I’m looking forward to it. Maybe tickets would make a great Father’s Day gift? In any event, I’ll see you then, and much sooner.”

That announcement set off a flurry of comments on Telegram — a popular forum for QAnon adherents — who reacted with confusion and anger. Continue reading.

‘Italygate’ election conspiracy theory was pushed by two firms led by woman who also falsely claimed $30 million mansion was hers

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Late last December, as President Donald Trump pressed senior officials to find proof of election fraud, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows emailed acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen a letter detailing an outlandish theory of how an Italian defense contractor had conspired with U.S. intelligence to rig the 2020 presidential contest.

The letter, which was among records released by Congress this past week, was printed under the letterhead of USAerospace Partners, a little-known Virginia aviation company. In early January, a second Virginia firm, the Institute for Good Governance, and a partner organization released a statement from an Italian attorney who claimed that a hacker had admitted involvement in the supposed conspiracy.

According to the conspiracy theory known as “Italygate,” people working for the Italian defense contractor, in coordination with senior CIA officials, used military satellites to switch votes from Trump to Joe Biden and swing the result of the election. Continue reading.

GOP’s ‘Offensively Absurd’ Spin On Capitol Riot Gets A Firm Debunking

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Seven Republican claims about the Jan. 6 insurrection were dismantled by CNN’s Brianna Keilar and John Berman.

CNN’s “New Day” anchors Brianna Keilar and John Berman dismantled seven “offensively absurd” claims that conservatives are now pushing about the deadly U.S. Capitol riot.

On Friday, Berman noted how “some Republicans and some deranged entertainers keep developing new and provably false ways to say the insurrection did not happen.”

The co-hosts then firmly debunked each current GOP claim about the attack carried out by the violent mob incited by Donald Trump ― from their “peaceful protesters” spin to the falsehood that they weren’t armed.

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Trump Commerce Boss Wilbur Ross Hoovered Up $53 Million While In Public Office

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Then he slipped out of public life and into a business he set up in the Cayman Islands while reportedly still commerce secretary.

Donald Trump’s commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, earned at least $53 million from private companies while he was collecting a taxpayer salary and supposed to be looking out for the public instead of his own profits.

Ross reported making somewhere between $53 million and $127 million during his four years as head of the Commerce Department. The federal government only requires officials to report broad ranges of outside income.

It’s possible that Ross earned “significantly more” since he was not required to specify certain income totals over $1 million, noted watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which reported Ross’ financial disclosure filings earlier this week. Continue reading.

Louis DeJoy’s chaotic first year at USPS: A litany of political controversies, mail delays and FBI investigations

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Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has only been in office one year and, since he was appointed to head the U.S. Postal Service last May, he has been at the center of controversy. Now, for his first-year anniversary, his office has released a statement confirming he is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), according to USA Today.

A spokesperson for DeJoy confirmed, “the Justice Department is investigating campaign funds involving his former North Carolina business New Breed Logistics.” The Washington Post also reported that a number of DeJoy’s current and former employees had been interviewed by the Justice Department and asked about company activities and their political contributions.

The announcement comes months after DeJoy incorporated a number of controversial changes that subsequently impacted the Postal Service’s ability to effectively carry out day-to-day operations. Last June, then-Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) penned a letter to the board of governors, the Federal Reserve System’s governing body which is responsible for DeJoy’s appointment, to verbalize his concerns about the postmaster. Continue reading.

Marco Rubio hilariously fact-checked by Alexander Vindman’s wife: ‘You’re so bad at this’

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Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) was hilariously shut down by the wife of retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a key witness in Trump’s first impeachment trial.

Rubio tweeted a Politico story on the White House freezing military aid to Ukraine that was labeled “nonsense” by press secretary Jen Psaki.

“Remember when freezing military aid to Ukraine was an impeachable offense?” Rubio asked. Continue reading.

Fox News now has a conspiracy theory that vindicates both Matt Gaetz and Donald Trump

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Fox News personality Tucker Carlson on Friday returned to his debunked conspiracy theory that it was actually the FBI — not Trump and his supporters — who were responsible for the January 6th insurrection.

After Carlson interviewed Glenn Greenwald, the host wondered if maybe the FBI set up not just Donald Trump supporters, but also Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).

“It does kind of make you wonder about Matt Gaetz, actually. Remember Matt Gaetz? He was engaged in child sex trafficking,” Carlson said with a mocking voice. Continue reading.