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Trump claims Liz Cheney ‘could be in a lot of trouble’ over Jan 6 probe and makes ex-NFL star ambassador: Live

President-elect taunts ex-House Capitol riot committee member on Truth Social and appoints Herschel Walker as top US diplomat to the Bahamas

Oliver O'Connell,Joe Sommerlad,Gustaf Kilander
Wednesday 18 December 2024 12:41 GMT
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Donald Trump says ‘something strange is going on’ with drone sightings

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Donald Trump has claimed ex-Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney “could be in a lot of trouble” after a House GOP subcommittee called for her to be investigated by the Justice Department over her stewardship of the panel that examined the Capitol riot of January 6 2021, accusing her of witness tampering by “colluding” with Cassidy Hutchinson on her testimony.

The president-elect posted the taunt on his Truth Social platform, thanking Congressman Barry Loudermilk, who led the subcommittee and produced the interim report, for “a job well done”.

Cheney herself has already rubbished Loudermilk’s report as “a malicious and cowardly assault on the truth”.

She added, witheringly: “No reputable lawyer, legislator, or judge would take this seriously.”

Meanwhile, Trump has announced two more nominees to his incoming administration, naming Florida philanthropist Nicole McGraw as the the next US ambassador to Croatia and, more surprisingly, ex-NFL star and failed Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker as ambassador to the Bahamas.

The Republican further used his social media account to warn Senate Republicans against agreeing a deal with Democrats on his nominees to top cabinet positions.

“I will make my appointments of Very Qualified People in January when I am sworn in,” he declared.

Judge refuses to toss out bribery charge against NYC mayor

A federal judge said Tuesday that he won’t dismiss a bribery charge against New York Mayor Eric Adams because prosecutors described the allegations adequately in an indictment.

Judge Dale E. Ho wrote in an opinion that an indictment unsealed against the Democrat in September sufficiently details alleged bribery crimes, preventing dismissal of the charge prior to an April trial.

Adams has pleaded not guilty to corruption charges stemming largely from his relationships with several Turkish government officials and businesspeople from 2015 to 2022. The indictment alleged that he accepted tens of thousands of dollars in overseas travel benefits and illegal campaign donations from people seeking to buy his influence.

Read more:

Judge refuses to toss out bribery charge against NYC mayor

A federal judge says he won't dismiss a bribery charge against New York Mayor Eric Adams

Larry Neumeister18 December 2024 04:00

DC lawmakers frustrated as officials reject drone conspiracies – but provide no real answers

The rash of mysterious drone sightings across New Jersey continues to cause panic down the US east coast — and on Capitol Hill, frustrations are bubbling.

Joe Biden’s administration, with just over one month left in office, is heading into the holiday season in full lame-duck mode. As rumors of a ceasefire in Gaza being “close” raise the hopes of some Democrats eager to see the president pull out a final legacy-defining win, more are becoming vocal about the failure of the broader administration to address what is quickly becoming a source of serious misinformation.

Read more:

DC lawmakers frustrated as officials provide no clear answers on drone sightings

ANALYSIS: From Iranian ‘mother-ships’ to federal conspiracies to a Star Wars prop, a lack of official information means the drone scare is generating more heat than light, writes John Bowden

John Bowden18 December 2024 03:00

Trump backs idea to make the Postal Service — which is included in the Constitution — private

Donald Trump says privatizing the United States Postal Service — an idea Republicans have been circling for years in a crusade to kill one of America’s most popular public agencies — is “not the worst idea” he’s ever heard.

It’s the clearest signal yet that his incoming administration is reviving plans to gut the agency, which is empowered by the Constitution and older than the nation itself.

His remarks on Monday followed reporting in The Washington Post that Trump and his billionaire nominee for commerce secretary Howard Lutnick are mulling plans to overhaul the agency, including whether to privatize it entirely.

Read more:

Trump backs idea to make constitutionally-backed Postal Service private

The president-elect has given the clearest signal yet that he’s reviving plans to gut the nation’s postal system

Alex Woodward18 December 2024 02:00

Harris campaign head admits talking to NYT and Washington Post is pointless: ‘Those readers are already with us’

Reflecting on an election cycle that was dominated by podcasts and non-traditional media, the deputy campaign manager for the Harris–Walz campaign said there’s “no value” in speaking to mainstream press, notably the New York Times or Washington Post anymore.

Rob Flaherty, a key figure in crafting Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign strategy, admitted to Semafor in an interview that Republicans successfully expanded their alternative media presence with influencers, streamers, podcasters and more.

He maintained that stance in a recent interview with the online news outlet, saying the Harris campaign chose to focus on podcast appearances and interviews with influencers over traditional media to compete with Donald Trump’s campaign.

Read more:

Harris campaign head dismisses mainstream media: ‘Those readers are already with us’

Alternative media, such as podcasts and streams, became a popular venue for the candidates

Ariana Baio18 December 2024 01:00

LA Times staffers say billionaire owner’s pro-Trump meddling worse than previously reported

Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong is now prohibiting “editorials containing criticism” of Donald Trump “unless they are presented side-by-side with another opinion piece representing the ‘opposing view,’” according to a memo written by the newspaper’s editors.

As Oliver Darcy first reported in his Status newsletter, the staff memo reveals that Soon-Shiong’s “meddling” of the LA Times’ coverage – especially regarding the president-elect – has “grown more pervasive than previously realized.”

The memo, signed by several members of the LA Times’ opinion section, was sent to the newspaper’s executive editor, Terry Tang. It comes after Soon-Shiong killed an op-ed last month critical of Trump’s recent Cabinet picks and the incoming president’s suggestion that he may use recess appointments to circumvent the confirmation process.

Read more:

LA Times staffers say owner’s pro-Trump meddling worse than previously reported

Editorials with Donald Trump are now only allowed if they present the ‘opposing view’

Justin Baragona18 December 2024 00:15

MSNBC anchor admits Trump told her to ‘go f*** myself’ when she called for an interview

MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle revealed that President-elect Donald Trump told her to ‘go f*** myself” after she tried to set up an interview with him before the election to discuss his Madson Square Garden campaign rally.

While noting that Trump profanely brushed off her invitation for a sitdown, Ruhle also used this anecdote as an example of how much more accessible Trump is to the press than President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris, who she claimed are nearly impossible to contact due to buffers put up by their staffs.

Appearing on Lukas Thimm’s live variety stage show So Many Issues, Ruhle brought up the wild MSG rally in October, which was described as “an orgy of fascism” and sparked outrage after a right-wing comic called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” Ruhle said she “rolled the dice” and decided to call up Trump to see if he’d agree to talk to her about the fallout.

Read more:

MSNBC host admits Trump told her to ‘go f*** myself’ when she called for an interview

Stephanie Ruhle contrasted the relative ease that she had connecting to Trump with the beauracratic barries she’s faced when attempting to reach out to President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris

Justin Baragona17 December 2024 23:30

Trump meets TikTok CEO as platform fights US ban

Donald Trump reportedly met with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew on Monday to discuss the app’s potential ban by the US government.

The two men reportedly had a meeting at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, according to NBC News.

In the days leading up to the meeting, Trump had expressed some degree of sympathy for the company, saying he had a “warm spot” for the app, and promising that he’d “take a look” at the ban.

Read more:

Trump meets TikTok CEO as platform fights US ban

President-elect tried to ban TikTok in 2020 but changed his tone on it once he realized it could help him win

Graig Graziosi17 December 2024 22:00

Republican report suggests Liz Cheney be criminally investigated because of work on Jan 6

Republicans released a 128-page report Tuesday which suggested that former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney be investigated for her work probing the January 6 Capitol riot.

The report looked at the “failures and politicization” of the now-dissolved January 6 Committee, claiming that President-elect Donald Trump was unfairly blamed for the attack.

“Speaker Pelosi’s multimillion-dollar Select Committee was a political weapon with a singular focus to deceive the public into blaming President Trump for the violence on January 6 and to tarnish the legacy of his first Presidency,” it says.

The conclusion argues that the FBI should investigate Cheney, claiming that her contact with witness Cassidy Hutchinson, a former Trump White House aide, amounted to witness tampering.

“January 6th showed Donald Trump for who is really is – a cruel and vindictive man who allowed violent attacks to continue against our Capitol and law enforcement officers while he watched television and refused for hours to instruct his supporters to stand down and leave,” Cheney said in a statement, according to The Hill.

She went on to note that “Chairman [Barry] Loudermilk’s (R-Ga.) ‘Interim Report’ intentionally disregards the truth and the Select Committee’s tremendous weight of evidence, and instead fabricates lies and defamatory allegations in an attempt to cover up what Donald Trump did. Their allegations do not reflect a review of the actual evidence, and are a malicious and cowardly assault on the truth. No reputable lawyer, legislator or judge would take this seriously.”

Gustaf Kilander17 December 2024 21:47

The rise and fall of Justin Trudeau as Canadian prime minister is on the brink

After nearly 10 years at the country’s helm, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing growing calls from his own party to resign.

Mr Trudeau’s latest crisis has been sparked by the sudden resignation of his finance minister Chrystia Freeland, amid a row over how best to handle US President-elect Donald Trump’s threatened trade tariffs.

Once the poster-boy for liberal politics, his popularity has waned and his approval rating has dipped below 30 per cent several times this year.

So what went wrong?

The rise and fall of Justin Trudeau as Canadian prime minister is on the brink

The Canadian prime minister was once a poster boy for liberalism but he now faces the latest in a series of crises that threaten his future

Rachel Clun17 December 2024 21:30

Pennsylvania state senator mistakes Star Wars prop for drone

Gustaf Kilander17 December 2024 21:00

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