Trump team lashes out after Trump is ordered to appear for sentencing in hush money case: Live
Justice Juan Merchan rejected president-elect’s push to dismiss verdict on grounds of presidential immunity, finding no legal impediment to proceeding
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Your support makes all the difference.After a New York judge set President-elect Donald Trump’s sentencing in his hush-money case for January 10 — just ten days before his inauguration — his spokesperson called the order a “witch hunt” and said Trump would “continue fighting against these hoaxes until they are all dead.”
Judge Juan Merchan indicated Trump wouldn’t be jailed, but the extraordinary development puts him on course to be the first president to take office convicted of felony crimes. In a written decision, Merchan said he would sentence the former and future president to what’s known as a conditional discharge, in which a case gets dismissed if a defendant avoids rearrest.
Following the order, Steven Cheung issued a statement claiming “the Constitution demands that it be immediately dismissed” and said the president-elect must be allowed to continue his presidential transition “unobstructed by the remains of this or any remnants of the Witch Hunts.”
Cheung concluded: “There should be no sentencing, and President Trump will continue fighting against these hoaxes until they are all dead.”
Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson has been reelected at the start of the 119th Congress.
Despite having Trump’s endorsement, the Louisiana representative earned 218 votes, the bare minimum.
Musk and Ramaswamy want to force federal workers back to the office — why aren’t economists convinced?
Federal employees could be required to return to the office five days per week as a way to reduce its workforce under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration - but economists say that it could also cost the government productivity and money.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the billionaire entrepreneurs recently bestowed government advisory jobs, said they have several ideas to drastically cut the federal workforce and budget through their newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
One way they could inspire change is by suggesting Trump mandate the approximately 2.28 million employees return to the office five days per week – something they claim will “result in a wave of voluntary terminations.”
Ariana Baio reports.
Musk and Ramaswamy want to force federal workers back to the office. But can they?
More than half of federal workers work in person full-time
Giuliani testifies he hid his grandfather’s watch from defamed election workers:
Lawyers for two women defamed by Rudy Giuliani have spent months trying to track down his assets to begin chipping away at the $148 million he owes them in damages.
On Friday, he testified for more than three hours in a federal courtroom in Manhattan as attorneys painstakingly poured over his sworn statements in thick stacks of court filings.
Squinting at a small monitor in front of him, the 80-year-old former New York City mayor repeatedly said he never intentionally withheld information about his assets, didn’t recall seeing certain statements, and never willfully disobeyed court orders to turn over his property.
But he admitted he did not want to give the mother-daughter election workers his grandfather’s 120-year-old gold pocketwatch.
“I felt it could get lost if I turned it over,” Giuliani said from the witness stand.
Read the full story.
Rudy Giuliani testifies he kept his grandfather’s watch from defamed election workers
The former New York mayor insists he’s ‘not trying to hide’ but doesn’t know where his some of his assets are or if he ever had them during the long-running case to collect $148 million
Majority Leader Thune says Speaker Johnson has ‘really tough job’ ahead in House
Per NBC News:
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., the incoming Senate majority leader, said Friday that House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., will have "a really, really tough job," navigating a narrow majority.
"I think he has been responsive to his members, but he’s got a lot of folks that are headed in different directions," Thune said during an interview with "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker that took place as the House was selecting a new speaker. "I mean, as you know, that with a narrow margin like that, any individual member of the House of Representatives can have a huge impact."
‘Two and a Half Men’ star brands Trump’s second term a ‘clown show already’
Two and a Half Men alum Jon Cryer is pessimistic about President-elect Donald Trump’s second term, predicting that things are “not going to get better.”
The 59-year-old actor and outspoken Kamala Harris supporter shared his opinions with paparazzi ahead of Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
Inga Parkel reports.
Two and a Half Men star Jon Cryer brands Trump’s second term a ‘clown show already’
Actor says Trump ‘doesn’t even like America’
Ohio governor signs bill into law that will see public charged for police videos
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has signed a bill into law to charge the public for footage from law enforcement, such as body cameras.
A provision in a 450-page omnibus bill stated that law enforcement would be allowed to charge individuals the “estimated cost” of processing footage from jail and police
Payment is required before the footage is released, according to WEWS. Governments will be allowed to charge as much as $75 an hour or for a maximum total of $750 per request.
Gustaf Kilander has the details.
Ohio Gov. DeWine signs bill into law that will see public charged for police videos
‘This changing technology has affected law enforcement by oftentimes creating unfunded burdens,’ governor says
LA Times owner talked about setting up a ‘MAGA version of The View’
The owner of the Los Angeles Times reportedly considered launching a conservative version of the daytime talk show The View and met with comedian and anti-vaccine advocate Rob Schneider and the wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., actor Cheryl Hines, to discuss it.
Patrick Soon-Shiong, the pharmaceutical businessman, met with the two celebrities – both known for their ties to conservatism – last month, according to journalist Oliver Darcy, who reported the news in his newsletter Status.
Ariana Baio reports.
LA Times owner considered setting up ‘MAGA version of The View’: report
Schneider suggested his media company would create a daytime talk show to ‘compete’ with ‘The View’
ANALYSIS: Mike Johnson may be the speaker, but Democrats will still have power
Eric Garcia writes:
After a whipsaw couple of hours, Mike Johnson remained speaker of the House of Representatives with the help of some pressure from President-elect Donald Trump. The move shows that the mild-mannered Louisianan is a far more deft politician than his predecessor Kevin McCarthy, who had to go fifteen rounds before he became speaker two years ago.
But Johnson’s speech afterward did not set the tone, nor did the speech of House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain.
Rather, it came when House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar nominated Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and called Democrats the “governing majority.”
Continue reading...
Mike Johnson may be the speaker, but Democrats will still have power
Yes, Republicans have a trifecta. Yes, Trump is president. But hardliners’ inability to take yes for an answer means Democrats can act as the ‘governing majority,’ in a coalition with Mike Johnson
Trump names deputy Middle East envoy
President-elect Donald Trump has named Morgan Ortagus as his deputy Middle East envoy in a curiously worded announcement on Truth Social this afternoon.
It reads in part: “Early on Morgan fought me for three years, but hopefully has learned her lesson. These things usually don’t work out, but she has strong Republican support, and I’m not doing this for me, I’m doing it for them.”
He doesn’t sound keen.
Here’s the statement in full:
I am pleased to announce Morgan Ortagus as Deputy Special Presidential Envoy for Middle East Peace, to the Honorable Steven Witkoff. Early on Morgan fought me for three years, but hopefully has learned her lesson. These things usually don’t work out, but she has strong Republican support, and I’m not doing this for me, I’m doing it for them. Let’s see what happens. She will hopefully be an asset to Steve, a great leader and talent, as we seek to bring calm and prosperity to a very troubled region. I expect great results, and soon! Morgan Ortagus has had experience in Diplomacy and National Security, and is an active U.S. Navy Reserve Intelligence Officer. From 2019-2021, Morgan served as Spokesperson at the Department of State (Pompeo!), where she was a member of my Historic Abraham Accords team that brought unprecedented Peace to the Middle East. Earlier, she worked at the Department of the Treasury as a financial intelligence analyst and, from 2010-2011, was the Deputy U.S. Treasury Attaché to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
In first speech since re-election, Mike Johnson promises to ‘roll back administrative state’
Speaker Mike Johnson pledged to “drastically” reduce the size of government and pass legislation to roll back “the administrative state” in his first speech after being re-elected Speaker by the narrowest of margins.
Johnson managed to retain the gavel on the first vote after two members changed their votes to support him following phone calls from President-elect Donald Trump, according to CNN.
“We have a mandate, and that was shown in the election cycle. People want an America First agenda,” said Johnson. “Sadly for the past four years of divided government, too many politicians in Washington have done the opposite; open borders and over-regulation have destroyed our cities and stifled innovation.”
He claimed that inflation and “weak leadership” have made Americans worse off and left the U.S. in a “perilous” place.
Gustaf Kilander has the details.
Johnson promises to ‘roll back administrative state’ after being re-elected Speaker
Johnson has already committed to investigate the now-disbanded House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot
‘You cannot change the truth and you cannot silence us’: Cheney claps back at Trump over Jan 6 committee’s work
Former Republican Rep Liz Cheney has clapped back at Donald Trump over his ranting Truth Social post calling her “totally corrupt” following her presidential award for putting country over party and joining the House January 6 committee to investigate the Capitol riot.
Here’s what she had to say in response to the president-elect:
Donald, this is not the Soviet Union. You can’t change the truth and you cannot silence us. Remember all your lies about the voting machines, the election workers, your countless allegations of fraud that never happened? Many of your lawyers have been sanctioned, disciplined or disbarred, the courts ruled against you, and dozens of your own White House, administration, and campaign aides testified against you. Remember how you sent a mob to our Capitol and then watched the violence on television and refused for hours to instruct the mob to leave? Remember how your former Vice President prevented you from overturning our Republic? We remember. And now, as you take office again, the American people need to reject your latest malicious falsehoods and stand as the guardrails of our Constitutional Republic — to protect the America we love from you.
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