Trump investigators looking at swimming pool worker who flooded Mar-a-Lago records room, report says
Federal investigators have reportedly trained their attention on an employee at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, who, in the process of draining a swimming pool on the property last year, flooded a room where computer servers containing video surveillance logs were stored. According to reporting by CNN, investigators have asked at least one witness in the investigation into Mr Trump’s handling of classified documents about the flooding of the server room. It is as of yet unclear whether the room was flooded intentionally or on accident. Prosecutors have reportedly been told that the IT equipment in the room was not damaged during the flooding incident. The investigation into the conduct and intentions of Mar-a-Lago employees comes as investigators attempt to dechiper whether multiple people were involved a criminal conspiracy to obstruct justice in the Justice Department’s probe into Mr Trump’s handling of classified documents after leaving the presidency in early 2021. Mr Trump suggested earlier today on the social media platform Truth Social that he will likely be charged in the case. “HOW CAN DOJ POSSIBLY CHARGE ME, WHO DID NOTHING WRONG, WHEN NO OTHER PRESIDENT’S WERE CHARGED, WHEN JOE BIDEN WON’T BE CHARGED FOR ANYTHING, INCLUDING THE FACT THAT HE HAS 1,850 BOXES, MUCH OF IT CLASSIFIED, AND SOME DATING BACK TO HIS SENATE DAY WHEN EVEN DEMOCRAT SENATORS ARE SHOCKED,” the former president wrote. The post, in which Mr Trump also claimed he was being treated unfairly because former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was not indicted for having emails with information later deemed to be classified stored on a private email service, came shortly after Mr Trump’s attorneys met with Department of Justice officials in Washington. Mr Trump is already facing a bevy of legal problems: he’s been indicted in New York for his role in an alleged hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the buildup to the 2016 election and is also being investigated for interfering in the 2020 election in Georgia. That investigation may also be expanding. Mr Trump is alsoa candidate for president again and has taken a sizeable lead in early polling of the Republican primary contest. His opponents, including recent entrant Gov Ron DeSantis, have yet to repeatedly attack Mr Trump over his legal problems — seemingly hesitant to align themselves with the prosecutors investigating the former president. The potential destruction of the server room may be of particular importance in the classified document investigation given that the FBI first subpoenaed the Trump Organization for Mar-a-Lago surveillance footage last summer prior to the much-publicised search of the property last August. Two Trump Organisation employees, Mr Trump’s body man Walt Nauta and a maintenance worker who helped Mr Nauta move classified documents prior to the FBI’s visit, have already attracted the attention of investigators for their conduct. According to CNN, the maintenance worker who helped move the documents is also the person who is believed to have drained the pool and flooded the server room. The Justice Department has said in court that it believes “government records were likely concealed and removed from the Storage Room” prior to the agents’ search. Read More Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement Trump suggests he is about to be charged in Mar-a-Lago classified documents case Trump news - live: Ex-president’s furious Truth Social rant suggests charges are imminent in classified documents case
2023-06-06 08:47
Global Carbon Markets Face Upheaval as Nations Remake the Rules
The $2 billion market for carbon offsets is heading for a massive reset, as a growing number of
2023-06-06 08:27
Who is Tiffany? Kristin Davis to stun close friend with home renovation surprise on HGTV's 'Celebrity IOU' Season 6
HGTV's 'Celebrity IOU' Season 6 will show Hollywood celebrities surprising their loved ones with home renovations
2023-06-06 08:24
Mother of six-year-old who shot teacher in Virginia says she will ‘take responsibility’ for son’s actions
The mother of the six-year-old child who allegedly shot his first grade teacher in Newport News, Virginia earlier this year said in an interview with ABC that she is “willing to take responsibility” for her son’s actions. “That is my son, so I am, as a parent, obviously willing to take responsibility for him — because he can’t take responsibility for himself,” Deja Taylor said. Ms Taylor is facing up to six years in prison on a felony count of child neglect and a misdemeanor count of recklessly leaving a firearm as to endanger a child. She is also facing a federal charge of filing false information on the paperwork she submitted when purchasing the firearm that was used in the shooting of the teacher. Ms Taylor is accused of actively using marijuana when she purchased her gun from a Grafton, Virginia shop, and while marijuana is legal in Virginia, it is one of the controlled substances prospective gun buyers must admit to using on documents before purchasing their weapon. The shooting took place at Richneck Elementary School on January 6, with the teacher, 25-year-old Abigail Zwerner, suffering gunshot wounds to her abdomen and hand. Ms Zwerner survived the shooting and has since filed a $40m lawsuit against the school district and school officials, alleging that they ignored repeated warnings about the danger the student posed. Newport News Public Schools has filed to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming that Ms Zwerner’s injuries should be covered under the district’s workers’ compensation policy. Ms Taylor’s legal approach may be less complicated. Her lawyer, Jimmy Ellenson, told WTKR that she plans to plead guilty to the latest charges filed against her and suggested that she’s already reached a deal with prosecutors. “We’ve come to an agreement and a resolution, which I think will be satisfactory to all parties,” Mr Ellenson said. In her interview with ABC, Ms Taylor said that her son has ADHD and that the week he shot her teacher was the first week he had not been accompanied to class by a parent that year. Ms Taylor said her son liked the teacher, but was frustrated with her during the week of the shooting. “He was talking a lot about how felt like he was being ignored,” Ms Taylor said of that week. “So he would come home and [say], ‘Mom, I don’t think that she was listening to me. I didn’t like that.’ And then he actually ended up getting suspended the next day.” Ms Taylor said that she kept the gun locked, and she and her attorney weren’t willing to elaborate in the ABC interview on how her child got hold of the weapon. The child’s grandfather, who now has custody of him, said he rarely talks about the shooting — preferring to talk about the days leading up to it instead. Ms Taylor said she was beginning to form a relationship with Ms Zwerner given the time she spent in the classroom working with her and said she’s a “great person.” “I would truly like to apologise that out of the incident she did get hurt,” Ms Taylor said. Read More Mother of young boy who shot teacher arrested in Virginia
2023-06-06 08:20
White House says it wasn’t behind Pentagon decision to cancel drag shows
The White House said on Monday it wasn’t behind a Defense Department decision to cancel drag events at US military bases. Late last week, DoD announced that drag events, which have been performed at US military installations for decades, wouldn’t continue because they aren’t a “suitable use” of military resources. The Pentagon said in a statement that “certain criteria must be met for persons or organizations acting in nonfederal capacity.” Biden administration press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Monday at a press conference that the White House supports LGBTQ+ members of the military. “The Biden-Harris administration will celebrate LGBTQI plus service members’ contributions with pride across federal agencies, including at the Department of Defense,” she said. The Pentagon decision has already led to the cancellation of at least one planned drag show, a family-friendly event at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada featuring performer Coco Montrese, a former contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race. The base has hosted drag events in 2021 and 2022, planned by the facility’s Pride committee. General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Monday on CNN canceling the events was the “absolute right thing to do” and said drag events “were never part of DOD policy to begin with and they’re certainly not funded by federal funds.” Capitol Hill Republicans questioned Mr Milley and other military leaders in March at a House Armed Services Committee hearing in March, and have since raised inquiries about potential funds going to such events. US military members have performed in drag at bases since at least World War I, including during the famed USO shows of WWII, according to the New York Times “Ensuring our ranks reflect the diversity of the American people is essential to morale and cohesion,” the Modern Military Association of America, a nonprofit representing LGBTQ+ servicemembers, told the paper. “It affects recruiting and retention of service members who do not feel welcome due to their sexual and gender identities.” Across the country, Republican-led legislatures have passed laws targeting drag shows, and drag events have been the subject of armed threats, part of a wider wave of GOP attacks on LGBTQ+ people. Read More David Furnish hits out at Ron DeSantis for ‘diabolically anti-Christian’ policies against LGBTQ+ people The Independent Pride List 2023: The LGBT+ people making change happen Tennessee drag ban is struck down by federal judge: ‘Unconstitutionally vague and substantially overbroad’
2023-06-06 08:20
Peru to extradite suspect in Alabama teen murder case within days, Interpol says
LIMA (Reuters) -A convicted killer imprisoned in Peru will be extradited within days to the U.S., where he faces extortion
2023-06-06 07:57
'American Ninja Warrior' Season 15: Tallest Mega Wall and thrilling new obstacles raise the stakes like never before
'American Ninja Warrior' Season 15 will also introduce exciting changes to the show's format
2023-06-06 07:48
Asian Stocks Set for Mixed Open as US Rally Pauses: Markets Wrap
Asian equities looked poised for mixed open Tuesday after US stocks pulled back short of entering a bull
2023-06-06 07:47
Where is Kaden Lebsack now? 'American Ninja Warrior' Season 13 winner keeps honing athletic skills
NBC's 'American Ninja Warrior' Season 13 winner Kaden Lebsack is the CEO of podcast 'Bucket of Chalk'
2023-06-06 07:30
Who stars in 'Stars On Mars'? Fox's thrilling show about 12 celebrities' adventures on the Red Planet
Twelve celebrities fight to survive on the Red Planet with show host William Shatner
2023-06-06 06:28
Trump accuses Ron DeSantis of ‘blatantly’ plagiarising his speech
Donald Trump has accused his GOP presidential primary rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, of "blatantly" stealing a line from one of his speeches, despite the fact that the line dates back to former President Ronald Reagan. During Mr DeSantis's glitchy presidential bid announcement on Twitter, he invoked the phrase "Great American Comeback," which Mr Trump furiously claimed in a campaign statement that the governor stole from him. "I'm Ron DeSantis, and I'm running to lead the Great American Comeback," the Florida governor said. The phrase also served as the title of his official campaign video. Mr Trump's team took the opportunity to lash out at the former president's top rival in the Republican primary. “Amid a catastrophic failure to launch, Ron DeSantis announced his candidacy with ‘Great American Comeback,’ a phrase stolen from President Donald J. Trump’s 2020 State of the Union address,” the campaign statement said. “Perhaps, the DeSantis communications staff was pre-occupied attempting to extinguish the flames of their candidate’s announcement to come up with their own message.” The campaign statement included a side-by-side comparison between Mr Trump's 2020 State of the Union address and Mr DeSantis's launch video, according to Talking Points Memo. “Three years ago we launched the great American comeback. Tonight I stand before you to share the incredible results,” Mr Trump says in the clip. While the phrases are certainly identical, Mr Trump wasn't actually the first one to utter the words. The first widely known use of the phrase was by another former president — Ronald Reagan — during his 1986 State of the Union speech. Mr Reagan's speech — which had been delayed by the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster — included him boasting about the nation's economic growth and falling interest rates, which he chalked up to his policies. ”Family and community remain the moral core of our society, guardians of our values and hopes for the future,” Mr Reagan said. ”Family and community are the co-stars of this great American comeback.” Talking Points Memo found that the phrase became relatively common following the address, and was used when describing everything from tennis matches to rebounding reptile populations. Even within the realm of politics the phrase is not unique; House Speak Kevin McCarthy has used it numerous times, as has conservative pundit Monica Crowley. Mr DeSantis was also recently needled for clumsily invoking the spirit of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill while complaining about "woke" ideology. "I recognize that the woke mind virus represents a war on the truth, so we will wage a war on the woke. We will fight the woke in education, we will fight the woke in the corporations, we will fight the woke in the halls of Congress," Mr DeSantis said in a speech on Saturday. The syntax of the speech is similar to the famous speech Churchill made in 1940 to the UK's House of Commons to lift British spirits following the evacuation of Dunkirk during World War II. "We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender," Churchill said. Critics, including former Barack Obama under secretary Richard Stengel, pointed out that Churchill was discussing battling against Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, while Mr DeSantis is railing against pronouns and trans bathroom usage. "Churchill was fighting Nazism, an enemy bent on world domination, while DeSantis is fighting, well, empathy and compassion," Mr Stengel said. "Not the same." The Independent has reached out to both Mr Trump and Mr DeSantis for comment. Read More David Furnish hits out at Ron DeSantis for ‘diabolically anti-Christian’ policies against LGBTQ+ people Showtime pulls Vice episode probing Ron Desantis’s Guantanamo record despite campaign trail questions DeSantis defines ‘woke’ after Trump claimed ‘half the people can’t’ Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement
2023-06-06 06:27
Green Energy: 10 Things You Might Not Know About ‘The Mask’
Jim Carrey had a year unlike any other actor in 1994, during which he starred in three number one comedies: 'Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,' 'Dumb and Dumber,' and 'The Mask.'
2023-06-06 06:23