'Speaker Kevin, we hardly knew ye': Morning Joe buries GOP's McCarthy after new recordings emerge
April 22, 2022
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Special counsel might think there are still more classified documents out there: expert
March 22, 2023
An appeals court shot down the idea of Donald Trump's lawyer not testifying about the documents scandal. It means that Trump's lawyer, Evan Corcoran, must testify about the documents.
Lawfare editor Scott R. Anderson said that folks are not "grasping how strange it is for the D.C. Circuit to have moved at lightning speed on this. Or what I think it might mean that DOJ thinks there is still classified information in the wild and Corcoran can lead them to it."
The New York Times report about the appeals court decision noted several details about special counsel Jack Smith's investigation.
"About three weeks after Mr. Corcoran’s meeting with investigators in June, federal prosecutors issued another subpoena — this one for surveillance footage from a camera near a storage room at Mar-a-Lago," said the Times report. "Among the subjects that Mr. Smith’s office wants Mr. Corcoran to testify about is a phone call he had with Mr. Trump around the time that the subpoena for the video footage was issued, according to a person familiar with the matter."
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The report goes on to say that prosecutors also want to know details about two men that were caught on the surveillance footage moving boxes from the storage room, those familiar told the Times.
"One of the men was Waltine Nauta, a former White House aide who went to work for Mr. Trump in Florida. The other was a worker at Mar-a-Lago," the report said.
The judge agreed that the government met the threshold for breaching attorney-client privilege, but as part of the comments, Judge Beryl Howell told Corcoran that he must turn over "most of the legal documents he had tried to withhold and return to the grand jury to more fully answer the prosecutors’ questions."
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The Business Industry Political Action Committee — the nation's oldest federal business PAC and friends with some of the biggest names in corporate America — just became the latest political committee to fall victim to thieves.
In all, BIPAC on Feb. 27 lost $14,156.89 to "an individual not associated with" the committee, according to new documents filed with the Federal Election Commission and reviewed by Raw Story.
To steal the money, the unknown perpetrator used "a forged image of a BIPAC check and not an actual check used for business purposes," BIPAC told federal regulators.
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BIPAC President and CEO Tim Riordan on Wednesday told Raw Story that his organization quickly contacted three law enforcement agencies — the FBI, the Washington Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service — to report the crime. A Washington Police incident report indicates an investigation is "pending."
BIPAC wasn't without its money for long, as its bank reimbursed the committee for the money lost, Riordan confirmed. But no money has been recovered from the thief, who remains at large.
At the time of the thefts, BIPAC did not have in place a "positive pay" system to deter check fraud. Such a system, used by financial institutions, flags suspicious checks for further review — often at a small cost to the check issuer.
Since the theft, BIPAC has instituted a positive pay system, Riordan urged BIPAC associates to do the same.
Defending against political committee theft "requires a level of diligence," he said. "It needs to be paid attention to. It's happening more."
A bipartisan PAC, BIPAC is affiliated with dozens of different corporate entities across the country. Recent donors to BIPAC include executives or PACs associated with International Paper Company, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, Halliburton Company, Rolls Royce North America, General Atomics and the American Rental Association, according to federal records. Its website also lists eBay, Volvo Group North America and Phillips 66 among its associated companies.
In turn, BIPAC made four-figure contributions to two-dozen federal-level political candidates during the 2021-2022 election cycle, including Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) and Reps. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Michael Guest (R-MS) and Sharice Davids (D-KS), per federal records.
It reported having $23,405 cash on hand as of Feb. 28, according to a filing with the FEC.
Epidemic of political committee fraud
Raw Story in recent weeks has identified several current and former Republican members of Congress who’ve been victimized by fraudsters in what’s fast becoming open season on politicians’ campaign accounts.
Money losers include Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas ($690,000), Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas ($157,626), former Rep. John Katko of New York ($14,000), Rep. Neal Dunn of Florida ($10,855), Rep. Russell Fry of South Carolina ($2,607.98) and Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida ($362.04).
The Republican National Committee and Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) also experienced recent campaign cash thefts.
The problem isn’t unique to Republicans, either: President Joe Biden’s 2020 Democratic presidential campaign committee lost at least $71,000.
One-time Democratic presidential candidate and congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and rapper-turned-2020 presidential candidate Ye, formerly Kanye West, are among others who reported money stolen from their political accounts.
Recently, the federal PAC of State Farm Insurance lost $12,220 to thieves, Raw Story first reported.
The McKesson Corporation, a pharmaceutical and medical supplies company, informed the FEC that it, too, had fallen victim to someone who "created, forged and cashed a fictitious PAC check for $12,000" on Nov. 7.
The McKesson Company Employees Political Fund notified its bank "immediately upon discovery of the fraudulent activity" and attempted to secure return of the lost funds.
"To date," the committee added, "the bank has not returned the stolen funds."
The political action committees of Google, National Association of Manufacturers, Consumer Technology Association, National Association of Home Builders, National Air Traffic Controllers Association, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, MoveOn.org, and law firms Akerman LLP and Blank Rome LLP have also experienced theft of various kinds, be it cyber theft, forgeries or check tampering, according to Insider.
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In a new statement on Wednesday, former President Donald Trump took one of his fiercest swipes at Ron DeSantis yet, attacking his leadership as governor of Florida.
"Now that Ron DeSanctimonious is finally admitting he’s in the Race by beginning to fight back, and now that his Polls have crashed so he has no other choice, let me explain the facts," wrote Trump. "He is, for a Republican, an average Governor, he got 1.2 million less Votes in Florida than me, he fought for massive cuts in Social Security and Medicare, and wanted Social Security minimum age to be raised to 70-years-old, or more. He is a disciple of Paul Ryan, and did whatever Ryan told him to do."
Trump went on to say that while Florida "has been successful for many years, long before I put Ron there—It’s amazing what Ocean and Sunshine will do!" DeSantis has been mediocre on crucial issues.
"In Education, Florida ranks among the worst in the Country and on crime statistics, Florida ranked Third Worst in Murder, Third Worst in Rape, and Third Worst in Aggravated Assault," wrote Trump. "For 2022, Jacksonville was ranked as one of the Top 25 Major Crime Cities in the Country, with Tampa and Orlando not doing much better. On Education, Florida ranks #39 in Health & Safety in the Country, #50 in Affordability, and #30 in Education & Childcare, HARDLY GREATNESS THERE!"
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This comes at a moment when DeSantis, like other Republicans, is accusing New York prosecutors of ignoring crime to focus on the bookkeeping fraud case against Trump.
"The fact is, Ron is an average Governor, but the best by far in the Country in one category, Public Relations, where he easily ranks Number One — But it is all a Mirage, just look at the facts and figures, they don’t lie," Trump concluded. "And we don’t want Ron as our President!"
A recent poll by Monmouth University found that DeSantis, who has not yet formally declared a presidential run but is widely expected to, has now slipped behind Trump among 2024 primary voters after previously holding a lead.
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