Adult film star Stormy Daniels on Tuesday took a victory lap after former President Donald Trump uncorked a tirade about being investigated for paying her hush money to keep quiet about their past sexual encounter.
In a post on his Truth Social account earlier in the day, Trump dismissed his interactions with Daniels as "VERY OLD and happened a long time ago."
Trump then proceeded to blame his decision to pay off Daniels on former "fixer" Michael Cohen, who went to jail after pleading guilty to helping facilitate an illegal campaign contribution in the form of payments to Daniels.
"I placed full Reliance on the JUDGEMENT AND ADVICE OF COUNCIL (sic), who I had every reason to believe had a license to practice law, was competent, and was able to appropriately provide solid legal services," Trump wrote of Cohen.
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Daniels reacted to Trump's statement by mocking him for seeming to acknowledge the validity of her allegations that he paid her hush money during the 2016 presidential campaign.
"Thanks for just admitting that I was telling the truth about EVERYTHING," she wrote. "Guess I'll take my 'horse face' back to bed now, Mr. former 'president'. Btw, that's the correct way to use quotation marks."
Trump infamously referred to Daniels as "horse face" after her allegations against him became public, to which Daniels responded by mocking the size of Trump's genitalia.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) declined to criticize her son with Bible verses after he got his girlfriend pregnant out of wedlock.
In a Thursday podcast, host Dave Rubin asked Boebert about her reaction to becoming a grandmother at the age of 36.
"Obviously, I'm a Christian, and there are standards that we like to uphold, but none of us do it perfectly," she explained. "One of the biggest things that I look to is 'him who knows to do right and doesn't; it's sin.'"
"And I mean, there's things all throughout the week that I know is right to do," she continued. "And sometimes, I don't do them. And so we can nitpick what the Bible says is right and wrong, but I think just having that heart posture of wanting to serve God and do the right thing is so important."
Boebert revealed that she would have chosen a different path for her son if she could, but she praised the couple for deciding against having an abortion.
"Of course, but this is where we're at, and we're all embracing it, and we're so happy," she remarked.
She said that because of the pregnancy, her son had given up dreams of attending Universal Technical Institute in Florida. Instead, her son planned to take petroleum engineering courses at the community college.
"So certainly there are some beliefs that you, like wait, this isn't exactly right and exactly what we have taught you, but this is where we're at, and we're gonna teach you about redemption and how to move forward," the lawmaker added.
Earlier this year, Boebert appeared to call for President Joe Biden's death using a Bible verse.
"You know, [the Bible] says, 'Let his days be few and another take his office,'" she told a crowd in February. The quote comes from Psalms 109:8 and also calls for "his children [to] be fatherless and his wife a widow."
Watch the video below from The Rubin Report.
The United States on Thursday condemned Russia's detention of an American journalist writing for The Wall Street Journal and said it was seeking consular access.
US officials said they were in touch with the family of detained journalist Evan Gershkovich as well as the newspaper and that the State Department had contacted Russia.
"The targeting of American citizens by the Russian government is unacceptable. We condemn the detention of Mr. Gershkovich in the strongest terms," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
"I want to strongly reiterate that Americans should heed the US government's warning to not travel to Russia. US citizens residing or traveling in Russia should depart immediately."
President Joe Biden had been briefed on the detention, the White House said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement connected the detention to the crackdown on media in Russia, whose relations with Washington have nosedived since the invasion of Ukraine.
"In the strongest possible terms, we condemn the Kremlin's continued attempts to intimidate, repress, and punish journalists and civil society voices," Blinken said.
Gershkovich is believed to be the first foreign journalist to be detained on suspicion of spying in post-Soviet Russia.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said he understood that journalists must take risks and do so knowingly.
"We respect that, but it doesn't change our deep concern about the presence of Americans" still in Russia, Kirby told reporters.
Several other US citizens are in jail including Paul Whelan, a former Marine, who was arrested in 2018 and handed a 16-year sentence on espionage charges that he denies.
"This is not a new tactic for Mr. Putin and for Russian officials to detain foreigners and particular Americans," Kirby said.
"It's certainly not new for Mr. Putin to strike back against a free and independent press," he said.
Whelan's brother voiced sorrow over Gershkovich's detention and called on the Biden administration to prioritize releasing detained Americans.
"Whatever it takes, I hope the US government moves quickly and decisively so that Paul and Mr. Gershkovich are able to return to their families and loved ones soon," David Whelan said in a statement.
Russia and the United States, despite high tensions, have carried out recent prisoner swaps including one that led to the release of US basketball star Brittney Griner.
A Swiss bank is being accused of helping wealthy Americans avoid taxes, according to a new report published by CNBC News.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has offered details about intel his committee received in regard to Credit Suisse and its "additional American undisclosed accounts that the bank held after 2014."
“It is still going on as of just the last couple of days — even more money has been found to have been concealed and there are very substantial issues here,” Wyden said. “Clearly, it’s time to prosecute and ensure that there are penalties that send a strong message.”
Details about the bank's dealings were revealed by a finance committee aide who spoke out on the condition of anonymity.
“Credit Suisse employees aided and abetted a major criminal tax evasion scheme,” a finance committee aide said. “To date, no Credit Suisse employees involved in the scheme have faced any consequences from the United States government for their participation.”
In wake of the latest allegations, a spokesperson for Credit Suisse has released a statement on behalf of the financial institution. According to the spokesperson, the bank does not support tax evasion in any form. She also noted the bank's work with Wyden.
“In its core, the report describes legacy issues, some from a decade ago, and we have implemented extensive enhancements since then to root out individuals who seek to conceal assets from tax authorities,” the spokeswoman said.
Credit Suisse has “supported the work of Senator Wyden, including in respect of suggested policy solutions to help strengthen the financial industry’s ability to detect undisclosed US persons.”
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