All posts tagged "Crew"

As 45th and 46th presidents of the United States squared off in the first debate of 2024 presidential general election season, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) used his official congressional social media to broadcast his MAGA support.

"An objective truth that cannot be denied: Only one of the men on the stage tonight is qualified and capable of being elected President in 2024. It is the biggest mismatch in the history of presidential debates. #MakeAmericaGreatAgain," wrote Johnson on his congressional X account on June 27 with a photo of himself exiting a plane alongside former President Donald Trump.

The since-deleted post appeared to violate the House Committee on Ethics' policies prohibiting the use of official resources for campaigning or political purposes, ethics experts tell Raw Story....

For 12 years, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) has pushed for a ban on congressional stock trading, calling the practice “corrupt,” “unacceptable” and “wrong.”

The first time he and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) presented an amendment in 2012 that would prohibit members of Congress from playing the stock market, they only got 26 votes in support.

Now, Merkley is confident an amended version of the Ending Trading and Holdings in Congressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act has enough bipartisan support that it will come out of a markup meeting with the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on Wednesday with the votes necessary to present the amendment for a vote....

WASHINGTON — Rep. Bill Keating (D-MA), a member of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, dumped up to $65,000 worth of investments in defense contractor Boeing at a time when the company faces federal scrutiny over its aircraft safety protocols and manufacturing quality.

On Feb. 8, Keating sold a Boeing corporate note valued at between $15,001 and $50,000, and on Feb. 28, sold Boeing stock shares valued at between $1,001 and $15,000, according to a federal disclosure submitted this week to the Clerk of the House of Representatives and reviewed by Raw Story.

The House Armed Services Committee on which Keating sits “retains exclusive jurisdiction for defense policy generally, ongoing military operations, the organization and reform of the Department of Defense” and other military-focused responsibilities....

In a press release published this Thursday, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsible Ethics in Washington (CREW) said the mounting civil judgements against Donald Trump make him even more of a threat to national security than he already was.

Trump is facing judgments that total upwards of $600 million. But according to CREW, the rulings "are more than a financial headache for Trump, they are an unprecedented opportunity to buy influence with a leading presidential candidate and a sitting president should he be re-elected."

The judgements against Trump will likely make banks less inclined to loan him money. Bloomberg reports that Trump’s lenders, “would hold collateral that could include cash, real estate and other assets, while charging the debtor a fee of about 2%” and then charge Trump an additional nearly $5 million a year while he appeals the verdict, which CREW says is a "process that could take years and eat up even more of his dwindling cash on hand."...

Donald Trump on Saturday took a victory lap at his Iowa rally after what he described as a "gigantic court victory in Colorado" that kept him on the ballot in the state.

Trump, who earlier in the day made multiple attacks on a law clerk that he was previously barred from mentioning under a now-stayed gag order, said on stage at the Iowa Commit to Caucus event in Fort Dodge that the "fake news media" is having an "absolute meltdown" because of the decision finding that he engaged in insurrection but couldn't be blocked from the ballot.

The former president said the judge in the Colorado case "saw the light." ...

Former President Donald Trump is arguing to a judge in Colorado that he was not required to "support" the Constitution as president, reported Brandi Buchman from Law & Crime.

The argument came as he seeks to dismiss a lawsuit filed in the state by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), seeking to have him disqualified from the ballot in the state under the 14th Amendment. The Insurrection Clause of the amendment prohibits those who have "engaged in insurrection" against the United States from holding a civil, military, or elected office unless a two-thirds majority of the House and Senate approve.

But Trump's lawyers are arguing that the specific language of the Constitution argues that this requirement only applies to people in offices who are bound to "support" the Constitution — and the presidency is not one of those offices....