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Tag: CNN
Robert Hur

CNN Sues For Audiotape Of Biden In Classified Documents Probe

CNN filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice Thursday in order to obtain recordings of President Joe Biden's interview with investigators regarding the now defunct probe into his mishandling of classified documents, the news outlet reports.

This comes almost exactly two months after special counsel Robert Hur released a special report, announcing his decision not to charge Biden over the mishandling of documents, and one month after transcript of investigators' interview with the president was released.

Hur — who was appointed by ex-President Donald Trump as a US Attorney — said that "no criminal charges are warranted in this matter," but in the report he "described Biden as a 'sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory,'" which the White House and many legal experts deemed unnecessary.

White House spokesperson Ian Sams blasted Hur's comments, saying, "The inappropriate criticisms of the President’s memory are inaccurate, gratuitous, and wrong."

Per the report, "The filing from CNN on Thursday outlined how the news organization requested the Justice Department make public audio and any video tapes pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act days after Hur’s report became public. Nearly a dozen other news outlets also have sought access to the recordings and may join the lawsuit, CNN’s filing said."

Last month, CNN’s Manu Raju posted excerpts from the network’s report on the transcript of the five-hour interview, "including one noting that President Biden 'told jokes and unfurled lengthy detailed stories from his decades-long political career as he parried questions from special counsel Robert Hur and his investigators over two days last October."

While the transcript was released by the DOJ in February, CNN notes the department also has recordings.

"Without access to any of the interview records, the press and public initially could not form their own conclusions about Hur’s characterization of Biden. … Transcripts, however, are no substitute for recordings," CNN lawyers wrote in the filing.

The news outlet notes, "While Congress has prompted some transparency around the special counsel’s work, several other organizations are suing in federal court in Washington, DC, for access to records from Hur’s office. Those lawsuits are still in early stages."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Matt Gaetz

House Ethics Panel Expands Probe Of Gaetz As 'Ex-Girlfriend' Testifies

The House Ethics Committee is conducting an investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) that includes reaching out to a woman he reportedly had sex with while she was still a minor. CNN reported Thursday that this investigation is now expanding, with the committee seeking information from a former Capitol Hill staffer described both as Gaetz's “ex-girlfriend” and a “key witness.”

In CNN’s words, the investigation includes “allegations of sex crimes, drug use, and illicit benefits.” But Gaetz is reportedly adamant that the whole thing is just “payback” for his role in ousting former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy.

Despite the source, there may be some truth to Gaetz’s claims. McCarthy may no longer be in the House, but he is reportedly "out for blood" and going on a "revenge tour" to get back at Gaetz and others he feels betrayed him.

While members of the House Ethics Committee have declined to comment, an attorney for Gaetz’s ex-girlfriend informed CNN that she is a potential witness in the ongoing investigation. The woman’s relationship with Gaetz reportedly goes back to 2017, which is the same period in which Gaetz was reportedly involved in sexual contact with a 17-year-old girl.

A federal probe into allegations that Gaetz was involved in sex trafficking ended in 2023, with no charges filed against Gaetz. That investigation was connected to a scheme involving Florida tax collector Joel Greenberg—a reported friend of Gaetz—who was sentenced to 11 years in prison for six federal charges including sex trafficking, identity theft, and wire fraud.

The House Ethics Committee resumed its investigation into Gaetz in June 2023, several months before McCarthy was ousted. According to private correspondence that The Daily Beast reviewed, Gaetz told a friend that his effort to undercut and remove McCarthy from the speaker position was payback for launching the ethics probe. Gaetz ultimately forced the vote that ousted McCarthy, and was obviously pleased with the outcome.

“We heard Speaker McCarthy say that he wanted us to ‘Bring it on!’ Gaetz told reporters after the vote ended McCarthy’s term as speaker. “So I guess we did.”

In addition to the satisfaction of seeing McCarthy sidelined, the move also seems to have generated an infusion of cash for Gaetz. According toPolitico, six of the eight Republican House members who voted to oust McCarthy saw an increase in small-dollar fundraising over the next quarter. Gaetz had a quarter-over-quarter jump of $725,000 from donors giving under $200.

In December, the angry and humiliated McCarthy resigned from the House. But even though Gaetz won the battle, McCarthy doesn’t seem to be finished with the war.

Vanity Fair describes McCarthy as “out for blood,” and Politico says he is overseeing an effort to find primary challengers for the “Gaetz Eight.”

The New Republic calls it McCarthy’s “revenge tour” and says he knows exactly who he is targeting first: Reps. Nancy Mace, Bob Good, and Eli Crane. McCarthy’s allies judge these three to be the most vulnerable. Mace may be at the front of the line because she is described as having been a member of McCarthy’s “inner circle” before she voted for his removal.

After being removed from office and resigning from the House, McCarthy may seem to be a less-than-fearsome opponent when it comes to launching a campaign of revenge. However, previous to his ouster, he was known as the Republican’s best fundraiser. According to The New Republic, McCarthy is still able to tap his donor network to power primary challenges against the Republicans on his hit list. There are even indications that McCarthy’s vengeance tour could continue beyond this election cycle, as he works his way through Gaetz’s supporters.

Whether or not McCarthy is successful, the idea that the best Republican fundraiser is busy raising funds to take down Republican incumbents seems like a very good thing for Democrats, as well as another battle in the Republicans' intraparty warfare.

Maybe McCarthy should pick up a yellow jumpsuit and a katana.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Debunking January 6 Conspiracy Claims, Pence Urges 'New Leadership' In GOP

Debunking January 6 Conspiracy Claims, Pence Urges 'New Leadership' In GOP

During a conversation with CNN host Jake Tapper Sunday — one day after the third anniversary of January 6 — ex-Vice President Mike Pence shot down the right-wing conspiracy theory that the FBI instigated the attack on the US Capitol.

Per CNN, "A recent Washington Post poll showed a third of Republicans believe the conspiracy" — which Donald Trump "echoed just days ago."

Pence told Tapper, "We’ve been assured again and again that it was not the case. They simply need to look to the facts that the Capitol Hill Police endured great hardship and great harm."

Then news outlet notes the former Trump official "said the upcoming Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary offered Republicans the chance to 'give our party a fresh start and give us new leadership to lead our party forward in the election and beyond."

Pence also emphasized his gratitude "forthe FBI’s efforts to arrest to arrest those who 'ransacked our Capitol and did violence against police officers that day,' demanding those who participated in the attack be held to 'the fullest extent of the law.'"

CNN's full report is here.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Nikki Haley

Final GOP Debate Before Iowa Promises Comedy (And Tedium)

On January 10, CNN will host the last Republican presidential debate before the Iowa caucuses. Where the first Republican debate of the season featured eight people on the stage, including such luminaries as North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, this time CNN will need to provide just two podiums. Only Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley qualified to take the stage. Since Trump has refused to appear at any event where he wasn’t at the top of the bill, viewers can look forward to 90 minutes of DeSantis and Haley trading punches with all the sharpness of pingpong balls and the impact of feather pillows.

While this event might not be scintillating, it does come with a Very Special Bonus. Actually, it comes with two. First, Fox News is ceasing any pretense for the evening and handing over its airwaves to Trump for a “town hall debate” that’s scheduled opposite the actual presidential debate and includes only Trump. For the half-dozen Republicans who were thinking of watching DeSantis and Haley poke at each other while trying to determine whether any mention of Trump would lessen their chances at being his vice president pick, this is likely to be the more attractive event.

But wait! That’s not all. Vivek Ramaswamy went on social media Tuesday morning to declare he was too cool for CNN’s school. Rather than attend CNN’s “fake debate,” says Ramaswamy, he’s going to take to the air on Fox, no wait … Newsmax … hold on, that’s not it. Is it … OAN? Nope. Ramaswamy will be joining fake news superspreader Tim Pool on his “Timcast” podcast. Not because Ramaswamy didn’t qualify for the CNN debate, but because he didn’t want to be part of their stuffy old debate in the first place. So there.

Ramaswamy’s “You can’t fire me because I quit” moment is only one example in what’s been a gem of a week for the guy Republicans insisted won that first debate and who Trump declared the winner of round four. The serial entrepreneur and con man was a media darling back in the halcyon days of last August, when every article on the lineup of Republican candidates treated him as the shiny new heir to MAGA land and the stand-in for Trump on the debate stage.

Before he declared himself too good for the debate that wouldn’t have him in the first place, Ramaswamy closed out the year by insisting that TV ads are for “chumps” and don’t make any difference in the campaign. This critical analysis of modern media and politics was in no way connected to the fact that Ramaswamy seems to have stopped buying ads after burning through $4.6 million to land himself at five percen in the polls. That’s less than half of his standing after the first debate.

Ramaswamy isn’t doing any better in other states. Maybe that’s because the market for candidates who seemingly exist only to praise Trump is pretty satisfied with … Trump himself.

In order to qualify for this round of debate, CNN required candidates to receive at least 10% from Republican voters in three separate national and/or Iowa polls. Ramaswamy was nowhere close to meeting these requirements and knew he wasn’t going to be asked onto the stage when he made his show of dismissing the debate. That Ramaswamy will be making his appearance with a man who joined Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and James O’Keefe on the list of those most responsible for spreading misinformation about January 6 seems entirely appropriate, since the first item on Ramaswamy’s list of pretend reasons for not participating centers on CNN correctly calling his January 6 statements “conspiracy theories.”

So, on the evening of January 10, potential Republican caucusgoers in Iowa will have their choice of:

  • Listening to Trump use Nazi language as he calls people “vermin” and talks about immigrants “poisoning the blood of our country” (language that seems to really excite many Iowa Republicans).
  • Listening to DeSantis and Haley fight about how they are not running for vice president when they absolutely are.
  • Listening to Ramaswamy talk around Pool while peddling a song that “says fuck you to woke industries” and his documentary that proves the Pentagon is covering up alien visitors.

That’s an evening so jam-packed with fun that I think I can safely say … we won’t be liveblogging any of the above.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.