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The Independent
14 minutes ago
- The Independent
After Obama prison video, Trump says another top Democrat is in ‘Big Trouble'
President Donald Trump has continued to call for the arrest of leading Democratic politicians on Truth Social, warning that California Sen. Adam Schiff is in 'Big Trouble' and should be sent to prison. Perhaps seeking to shift the narrative away from the ongoing controversy over his past friendship with the late billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, Trump reposted an AI video from TikTok of Barack Obama being arrested and jailed on his social media platform on Sunday. He followed that up with, among other things, a clip of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard accusing Obama of manufacturing evidence to suggest that Russia helped him win the 2016 presidential election and a meme showing members of the 44th president's administration posing for jailhouse mugshots. Then, late on Sunday, the president wrote of Schiff: 'Adam 'Shifty' Schiff is in BIG TROUBLE! He falsified Loan Documents. He once said my son would go to prison on a SCAM that Schiff, along with other Crooked Dems, illegally 'manufactured' in order to stage an actual coup. 'My son did nothing wrong, knew nothing about the fictional story. It was an American Tragedy! Now Shifty should pay the price of prison for a real crime, not one made up by the corrupt accusers!' Trump's gloating post followed up on his accusation last week that Schiff – who, as chair of the House Intelligence Committee, led the first impeachment push against him during his first term and whom the Republican has loathed ever since – engaged in 'mortgage fraud' by dishonestly claiming a home in suburban Maryland was his primary residence. The president claimed to have been given the tip-off by the federally-backed lender Fannie Mae and added with glee: 'I always knew Adam Schiff was a Crook.' The senator retaliated on X by denying any wrongdoing and commented: 'Since I led his first impeachment, Trump has repeatedly called for me to be arrested for treason. So in a way, I guess this is a bit of a letdown. And this baseless attempt at political retribution won't stop me from holding him accountable. Not by a long shot. 'This is just Donald Trump 's latest attempt at political retaliation against his perceived enemies. So it is not a surprise, only how weak this false allegation turns out to be. And much as Trump may hope, this smear will not distract from his Epstein files problem.' Schiff's press secretary Marisol Samayoa told CNN last year that her boss has claimed properties in both California and Maryland as his primary residences throughout his political career for mortgage purposes 'because they are both occupied throughout the year and to distinguish them from a vacation property.' Schiff was a California congressman between 2001 and 2024 before he ran to succeed Laphonza Butler as a Golden State senator last year. He has kept a home in the north east for much of that time to serve as his base when Congress is in session, living there with his wife and sending his two children to Maryland public schools. The senator was given a further chance to respond when he appeared on CBS's just-cancelled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Thursday and said that Trump's regular threats to his enemies – from law firms and universities to illegal immigrants – are attempts to create a 'climate of fear' and 'frighten people into submission.' Speaking to camera to address the president directly, Schiff continued: 'Donald, p*** off. But, before you do, release the Epstein files.'


The Independent
14 minutes ago
- The Independent
Epstein lawyer says Ghislaine Maxwell knows ‘everything' and should get immunity to testify to Congress
Jeffrey Epstein 's former defense lawyer wants the financier's co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, to receive immunity if she testifies before Congress. Maxwell, 63, is serving a 20-year prison sentence after she was convicted of child sex trafficking and other charges in 2021 in connection with Epstein. Now, attorney Alan Dershowitz says she 'knows everything' about Epstein's sex trafficking case and is prepared to testify before Congress — if she's granted immunity. 'She knows everything. She is the Rosetta Stone. She knows everything. She arranged every single trip with everybody. She knows everything,' Dershowitz said on Fox News Sunday. 'If she were just given use immunity, she could be compelled to testify,' he added. 'I'm told that she actually would be willing to testify, and there'd be no reason for her to withhold any information.' Epstein died by suicide in a New York City jail cell on August 10, 2019, while facing federal sex trafficking charges. He had pleaded guilty to separate prostitution charges in 2008. Dershowitz says he doesn't see 'any negative' in granting Maxwell immunity to discuss her co-conspirator. The Trump administration has come under heavy fire this month after the Justice Department and FBI said officials would not release any more evidence related to the Epstein investigation. The agencies also claimed that Epstein did not keep a 'client list,' even after Attorney General Pam Bondi suggested the document was on her desk months prior. Amid the backlash, Trump ordered Bondi to unseal grand jury testimony related to Epstein. The Justice Department filed that request with a federal judge on Friday. Meanwhile, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are calling for the administration to release more information on Epstein.


The Independent
14 minutes ago
- The Independent
5 years after Ohio's $60M bribery scandal, critics say more could be done to prevent a repeat
Five years after a $60 million bribery scheme funded by FirstEnergy Corp. came to light in Ohio, expert observers say the resulting prosecutions, lawsuits, penalties and legislation haven't led to enough change and accountability to prevent politicians and corporate executives from cutting similar deals in the future. The scheme — whose prospective $2 billion-plus pricetag to consumers makes it the largest infrastructure scandal in U.S. history — surfaced with the stunning arrests of a powerful Republican state lawmaker and four associates on July 21, 2020. That lawmaker, former House Speaker Larry Householder, is serving 20 years in federal prison for masterminding the racketeering operation at the center of the scandal. Jurors agreed with prosecutors that money that changed hands wasn't everyday political giving, but an elaborate secret scheme orchestrated by Householder to elect political allies, become the House speaker, pass a $1 billion nuclear bailout law in House Bill 6 and crush a repeal effort. One of the dark money groups Householder used also pleaded guilty to racketeering. Householder and a former lobbyist have unsuccessfully challenged their convictions. Two of the arrested associates pleaded guilty, and the other died by suicide. Dark money keeps flowing Any hope that the convictions would have clarified federal law around 501(c)4 nonprofit 'dark money' groups or prompted new restrictions on those hasn't materialized, said former U.S. Attorney David DeVillers, who led the initial investigation. 'I think it's actually worse than it was before,' he said. 'Nationally, you have both Democrats and Republicans using these, so there's no political will to do anything about it.' Indeed, a study released in May by the Brennan Center for Justice found that dark money unleashed by the 2010 Citizens United decision hit a record high of $1.9 billion in 2024 federal races, nearly double the $1 billion spent in 2020. The vast majority of money from undisclosed donors raised into dark money accounts now goes to super PACs, providing them a way to skirt a requirement that they make their donors public, the study found. DeVillers said one positive result of the scandal is that Ohio lawmakers appear genuinely concerned about avoiding quid pro quos, real or perceived, between them and their political contributors. Anti-corruption legislation perennially introduced by Ohio Democrats since the scandal broke has gone nowhere in the GOP-dominated Legislature. Republican legislative leaders have said it is outside their authority to amend federal campaign finance law. The U.S. Attorney's office declined to discuss the investigation because prosecutions remain ongoing. Two fired FirstEnergy executives have pleaded not guilty on related state and federal charges and await trial. Former Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Chairman Samuel Randazzo, to whom FirstEnergy admitted giving a $4.3 million bribe in exchange for regulatory favors, had faced both federal and state charges. He died by suicide after pleading not guilty. State regulator hasn't penalized FirstEnergy Akron-based FirstEnergy — a $23 billion Fortune 500 company with 6 million customers in five states — admitted using dark money groups to bankroll Householder's ascendance in exchange for passage of the bailout bill. It agreed to pay $230 million and meet other conditions to avoid prosecution, and faced other sanctions, including a $100 million civil penalty by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. But FirstEnergy hasn't yet faced consequences from the state regulator. 'They never actually got penalized by regulators at the PUCO level,' said Ohio Consumers' Counsel Maureen Willis, the lawyer for Ohio utility customers. Testimony in four PUCO proceedings stemming from the scandal finally began last month after the cases were delayed for nearly two years, in part at the request of the Justice Department. They're intended to determine whether FirstEnergy used money for bribes that was meant for grid modernization and whether it improperly comingled money from its different corporate entities. FirstEnergy spokeperson Jennifer Young said it invested $4 billion in grid upgrades in 2024 and plans to spend a total of $28 billion through 2029. Young said FirstEnergy has redesigned its organizational structure, established a dedicated ethics and compliance office, overhauled the company's political activity and lobbying practices and strengthened other corporate governance and oversight practices. 'FirstEnergy is a far different company today than it was five years ago,' she said. The PUCO also made changes in response to the scandal. Chair Jenifer French told state lawmakers that ethics training has been enhanced, staff lawyers and the administrative law judges who hear cases now report to different directors to ensure legal independence, and she never takes a meeting alone. Some tainted money hasn't been returned to customers Ashley Brown, a retired executive director of the Harvard Electricity Policy Group who previously served as a PUCO commissioner, said the commission is the only state entity with the power to order FirstEnergy to return tainted cash — including the bribe money — to customers. That largely hasn't happened. He said the Ohio commission had vast power to hold FirstEnergy accountable for its misdeeds but hasn't conducted its own management audit of the energy giant, demanded an overhaul of FirstEnergy's corporate board or pressed for public release of FirstEnergy's own internal investigation of the scandal, whose findings remain a mystery. Shareholders won some accountability measures as part of a $180 million settlement in 2022, but they continue to fight in court for release of the investigation. Willis does, too. 'How do you allow a utility to operate a vast criminal conspiracy within the utility (with) consumer dollars, and you don't even look at what went wrong?' Brown said. PUCO spokesperson Matt Schilling reiterated that the commission's probes are ongoing. He said the panel has vowed to take its proceedings 'wherever the facts lead.' The portion of HB 6 that bailed out two FirstEnergy-affiliated nuclear plants was repealed in 2021, and $26 million was refunded to customers. The scandal investigation revealed that other power distribution companies got a lucrative payout of their own added to the bill in exchange for their buy-in: subsidies for two unprofitable Cold War-era coal plants. It wasn't until April that a law was passed repealing those subsidies. Until that takes effect Aug. 14, the charges cost Ohio ratepayers $445,679 a day — and it's unclear if or when they'll get that money back. A ticker on Willis' website puts the total they've paid at more than $500 million and counting.