Archive by Author

Eastman appeals court order to turn over emails to Jan. 6 committee

John Eastman, an attorney for the Trump campaign who helped craft its strategy to buck the certification of the 2020 election results, has appealed to a federal appeals court after he was ordered to turn over emails to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.

Eastman on Thursday asked California-based federal Judge David Carter to stay a ruling forcing him to turn over several emails to the committee after he ruled that they were not protected by attorney-client privilege.

Carter ruled earlier this month the communications were not protected since they likely were exchanged in furtherance of a crime, igniting the crime-fraud exception.

Among those emails was a note from Eastman pointing out that former President Trump was told that a December suit filed in Georgia claiming that unregistered voters and dead people voted in the election there may not have accurate numbers — relaying that concern before the campaign escalated the matter to a federal court.

“Although the President signed a verification for [the state court filing] back on Dec. 1, he has since been made aware that some of the allegations (and evidence proffered by the experts) has been inaccurate. For him to sign a new verification with that knowledge (and incorporation by reference) would not be accurate,” Eastman said.

Carter ordered the email released to the committee.

“President Trump and his attorneys ultimately filed the complaint with the same inaccurate numbers without rectifying, clarifying, or otherwise changing them,” Carter wrote. “President Trump, moreover, signed a verification swearing under oath that the incorporated, inaccurate numbers ‘are true and correct’ or ‘believed to be true and correct to the best of his knowledge and belief.’”

“The emails show that President Trump knew that the specific numbers of voter fraud were wrong but continued to tout those numbers, both in court and to the public. The Court finds that these emails are sufficiently related to and in furtherance of a conspiracy to defraud the United States.”

Eastman earlier this week asked Carter to grant a stay of his ruling, suggesting additional emails would exonerate Trump on that front.

“The affidavit and referenced documents clearly show that no false information was knowingly submitted by the President or his attorneys, and that the complaint was not filed for an improper purpose,” Eastman’s attorney wrote in the filing.

Carter swiftly denied that motion Friday, sending the matter to the appeals court.

Eastman crafted two memos for the Trump campaign detailing methods to resist certifying President Biden’s victory, including one advocating for then-Vice President Mike Pence to buck his ceremonial duties to certify the election results. 

Carter previously found in March that it was more likely than not that Trump committed crimes as part of his plot to stay in power.

Source: TEST FEED1

Tax gap rises as IRS finds amount of unpaid taxes is increasing

The amount of taxes owed but not paid to the government is increasing, an IRS report released Friday has found.

The shortfall, known as the “tax gap,” is measured every three years. The latest numbers show that it went up by $58 billion to $496 billion for the three-year period ending in 2016, from $438 billion between 2011 and 2013.

The total amount of annual taxes owed to the government also increased over that period to $3.3 trillion from $2.68 trillion.

As a result, even though more money was collected and the rate of taxpayer compliance also increased, the tax gap also rose.

Democrats who recently passed an $80 billion funding increase for the IRS in order to collect more taxes said the increased gap justifies their legislation.

“With at least half a trillion in unpaid taxes annually, the new IRS Tax Gap estimates confirm the urgent need for investments in the IRS to ensure taxes owed are taxes paid,” Senate Finance Committee chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said in a statement.

Tax-writing Ways and Means Committee member Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) said the IRS should be going after wealthy tax cheats.

“The estimated net tax gap growing from $380 billion to $428 billion is powerful evidence of why the IRS must be properly funded to finally begin cracking down on wealthy tax scofflaws,” he said in a statement.

“The passage of $80 billion in IRS funding over the next decade by congressional Democrats will allow the agency to answer the phones and collect what is owed by the wealthiest tax cheats to our great country.”

Wyden said that IRS measurements of unpaid taxes are lacking for taxpayers at the top of the income ladder, and that the agency knows it.

“Importantly, IRS acknowledges that it underestimates tax avoidance by the wealthiest Americans and corporations. The IRS made clear that the report does not adequately capture sophisticated avoidance schemes favored by billionaires, including partnerships, other pass-through entities, and secret offshore accounts,” Wyden said. 

“Here’s a key point: Noncompliance in these areas is extrapolated from audits, and audits in these areas are at historic lows. There’s clearly far more avoidance at the top that IRS needs to pursue,” he added.

Republicans have raged against the new funding for increased audits and tax enforcement by the IRS, which totals more than $45 billion in the Inflation Reduction Act.

“With $80 billion in new IRS mandatory funding, we are concerned that the Administration and congressional Democrats will renew their efforts to surveil American bank accounts,” Ways and Means Republican leader Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said in a statement on Friday.

“We remain strongly opposed to any effort to impose a bank surveillance scheme on Americans and believe it is important for the American people to know where this Administration stands on this issue,” he said.

Ways and Means Republicans said in a statement that “Democrats voted to supercharge the IRS, but voted against guardrails that would have protected lower- and middle- income taxpayers from more audits.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Five takeaways on Musk's Twitter takeover

Tesla CEO Elon Musk officially took over Twitter in a $44 billion deal late Thursday night.  

The purchase is an earthquake-like moment for Twitter that will also shake up the worlds of media and politics.

Musk, whose up-and-down effort to buy Twitter looked in doubt just weeks ago, has vowed to change the way the social platform avidly used by politicians, celebrities and the media operates.

He describes himself as a “free speech absolutist,” which has led to expectations that he’ll bring back to Twitter people who have been previously banned.

Shortly after the deal was finalized, Musk took to the social media platform to tweet “the bird is freed” and “let the good times roll.” 

Here are five takeaways on Musk’s takeover of Twitter.  

Trump’s permanent ban could be reversed 

Former President Donald Trump speaks during an event Friday, July 8, 2022, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

Former President Donald Trump was permanently suspended from Twitter last year after he encouraged his supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

But that could change now that Musk is in charge.  

Musk’s primary interest in obtaining Twitter earlier this year was due to his interest in free speech. He has criticized the platform’s leadership for their content management rules, which Musk contended showed a “strong left bias.”  

A Trump return to Twitter just as the former president may announce a new bid for the White House would be a big deal. Trump used Twitter to control the news cycle as a candidate and during his presidency, and replicating those efforts with his new Truth Social platform have been less successful.

It’s unclear if Trump will want to return to Twitter, as doing so would damage Truth Social.

On Friday, he said in a message on his own platform that he was glad Twitter was in “sane” hands, but didn’t commit to a return.

Back in May, Musk said during an event hosted by the Financial Times that he would reverse the platform’s existing ban on the former president.  

Musk’s first day starts with cleaning house  

SpaceX founder and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has officially acquired Twitter. (Associated Press)

After acquiring Twitter, Musk immediately fired several of the platform’s top executives including Chief Executive Parag Agrawal, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal and legal affairs and policy chief Vijaya Gadde.  

All three of the executives had “golden parachute” clauses in the Twitter merger with Musk meaning that the world’s richest man will have to cough up $204 million in severance to the trio. They are also entitled to a year’s salary and health insurance.  

More importantly, those executives were behind a number of the standards on content that Twitter had relied upon over the last couple of years.

Their exit and Musk’s entrance adds to questions about whether Twitter will become even more of a “wild west” environment where bullying and race and gender-based attacks are not moderated.

The political right is hailing the takeover 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) arrives to the Capitol for a series of votes on Wednesday, September 14, 2022. (Greg Nash)

Republicans have long complained that social media leans to the left, and they have mostly been applauding Musk’s takeover.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), for example, cheered Musk’s buying of Twitter, calling it “the most important development for Free Speech in decades.”  

Twitter has pushed back against arguments it is biased toward the left, and there is evidence that right-wing content has no trouble finding large audiences on social media.

Hate speech is popping up

Multiple instances of hate speech have appeared on Twitter since Musk acquired the platform. (Getty)

Early Friday, numerous anonymous Twitter accounts praised Musk’s takeover and then began to spew racist and antisemitic comments on the platform.  

“Elon now controls twitter. Unleash the racial slurs. K—S AND N—–S,” said one account said according to The Washington Post, while another said “I can freely express how much I hate n—–s … now, thank you elon.”  

Before finalizing his deal with Twitter, Musk posted a note to Twitter that appeared designed to quell fears among advertisers that the platform could become a free-for-all.

“Twitter can obviously not become a free-for-all-hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences!” the note reads. “In addition to adhering to the laws of the land, our platform must be warm and welcoming to all, where you can choose your desired experience according to your preferences…” 

Finding a balance between free speech and having a free-for-all where hate speech is tolerated will be a challenge for Musk, who has vowed to make Twitter more profitable.

An uncertain future

Musk closed the deal for Twitter Thursday for $44 billion. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

The future of Twitter under Musk is difficult to predict.

IThe company has been public since 2013 and now as a private entity, it will not be required to make public disclosures about its performance every quarter.

Twitter’s 7,500 employees are concerned about the future of their workplace. Earlier this month, The Washington Post reported that Musk planned on laying off 75 percent of Twitter’s workforce if he acquired the company. And even though Musk followed suit by denying he would make such massive cuts to Twitter staff, layoffs are still expected under the billionaire’s leadership.

Twitter employees receive stocks in the company as part of their compensation. But now that the company is set to become private, Musk agreed to pay out the stocks workers already have and to give cash bonuses in the future.

The payouts are worth $100 million at this point and some workers fear that Musk will turn to layoffs before making good on his promise to pay up, according to The New York Times’ DealBook.

Source: TEST FEED1

Rettig out as IRS commissioner

The Treasury Department on Friday announced the departure of IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, an appointee of former President Trump whose term is set to end in mid-November.

Before Congress approves a new permanent IRS head, the agency will be headed by deputy commissioner Douglas O’Donnell as acting chief, the Treasury said.

“I want to thank Commissioner Rettig for his tireless service to the American people across two administrations, and his leadership of the IRS during the difficult and unique challenges posed by COVID-19. I am grateful to him for his partnership and efforts to ensure taxpayers had the resources they needed to make it through the pandemic,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.

Rettig’s departure comes as the IRS was just awarded $80 billion over the next 10 years to go after tax cheats and modernize the agency. The funding, included in a Democratic spending package, has sparked a political fight with Republicans, who say their first bill if they win back the House majority will repeal the measure.

It would, however, be difficult to repeal the funding with a Democratic administration in the White House at least until 2024.

Rettig led the agency as it dealt with accusations of politicization from both the left and the right. Democrats were angry that Rettig never released Trump’s tax returns, which are still being sought by the Democratic-led House Ways and Means Committee and could be delivered as soon as next week if the Supreme Court doesn’t intervene.

Democrats were also mad about the special type of intensive audits given to two former top FBI officials who became political enemies of Trump after they left office. They said that it was statistically highly suspicious that both officials should have received the audits and that it looked a lot like punishment for disloyalty.

Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, had called for Rettig’s resignation in light of the audits.

“We are closer to the dawn of a new day at the IRS,” he said in a Friday statement. “The Biden administration is right to end the term of Donald Trump’s IRS commissioner. Under Mr. Rettig’s failed leadership the agency and its dedicated employees have suffered through scandal and incompetence. Americans are fed up with late refunds, unanswered calls, and a two-tier tax system.”

Republicans, meanwhile, were mad about a leak of tax returns belonging to some of the wealthiest people in America, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffett, showing they don’t have to pay very much in taxes.

Republicans were also unhappy about the destruction of paper-filed tax returns in 2021.

“We write to request that you preserve all documents and communications in your custody relating to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) decision memorandum detailing the recommendation to destroy 30 million unprocessed, paper-filed informational returns around March 2021,” top Ways and Means Republican Kevin Brady (Texas) wrote to Rettig in a letter earlier in October.

“The decision to destroy information returns diligently prepared by millions of American taxpayers is ripe for congressional oversight,” Brady added. 

Rettig’s departure, which was anticipated by many in the tax world, means he won’t be a part of the agency’s next phase, which Yellen described Friday as “a critical period of modernization” — and which Republicans have vowed not to let happen. 

The $80 billion given to the IRS in Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act will go toward increased enforcement activities such as audits and new technology as well as a beefing up of day-to-day operations as the agency deals with a backlog of millions of tax returns and unanswered phone calls initially caused by the pandemic.

“The passage of $80 billion in IRS funding over the next decade by congressional Democrats will allow the agency to answer the phones and collect what is owed by the wealthiest tax cheats to our great country,” Pascrell said in a statement on Friday.

Republicans have been furious at the prospect of increased tax enforcement, saying the additional funding will target middle-class Americans.

In August, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said new revenue agents at the IRS “are not being created to audit billionaires or giant corporations. They’re being created to audit you. The House Ways and Means Committee, the minority, has put out an estimate that under this bill, there will be 1.2 million new audits per year, with over 700,000 of those new audits falling on taxpayers making $75,000 or less. I believe personally we should abolish the IRS.”

Treasury described O’Donnell, the new acting IRS commissioner, as “a career IRS employee, having spent more than 36 years at the agency in a variety of roles.” 

Before becoming deputy commissioner for services and enforcement, he served as the commissioner of the IRS large business and international division for about six years.

Updated at 3:57p.m.

Source: TEST FEED1

Paul Pelosi attacker asked 'Where is Nancy?'

The man who violently attacked Paul Pelosi at his and Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home early Friday morning was looking for the Speaker, according to a source briefed on the attack.

Before the assault occurred, the man confronted Paul Pelosi, 82, and shouted, “Where is Nancy? Where is Nancy?” the source said.

Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was not in San Francisco at the time, according to her spokesman Drew Hammill. U.S. Capitol Police said she was in Washington, D.C., with her protective detail.

Paul Pelosi, 82, was taken to a hospital and is expected to make a “full recovery,” according to Hammill.

The new details suggest the attack was not a random crime and that Pelosi’s home was specifically targeted.

It’s the latest in a series of crimes or threats to lawmakers and other political figures that has raised worries across the country.

Threats against lawmakers have been on the rise in recent years. Between Jan. 1 and March 23 of this year, U.S. Capitol Police opened about 1,820 cases involving direct threats and concerning statements or actions.

In 2021, Capitol Police opened 9,625 cases involving direct threats and concerning statements or actions, and the year before that, 8,613. In 2017, that number was 3,939.

In the early morning assault on the Pelosi home, an intruder reportedly attacked Paul Pelosi with a hammer.

Sgt. Adam Lobsinger of the San Francisco Police Department in a Twitter post wrote that authorities responded to a break-in at 2:27 a.m.

The Capitol Police in a statement said it is assisting the FBI and San Francisco police in a joint investigation looking into the break-in.

Special agents from Capitol Police’s California field office were sent to the scene, and a team of investigators from the department’s threat assessment section was dispatched to help authorities.

This story was updated at 12:59 p.m.

Source: TEST FEED1

Wage growth ticks down, causing markets to soar

New data showing a slowdown in wage growth on Friday is leading to a big day on the stock market.

Compensation rose 1.2 percent in the third quarter, a tick down from the 1.3 percent growth in the previous quarter, according to the data released Friday by the Labor Department.

Wage growth at an annualized rate for all workers fell by 0.2 percentage points to 5.1 percent from 5.3 percent between the second and third quarters, while private industry wage growth dropped by an even larger margin between the two quarters, to 5.2 percent from 5.7 percent.

The wage slowdown is a sign employers are paying less after the Federal Reserve’s series of interest rate hikes, and are being treated as good news by markets.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average of stocks gained nearly 600 points in early trading. The S&P 500 increased in value by nearly 1.5 percent, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq increased by 1.6 percent.

“Today’s Employment Cost Index tells us that, after hitting record-highs, wages are finally slowing down across most industries and occupations, posing less of a threat to inflation. Private sector wages and salaries increased 5.2 percent over the year, down from 5.7 percent in the prior quarter—still hot, but cooling,” Julia Pollak, an analyst at Zip Recruiter, said in an email to The Hill.

“Slowing wage growth is the result of a slowdown in worker turnover. As the number of workers quitting their jobs eases, employers are finding it easier to retain workers without large wage increases,” she wrote.

The Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates in order to bring down inflation, which has been over 8 percent for seven months in a row.

The new data could point to a change in Fed policy, which would help markets.

The Fed as of now is widely expected to raise rates further at its next meetings.

Pollak said she believes that the Fed’s interest rate hikes are proving to be effective in bringing down inflation.

However, inflation isn’t simply driven by wages, and the Federal Reserve has said it doesn’t currently observe a wage-price spiral driving inflation.

Rather, inflation is the result of many different factors in the international economy that have complex interactions.

Harvard economist Larry Summers said online Friday morning that “anyone who thinks that inflation is driven by particular factors that will soon reverse themselves” should reconsider their position.

Other data released Friday by the Commerce Department showed that consumer spending rose in September even as inflation wiped out wage gains.

Personal consumption expenditures rose 0.6 percent in September and 0.3 percent when adjusting for inflation, unchanged from August.

Source: TEST FEED1

Trump says Twitter in 'sane hands,' but doesn't commit to going back

Former President Trump on Friday welcomed Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, but did not commit to returning to the platform if Musk lifts the ban on his account.

“I am very happy that Twitter is now in sane hands, and will no longer be run by Radical Left Lunatics and Maniacs that truly hate our country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, his own social media platform that he’s been using for much of this year. 

“Twitter must now work hard to rid itself of all of the bots and fake accounts that have hurt it so badly. It will be much smaller, but better. I LOVE TRUTH!”

Trump’s post did not rule out the possibility of rejoining Twitter at some point. Musk has said he believes it was a mistake to ban the former president from the platform over his rhetoric around the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, in which he praised supporters who had descended on the complex.

Trump previously said in April that he would not rejoin Twitter if his ban was lifted, even though it offers a larger platform. Strategists and lawmakers have speculated about the possibility of Trump rejoining the platform after the midterms as he mulls a 2024 presidential campaign.

The former president on Friday claimed Truth Social, which launched in February, “had bigger numbers than all other platforms” last week and “looks and works better to my eye.” Trump has 4.37 million followers on Truth Social. He had nearly 90 million on Twitter when he was banned and 34 million followers on Facebook when he was booted from that platform.

Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX founder, late Thursday closed a $44 billion deal to purchase Twitter, promising major changes to the platform. He has said he wants to make the site a haven for free speech without it descending into a “hellscape.” Conservatives have long complained of alleged “shadow bans” and policies on Twitter that restrict their speech.

Source: TEST FEED1

Paul Pelosi assaulted at home by assailant

Paul Pelosi, the husband of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), was violently assaulted at their residence in San Francisco early Friday morning after an assailant broke in, according to a statement from the Speaker’s office.

Speaker Pelosi was not in San Francisco at the time, according to her spokesman Drew Hammill. Paul Pelosi was taken to a hospital and is expected to make a “full recovery.”

The assailant is in custody, according to Hammill.

“Early this morning, an assailant broke into the Pelosi residence in San Francisco and violently assaulted Mr. Pelosi. The assailant is in custody and the motivation for the attack is under investigation,” Hammill said in a statement.

While much is unknown about the attack, it is certain to raise new worries about violence targeting political figures and their families.

Over the summer a man armed with a pistol was arrested near Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s (D-Wash.) Seattle home after yelling threats at the congresswoman, who was home with her husband at the time.

Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) was separately attacked by a man at a campaign even in New York during his gubernatorial race.

“Mr. Pelosi was taken to the hospital, where he is receiving excellent medical care and is expected to make a full recovery.  The Speaker was not in San Francisco at the time. The Speaker and her family are grateful to the first responders and medical professionals involved, and request privacy at this time,” he added.

Source: TEST FEED1

Musk plans to end lifetime Twitter bans

Twitter owner Elon Musk plans to end lifetime bans on the platform as he steps into the role of CEO at his newly acquired company.

Musk, who closed his $44 billion deal with Twitter on Thursday, does not believe in lifelong prohibitions from social media sites, an anonymous source told Bloomberg.

Musk’s stance means that users who previously received lifetime bans from the platform — including former President Trump — may be allowed to return to Twitter at some point in the future.

Trump was banned from Twitter for posts that the company’s leadership said incited violence on Jan. 6 of last year.

Critics of Musk have speculated that his takeover of Twitter might result in Trump’s return to the social media platform due to the Tesla CEO’s emphasis on the importance of free speech.

Bloomberg reports that the multibillionaire plans to replace previous Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, who was fired after Musk’s official takeover of the company.

Agrawal was joined in his exit by Twitter’s former Head of Legal, Policy and Trust Vijaya Gadde, CFO Ned Segal and General Counsel Sean Edgett.

Musk’s acquisition of the social media giant followed a rocky journey where the big-time investor attempted to back out of his April deal with the company but was forced by a lawsuit to follow through on the agreement.

The incoming Twitter head said on Thursday that despite his commitment to free speech and the public exchange of ideas, “​​Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape.”

Source: TEST FEED1