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These GOP figures have knocked Trump over Mar-a-Lago docs

Many Republicans have rallied to former President Trump’s defense over the FBI’s search of his Mar-a-Lago home, echoing his claims that the move was politically motivated and unjustified.

However, a number of GOP figures have broken ranks to defend the Justice Department and critique Trump’s handling of classified material.

Newly-unsealed records show FBI agents found more than 100 classified documents at the Palm Beach, Fl., resort — as well as dozens of empty folders marked as classified in Trump’s personal office.

Trump and his team have given conflicting defenses for how and why the classified documents ended up there.

These GOP figures have knocked the former president over the revelations.

William Barr

Trump’s former Attorney General William Barr said last week that the DOJ probably has “pretty good evidence” against the former president to have reached this point in its investigation.

“I can’t think of a legitimate reason why they should have been, could be taken out of the government, away from the government, if they’re classified,” Barr said of the classified documents Friday on Fox News.

He also hit back on criticism of the search of the former president’s home as “unprecedented.” 

“I think the driver on this from the beginning was loads of classified information sitting in Mar-a-Lago. People say this was unprecedented, well, it’s also unprecedented for a president to take all this classified information and put them in a country club,” Barr said.

Trump then slammed Barr on his Truth Social platform, calling the former AG a “weak and pathetic RINO,” or “Republican in Name Only.” 

John Bolton

Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton said last month that the former president’s varying explanations for and defense of the documents found at his home “shows a real level of desperation.”

Some Trump officials have claimed the then-president had a standing order to declassify documents — but Bolton, who served under Trump from 2018 to 2019, said he wasn’t aware of any such order during his tenure.

Bolton said on CBS News last week that Trump’s handling of the documents “shows a real disdain for the seriousness of the classification at issue,” noting that most offices would be very clear and careful in handling such sensitive material.

“This to me is more evidence that Donald Trump didn’t give much attention to the sensitivity of the classified information,” Bolton said.

Karl Rove

Karl Rove, who was a senior adviser to former President George W. Bush, said last week that Trump “had no legal authority” to take the classified documents to Mar-a-Lago. 

“Why he was holding on to these materials when he had no legal authority to do so under the Presidential Records Act is beyond me,” Rove said on Fox News.

In keeping the documents, Rove said, Trump took “the property of the American people.” 

“A president does not have the right to leave the White House and pick and choose what documents he wants to take with him,” Rove said.

Liz Cheney

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who recently lost her reelection bid to Trump-backed Harriet Hageman in Wyoming’s GOP primary, stood firm in her refute of the former president after the Mar-a-Lago search.

“Yet more indefensible conduct by Donald Trump revealed this morning,” Cheney said on Twitter last week, sharing the now widely-circulated photo of classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago. 

Cheney was one of 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach then-President Trump and now sits on the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. 

Alyssa Farah Griffin

Former White House Communications Director Alyssa Farah Griffin on Sunday knocked Trump’s handling of the classified material.

Griffin said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that there are “very specific protocols” for how such documents should be handled, even for those within government.

“There is no way that this is acceptable if you don’t believe in a two-tiered system of justice, where a former president is above the law,” she added.

Griffin floated the possibility that Trump may have taken the classified documents unknowingly — but also questioned whether the former president may have kept the documents for later use as “leverage” to “help his future political ambitions.” 

Charlie Dent

Former Pennsylvania Rep. Charlie Dent (R) on Saturday pushed back against outrage from Trump and his supporters over the FBI search.

“If any member of Congress absconded with classified material, I can assure you that a G-Man, somebody from the FBI, would have showed up at their homes and demanded that they return that information,” Dent said on CNN. 

At a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Penn., on Saturday night — his first after the search of his home — Trump lambasted the FBI for the Mar-a-Lago search, knocking it as “one of the most shocking abuses of power by any administration in American history.” 

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Judge tosses 'child pornography' suit over Nirvana album cover

A federal judge on Friday tossed out a “child pornography” lawsuit filed by the man who appeared as the naked baby on the cover of Nirvana’s iconic 1991 album “Nevermind,” handing a victory to the band after a yearlong legal battle.

The ruling is likely the end of 31-year-old Spencer Elden’s litigation against Nirvana. Elden first sued the grunge rock band last year, alleging they had engaged in “child pornography” because the album cover featured a photo of him as a naked baby, swimming in a pool toward a dollar bill on a fish hook.

U.S. District Court Judge Fernando Olguin in the Central District of California dismissed the case because Elden did not file the complaint within the 10-year statute of limitations for victims of sexual assaults or offenses. That statute requires him to file a complaint within 10 years of becoming reasonably aware of the personal injury.

“Plaintiff does not dispute that he knew of injuries arising from defendant’s activities related to their use of his image on the ‘Nevermind’ album cover more than ten years before he filed this action,” Olguin wrote in his opinion, agreeing with the defendants, who asked for a dismissal because of the statute limitation.

Elden was four months old when Nirvana hired Kirk Weddle to photograph him in a California pool for the album.

Upon its release, “Nevermind” brought the band international fame and is widely considered to be one of the best rock albums of all time.

In August 2021, Elden sued Nirvana; Weddle; the estate of the late Kurt Cobain; Dave Grohl, the band’s former drummer; bassist Krist Novoselic and Universal Music Group, among other defendants.

In January, Olguin ordered the case would be dismissed unless Elden filed an amended complaint, which he did that month, seeking $150,000 in damages.

In the amended complaint, Elden argues the album cover features a “lascivious exhibition” of his “genitals on the cover.”

“The conduct depicted, particularly the activation of Spencer’s gag reflex and the prominence and positioning of his genitals in the image, suggests sexual coyness or a willingness to engage in sexual activity,” the complaint reads. “The image was intended and designed to elicit a sexual response.”

Nirvana and the other defendants pushed back, saying the now-famous photograph is protected by artistic expression and the photo evokes images of a cherub, or an angelic baby.

The defendants also accused Elden of “profiting from his celebrity as the self-anointed ‘Nirvana Baby'” and picking up women with the title.

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Graham defends 'riots in the streets' comment, says he tried to 'state the obvious'

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Saturday defended his recent warning of “riots in the streets” if former President Trump is prosecuted for his handling of classified materials.

“What I tried to do was state the obvious,” Graham told CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick during an interview at the Ambrosetti Forum in Italy.

“Here’s what I said: The raid on President Trump’s home, the likely nominee for 2024, better bear some fruit here,” Graham continued. “If it’s just about mishandling classified information, we’ve had a standard set when it came to Hillary Clinton.”

Federal agents executed a search warrant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence on Aug. 8, when they recovered some 33 boxes containing more than 100 classified records.

The search was connected to the Justice Department’s investigation into whether Trump violated the Espionage Act and two other federal statutes, which do not rely on the records being classified. The investigations have led to swirling speculation about whether Trump will ultimately be prosecuted.

Graham made the controversial remark last Sunday during an appearance on Fox News’s “Sunday Night in America” with host Trey Gowdy, a former lawmaker who chaired the House’s select committee investigating the 2012 Benghazi terror attack that uncovered a private email server used by Clinton. 

“If there’s a prosecution of Donald Trump for mishandling classified information after the Clinton debacle … there’ll be riots in the streets,” Graham told Gowdy.

Graham and other Republicans have repeatedly referenced the scandal in characterizing any potential prosecution of Trump as a double standard. Then-FBI Director James Comey described Clinton’s server as “extremely careless,” but the agency declined to prosecute her for mishandling classified information. 

“Our country, the people on our side, believe that when it comes to the justice system, there are no rules regarding Trump,” Graham said on Saturday, adding that its a case of “‘Get him. It doesn’t matter how you get him,’ so I said that if it’s similar to what happened to Clinton and he gets prosecuted, it’ll be one of the most disruptive events in America.”

During the interview, the South Carolina Republican also defended his actions following the 2020 presidential election, which are now part of an ongoing court battle with the Fulton County, Ga., district attorney.

Fani Willis, the Democratic district attorney, has sought Graham’s testimony as part of her investigation into whether Trump or his allies unlawfully attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state. 

But Graham has argued a constitutional provision protecting lawmakers from lawsuits and prosecution for things they say and do as part of their legislative work allows him to avoid testifying. 

A federal judge on Thursday largely denied Graham’s bid to quash the subpoena; however, Graham said he remained confident his effort to avoid testifying would ultimately succeed.

“I think the court is going to recognize that my activities as a United States senator was covered by the Speech and Debate Clause, that the county prosecutor’s desire to bring me down to Georgia oversteps the Constitution,” he told CNBC.

Source: TEST FEED1

Bed Bath & Beyond CFO fell to his death from NYC skyscraper

A top executive for American retailer Bed Bath & Beyond died after falling from a New York City skyscraper, authorities said Sunday.

The New York City Police Department said the company’s chief financial officer, Gustavo Arnal, fell from a downtown Manhattan skyscraper often referred to as the “Jenga building.”

Arnal was pronounced dead at the scene, and the investigation into his death remains ongoing, authorities said.

Arnal’s death comes after Bed Bath & Beyond announced plans to close 150 of its low-performing stores in the U.S. The New Jersey-based company also plans to cut 20 percent of its staff and has acquired more than $500 million in new financing. 

In a statement, Harriet Edelman, Bed Bath & Beyond’s board chairwoman, expressed her condolences on Arnal’s death, noting his “leadership, talent and stewardship” during his time with the company. 

Arnal, 52, joined the company in May 2020 after holding senior positions in other corporations such as Avon, Walgreens Boots Alliance and Procter & Gamble, according to The New York Times.

“I am proud to have been his colleague, and he will be truly missed by all of us at Bed Bath & Beyond and everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him,” Edelman said. 

“Our focus is on supporting his family and his team and our thoughts are with them during this sad and difficult time. Please join us in respecting the family’s privacy,” she added.

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Michigan secretary of state says officials worried about 'violence and disruption' on Election Day

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) on Sunday said election officials nationwide are most worried about “violence and disruption” as the midterm elections approach.

“Violence and disruption on Election Day, first and foremost, and in the days surrounding the election,” Benson told CBS “Face the Nation” chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett when asked about her biggest concern.

“And secondly, there’s a concern about the ongoing spread of misinformation, which, of course fuels the potential for additional threats, harassment and even violence on Election Day,” Benson added.

Despite her worries, Benson noted that election officials have been working for roughly two years to protect the integrity of the election process, an effort she described as a success “at every turn,” vowing to seek accountability for anyone who attempts to interfere with November’s midterm contests.

“Democracy prevailed in 2020,” she told Garrett. “There have been, in Michigan and in other states, no significant attempts apart from the tragedy in our Capitol on January 6 to really see disruption of the polling places on Election Day itself.”

“So we are, in many ways, even more prepared this year than ever before than even though we were in 2020 to ensure that we are eliminating, mitigating or certainly protecting the system against any potential disruptions,” Benson added.

Nearly two years after the 2020 presidential election, no evidence has emerged to suggest widespread fraud, but former President Trump and his allies have relentlessly attacked the nation’s elections with claims of mass manipulation.

Those unfounded claims include conspiracies related to voting machines, which at times have led to legal action, including a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News alleging the network purposely aired false claims about their machines for business purposes.

When asked about her announcement on Thursday that the state government is investigating an alleged illegal sale of a voter assist terminal, Benson expressed concerns about the incident while portraying confidence in Michigan’s election security, saying the state conducts accuracy tests prior to every election and immediately decommissions any equipment found to be potentially compromised.

Michigan’s Cadillac News had published an article indicating someone listed the machine, which disappeared from Colfax Township in Wexford County, on eBay. Michigan election law prevents citizens from withholding, breaking or destroying voting equipment, as well as obtaining “undue possession” of a voting machine.

Benson on Sunday clarified the machine in question did not tabulate votes but rather was used to assist voters needing assistance with marking their ballot.

“It’s important to note that that’s happening in this era of misinformation where people are quick to seize on the potential for machines to be somehow insecure, and our work in Michigan is to ensure that any machine that is illegally accessed or even tempted to be illegally accessed is decommissioned and we only have secure machines in play on Election Day,” Benson said on CBS.

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Former GOP rep: Trump gave Democrats 'major gift' with speech in Pennsylvania

Former Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Charlie Dent on Saturday said former President Trump’s speech at a rally on Saturday night in the Keystone state was a “major gift” for Democrats. 

“Most Republican candidates don’t want anything to do with Donald Trump in this general election. They want this to be about Joe Biden and the Democrats, but to the extent Trump inserts himself into this conversation, he’s giving the Democrats a major gift right now,” Dent said on CNN. 

The Wilkes-Barre, Penn., rally was billed as support for Republican Senate candidate Mehmet Oz and gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano — but it was also Trump’s first after the FBI executed a search warrant at his Mar-a-Lago residence and recovered classified documents kept after the end of his presidential term.

“I am not so sure that the former President Trump did anyone any good with that speech tonight. Just by showing up in Pennsylvania, he is making the election much more about himself,” Dent said. 

Cardiothoracic surgeon and TV personality Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon and TV personality, has been falling behind Democrat Lt. Gov. John Fetterman in the state’s Senate race, per recent polling.

“Mehmet Oz, I don’t think, wants to be anywhere near Donald Trump in this fall election. It doesn’t do him any good. He needs to win swing voters and independents and some Democrats and it’s hard to do that when Trump is really just playing and pandering to the base,” Dent said.  

Trump during the rally lambasted the FBI for the Mar-a-Lago search, knocking it as “one of the most shocking abuses of power by any administration in American history.” 

In the wake of criticisms from Trump and his supporters, FBI agents have weathered an uptick in attacks against law enforcement. 

Dent on Saturday pushed back against the outrage. 

“If any member of Congress absconded with classified material, I can assure you that a G-Man, somebody from the FBI, would have showed up at their homes and demanded that they return that information,” Dent said. 

Dent represented Pennsylvania in Congress from 2005 until his retirement in 2018. He’s now a political commentator for CNN.

Dent and a group of former Pennsylvania Republican officials, endorsed Democrat state Attorney General Josh Shapiro over their own party’s nominee, Mastriano, in the state’s gubernatorial election. Dent has called Mastriano “an extremist who is a threat to the rule of law and the constitutional order.”

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Maloney says Biden 'on the way back and so are House Democrats'

Rep. Sean Maloney (D-N.Y.) on Sunday said President Biden and House Democrats are “on the way back” after several legislative victories in the past month.

Maloney, the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), told “Fox News Sunday” anchor Mike Emanuel that passing the climate, tax and healthcare Inflation Reduction Act, as well as a bipartisan gun control bill and expanded healthcare for military veterans, were impactful accomplishments.

“That’s the kind of agenda that we’re standing in support of and you see it working in the polls,” he said. “The president is on the way back and so are House Democrats.”

Maloney said Democrats are ready to stand with the president and campaign with him to tout these legislative victories. He also promised that “celebrations” were on the way.

Democrats appear to be gaining ground ahead of the November midterm elections after winning a special bellwether election in New York and a competitive Alaska House race.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report this week shifted five more seats in favor of Democrats, and revised down their November forecast from Republicans winning 15 to 30 seats to winning 10 to 20 seats.

The major Democratic spending package passed last month imposed a minimum tax on the biggest corporations, capped prices on prescription drugs through Medicare and allocated $369 billion to fighting climate change, the largest such investment ever.

Democrats have also enacted a law seeking to boost the U.S. semiconductor industry to make it more competitive with China.

The victories have propped up Biden’s job approval rating with Americans to 40 percent after the president had lingered in the 30 percent range for months.

“You better believe Democrats are going to celebrate that. So are the voters,” Maloney said of the successes on “Fox News Sunday.”

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US ambassador to Russia retiring

U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan left Moscow on Sunday and will officially retire when he returns home, the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Russia announced on Sunday.

Elizabeth Rood, the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, will fill Sullivan’s spot until his successor is appointed.

Sullivan, who was appointed to the ambassadorship in 2019 under former President Trump and remained on the job when President Biden assumed office, is retiring from a four-decade career that spanned five presidencies.

The Boston, Mass., native was previously a deputy secretary of State and held senior positions within the Departments of Justice, Defense, and Commerce.

Sullivan oversaw the embassy when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in late February and served as a key point of contact between U.S. officials and Russian leaders.

The retiring ambassador was extremely critical of the Russian invasion, telling Voice of America (VOA) in June the war was a “massive act of aggression” that has killed thousands of people and displaced millions.

He also praised Ukraine and Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelensky for standing up for their freedom and pushing Russians out of the capitol and into the eastern region of the country, where fighting remains without a decisive victory on either side.

“I’m not a military expert, but I say this just as a human being, what President Zelenskyy and his government has done to resist this massive aggression is inspirational,” Sullivan said. “I don’t think the Russian government expected the Ukrainian government to stand firm and resist.”

Sullivan also played a key role in bringing former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed back to the U.S. this spring after he was detained in Russia.

Officials are continuing to work on releasing other American citizens they consider wrongfully detained, including WNBA star Brittney Griner and another former U.S. Marine, Paul Whelan.

But with the U.S. continuing to support Ukraine financially and defensively, tensions with Russia have soared to new highs, complicating negotiations.

In the June interview with VOA, Sullivan said the invasion was the “decision of a government, really one person,” calling out Russian President Vladimir Putin by name.

“I’ve been in Moscow well over two and a half years now, and from the day I arrived, there’s been a snowball rolling of the gradual repression of civil rights, civil society, journalists,” he said. “There’s an underlying sense, I believe, in Russia that something’s wrong and what’s happening in Ukraine is wrong.

“You can sense this lurking. People want to know: When is it going to stop? When is it going to go back to being the way it was?” he continued. “And the message is, unfortunately, it’s not going to be any time soon.”

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Raskin: Ginni Thomas has 'relevant' testimony for Jan. 6 panel

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) on Sunday said Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has “relevant testimony” to share with the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

“Speaking as only one member, I would say she has relevant testimony to render. And she should come forward and give it,” Raskin, a member of the committee, said on CBS “Face the Nation.” 

“I don’t want to overstate her role. We’ve talked to more than a thousand people. But we would like to hear from [Newt] Gingrich and from her, too.”

Ginni Thomas has come under scrutiny in connection with efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. 

The conservative activist said she attended the pro-Trump “Stop the Steal” rally just before rioters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, and reportedly communicated with former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows about keeping then-President Trump in power. 

Multiple news outlets reported last week that she also pressured state lawmakers to reject President Biden’s win in Wisconsin — following a June report that she did the same in Arizona. 

Her political affiliations have also raised questions about a potential conflict of interest for her husband.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said in July that the Jan. 6 committee was “fully prepared to contemplate a subpoena” if Ginni Thomas wouldn’t testify before the committee voluntarily.

The committee has also asked former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) to voluntarily testify, alleging he advised the Trump team on their election loss.

Raskin added Sunday that he expects former Vice President Mike Pence to “come forward and testify voluntarily” before the committee.

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McCaul: A lot of Republicans were 'very offended' by Biden speech

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said many Republicans were “very offended” by President Biden’s primetime speech last week that called out former President Trump and MAGA Republicans as extremists and a threat to democracy.

McCaul told ABC’s “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz that Biden’s Philadelphia address from Independence Hall on Thursday night had the “opposite effect” of unifying the nation because calling Republicans “a threat to democracy is really a slap in the face.”

Raddatz noted that shortly after Biden’s speech, McCaul tweeted that attacking Republicans would only further divide the country, asking: “When you look at those polls showing 60 to 70 percent of Republicans believe Joe Biden is not the legitimate president, what is Biden supposed to do when the country cannot even decide what democracy means?”

“Well, look, I mean, democracy is messy but it’s better than all the other forms of government. I think that if this was a speech to unify the American people, it had just the opposite effect. It basically condemned all Republicans who supported Donald Trump in the last election. That’s over 70 million people,” McCaul responded, adding, “saying that Republicans are a threat to democracy is really a slap in the face.”

With a potential rematch of Biden and Trump seeking the presidency in 2024, McCaul said Biden is “teeing up who the enemy is in his view.”

“It [was] under the guise of a speech that’s to unite the nation, and I don’t think he succeeded in that,” the Texas lawmaker said of Biden’s address. “I heard it personally back here in Texas, that a lot of Republicans were very offended by that speech.”

Biden — who portrayed the Republican Party as divided between the hardline MAGA faction and mainstream conservatives — was also slammed by Trump, who called the president an “enemy of the state.”

Republicans criticized Biden in the wake of his address, with some declaring him the “divider in chief” noting that it went against his 2020 campaign promise to unify the country.

Biden has stepped up his criticism of Trump, notably mentioning him by name and calling out the MAGA-wing of the GOP and Trump’s influence on the party as a danger to democracy.

Before Thursday’s address, Biden had compared the MAGA philosophy to “semi-fascism,” drawing the ire of Republicans. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) last week said the president “owes an apology” to Republicans for the fascism comment, a call echoed by others in the GOP.

The grip of Trump’s influence was on full display following an FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago property with Republicans fervently coming his defense in the immediate aftermath. And eight of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach him for the Jan. 6 rioting either resigned or lost against an opponent Trump backed.

Source: TEST FEED1