Politics

By Heather Timmons and Gabriella Borter

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The top U.S. ethics official charged with preventing government workers’ conflicts of interest is about to take the hotseat in Washington, as President-elect Donald Trump’s new Cabinet and other appointees declare their financial assets and prepare for their new jobs.

“We are in touch with the transition team and working with them,” said David Huitema recently when he sat down with Reuters for his first official interview since being sworn in for the job on Dec. 16. The inauguration will be Jan. 20.

Ethics experts say the director of the Office of Government Ethics, or OGE, is in the spotlight during any presidential transition, but Huitema faces special challenges ahead of Trump’s second term, evaluating a myriad of business ties for Trump, his family and advisers.

Experts pointed to the short, rocky tenure of Walter Shaub, the last person to hold the job when Trump entered the White House, and noted that several of Trump’s latest nominees have expressed disdain for the agencies they will run.

After nine years as ethics chief at the U.S. State Department, Huitema will spearhead the OGE’s standard task of helping scrutinize dozens of new Senate-vetted nominees and thousands of political appointees for potential financial and personal conflicts.

If he does his job well, chances are good Huitema could be fired fairly promptly, Shaub warned in an open letter last month. Huitema told Reuters he has faith in the intentions of most new entrants to government.

He shared his views on ethics education and maintaining the public trust, but declined to answer specific questions about the incoming administration. The ethics office only deals with potential government employees, he noted. That means it will not vet outside advisers like billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who Trump has asked to recommend cuts in government spending.

Q: What does the OGE do, exactly?

A: “The ultimate goal is to ensure that federal employees are making decisions based on national interest and policy priorities of the administration rather than any personal interest especially financial interest. … The OGE itself is a small agency of just about 75 employees, but we work with a team of about 4,000 ethics officials interspersed, who engage more directly with federal employees.”

One important immediate task, he said, will be “with nominee financial disclosure, helping ensure that nominees for Senate confirmed positions meet their requirements for complete disclosure of their financial interests and arrangements. “

Q. How does the financial disclosure process work with presidential nominees? A: Normally, he said, nominees for top jobs fill out reports early to help the office “identify potential conflicts or steps the nominee might have to take if they are confirmed so all that information is available to the Senate and to the officials so they know what they are getting themselves into.”

Q. What sort of deadlines are there? When do people have to make these disclosures? A. He said nominees should submit a report “within five days of their nomination. … Our goal is to help these incoming officials, help the Senate and do so as efficiently as possible.”

He noted that “any member of the public can request a copy” of any financial disclosure report filed with the OGE. “The idea is the public, too, can help play a role in monitoring for conflicts of interest.”

Q. What is the enforcement mechanism if there are conflicts of interest? A: “It’s not so much if a conflict comes up on the form itself, but whether ultimately any federal employees is engaged with work that then conflicts with their financial interest.

“The conflict of interest law is a criminal law, so the ultimate recourse is prosecution by the Department of Justice. Our role is to actually help advise employees to avoid that situation …

“We will work with the agency ethics officials if we learn of a potential conflict of interest problem to make sure that gets addressed, ultimately we work with the Department of Justice as well if necessary.”

Q: As the State Department ethics head, what lessons did you learn?

A: “Most employees, career and appointed, want to follow the law and want to act with integrity and they appreciate the help of ethics officials …”Q: In your Congressional testimony, you said you think the OGE can help in the “struggle against the growing cynicism and distrust that can undermine our democratic self government.” Can you explain? A. “We want to make sure employees … don’t act based on personal interests, especially financial interests and personal motivations. …

“In practice the federal ethics rules may be more limited in their actual scope than people appreciate, so people’s assumptions that there’s a specific issue with compliance with federal ethics laws may not be well grounded.

Q. What are some examples of interests that are not substantial enough to raise red flags?

A. “The financial conflict of interest laws are … pretty exact in terms of their scope. Either you have enough stock to pose a conflict or you don’t.”

Q. Can ethics be taught? For people coming from the business side, interactions are often based around “How can I use this to advantage me or my company,” on purpose.

A. “I hope so because there are lot of ethics training requirements,” he said, laughing. He agreed officials coming from the private sector are used to “networking and ‘What can you do to benefit someone so they can in turn benefit you’… It is a challenge to make sure those officials and new employees understand that the expectations within government are a little bit different. …”

Q. What happens if the DOJ does not take ethics laws seriously? Where does that leave you?

A. “Criminal prosecution is one extreme, but there is enforcement at the agency level in terms of discipline.”

Q. The president can grant a waiver exempting someone from conflict of interest laws, correct? Is that something the OGE can push back on, or advise against?

A. “The president in some cases and agency heads or officials … can grant exemptions” but must consult with the OGE. He said exemptions can be granted when “the potential conflict of interest isn’t viewed as that significant. Ultimately OGE needs to know when a waiver is issued. They can be made public.”

(Reporting by Heather Timmons and Gabriella Borter; Editing by Stephanie Kelly and David Gregorio)

source

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Donald Trump on Saturday named Stanley Woodward, an attorney who has defended several of the incoming president’s top aides and associates as well as people charged in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack, to join his White House legal team.

Trump’s transition team said in a statement that Woodward would serve as an assistant to the president and a senior counselor, and would work closely with Trump’s White House chief of staff, previously named as Susie Wiles.

Trump last month tapped David Warrington as his top lawyer leading the White House legal team, reversing course on his earlier pick of William McGinley, who moved to work with an outside group led by billionaire Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

Trump is scheduled to take office on Jan. 20.

Woodward, based in Washington, has represented multiple people in Trump’s circle over the years, including adviser Dan Scavino, trade adviser Peter Navarro and aide Walt Nauta.

He has also represented some defendants charged in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, including Oath Keeper Kelly Meggs.

Trump also said three assistants who served in his first White House term would be returning: Robert Gabriel, Nicholas Luna and William “Beau” Harrison.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Nathan Layne; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

source

(Corrects paragraph 5 to remove extraneous ‘not’)

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Justice asked the Supreme Court late on Friday to reject President-elect Donald Trump’s request to delay implementation of a law that would ban popular social media app TikTok or force its sale by Jan. 19.

Last week, Trump filed a legal brief arguing he should have time after taking office on Jan. 20 to pursue a “political resolution” to the issue. The court is set to hear arguments in the case on Jan. 10.

The law, passed in April, requires TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to divest the platform’s U.S. assets or face a ban. TikTok did not immediately comment.

The DOJ said in its filing that Trump’s request could only be granted if ByteDance had established it was likely to succeed on the merits but the company had not done so.

DOJ said no one disputes China “seeks to undermine U.S. interests by amassing sensitive data about Americans and engaging in covert and malign influence operations.”

The government asserted that “no one can seriously dispute that (China’s) control of TikTok through ByteDance represents a grave threat to national security: TikTok’s collection of reams of sensitive data about 170 million Americans and their contacts makes it a powerful tool for espionage.”

Trump lawyer D. John Sauer wrote last week the president-elect “respectfully requests that the Court consider staying the Act’s deadline for divestment of January 19, 2025, while it considers the merits of this case, thus permitting President Trump’s incoming administration the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case.”

TikTok on Friday urged the Supreme Court to block the law on free-speech grounds under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. It said Congress had not sought to ban Chinese-owned apps like Shein or Temu, which strongly suggests “it targeted TikTok for its social-media content, not its data.”

If the court does not block the law by Jan. 19, new downloads of TikTok on Apple or Google app stores would be banned but existing users could continue to access the app. Services would degrade over time and eventually stop working as companies will be barred from providing support.

Biden could extend the deadline by 90 days if he certifies ByteDance is making substantial progress toward a divestiture.

Trump’s support for TikTok is a reversal from 2020, when he tried to block the app in the United States and force its sale to American companies because of its Chinese ownership.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by William Mallard)

source

By Gabriella Borter

(Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday recognized seven veterans of the Korean and Vietnam wars with the Medal of Honor and awarded eight law enforcement officers the Medal of Valor for acts of extreme courage that went “beyond the call of duty.” 

The Medal of Valor is the country’s highest award for public safety officers. Among the recipients were five members of the Nashville, Tennessee, police department who responded to a shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville in March 2023, where a former student shot and killed six people.

Biden presented the officers with their Medals of Valor in the Oval Office on Friday afternoon in what was initially planned as a private ceremony, and then made remarks to the press.

“What they did is amazing. They literally put their lives at risk,” Biden said. 

“You’re the best that America has to offer,” he added, acknowledging the group of eight men.

Biden awarded the Medals of Honor, which are esteemed military awards, at an evening ceremony in the White House’s East Room. He acknowledged that it was one of his final acts as commander-in-chief.

“It’s been the greatest honor of my life to be entrusted with the greatest fighting force in the history of the world, and the finest military in the history of the world,” he said.

Kenneth J. David, who served as a radio-telephone operator during the Vietnam War, was the only living recipient of the Medal of Honor on Friday. The six others received the honor posthumously, with their relatives accepting it on their behalves.

David, whom Biden called a “flat-out straight-up American hero,” distracted enemy forces that were attacking his company in Vietnam in May 1970, saving wounded fellow soldiers at his own expense.

David, who was wounded in saving his fellow soldiers, received a standing ovation after Biden placed the medal around his neck.

(Reporting by Gabriella Borter in Washington; Editing by Heather Timmons, Tomasz Janowski, Nia Williams and Leslie Adler)

source

WASHINGTON (AP) — The 119th Congress is convening for the first time and House Speaker Mike Johnson has narrowly been reelected to his post. The Louisiana Republican has the support of President-elect Donald Trump and House Republicans decided on Friday to reelect him to his post with just one holdout.

Texas Rep. Keith Self, Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie and South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman all voted against Johnson during the initial vote. Self and Norman switched their vote to Johnson after speaking with him away from cameras. Far-right Republicans have at times grown frustrated with Johnson’s leadership and are prone to demanding concessions when their votes become essential.

Here’s the latest:

Rep. Ralph Norman, a Republican who switched his vote to Johnson after initially opposing him, said the president-elect’s argument was simple: “Mike’s the only one who can be elected.”

Trump’s phone calls — first with Norman, then with all three GOP lawmakers who had opposed Johnson — eventually helped convince them to change their votes.

Norman said that what changed his mind was Johnson’s “assurance that he was going to fight for everything going forward.”

He was officially sworn in as Speaker of the House by Rep. Hal Rogers of Kentucky, the longest-serving member of the House.

Cheers erupted in the House chamber after lawmakers took their oaths of office and were officially sworn in as members of Congress.

Mike Johnson is taking back the speaker’s gavel with support from arch-conservatives, but they are making it clear their continued support is contingent upon ambitious policy goals.

The House Freedom Caucus released a list of legislation demands after its members delivered key votes to make Johnson speaker, including enacting permanent immigration changes, federal spending cuts and banning members of Congress from stock trading.

“There is always room to negotiate on so-called ‘leadership’ positions under the rules,” the GOP lawmakers said in their letter.

Trump called Johnson’s reelection an “unprecedented vote of confidence in Congress” in a post on Truth Social.

“The People of America have waited four years for Common Sense, Strength, and Leadership,” Trump wrote. “They’ll get it now and America will be greater than ever before.”

The President-elect had endorsed Johnson and sent good wishes earlier on Friday ahead of the vote.

Shortly after 2 p.m., with the vote for House speaker hanging in the balance, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent out a fundraising email announcing that he had fallen short under the subject line: “Mike Johnson FIRED?!”

“Mike Johnson just LOST his bid to be reelected Speaker…” the solicitation read. “This is just the beginning of House GOP chaos.”

But the DCCC post, which sought donations of at least $4 from “every Democrat reading this” for midterm congressional elections in 2026, went out too quickly.

House Republicans left the vote open while negotiations continued with recalcitrant members, and Johnson was narrowly elected on the first ballot.

The New York Democrat did the same thing 14 months ago when Johnson was elected speaker after Republicans ousted Kevin McCarthy from the post.

Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries is urging lawmakers to work together to lower the cost of living for Americans and to secure the border.

“America is too expensive,” Jeffries said at one point as he prepared to hand the speaker’s gavel to Republican Rep. Mike Johnson.

As Democrats applauded loudly, some Republicans chuckled that Jeffries was stressing issues that they made a priority in the 2024 presidential election.

218 for Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La.

215 for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY

1 for Rep. Tom Emmer, R-MN

Republican Mike Johnson has been reelected as Speaker of the House on first ballot, winning over GOP critics to retain the gavel.

Escorting Johnson to the dais are members of his leadership team as well as the entire delegation of his home state of Louisiana.

Once he arrives, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries will hand him over the gavel as is customary to do, a nod to the peaceful transfer of power.

Reps. Ralph Norman and Keith Self have changed their votes at the 11th hour, supporting Johnson for speaker.

Johnson stood next to both men in the well and shook their hands after they voted.

In his first speech as leader, Thune said his priority is to maintain the filibuster, the legislative tactic that allows senators to delay consideration of a measure and require 60 votes for passage.

He said he will ensure “the Senate stays the Senate.”

President-elect Donald Trump has called for the elimination of the filibuster in his first term. But Senate Republicans have firmly opposed any changes.

Many Democrats wanted to eliminate it in the early days of President Joe Biden’s term but were stymied by moderates who said it would upend the Senate’s deliberative role.

Nine new senators were sworn in — four Democrats and five Republicans. A sixth Republican, Jim Justice of West Virginia, announced last month that he will wait to enter the Senate until after his successor as the state’s governor, Republican Patrick Morrisey, is sworn in on Jan. 13.

Johnson is two votes down from seizing the gavel in first-round balloting.

He huddled with several lawmakers and others took phone calls.

Two of the Republican holdouts, Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Rep. Keith Self of Texas, followed Johnson away from the cameras off the chamber floor.

Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, who received one vote for speaker, told a group of reporters outside the chamber that he didn’t see any actual pathway to stepping into the role.

He projected confidence that his Republican colleagues would sort out how to elect Johnson.

“I think it’s between those members and Speaker Johnson,” he said. “This is a deal-making town. They’ll make deals. They’ll figure it out.”

Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, voted for Donalds during the first-round roll call instead of Johnson.

A huge group of far-right House members — including the three current detractors — have entered a private room off the House floor with Mike Johnson.

The first ballot vote remains open and the chamber remains without a speaker.

House Democrats find themselves in a familiar place, watching their colleagues across the aisle battle it out over who will become speaker once again.

Members laughed and gasped as several Republican lawmakers voted for candidates besides Johnson on the first ballot.

Their leader, Hakeem Jeffries, posted on social media during the vote, saying, “The GOP Civil War is in full swing. And it’s only Day 1.”

Rep. Stacey Plaskett, who represents the U.S. Virgin Islands, received cheers and jeers as she inquired why members of Congress elected by U.S. territories were not included in the roll call for House speaker.

“We are collectively the largest per capita of veterans in this country,” said Plaskett, who added that the territories are home to more than 4 million American citizens.

The territories include Plaskett’s home territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands

“We must do something about this problem,” Plaskett said as she received a standing ovation from her Democratic colleagues and calls for “order” from Republicans across the aisle.

Only members of Congress elected from U.S. states are eligible to vote for speaker.

His allies are talking to some of the holdouts on the House floor.

Speaker Mike Johnson walked off the floor as the first ballot for his speaker’s race was coming to a close.

Three Republicans voted for other candidates besides Johnson.

Texas Rep. Keith Self voted for Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida for House Speaker, in lieu of Rep. Mike Johnson.

It is the third GOP defection from the incumbent speaker.

With Reps. Thomas Massie and Ralph Norman both voting for candidates that are not Johnson, the Louisiana Republican is now at risk of losing his first ballot for speaker.

There were several far-right members who abstained from voting thus far and could potentially vote at the end.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi received a standing ovation from her Democratic colleagues when she cast a vote for Jeffries, her successor as Democratic minority leader, to serve as House Speaker.

The two, sitting across the aisle from each other in the chamber, embraced for a quick hug before voting resumed.

Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie kept to his word on Friday in voting against Johnson for speaker on the first roll call vote, voting instead for the No. 3 Republican, Rep. Tom Emmer.

Reps. Hakeem Jeffries and Mike Johnson received back-to-back standing ovations from their respective sides of the aisle as they each cast votes for themselves to serve as Speaker of the House.

They are standing in the back row of the chamber. It’s unclear if they will vote at the end of the roll call when the clerk calls their name again.

Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., said achieving perfection requires incremental gains and hard decisions.

“None of us will get exactly what we want,” she said.

The message is aimed at some of the most conservative members of the House Republican conference who have come into Friday’s vote without previously committing to Johnson.

House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain kicked off the speaker election by nominating Mike Johnson to be the speaker for the 119th Congress.

1. Nominations

Once the House is in a quorum — meaning the minimum number of members are present to proceed — nominating speeches will be made on behalf of the nominees for speaker. Republicans chose Johnson as their nominee for speaker in a closed-door vote in November. A week later, Democrats unanimously chose Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., to remain their leader despite the party’s electoral losses.

2. Voting

Lawmakers call out the name of their choice for speaker from the floor, a rare and time-consuming roll call. Members often liven up the proceedings by shouting or standing when casting their vote. Lawmakers are not obligated to vote for their party’s nominated candidate. Any name can be called out from the House floor. While it has been the tradition for the speaker to be a member of the House, it is not required.

3. Results

Should Johnson come up short, it is likely the clerk will move immediately to start another roll call vote. If a speaker candidate wins a majority of those present and voting, a bipartisan committee, usually consisting of members from the home state of the chosen candidate, will escort the speaker-elect to the chair on the dais where the oath of office is administered.

As Johnson’s political fate hangs in the balance, members are using this time to take selfies with the Louisiana Republican.

GOP lawmakers are bringing their babies, grandbabies and siblings to take a photo with the speaker before the House begins his reelection vote.

The next speaker must receive a majority of the votes cast. If not, balloting continues until someone meets that threshold.

Two years ago, it took Kevin McCarthy 15 rounds of balloting before he gained enough support to take the gavel.

Those voting won their election in November, but they cannot take the oath of office until a new speaker has been elected.

New and returning lawmakers donned their Sunday best to the first day of the new Congress, with many of the women adhering to the traditional colors of their political party.

Red ties and dresses for Republican members can be seen scattered across the House floor while across the aisle Democratic women styled various shades of blue.

Johnson commands one of the slimmest majorities in modern times, 220-215, having lost seats in the November election.

The abrupt resignation of Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida drops his tally to 220.

That leaves him relying on almost every Republican for support in the face of Democratic opposition, though the typical 218 majority needed could shift with absences and others voting only “present.”

Before his election for speaker can begin, Speaker Mike Johnson opened Friday’s session by declaring that the 118th Congress has come to a close.

On his way to the House floor earlier, he was asked by reporters if he will win the speakership during the first round of voting.

“I hope so. We’ll see,” he said.

Lawmakers are quickly filtering into the House chambers for the start of the 119th Congress, where the first order of business will be a quorum call and then a roll call vote to elect the next speaker.

For now, it’s a festive atmosphere with many lawmakers bringing their children onto the House floor with them to take in some history.

Soon, it will become more serious as the speaker vote is held.

Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., has the backing of President-elect Donald Trump, but can’t afford hardly any holdouts from the Republican side of the room if he hopes to return to holding the gavel.

Democratic lawmakers are standing and applauding as Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi has entered the House chamber as a new Congress begins to gather.

The former speaker had hip replacement surgery recently at a U.S. military hospital in Germany after falling while at an event in Luxembourg with other members of Congress.

The former speaker walked gingerly to a seat in the middle of the chamber. Several colleagues moved quickly to greet her.

New and returning lawmakers walked around the chamber, taking selfies with their children and families ahead of what is expected to be a contentious few hours as Republicans fight amongst themselves to elect a speaker.

Johnson commands one of the slimmest majorities in modern times, 220-215, having lost seats in the November election. That leaves him relying on almost every Republican for support in the face of Democratic opposition.

Here’s a look at some of the Republicans who’ve signaled they may vote against him:

1. Texas Rep. Chip Roy: Roy is an unflinching member of the Freedom Caucus who lashed into Republican leadership’s handling of the year-end spending bill for failing to cut spending and adhere to House rules. He said he was undecided on the speaker’s vote for Johnson, but added “my desire is to give him grace” in hopes they can deliver on the GOP agenda.

2. Indiana Rep. Victoria Spartz: Spartz said on Tuesday that she was still undecided and doubted Johnson’s ability to deliver on Trump’s agenda. “I would give him a chance, but I would like to hear from him on what plan he has,” she told Fox News.

3. Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie: Massie is a near-certain no. “You can pull all my fingernails off, you can shove bamboo up them, you can start cutting off my fingers, I am not voting for Mike Johnson tomorrow,” Massie said in an interview on One America Network that aired last night.In a Friday morning post on X, he reiterated that stance, saying “Johnson isn’t the right guy.”

The speaker’s election is set to dominate the opening of the new Congress, but the day will also bring a roster of history-making members.

In the Senate, two Black women — Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland — will be sworn in, the first time in the nation’s history two Black women senators will serve at the same time.

Sen.-elect Andy Kim of New Jersey also is making history as the first Korean American to join the chamber.

In the House, Sarah McBride is the first openly transgender person in the Congress.

And Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who recently suffered a fall overseas and underwent hip replacement surgery, will make her own return to Washington, a reminder of the power she wielded when Democrats last held the majority.

The speakership has been vacant only 13 times in U.S. history, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. No speaker had ever been removed until eight Republicans joined with Democrats to oust McCarthy.

Barring those instances, a speaker is normally elected at the start of a new Congress and serves in the job for the full two-year session.

House Speaker Mike Johnson walked into the Capitol on Friday morning seemingly optimistic about his chances of being reelected speaker by his conference despite growing frustrations amongst far-right members of the party.

When asked by a reporter what his message was to his holdouts, the Louisiana Republican said, “We need to unify,” adding that the speaker election “is not just about one person but about moving forward with the America First agenda, the mandate given forward by the American people.”

Johnson denied that he was making any back-door deals.

“There is no quid pro quo here. I don’t do anything in exchange for a vote other than commit to make this institution work as effectively and efficiently as possible,” he said.

President-elect Donald Trump called the U.S. House speaker “a fine man of great ability” and wished him good luck on Friday, when the new Congress convenes and Republican lawmakers will decide whether to reelect Mike Johnson to lead their party.

Trump endorsed the Louisiana Republican earlier this week, but whether that support will be enough is unclear. Trump said Johnson “is very close to having 100% support,” but some members of the far right have grown increasingly frustrated with Johnson’s leadership and his handling of funding fights such as the recent short-term spending bill.

“A win for Mike today will be a big win for the Republican Party,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

Johnson’s weak grip on the gavel threatens not only his own survival but Trump’s ambitious agenda of tax cuts and mass deportations as Republicans sweep to power in Washington.

A flop by Johnson could throw Monday’s congressional certification of Trump’s 2024 election victory into turmoil if there is no speaker.

Johnson commands one of the slimmest majorities in modern times, having lost seats in the November election, leaving him relying on almost every Republican for support and with nearly no votes to spare.

Electing a speaker is the first order of business for the U.S. House after a new session of Congress begins at noon. It’s a vote that members take even before being sworn into office.

The House cannot organize until it has a speaker because that person effectively serves as the House’s presiding officer and the institution’s administrative head. The House can elect a new speaker at any time if the person occupying that role dies, resigns or is removed from office.

source

NEW YORK (AP) — In an extraordinary turn, a judge Friday set President-elect Donald Trump’s sentencing in his hush money criminal case for Jan. 10 — little over a week before he’s due to return to the White House — but indicated he wouldn’t be jailed.

The development nevertheless leaves Trump on course to be the first president to take office convicted of felony crimes.

Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan, who presided over Trump’s trial, signaled in a written decision that he’d sentence the former and future president to what’s known as an unconditional discharge, in which a conviction stands but the case is closed without jail time, a fine or probation. Trump can appear virtually for sentencing, if he chooses.

Rejecting Trump’s push to dismiss the verdict and throw out the case on presidential immunity grounds and because of his impending second term, Merchan wrote that only “bringing finality to this matter” would serve the interests of justice.

He said he sought to balance Trump’s ability to govern, “unencumbered” by the case, against other interests: the U.S. Supreme Court’s July ruling on presidential immunity and the public’s expectation “that all are equal and no one is above the law,” and the importance of respecting a jury verdict.

“This court is simply not persuaded that the first factor outweighs the others at this stage of the proceeding,” Merchan wrote in an 18-page decision.

Trump lashed out at Merchan on his Truth Social platform Friday, writing that it “would be the end of the Presidency as we know it” if the judge’s ruling is allowed to stand.

He repeated his claims that the case was an “illegitimate political attack” and “nothing but a Rigged Charade” perpetuated by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat. He didn’t elaborate on potential next legal moves.

Bragg’s office declined to comment on Merchan’s ruling.

Former Manhattan Judge Diane Kiesel said the ruling can’t be appealed under New York law, but Trump nonetheless might try to appeal it. In any event, he can appeal his conviction — a step that can’t be taken until he is sentenced — but he won’t be able to pardon himself. Trump’s case was tried in state court, but presidential pardons only apply to federal crimes.

Trump takes office Jan. 20 as the first former president to be convicted of a crime and the first convicted criminal to be elected to the office.

The Republican was found guilty in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records.

The charges involved an alleged scheme to hide a hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels in the last weeks of Trump’s first campaign in 2016. The payout was made to keep her from publicizing claims she’d had sex with the married Trump years earlier. He says that her story is false and that he did nothing wrong.

The case centered on how Trump accounted for reimbursing his personal attorney at the time, Michael Cohen, for the Daniels payment. Cohen on Friday called Merchan’s decision to go ahead with the sentencing “judicious and appropriate.”

The conviction left Trump, 78, facing the possibility of punishment ranging from a fine or probation to up to four years in prison. His sentencing initially was set for last July 11, then postponed twice at the defense’s request.

Then, after Trump’s Nov. 5 election, Merchan delayed the sentencing again so the defense and prosecution could weigh in on the future of the case.

Trump’s lawyers urged Merchan to toss it. They said it would otherwise pose unconstitutional “disruptions” to the incoming president’s ability to run the country.

Prosecutors acknowledged there should be some accommodation for his upcoming presidency, but they insisted the conviction should stand.

They suggested various options, such as freezing the case during his term or guaranteeing him a no-jail sentence. They also proposed closing the case while formally noting both his conviction and his undecided appeal — a novel idea drawn from what some state courts do when criminal defendants die while appealing their cases.

Merchan ruled that Trump’s current status as president-elect does not afford him the same immunity as a sitting president. Setting the verdict aside and dismissing the case would be a “drastic” step and would “undermine the Rule of Law in immeasurable ways,” Merchan wrote.

Before Trump’s November election, his lawyers sought to reverse his conviction for a different reason: the Supreme Court’s immunity decision, which gave presidents broad protection from criminal prosecution.

Trump was a private citizen — campaigning for president, but neither elected nor sworn in — when Cohen paid Daniels in October 2016. He was president when Cohen was reimbursed, and Cohen testified that they discussed the repayment arrangement in the Oval Office.

The Trump hush money attorneys contended that the jury got some evidence that should have been shielded by presidential immunity. Merchan later rejected that argument, but in the meantime, the election raised new issues.

While urging Merchan to nix the conviction, Trump also sought to move the case to federal court, where he could also assert immunity. A federal judge repeatedly said no, but Trump appealed.

The hush money case was the only one of Trump’s four criminal indictments to go to trial.

Since the election, special counsel Jack Smith has ended his two federal cases. One pertained to Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss; the other alleged he hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

A separate, state-level election interference case in Georgia is in limbo after an appeals court removed prosecutor Fani Willis from the case.

Trump’s lawyers argued that Smith’s decision to dismiss the federal indictments against Trump should propel a dismissal of the New York hush money case, as well. But Merchan said he found that argument unpersuasive, noting that the hush money case was in a “vastly” different stage.

___

Associated Press writer Larry Neumeister contributed.

source

NEW YORK (AP) — The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s hush money case in New York dealt with a host of weighty, unprecedented questions before deciding Friday that the president-elect should be sentenced later this month for the crime of falsifying business records.

In an 18-page legal opinion, Judge Juan Merchan laid out his reasoning for the ruling. His most important finding was that Trump’s conviction should not be thrown out simply because he was elected president.

“Indeed, the sanctity of a jury verdict and the deference that must be accorded to it, is a bedrock principle in our Nation’s jurisprudence,” Merchan wrote.

But the judge also signaled that he intended to impose a sentence of “unconditional discharge,” which means Trump would not face any punishment beyond having the conviction on his legal record.

Trump’s spokesperson said after Merchan’s ruling that the president-elect would continue to fight against the case, which he called a hoax.

Here are some key excerpts from the judge’s decision:

“The Constitution dictates that only a President, after taking the oath of office, has the authority of the Chief Executive, a President-elect does not. Accordingly, a President-elect is not permitted to avail himself of the protections afforded to the individual occupying that Office. … Binding precedent does not provide that an individual, upon becoming President, can retroactively dismiss or vacate prior criminal acts nor does it grant blanket Presidential-elect immunity.”

“Any claim Defendant may have that circumstances have changed as a result of Defendant’s victory in the Presidential election, while convenient, is disingenuous. Defendant has always pronounced, since the inception of this case, confidence and indeed the expectation that he would prevail in the 2024 Election — confidence that has proven well-founded. That he would become the ‘President-elect’ and be required to assume all the responsibilities that come with the transition were entirely anticipated. Thus, it was fair for this Court to trust that his request to adjourn sentencing until after the election carried with it the implied consent that he would face sentence during the window between the election and the taking of the oath of office.”

“Here, 12 jurors unanimously found Defendant guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records with the intent to defraud, which included an intent to commit or conceal a conspiracy to promote a presidential election by unlawful means. It was the premediated and continuous deception by the leader of the free world that is the gravamen of this offense. To vacate this verdict on the grounds that the charges are insufficiently serious given the position Defendant once held, and is about to assume again, would constitute a disproportionate result and cause immeasurable damage to the citizenry’s confidence in the Rule of Law.”

“Defendant’s disdain for the Third Branch of government, whether state or federal, in New York or elsewhere, is a matter of public record. Indeed, Defendant has gone to great lengths to broadcast on social media and other forums his lack of respect for judges, juries, grand juries and the justice system as a whole.”

“This Court recognizes the importance of considering and balancing the seemingly competing factors before it: ensuring that the Executive Branch is free to fully dispense the duties of the President and safeguard the interests of the Nation, unencumbered by pending criminal proceedings; to ensure that the Supreme Court’s ruling and the citizenry’s expectation be honored that all are equal and no one is above the Iaw; and the importance of protecting the sanctity of a jury verdict. This Court is simply not persuaded that the first factor outweighs the others at this stage of the proceeding, either on its own or in conjunction with the other … factors.”

“To dismiss the indictment and set aside the jury verdict would not serve the concerns set forth by the Supreme Court in its handful of cases addressing Presidential immunity nor would it serve the Rule of Law. On the contrary, such decision would undermine the Rule of Law in immeasurable ways.”

“While this Court as a matter of law must not make any determination on sentencing prior to giving the parties and Defendant opportunity to be heard, it seems proper at this juncture to make known the Court’s inclination to not impose any sentence of incarceration, a sentence authorized by the conviction but one the People concede they no longer view as a practicable recommendation. As such, in balancing the aforementioned considerations in conjunction with the underlying concerns of the Presidential immunity doctrine, a sentence of an unconditional discharge appears to be the most viable solution to ensure finality and allow Defendant to pursue his appellate options.”

source

GENEVA, N.Y. (AP) — Mary Ann Krupsak, who became the first woman elected to statewide office in New York when she was voted in as lieutenant governor in 1974, has died. She was 92.

Krupsak died Saturday at her home on Seneca Lake, according to an online obituary published Thursday.

The lifelong Democrat served one term with Gov. Hugh Carey before announcing she would challenge him for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 1978. She lost in the primary.

Krupsak was born in Schenectady and received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester, a master’s degree from Boston University and a law degree from the University of Chicago. She was elected to the New York state Assembly in 1968 and served in both the Assembly and Senate before running for lieutenant governor.

Among volunteers on her campaign was New York’s current governor, Kathy Hochul, who offered her condolences via X.

“I worked on her campaign while in high school in 1974, and I was proud to follow in her footsteps forty years later,” the Democrat said.

While in office, Krupsak worked to save New York City’s Radio City Music Hall from demolition, helping to secure National Historic Landmark status.

After leaving office, she was a senior partner at the law firm Krupsak & Mahoney and a senior partner and co-founder of Krupsak, Wass deCzege & Associates.

Her husband of 23 years, Edwin Margolis, a former state judge, died in 1993.

Funeral services are scheduled for Monday.

source

By James Oliphant and Nathan Layne

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President-elect Donald Trump and his nominee to run the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., do not drink and have been outspoken about the dangers of alcohol.

But neither rushed on Friday to embrace the recommendation by the outgoing Biden administration that alcoholic beverages carry warning labels about cancer risk. 

A combination of factors, including Republicans’ traditional resistance to regulation, a powerful industry lobby and the presence of top liquor companies in conservative states, make it unlikely the incoming administration would adopt the health suggestions in the near term.

The U.S. Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, urged the added warning, saying drinking increases the risk of developing several different kinds of cancer, including breast, colon and liver cancer.

Trump assumes the presidency on Jan. 20 and has yet to comment on the proposal, which would require an act of Congress. Kennedy also did not immediately weigh in.

Brian Darling, a Republican strategist and former senior aide to U.S. Senator Rand Paul, does not see the new Republican-controlled Congress approving adding a cancer-risk label to alcohol.

“I can’t imagine that a Republican Congress would act like the nanny state and force labels on alcohol beverages saying that they may cause cancer,” he said. “It just seems completely inconsistent with freedom and everything that the party stands for.”

Trump, whose brother died from alcoholism, has often spoken about the potential harmful effects of drinking. But his family’s business, now run by his sons, has made millions in the hospitality industry largely from the golf courses and hotels it owns around the world. His company also owns a 1,300-acre winery near Charlottesville, Virginia. 

On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to slash government regulations that he claimed hamper growth. 

“He’s anti-alcohol, but he’s pro-freedom,” Darling said. “One of the reasons why they voted Trump into office was because they were sick of the federal government telling them what they can and cannot do.”

Republicans hold an edge in both chambers of Congress, which was sworn into office on Friday. It was not immediately clear whether Murthy’s proposal had widespread support. 

‘STAY THIRSTY’

The beer, wine and liquor industry is a formidable force. It contributed $24.9 million during the 2024 election cycle, according to data from OpenSecrets, a non-partisan group that tracks money in U.S. politics. 

Slightly more than half of that, 50.3%, went to Republicans and 48.7% to Democrats. The biggest single recipient from 2023 to 2024 was Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, with $1.1 million donated. Trump was a distant second, receiving about $306,000.

Leading U.S. spirit-makers are based in conservative states dominated by Republicans, including Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas. Those states voted for Trump in large numbers. Their governors’ offices did not reply to requests for comment about the surgeon general’s recommendation.

Oscar Brock, a member of the Republican National Committee from Tennessee, said he didn’t think Americans were ready to tackle the health risks of alcohol in the same way they took on tobacco years ago.

“It took us years to get warning labels on tobacco, years after we knew the hazardous effects,” Brock said. “You know, we’re certainly not going back to Prohibition.”

Brock, whose state is home to Jack Daniel’s whiskey and many other distillers, said the liquor lobby was perhaps the most influential in Tennessee, fueled by money from producers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers.

Texas, which is home to popular brands of tequila and vodka, passed a law expanding alcohol sales in 2021. Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, celebrated on social media by exclaiming, “Stay thirsty, my friends.”

Murthy also urged a reassessment of the guideline limits for alcohol consumption to account for cancer risk. In the U.S., there are about 100,000 alcohol-related cancer cases and about 20,000 alcohol-related cancer deaths annually.

Kennedy, who must be confirmed by the Senate, would oversee the Food and Drug Administration in his cabinet role and be in a position to influence the rewriting of dietary guidelines for Americans, including recommendations on alcohol intake. He has sworn off of alcohol and drugs after his past struggles with substance abuse and says he attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. 

Murthy, who will leave his post when Trump takes office, could be succeeded by Janette Nesheiwat, a director of a New York chain of urgent care clinics and Trump’s pick for surgeon general.

As a health expert who appeared periodically on Fox News, Nesheiwat advocated for limited alcohol consumption and praised young people for drinking less than older Americans. She also must be confirmed by the new Senate.

(Reporting by Steve Holland, Nathan Layne and James Oliphant. Additional reporting by Heather Timmons and Stephanie Kelly; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Bill Berkrot)

source

NEW YORK (AP) — In an extraordinary turn, a judge Friday set President-elect Donald Trump’s sentencing in his hush money case for Jan. 10 — little over a week before he’s due to return to the White House — but promised not to jail him.

Judge Juan M. Merchan, who presided over Trump’s trial, signaled in a written decision that he’d sentence the former and future president to what’s known as a conditional discharge, in which a case gets dismissed if a defendant avoids rearrest.

The development marks yet another twist in the singular case.

Trump was convicted in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records. They involved an alleged scheme to hide a hush money payment to Stormy Daniels in the last weeks of Trump’s first campaign in 2016. The payout was made to keep her from publicizing claims she’d had sex with the married Trump years earlier. He says that her story is false and that he did nothing wrong.

After Trump’s Nov. 5 election, Merchan halted proceedings and indefinitely postponed the sentencing so the defense and prosecution could weigh in on the future of the case.

Trump’s lawyers urged Merchan to toss it. They said it would otherwise pose unconstitutional “disruptions” to the incoming president’s ability to run the country.

Prosecutors acknowledged there should be some accommodation for his upcoming presidency, but they insisted the conviction should stand.

They suggested various options, such as freezing the case during his term or guaranteeing him a no-jail sentence. They also proposed closing the case while formally noting both his conviction and his undecided appeal — a novel idea drawn from what some state courts do when criminal defendants die while appealing their cases.

Trump takes office Jan. 20.

source