TV News LIES

Former special counsel Jack Smith, who led two criminal prosecutions against President Donald Trump before the real estate mogul's 2024 election victory, fired back against a reported investigation into his handling of those cases, according to a letter obtained by USA TODAY.

"This investigation is premised on a partisan complaint that suggests the ordinary operation of the criminal justice system should be disrupted by the whims of a political contest," wrote two lawyers, Lanny A. Breuer and Peter Koski, on Smith's behalf.

The investigation into Smith is one of several under the Trump administration that have prompted fears that Trump is using his second term to engage in a revenge campaign against perceived enemies. Some of the president's supporters argue that such investigations are important to correct previous overreach.

On Aug. 22, FBI agents raided the home of former national security adviser and fierce Trump critic John Bolton. The bureau said it had court authorization for the search, but didn't elaborate on the specifics of the investigation. The Justice Department has also reportedly opened an investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought a major civil fraud lawsuit against Trump and his business associates.

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President Donald Trump on Aug. 25 announced he was firing Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, an unprecedented move that brings the president one step closer to shaping the balance of the Fed's seven-member board in his favor.

In a letter shared on Truth Social, Trump claimed "sufficient cause" to remove Cook immediately, pointing to accusations that Cook made false statements on mortgage agreements.

Cook said Aug. 26 the president lacked authority to oust her from the board of the central bank. She plans to challenge the move in court, according to a statement from her attorney.

The move comes amid Trump's monthslong efforts to influence the Fed's decisions on interest rates. Trump had previously focused on pressuring Fed Chair Jerome Powell to lower rates through name-calling and termination threats, although he has since walked back threats to remove Powell.

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The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Monday condemned Woody Allen for speaking virtually at a Russian film festival over the weekend, calling his participation in the event “a disgrace and an insult” to the victims of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

According to Russian media, Allen spoke Sunday at the Moscow International Film Week via video conference. The appearance put him at odds with the Hollywood establishment, which has embraced the Ukraine cause during Russia’s 3 1/2-year war, with prominent actors signing on to the United24 crowdfunding initiative and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy making virtual appearances at past Golden Globes and Grammys ceremonies.

Footage aired by Russian state TV showed the filmmaker addressing a tightly packed movie theater from a massive screen, with pro-Kremlin film director Fyodor Bondarchuk moderating the session. Russian media reports quoted Allen as saying that he has always liked Russian cinema, recounting his past trips to Russia and the Soviet Union, and talking about what he would do if he were to receive a proposal to direct a movie in the country.

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A large bruise on the back on Donald Trump’s right hand, which the president appeared to be hiding, poorly, under a daub of makeup last week, was clearly visible during public appearances on Monday, renewing speculation that the White House might be concealing information about his health.

Last month, after similar speculation over Trump’s swollen ankles prompted questions, the White House physician, Sean Barbabella, revealed in a memo that the president was suffering from chronic venous insufficiency.

In the same memo, Barbabella said that images showing bruising on Trump’s hand were “consistent with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking” and his use of aspirin as a precaution against heart attacks.

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President Trump threatened major broadcast networks in a string of social media posts late Sunday, suggesting they be fined or taken off the air due to their polling and coverage of his administration.

“Why is it that ABC and NBC FAKE NEWS, two of the absolute worst and most biased networks anywhere in the World, aren’t paying Millions of Dollars a year in LICENSE FEES,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Sunday night. “They should lose their Licenses for their unfair coverage of Republicans and/or Conservatives, but at a minimum, they should pay up BIG for having the privilege of using the most valuable airwaves anywhere at anytime!!! Crooked ‘journalism’ should not be rewarded, it should be terminated!!!”

In another post, the president called ABC and NBC “two of the worst and most biased networks in history,” which “give me 97% BAD STORIES.”

“IF THAT IS THE CASE, THEY ARE SIMPLY AN ARM OF THE DEMOCRAT PARTY AND SHOULD, ACCORDING TO MANY, HAVE THEIR LICENSES REVOKED BY THE FCC,” he continued. “I would be totally in favor of that because they are so biased and untruthful, an actual threat to our Democracy!!!”

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Israel struck one of the main hospitals in the Gaza Strip on Monday and then hit the facility again as journalists and rescue workers rushed to the scene, killing at least 20 people and wounding scores more, local health workers said.

It was among the deadliest of several Israeli strikes that have hit both hospitals and journalists over the course of the 22-month war sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, and the assault came as Israel plans to widen its offensive to heavily populated areas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the strike on Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis was a “tragic mishap” and that the military was investigating.

Israeli media reported that troops fired two artillery shells, targeting what they suspected was a Hamas surveillance camera on the roof. The Reuters news agency said one of its reporters, who was operating a live television shot, was killed in the first strike, citing hospital officials.

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– President Donald Trump rekindled his Hudson River rivalry with former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as they quibbled about what is a bridge too far in punishing political rivals.

The latest salvo came from the Oval Office, where the native New Yorker president insulted Christie on Aug. 25 as “a slob.” But Trump stopped short of saying Christie should be investigated criminally for his role in closing lanes of the George Washington Bridge as alleged retaliation against a mayor who didn’t endorse him.

“I think we have other things to do,” Trump said before adding: “I always thought he got away with murder.”

The political quibble came after Christie, a former U.S. attorney and two-time Republican presidential primary opponent of Trump, joined a chorus of critics accusing the president of wielding the Justice Department as his personal legal representative.

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A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia for a second time – after he was wrongfully removed to El Salvador earlier this year.

District Judge Paula Xinis of Maryland ruled from the bench on Monday, Aug. 25, that the government cannot deport Abrego Garcia until she can hold a hearing on his latest lawsuit challenging his deportation.

Xinis’ order came just hours after U.S. immigration agents detained Abrego Garcia when he reported to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore for what his attorneys had been told was a mandatory check-in. Agents detained him within 60 seconds of his arrival, said his attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg.

Abrego Garcia’s detention is the latest chapter in a case that started back in March when he was stopped near his home in Maryland and deported to a Salvadoran mega-prison. The case has fueled outrage over the Trump administration’s hardline deportation policies.

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