TV News LIES

The US Department of Justice on Friday told the Republican House of Representatives speaker, Mike Johnson, that it would decline to pursue criminal contempt of Congress charges against the attorney general, Merrick Garland, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

The Republican-controlled House had voted on Wednesday to hold Garland, in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over audio of Joe Biden’s interview with the special counsel investigating his retention of classified documents after he was Barack Obama’s vice-president.

It was Republicans’ latest and strongest rebuke of the justice department as partisan conflict over the rule of law animates the 2024 presidential campaign.

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The ACLU filed a lawsuit in federal court on Wednesday challenging the Biden administration’s new executive actions that block migrants from seeking asylum at the southern U.S. border when crossings surge.

Lee Gelernt, the lead attorney for the ACLU, told NPR that President Biden’s new measures are nearly identical “from a legal standpoint” to ones that former President Donald Trump used to try to ban migrants from seeking asylum between ports of entry.

But Gelernt said Congress has been “crystal clear” that asylum seekers can request relief “whether or not you enter at a port.”

A federal jury convicted Hunter Biden of federal gun charges, a historic first for the offspring of a sitting president, after a trial featuring wrenching emotional testimony about his drug use from his ex-wife and sister-in-law.

President Joe Biden's son faces up to 25 years in prison for three charges − lying on a federal screening form about his drug use, lying to a gun dealer and possessing the gun − although first-time, nonviolent offenders typically get shorter sentences.

The 54-year old businessman and attorney's case came after a plea deal fell apart in July 2023 that could have resolved gun and taxes charges without prison time. Hunter Biden still faces another federal trial starting Sept. 5 in California for allegedly avoiding taxes.

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The federal judge presiding over the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump and two of his associates struck a paragraph from the indictment on Monday but denied a defense request to dismiss some of the charges.

The paragraph concerns allegations that Trump, in 2021 while no longer president, showed a classified map of a foreign country to a representative of his political action committee while discussing a military operation that he said was not going well.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has accepted more than $2 million in gifts over the last 20 years, according to a new analysis, far eclipsing the value of those received by his fellow justices.

A report released Thursday by the advocacy group Fix the Court said the total value of 93 gifts to all of Thomas’ fellow justices between 2004 and 2023 were valued at $248,000, while Thomas alone received 103 gifts worth $2.4 million.

In addition to that haul, Fix the Court flagged another 101 “likely gifts” to Thomas worth nearly $1.8 million stemming from free luxury travel and lodging he received from billionaire Harlan Crow and others.

If those gifts are counted, Thomas’ 20-year bonanza jumps to nearly $4.2 million.

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Republican members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives booed and hissed as two US Capitol Police officers were introduced onto the floor on Wednesday - before walking out when the “heroes” were honored.

Former US Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn and former sergeant Aquilino Gonell, who served during the January 6 riots, are touring Pennsylvania this week to campaign for President Joe Biden’s reelection.

They were welcomed into the chamber by House Speaker Joanna McClinton for having “bravely defended democracy in the United States Capitol against rioters and insurrection on January 6.” Other reps refered them as “heroes” when they were introduced on the floor.

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