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- DOJ Tells GOP Lawmaker She Was ‘Never’ Under Investigation, Despite Claims S...
(Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images) The Department of Justice informed Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) that it “never” opened a criminal investigation into allegations she tipped off a conservative influencer about President Donald Trump’s 2024 VP pick. The allegations emerged after a July 18 Wall Street Journal report claimed Luna shared advance information with influencer Rogan O’Handley, known online as “DC Draino,” that Trump had chosen JD Vance as his running mate, allowing him to place a successful wager on prediction platform Polymarket. According to the Journal, O’Handley denied receiving or trading on confidential information, while Luna denied knowing Trump’s decision in advance, saying she was not “telepathic.” On Monday, Luna published a July 22 letter from Associate Deputy Attorney General Diego Pestana to “set the record straight” on the claims, which she blasted as a “smear.” She also claimed: “The person who made these false allegations has now been referred for criminal investigation because making false accusations to a federal agency is a crime.” Let’s set the record straight: This disgusting attempt to politically smear me fell flat on its face because it was based on lies. I was never under investigation and the @WSJ reported false information based on one “anonymous source” and then cherry picked my quote to spin their… https://t.co/9XED7q8Zop pic.twitter.com/Zdt6hF2eLU — Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) August 3, 2026 In the letter, added to the post, the Justice Department said it “at no point had an open investigation” into allegations that she engaged in criminal conduct, “including allegations about insider trading in prediction markets.” The letter also stated that the department never received a criminal referral from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, despite reports that the agency was examining the allegations. “In the instance of Rep. Luna, no such referral was made. Thus, the Department never had an open investigation into this matter,” the letter continued. Axios also reported on Monday that Luna’s legal team has demanded the Tampa Bay Times remove two July articles, publish a retraction and preserve reporting materials ahead of possible litigation.The post DOJ Tells GOP Lawmaker She Was ‘Never’ Under Investigation, Despite Claims She Tipped Off Influencer Who Made Big Bucks Betting on Trump’s VP Pick first appeared on Mediaite. [TheTopNews] Read More.3 hours ago - Mamdani Laughs Off Grocery Store ID Claim After MAGA Uproar: ‘No Matter What Y...
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani pushed back Monday night against claims that his proposed city-owned grocery stores would require shoppers to show identification, calling the allegation false after MAGA seized on remarks from one of his officials to argue Democrats were applying a double standard on voter ID. Appearing on The Joy Reid Show, host Joy Reid asked Mamdani about which of his policies was “translatable” across the nation, to which he answered “the vast majority, if not all of them,” and argued the “cost of living crisis” facing Americans was nationwide. Running through some of those policies, he continued: “We’re talking about a city-run grocery store which, by the way, you do not need an ID to shop at, no matter what you’ve heard in the news of today.” His office quickly reinforced that message as criticism spread across conservative media and social platforms. “Insane this even needs to be said, but to be absolutely clear: NYC Grocery stores will be open to everyone,” press secretary Joe Calvello wrote on X. “There will be no system to verify identity, residency or income, and no one will be asked to show ID to shop.” Insane this even needs to be said, but to be absolutely clear: NYC Grocery stores will be open to everyone. There will be no system to verify identity, residency or income, and no one will be asked to show ID to shop. This is the dumbest and fakest online news cycle i have seen. https://t.co/YIW8Kl4TJ0 — Joe Calvello (@the_vello) August 3, 2026 The controversy erupted after the announcement of Mamdani’s plan to launch five city-owned grocery stores across New York City’s boroughs beginning in 2027, offering discounted prices on essential food items. During a press conference unveiling the proposal, Mamdani was asked how the city would prevent shoppers from abusing the program or purchasing goods for resale. He referred the question to New York City Economic Development Corporation chief financial officer Jeanny Pak, who said officials wanted to “target New Yorkers” through “a library-card-esque system” while managing purchases. The comments prompted a wave of criticism and mockery from prominent MAGA Republicans and commentators, many drawing comparisons with Democratic opposition to stricter voter identification laws during elections. As the backlash intensified, Mamdani’s team said Pak’s comments had been misconstrued. Spokesperson Dora Pekec said any card associated with the stores would simply be… [TheTopNews] Read More.4 hours ago - Jimmy Fallon Suggests Trump Try ‘Pinning’ Iran War on Anthony Fauci: ‘Out ...Jimmy Fallon mocked President Donald Trump’s shifting messaging on Iran on Monday night as he warned that the administration seemed like it was “out of ideas” before suggesting that the president try “pinning the war” on Dr Anthony Fauci. During his opening monologue on The Tonight Show, Fallon roasted Trump for his frustration over damage to the Reflecting Pool, telling his audience the Justice Department concluded it was caused by “shoddy construction work” rather than the deliberate vandalism Trump had alleged. “Trump claimed someone used a knife to quickly cut the pool liner of the length of three football fields,” he joked. “I can barely use a knife to cut open my Amazon box.” He continued with another: “At this point, Trump’s thinking about draining the water, covering it in green felt and turning it into a Reflecting Pool table.” Then, pivoting to Iran, he quipped: “Yeah, we might be asking too much of Trump to reopen the Strait of Hormuz when he can’t even reopen the pool in his backyard.” As the audience chuckled, Fallon then turned to Trump’s weekend Cabinet meeting at Camp David, where the president discussed the situation in Iran following recent developments surrounding negotiations and military action. “I’m not saying that they’re out of ideas, but the best option they came up with was pinning the war on Dr. Fauci,” the host joked, adding: “Yeah, the war in Iran hasn’t been going well and Trump’s looking for solutions.” “Meanwhile, on Saturday, Trump announced that he called off strikes on Iran because the ‘perimeters of a deal’ had been agreed to,” Fallon said. “Yeah, a couple of months ago, he had the outline of a deal, and before that, he had the framework of a deal. I think the real news is that he has a thesaurus.” Watch above via NBC.The post Jimmy Fallon Suggests Trump Try ‘Pinning’ Iran War on Anthony Fauci: ‘Out of Ideas’ first appeared on Mediaite. [TheTopNews] Read More.4 hours ago
- White House Whipsaws Silicon Valley (and Itself) Over A.I. Rules
The Trump administration has struggled over how to approach to “open source” models, which are freely available to download and favored by Chinese companies. [TheTopNews] Read More.6 hours ago - Trump DOJ Drops Charges Against Three More Defendants Accused of Reflecting Pool...
Rahmat Gul/AP Photo President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice has dropped the charges against the other three defendants accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, joining another indictment it voluntarily dismissed against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn. This now means that all four cases accusing defendants of vandalizing the Reflecting Pool have been dismissed, reported Fox 5 DC. The president’s attempts to renovate the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool have been a months-long source of frustration for him, as the project has been plagued by bright green algae and peeling paint, which Trump and others in his administration have claimed was caused by vandals. These claims were swiftly met with a high level of skepticism by the media and local D.C. residents, but the DOJ made several arrests nonetheless. One of those arrested was Hearn, who was facing a felony charge for destruction of government property until July 31, when the DOJ dismissed the indictment. In a motion filed on July 27, Hearn’s attorneys argued that “the Government’s sole grand-jury witness on damages testified that the property was already damaged before Mr. Hearn allegedly touched it; that the same repairs would have been required regardless of Mr. Hearn’s conduct; and that he could not quantify any loss attributable to that conduct.” The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, led by Jeanine Pirro, admitted in its motion that it had relied on claims from the Department of the Interior that “the damage was caused entirely by vandals, including [Hearn],” but after the indictment, DOI then “provided additional documents” that revealed “the damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism as initially represented by DOI.” Trump has continued to insist the damage was due to vandalism, even falsely claiming there was video evidence of people “cutting it with a box knife.” In addition to dropping the felony charge against Hearn, Pirro’s office has now moved to dismiss three other misdemeanor cases with similar accusations, CBS News reported. The other three defendants were Justin Carreno, Sophie Dennison-Gibby, and Cameron Thiers, each accused of destroying government property with a value less than $1,000. The Trump administration did not respond to requests for comment from CBS News, but attorneys for the three defendants did, and had sharp criticism for the attempt to prosecute their clients. Thiers’ attorney Allen Dale told CBS News that the DOJ had informed him they were no… [TheTopNews] Read More.11 hours ago - 60 Minutes Exec Producer Scolds About Leaks in ‘Stern’ Memo — Which Gets L...
Screenshot via 60 Minutes on Facebook. Nick Bilton, the executive producer of 60 Minutes who took the reins of CBS News’ television newsmagazine in May, sent a “stern” memo to his entire staff, scolding them about “the steady stream of leaks” to the press, reported Oliver Darcy at Status — after the memo was itself leaked to him. Bilton’s tenure kicked off during a remarkably tumultuous period for 60 Minutes, as Bari Weiss, the editor-in-chief handpicked by Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, faced intense criticism for her meddling in stories, staff shakeups, the departure of longtime on-air personalities like Anderson Cooper, and other issues. Right out of the gate, Bilton clashed with veteran anchor Scott Pelley during a “highly contentious” staff meeting. Pelley was fired soon thereafter, and Bilton sent out an all-staff email that pledged to honor 60 Minutes’ “journalistic independence.” “It’s been a hell of a first week,” Bilton quipped at the end of that email, which was leaked to the media. Monday evening, Darcy’s latest issue of his Status newsletter noted that Bilton is still plagued by leaks, reporting that the exec had “welcomed staff back from their July vacations with a weekend memo in which he delivered a stern message about leaks, a missive that naturally leaked to Status.” The memo, reported Darcy, was 734 words to his whole staff, starting by thanking them for their recent work but then going into ” a few housekeeping notes.” Some of these were minor. Bilton announced he had switched to a smaller office to allow the old executive producer’s digs to be converted to a conference room, replaced a dry-erase story board with a digital one, plus some new hires. After that, Darcy wrote, “Bilton arrived at a much more sensitive subject: the steady stream of leaks about ’60 Minutes.'” Bilton’s memo “made clear he is frustrated by the unrelenting speculation regarding the show, along with the torrent of unauthorized information making its way into the press—and while he didn’t mention this publication in particular, one imagines he isn’t especially thrilled when we end up informing his own staff about developments regarding their own program,” Darcy noted his own role in the saga. Darcy’s reporting did not mention any explicit threat to fire leakers, but Bilton implied consequences by declaring the end of his “patience” with leaks: “Since I started here there has been roughly a rumor a… [TheTopNews] Read More.11 hours ago
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