Trump is ‘surrendering to the Russians,’ Democratic Sen. Jack Reed says
ABC News
In an interview Sunday on ABC News’ “This Week,” Democratic Sen. Jack Reed decried President Donald Trump’s recent verbal attacks on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and increased alignment with Russia.
“Essentially, this is President Trump surrendering to the Russians,” Reed told co-anchor Martha Raddatz.
“This is not a statesman or a diplomat,” Reed added. “This is just someone who admires Putin, does not believe in the struggle of the Ukrainians and is committed to cozying up to an autocrat.”
Reed said statements Trump made recently about Ukraine were “generally misleading or completely false,” and suggest he has “no real intention to engage the Ukrainian government to find out what they need” in negotiations with Russia.
“I’d be more confident in that suggestion if there was a vigorous dialogue between the Ukrainians and the United States with respect to these negotiations, that we understood where their lines are, et cetera. That apparently has not happened,” he said.
In order to solve the war in Ukraine, Reed said it will be crucial to “communicate to the Russians that we will be very, very serious about their actions in Ukraine.”
“What we have to do is keep the pressure on, and then go into negotiations — negotiations that will include the Ukrainians, not exclude them.” he said “And then with this pressure, hopefully, Putin will decide that the cost is too great to continue this effort.”
Talking to Raddatz later, Republican Rep. Mike Lawler slammed Russian President Vladimir Putin as “a vile dictator and thug” who is “clearly responsible for the war in Ukraine,” despite Trump’s false assertions earlier in the week that Zelenskyy started the war.
“Russia, China and Iran have been working in a coordinated effort to undermine and destabilize the United States, Europe, Israel and the free world,” Lawler said. “They are not our allies or our friends — we must be clear eyed about that.”
Lawler said he “did not agree with the President’s rhetoric about Volodymyr Zelenskyy,” but also said that Zelenskyy “saying that the president is falling for Russian disinformation does not help his cause.”
“What I would say is this, it does not behoove either side to have this public back and forth,” Lawler said. “I think President Zelenskyy needs to work with the administration, especially with respect to economic cooperation.”
(WASHINGTON) — Concern over dangers to children from increasingly easy access to hardcore pornography online dominated U.S. Supreme Court arguments on Wednesday in a high-profile dispute over a growing number of state laws requiring adult websites to verify the age of users.
The justices heard an appeal from an adult entertainment industry trade group challenging a 2023 Texas mandate that sites with more than a third of content containing “sexual material harmful to minors” must receive electronic proof that a patron is 18 or older.
In all, 18 other states have similar age-verification measures as a means to limit access by minors.
Allowing the Texas measure to stand, industry attorney Derek Shaffer told the justices, “could open the door to an emerging wave of regulations that imperil free speech online.” Many members of the court seemed inclined to support the law nonetheless.
While all states have long made it illegal for brick-and-mortar sellers of pornography to serve underage buyers, the industry alleges Texas’ online verification law uniquely threatens individual privacy and data security for millions of adults who otherwise have a First Amendment right to view the material.
The law requires users to provide digital ID, government-issued ID or other commercially reasonable verification methods, such as a facial scan or credit card transaction data.
“You should have confidentiality that is legally assured,” said Shaffer.
A federal district court sided with the industry and blocked the law; the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, finding that it served a legitimate government interest notwithstanding any imposition on the rights of adult consumers.
“Age verification today is simple, safe, and common, including non-identifying means,” said Texas Solicitor General Aaron Nielson.
Many of the justices seemed eager to find a way to allow the Texas law to remain in force in the interest of protecting children, but also to clarify the strong constitutional protection for free speech that prevents states from excessively infringing on free speech rights.
“Technological access to pornography, obviously, has exploded, right?” observed Chief Justice John Roberts. “It was very difficult for 15-year-olds to get access to the type of things that are available with a push of a button today. And the nature of the pornography, I think, has also changed.”
Roberts implied that the court may need to revisit its precedents that have offered sweeping protection to adult content creators and the adults who consume the material.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a mother of seven, said she knew firsthand how pernicious the dangers of online pornography have become.
“Kids can get online porn through gaming systems, tablets, phones, computers. Let me just say that content-filtering for all those different 25 devices, I can say from personal experience, is difficult to keep up with,” Barrett said. “I think that the explosion of addiction to online porn has shown that content-filtering isn’t working.”
Justice Brett Kavanagh, a father of two teenage daughters, pressed Shaffer over the harms that he suggested states must be able to protect against.
“Do you dispute the societal problems that are created both short term and long term from the rampant access to pornography for children?” Kavanaugh asked.
“That is a complicated question that I don’t know that I can speak to definitively,” Shaffer replied.
Justice Samuel Alito bluntly expressed skepticism of the industry’s claim that less-restrictive alternatives exist to protect kids online, such as parental controls and content-filtering software.
“Come on, be real,” Alito chided Shaffer. “There’s a huge volume of evidence that filtering doesn’t work.”
Several justices, while vocally supportive in principle of the need to prevent children from viewing porn, voiced concern that the means states like Texas were using put too much burden on the content creators and adult consumers.
“It’s not clear to me that just the fact that we have new technology is running in favor of allowing this law to stand as is,” said Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, a mother of two teenage girls.
“We appreciate the state’s interest in protecting children,” Jackson told Nielson, “but we’re not going to let the state, you know, impose, like, a thousand things that would make it really, really hard for adults when there are other alternatives to protect children.”
Justice Clarence Thomas echoed that sentiment: “Assuming we agree with you, and I think most people do, that kids are to be protected, how much of a burden is permissible on adults’ First Amendment rights?” he asked Nielson.
“One of the important parts of modern age verification technology is that you can do it without identification at all,” the Texas attorney replied. “In other words, there’s no ID or anything like that. It’s just a face scan.”
Justice Sonia Sotomayor suggested the rights of adults to engage in free speech — and free consumption of sexually explicit content — needed guarantees.
“This law … says you can’t retain this information. The other side in its brief argues that that doesn’t mean you can’t sell it or give it away,” she pointed out to Neilson.
“I don’t know if that’s even technologically possible,” he replied.
The case, Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, pits a growing nationwide effort to strengthen protections for minors online against a booming multi-billion dollar adult entertainment industry.
“More people watch porn and view porn each year than vote and read the newspaper,” said Lisa Blatt, a veteran Supreme Court litigator with Williams & Connolly LLP.
A 2016 study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine found that up to 70% of men and 40% of women have consumed pornography within the past year in the U.S.
American teenagers have reported similar levels of exposure to pornography a number of studies conducted over the past three years show. Public health experts say young people who view sexually explicit content are more likely to start having sex earlier, engage in unsafe sex, and have multiple partners.
Twenty years ago in a remarkably similar case — Ashcroft v. ACLU — the high court struck down federal legislation that would have required age verification to view sexually explicit material. The decision instead put the onus on parents and technology companies to utilize less burdensome content-filtering software.
The court could choose to rethink that decision and other precedents on these issues, or return the case to a lower court for further consideration under a clarification of existing law.
A decision is expected in the case by the end of June.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump has continued to defend his controversial pardons of the Jan. 6 rioters during a Fox News interview, claiming that most were “absolutely innocent” despite being convicted.
Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity in an interview that aired Wednesday night that he made the pardons and commutations for 1,500 people involved in the pro-Trump mob attack on the U.S. Capitol for a “number of reasons.”
“They were treated like the worst criminals in history. And you know what they were there for? They were protesting the vote,” Trump said repeating the false claim the 2020 election was “rigged.”
After Hannity said that no one should be able to invade the Capitol, Trump responded, “Most of the people were absolutely innocent.”
On Thursday afternoon, answering reporter questions in the Oval Office, Trump was asked whether he planned to meet with those he pardoned –including at the White House.
“I don’t know, he responded. “I’m sure that they probably would like to.”
More than 250 people were convicted for their roles in the attack.
U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick died after suffering multiple strokes hours after he was pepper sprayed by rioters. The Washington, D.C. medical examiner ruled he died of natural causes, but said his experience on Jan. 6 played a role in his condition.
Four officers who responded to the Capitol attack have since died by suicide, investigators said.
Approximately 140 Capitol Police officers were injured by rioters, making it one of the most violent days for law enforcement in recent U.S. history, according to investigators. Videos of the destruction and attacks, where the rioters used weapons including bats, hockey sticks, bear spray and stun guns were documented through thousands of hours of videos and police body camera footage that has been publicly released.
Trump, however, claimed on “Hannity” that the attacks on the police were “very minor incidents.”
“This was a political hoax. And you know what? Those people, and I’m not saying in every single case, but there was a lot of patriotism with those people,” he said.
He also said it would have been “very, very cumbersome” to separate out those convicted of violent assaults on police.
Trump’s pardons have come under fire from police unions, prosecutors and some Republicans on the Hill, including Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, who condemned the attacks on police officers.
Trump also suggested former President Joe Biden should have pardon himself as he did with his family members and lawmakers on the Jan. 6 committee.
“This guy went around giving everybody pardons. And you know, the funny thing, maybe the sad thing, is he didn’t give himself a pardon,” Trump said without giving specifics on what crimes his predecessor could have committed.
The president added that he would let Congress decide if Biden and those leaders should be probed.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attends the inauguration of Donald Trump in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Julia Demaree Nikhinson – Pool/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — From a multimillion-dollar law firm payout to six-figure endorsements and book deals, President Donald Trump’s nominee for health and human services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., raked in at least $12 million in total income in the past two years, new personal financial disclosure forms show.
Kennedy boasted a vast amount of wealth across various investment funds, bank accounts and real estate properties totaling between $8.6 million to $33.4 million. However, he also reported a staggering amount of liabilities — between $3.4 million and $12.7 million — which could put him in the red on paper.
Kennedy’s liabilities include up to $1.2 million in credit card debt to American Express at a 23% revolving interest rate and three 30-year mortgages worth up to $10.5 million, according to the filing.
The exact values of his total assets and liabilities are unclear because federal financial disclosures are reported in ranges.
A major chunk of Kennedy’s income since 2023 was his nearly $9 million payout from his law firm Kennedy & Madonna LLP, which is now called Madonna & Madonna LLP after Kennedy resigned last week.
His main source of income from the past year stemmed from hefty referral fees from multiple law firms, arrangements which Kennedy noted in his ethics agreement that he will terminate upon his confirmation. However, he stated he plans to retain a contingency fee interest in cases that do not involve the U.S. government.
In his ethics agreement, Kennedy disclosed that among the cases he has referred to the Wisner Baum law firm are claims filed under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), from which he said he will divest his interest.
Kennedy, who has been a vocal supporter of cryptocurrency and has spoken at multiple Bitcoin conventions, also reported owning between $1 million to $5 million in Fidelity’s Bitcoin fund, the filing shows.
Kennedy also disclosed smaller holdings in biotech companies Dragonfly Therapeutics and CRISPR Therapeutics AG, as well as in other companies like Progressive Corp, Amazon and Apple, from which he said he plans to divest after his confirmation.
Credit card debt potentially doubled in 6 months
Kennedy’s credit card debt potentially doubled in just six months, a comparison of his liabilities in his new disclosure filing and his disclosure from last year suggest.
In July 2024, Kennedy, as a presidential candidate, disclosed having credit card debts to American Express worth $360,004 to $715,000, at roughly 23% revolving interest rate.
In his latest disclosure submitted in late December 2024 and publicly released today, Kennedy’s American Express debts snowballed into between $610,000 and $1.2 million.
It’s unclear how much, exactly, his credit card debt increased in the past few months because liabilities are reported in ranges, but the latest disclosure shows his debts have potentially grown exponentially.
Money from book deals
Kennedy is set to earn millions from multiple book deals, including up to $4 million in advances for books titled “Unsettled Science” and “A Defense for Israel.” Kennedy also earned $1,000 for an advance for a book titled “Vax-UnVax: Let the Science Speak.”
According to his disclosure, two of the three books have already been written prior to his nomination, and he does not plan to engage in “writing, editing, marketing, or promotional services” while serving as HHS Secretary.
Kennedy earned little income from the fourteen books he has already published – such as “American Values: Lessons I Learned from my Family” and “Vaccine Villains: What the American Public Should Know about the Industry” — making less than $200 from each title, according to the disclosure form.
Money from endorsements
Kennedy earned $100,000 from his endorsement of a boxing ball game called Boxbollen in a video he posted on his social media accounts last month, though he returned $50,000 after cancelling the contract following his nomination as health and human services secretary.
“Mr. Kennedy had a pre-existing contract prior to his nomination, after posting the video – he realized it was best to delete it and cancel the contract,” a source close to Kennedy told ABC News in November.
Kennedy also earned $200,000 in speaking fees during three days in November, speaking at the Rockbridge Fall Summit in Las Vegas — organized by a conservative donor network co-founded by Vice President JD Vance – and Genius Network Annual Event in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Hollywood money
Kennedy also disclosed dozens of sources of compensation from his wife Cheryl Hines, an actress best known for her role on HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”
In addition to that show, Hines earns residual payments from multiple films and television shows including “Friends,” “Herbie,” “Waitress,” “The Conners,” “The Flight Attendant” and “A Bad Moms Christmas.”
Hines also received a $600,000 advance payment for her memoir “My Shade of Crazy.”
Oil rights, properties in Chicago
As was disclosed in his previous financial disclosure from his 2024 presidential bid, Kennedy had previously owned oil and gas rights in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida but sold them in the past year, netting roughly $55,000 from the sales, according to the filing.
He also reported owning commercial properties in Chicago worth between $700,000 and $1.5 million.
