Politics

By Sarah N. Lynch

(Reuters) -FBI agents who searched former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida on Monday removed 11 sets of classified documents including some marked as top secret, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing documents it reviewed.

Trump’s attorneys on Friday afternoon signaled they will not object to having the search warrant for his Florida residence unsealed to the public, the Justice Department said in a court filing, indicating the unsealing could come shortly.

The Justice Department told a federal judge in its warrant application that preceded the search that it has probable cause to believe that Trump violated the Espionage Act, a law which prohibits the possession or transmission of national defense information, the Journal reported.

FBI agents took around 20 boxes of items, binders of photos, a handwritten note and the executive grant of clemency for Mr. Trump’s ally Roger Stone, a list of items removed from the property shows, the Journal reported. Also included in the list was information about the “President of France,” it reported.

The list of documents is contained in a seven-page document that also includes the warrant to search the premises that was granted to the FBI by U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, the newspaper said. The list did not provide any more details about the substance of the documents, it said.

The reported revelations that Trump had documents labeled “top secret” could create major legal jeopardy for him.

“Top secret” is the highest level of classification, reserved for the country’s most closely held national security information. It is usually kept in special government facilities because its disclosure could cause grave damage to national security.

Numerous federal laws prohibit the mishandling of classified material, including the Espionage Act as well as another statute that prohibits the unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material. Trump increased the penalties for this while he was in office, making it a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Earlier on Friday, Trump denied a Washington Post report that the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago home was for possible classified materials related to nuclear weapons, writing on his social media account that the “nuclear weapons issue is a hoax.”

Reuters could not immediately confirm the Washington Post report. Attorney General Merrick Garland has declined to publicly detail the nature of the investigation.

Monday’s search of Trump’s home marked a significant escalation in one of the many federal and state investigations he is facing from his time in office and in private business, including a separate one by the Justice Department into a failed bid by Trump’s allies to overturn the 2020 presidential election by submitting phony slates of electors.

Garland on Thursday announced that the department had asked Reinhart to unseal the warrant that authorized the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago. This followed a claim by Trump that the search was political retribution and a suggestion by him, without evidence, that the FBI may have planted evidence against him.

Reinhart had imposed a 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) deadline for prosecutors to let him know if Trump’s legal team will oppose the unsealing of the warrant.

‘RELEASE THE DOCUMENTS’

Late on Thursday, Trump released a statement on social media saying he did not intend to oppose its release.

“Release the Documents Now!” Trump wrote.

The search and seizure warrant signed by Reinhart shows that FBI agents sought to search “the 45 Office,” as well as “all storage rooms and all other rooms or areas within the premises used or available to be used by (the former president) and his staff and in which boxes or documents could be stored, including all structures or buildings on the estate,” the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Journal added that FBI agents had collected four sets of top secret documents, three sets of secret documents and three sets of confidential documents.

The investigation into Trump’s removal of records started this year, after the National Archives and Records Administration, an agency charged with safeguarding presidential records that belong to the public, made a referral to the department.

On Friday, Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee called on Garland and FBI Director Chris Wray to release the affidavit underpinning the warrant, saying the public needs to know.

“Because many other options were available to them, we’re very concerned of the method that was used in raiding Mar-a-Lago,” Representative Michael Turner, the committee’s top Republican, told reporters.

If the affidavit remains sealed, “it will still leave many unanswered questions,” Turner added.

In February, Archivist of the United States David Ferriero told House lawmakers that his agency had been in communication with Trump throughout 2021 about the return of 15 boxes of records. He eventually returned them in January 2022.

At the time, the National Archives was still conducting an inventory, but noted some of the boxes contained items “marked as classified national security information.” Trump previously confirmed that he had agreed to return certain records to the Archives, calling it “an ordinary and routine process.” He also claimed the Archives “did not ‘find’ anything.”

Since Monday’s search, the Justice Department has faced fierce criticism and online threats, which Garland have condemned. Trump supporters and some of his fellow Republicans in Washington have accused Democrats of weaponizing the federal bureaucracy to target him even as he mulls another run for the presidency in 2024.

In another matter, Trump on Wednesday declined to answer questions during an appearance before New York state’s attorney general in a civil investigation into his family’s business practices, citing his constitutional right against self-incrimination.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch in Washington; additional reporting by David Morgan in Washington and Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Editing by Will Dunham, Ross Colvin, Jonathan Oatis and Howard Goller)

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By Jarrett Renshaw

CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden plans to travel across the country to tout a series of recent legislative victories on climate change, gun control and drug pricing as a win for Americans and a defeat for special interests, White House officials said on Thursday.

Biden, whose public approval rating rose this week to its highest since early June, plans to use those victories to rally support for Democrats ahead of Nov. 8 midterm elections, White House officials Kate Bedingfield and Anita Dunn wrote in a memo. Republicans hope to take control of the U.S. Congress in November.

The U.S. Senate this week approved a Biden-backed measure to fight climate change, lower drug prices and raise some corporate taxes. The bill, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, is expected to win approval from the House of Representatives on Friday.

After signing the measure into law, Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Cabinet officials will tell Americans throughout the month of August: “The President and Congressional Democrats beat the special interests and delivered what was best for the American people,” the memo said.

“Every step of the way, Congressional Republicans sided with the special interests — pushing an extreme MAGA agenda that costs families,” it said, referring to former President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.

Republicans deny accusations they side with special interest groups representing corporations, while often accusing Democrats of the same. Republican leaders have criticized the $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act, saying it could undermine growth when the economy is in danger of falling into a recession.

(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; Writing by Rami Ayyub; Editing by Frances Kerry)

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By Jarrett Renshaw

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. (Reuters) -President Joe Biden plans to travel across the United States in the coming weeks to tout a series of legislative wins on climate change, gun control and drug pricing in a bid to boost his party’s chances in the looming midterm elections, White House officials said on Thursday.

His Democrats face an uphill battle to retain their narrow control of the House of Representatives and Senate in the Nov. 8 elections. Biden, whose public approval rating rose this week to its highest since early June, plans to use the recent victories in Congress to rally support for Democratic candidates, White House officials Kate Bedingfield and Anita Dunn wrote in a memo distributed to allies in the party and shared with reporters.

They did not specify where Biden would travel, but he is expected in states with hotly contested races including Pennsylvania, Ohio and North Carolina.

The White House in the past has promised other media blitzes as Biden’s team sought to highlight last year’s COVID-19 economic stimulus package, push for infrastructure and other domestic spending plans and convince Americans that the economy was on the right track.

Critics inside the Democratic Party have said those efforts fell short or were sidelined by other events.

“The White House has an impressive track record, but unfortunately many Americans don’t know about it – and that’s a problem,” said a senior Democratic official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Republicans are hoping to ride voter discontent with inflation to victory in November, and they have history on their side. Usually the party that controls the White House loses seats in Congress in the first midterm elections after a presidential election, like this one.

Political analysts have said Republicans are poised to win a majority in the House, but the race for control of the Senate appears much closer. Republican control of one or both chambers could thwart much of Biden’s legislative agenda for the second half of his four-year term.

Democratic victories in recent weeks on major legislative priorities, as well as falling gasoline prices and tempered inflation, have given Biden and his team hope that voters will not turn their backs on the party in November.

“I think people are going to be taking a measure of it in real time,” said a senior White House official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity during a conference call, referring to the choice between Republicans and Democrats in November. “I just don’t see these things as frozen in time.”

Biden spent more than two weeks isolated in the White House after two bouts with COVID-19, and is taking a vacation this week in Kiawah Island, South Carolina.

The Senate this week approved a Biden-backed measure to fight climate change, lower drug prices and raise some corporate taxes. The bill, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, is expected to win House approval on Friday.

After signing the measure into law, Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Cabinet officials plans to tell Americans throughout the month of August: “The president and congressional Democrats beat the special interests and delivered what was best for the American people,” according to the memo.

“Every step of the way, Congressional Republicans sided with the special interests – pushing an extreme MAGA agenda that costs families,” it said, referring to former President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.

Republicans and Democrats traditionally receive millions of dollars in campaign donations from special interest groups each election cycle.

Republican leaders have criticized the $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act, saying it could undermine growth at a time when the economy is in danger of slipping into recession, and were united in opposition in the Senate vote.

(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; Additional reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Rami Ayyub and Steve Holland; Editing by Will Dunham, Frances Kerry and Heather Timmons)

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By Sheila Dang

(Reuters) – Twitter Inc will revive features on the social media site to promote accurate information about the November U.S. midterm election and clamp down on false and misleading posts, the company said in a blog post on Thursday.

Civil rights and online misinformation experts have accused social media and tech platforms of not doing enough to prevent the spread of misinformation, including the idea that President Joe Biden did not win the 2020 election.

Twitter will apply its civic integrity policy, introduced in 2018, to the Nov. 8 midterms when all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are at stake and about a third of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate.

The policy prohibits users from posting misleading content intended to dissuade people from voting and claims intended to undermine public confidence in an election, including false information about the outcome of an election.

Twitter permanently suspended Donald Trump from the service last year, citing the risk of “further incitement of violence” days after supporters of the then-president stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The San Francisco-based company, which has sued billionaire Elon Musk to close his $44-billion agreement to acquire the company, said it conducted tests to prevent misleading tweets from being recommended to other users through notifications.

The tests resulted in 1.6 million fewer views of misleading information per month, Twitter said.

The efforts to fight misinformation, like those during the 2020 presidential election, include information prompts in user timelines to “prebunk,” that is to debunk falsehoods before they spread further online.

(Reporting by Sheila Dang in Dallas; Editing by Howard Goller)

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two key lawmakers asked the U.S. auto safety regulator for a briefing on the agency’s ongoing Tesla Inc investigations into safety concerns involving Autopilot and other advanced driver assistance systems, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

U.S. Senator Gary Peters and Representative Jan Schakowsky, Democrats who chair subcommittees overseeing auto safety, said in the letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) they were raising concerns about Tesla auto safety issues after “federal investigations and recent reporting have uncovered troubling safety issues.”

(Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

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By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Two U.S. lawmakers who chair subcommittees overseeing auto safety asked the federal auto safety regulator for a briefing on its probes into crashes involving Tesla Inc electric vehicles using Autopilot and advanced driver assistance systems, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

U.S. Senator Gary Peters and Representative Jan Schakowsky, both Democrats, said in the letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) they were concerned that “federal investigations and recent reporting have uncovered troubling safety issues” at Tesla.

The lawmakers asked “given the mounting number of fatalities involving Tesla vehicles crashing into tractor trailers … has NHTSA considered opening a defect investigation into this issue?”

The letter added “does NHTSA strike a balance between investigative thoroughness and addressing urgent, emerging risks to motor vehicle safety?” and if the agency has enough resources to properly investigate advanced driver assistance systems.

Tesla did not immediately comment.

Since 2016, NHTSA has opened 38 special investigations of crashes involving Tesla vehicles and where advanced driver assistance systems such as Autopilot were suspected of being used. A total of 19 crash deaths have been reported in those Tesla-related investigations.

Last month, NHTSA said it opened a special investigation into the crash of a 2020 Tesla Model 3 vehicle that killed a motorcyclist in Utah.

In June, NHTSA upgraded its defect investigation into 830,000 Tesla vehicles with Autopilot involving crashes into parked emergency vehicles, a required step before it could seek a recall.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Jonathan Oatis and David Gregorio)

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PHOENIX (AP) — Former longtime Sheriff Joe Arpaio loses race for mayor of Fountain Hills in his third failed comeback bid in Arizona.

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PHOENIX (AP) — Joe Arpaio, the 90-year-old former Arizona sheriff who was a once powerful figure in Republican politics but was ousted nearly six years ago amid frustration over his headline-grabbing tactics and legal troubles, was defeated Wednesday in a race for mayor of the affluent suburb where he has lived for more than two decades.

His defeat in the mayor’s race in Fountain Hills against two-term incumbent Ginny Dickey marks Arpaio’s third failed comeback bid since his 2016 loss after serving 24 years as the sheriff of Maricopa County.

Even though election officials say all votes in Maricopa County have been counted, Arpaio said Wednesday evening that he wasn’t conceding the race and instead was going to consult with an attorney to explore whether to challenge the results.

“I am not saying I am going to do it,” Arpaio said of a legal challenge. “I’m not a lawyer. I just want a little information. In today’s environment, a large percentage of the people are not happy with the way the (election) system was working.”

Dickey didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The political stakes of running in Fountain Hills, a Republican-heavy town of 24,000, were much lower for Arpaio than when he served as the top law enforcer of a county of over 4 million people.

Arpaio was crushed by a Democratic challenger in 2016 and was convicted the next year of criminal contempt of court for disobeying a judge’s order to stop traffic patrols that targeted immigrants, though he was later pardoned by then-President Donald Trump.

Arpaio then finished third in a Republican primary for a U.S. Senate seat in 2018 and second in the GOP primary in a 2020 bid to win back the sheriff’s post.

In his first two comeback attempts, Arpaio lost the vote in Fountain Hills.

Arpaio, a skilled political fundraiser who spent more than $12 million in his 2016 sheriff’s campaign, has shelled out $161,000 in the mayor’s race — six times the amount spent by Dickey.

Before the federal government and the courts stripped away his immigration powers, Arpaio led 20 large-scale traffic patrols that targeted immigrants and more than 80 business raids to bust people working in the United States without permission.

While his defiant streak played well with voters for many years, Arpaio faced heavy criticism for taking on policies that he knew were controversial and racking up $147 million in taxpayer-funded legal bills.

Though he billed himself as the toughest sheriff in America, his agency botched the investigations of more than 400 sex-crimes complaints made to his office.

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RENO, Nev. (AP) — A Nevada judge has dismissed Republican Joey Gilbert’s lawsuit seeking to overturn his loss to Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo in the Republican gubernatorial primary.

Gilbert, a Reno lawyer who was outside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, finished second in the June primary to Lombardo by 11 percentage points, or about 26,000 votes.

He was seeking a recount of ballots by hand that he claimed — without any evidence — would result in him winning the GOP nomination by more than 55,000 votes. Gilbert’s campaign separately had already paid for a recount that showed no change in the overall outcome.

Lombardo, the sheriff in Las Vegas who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, is seeking to unseat first-term Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak in November’s general election in the swing Western state.

Carson City District Court Judge James Wilson announced his decision from the bench during a status hearing Wednesday afternoon. But a formal order had not been issued by the time the clerk’s office closed for the day. The Nevada Independent first reported the ruling.

J. Colby Williams, Lombardo’s lawyer, confirmed in an email to The Associated Press Wednesday night that Judge Wilson “granted our motion for summary judgment today, effectively dismissing the case with prejudice, and directed us to submit a proposed order (to) that effect, which we’ve done.”

“We cannot comment further until the court issues its written order,” Williams wrote.

Lombardo declined to comment on the judge’s ruling in a brief campaign statement emailed to The Associated Press, saying: “It’s time to take our state back.”

Gilbert didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

A former boxer who enjoyed support from the GOP’s far-right wing, he campaigned on false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, something Lombardo never claimed.

Gilbert’s lawsuit filed last month in state district court in Carson City was based primarily on mathematical formulas and algorithms that he said showed the results certified by every county in the state were erroneous and a “geometric impossibility.”

Gilbert said earlier this month he would never concede the primary election to Lombardo. He maintained that his challenges to the outcome were not about his loss but election integrity overall.

His lawsuit was based largely on the false assumption that a fair election would result in each candidate’s vote total being divided roughly proportionally equal to the others in terms of whether the ballots were cast by mail, in-person during early voting and in-person on election day.

Gilbert’s refusal to concede was denounced by many high-profile Republicans. Nevada GOP chairman Michael McDonald said Gilbert had a right to file the lawsuit, but he wished he’d abandon the effort and unite with other Republicans in support of Lombardo’s campaign.

Former U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, who lost his seat to Democrat Jacky Rosen in 2018 and finished third in this year’s primary for the GOP gubernatorial primary in June, said recently that lawsuits like the one Gilbert filed are “almost always counterproductive and can do serious damage to the reputation of the Republican Party.”

Heller was Nevada’s secretary of state when he oversaw the most famous recount in the state’s election history in 1998, when Democratic Sen. Harry Reid defeated Republican John Ensign by 428 votes in a recount that lasted six weeks after Election Day results showed Reid winning by 459.

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Gabe Stern, a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative, contributed to this report. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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(This Aug 9 story corrects Rebecca Kleefisch’s title to show she is a former, not current, lieutenant governor)

By Joseph Ax

(Reuters) – Republican voters in Wisconsin and Minnesota on Tuesday nominated abortion foes for governor, ensuring the issue will be central to what are expected to be two of the most high-profile races in November’s general election.

In Wisconsin, Republican construction magnate Tim Michels will face Democratic Governor Tony Evers, Edison Research projected, while in Minnesota, former Republican state Senator Scott Jensen will challenge Democratic Governor Tim Walz.

Michels’ nomination also represented a victory for former President Donald Trump, whose endorsement of Michels – along with millions of dollars in campaign spending from Michels’ personal wealth – helped propel him past former Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch. Kleefisch, once seen as the favorite, had the backing of key establishment Republicans, including Mike Pence, Trump’s estranged former vice president.

Michels has falsely asserted that Trump, rather than Democratic President Joe Biden, won the state’s 2020 election, echoing the former president’s claims. He has also vowed to enforce a 19th-century abortion ban that went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court in June eliminated a nationwide right to the procedure.

With a Republican-majority legislature, Michels could push through new abortion restrictions if elected. Democratic incumbent Tony Evers and his administration have filed litigation challenging the 1849 law while promising not to prosecute doctors who violate it.

In Minnesota, Jensen, who has also cast doubt on the seriousness of COVID-19, has said he would seek to ban most abortions. Minnesota has become a haven of sorts for residents of neighboring states where abortion bans went into effect after the Supreme Court ruling.

Last week’s Kansas ballot, which saw about 60% of voters support abortion rights, has raised Democrats’ hopes that the issue will mobilize their base and attract votes from independents and moderate Republicans. This follows the Supreme Court’s overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide in 1973.

Unlike the Kansas initiative, which was open to voters of all parties, Tuesday’s Republican primaries will reflect the preference of just Republican voters.

SENATE MAJORITY AT STAKE

In addition to a high-profile gubernatorial race, Wisconsin will also host a crucial Senate contest in November. Democrats on Tuesday nominated Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes to challenge U.S. Senator Ron Johnson, perhaps the most vulnerable Republican senator running for re-election this year.

Barnes, who scored endorsements during the primary campaign from liberal U.S. senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, would be the state’s first Black senator.

The battle for Johnson’s seat could determine which party controls the Senate. The chamber is split 50-50 with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris casting tie-breaking votes.

While it is unclear whether Democrats will be able to hold their razor-thin Senate majority, Republicans are favored to win back control of the U.S. House of Representatives, which would enable them to block much of Biden’s legislative agenda and initiate politically damaging investigations.

For much of the year, Biden’s sagging popularity coupled with persistent inflation have weighed on Democrats’ chances. But the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, completed on Tuesday, showed Biden’s approval rating rose for a third straight week to 40% – still historically low but at the highest level since early June after a string of Democratic legislative victories.

Wisconsin’s Senate and gubernatorial elections this year could serve as a preview of 2024, when Wisconsin will likely again be a major swing state in the presidential election. Trump, who still asserts falsely that Biden’s statewide win in 2020 was fraudulent, has strongly hinted that he intends to run again.

Republicans on Friday named Milwaukee as the site of their 2024 national convention, underscoring the state’s strategic importance.

Trump has endorsed hundreds of candidates this year in an effort to exert his influence over the Republican Party. Many of his picks, mostly incumbents, have prevailed, though some have not.

Minnesota also held a special election on Tuesday for the U.S. House seat left vacant when Republican Jim Hagedorn died in February after a battle with cancer.

Republican Brad Finstad, a former agriculture official in the Trump administration, won that race by defeating Democrat Jeff Ettinger, a former CEO of Hormel Foods, to keep Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District in Republican hands, Edison Research projected.

In the state’s 5th Congressional District, Ilhan Omar, one of the most prominent liberal voices in Congress, survived an unexpectedly strong challenge from fellow Democrat Don Samuels, Edison projected.

Voters in Connecticut and Vermont were also choosing nominees for congressional and statewide races.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Scott Malone, Cynthia Osterman, Ross Colvin and Daniel Wallis)

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