Donald Trump Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins found herself desperately searching her memory on CNN for one trade deal the president has pulled off when asked about his boast in a Time magazine interview.

Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union," with host Dana Bash, the very talkative Rollins responded to a question about Trump's much derided "200 deals" boast that has since fallen apart by promising something might be coming soon.

"The president told Time magazine, quote, 'I have made 200 deals," Bash pointed out to her guest. "He didn't give us any details about what those could be, what countries he's talking about. Has he actually inked any trade deals and with whom?"

Rollins first pivoted to an earlier discussion about the price of eggs –– a hot topic in the 2024 election –– which led host Bash to interrupt with, "Let's focus on the trade and on the deals."

"Yes, for sure," Rollins replied. "On the deals, we have 100 countries that are knocking on the door, I believe. I'm not in the room, I'm not negotiating the trade deals, but my understanding is we should have several this week that are coming forward that are very, very close."

" China is a very important one," he quickly added. "Every day we are in conversation with China, along with those other 99 countries that have come to the table. Many countries have already flown to Washington and are meeting with [Commerce] Secretary Lutnick, meeting with [Treasury] Secretary Bessent, meeting with our USTR Jamison Greer. And there is a tremendous amount of progress on all fronts that we'll see again more this week."

Pressed by Bash, "You said that there are talks with China every day. Who are the talks with and at what level because the Chinese are saying that's not true," Rollins demurred.

"Well, according to our team in Washington, the conversations are ongoing regarding multiples of trade," she attempted. "But here –– multiples of the trade goods that are coming out and going in –– but the bottom line with China is this they need us more than we need them. They need our money, they need our markets, they need our consumers and all of the above. So the president has been, I believe, exactly correct. I mean, he is the ultimate dealmaker."

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Attorney General Pam Bondi may come to regret approving and then boasting about the arrest of a Wisconsin judge on Friday for allegedly trying to shield an immigrant from being scooped up by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) outside her courtroom.

That is the opinion of ex-U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance who appeared on MSNBC Saturday morning to poke holes in the DOJ's case against Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan, with Vance calling the arrest outrageous and unlikely to lead to a conviction.

Speaking with the hosts of MSNBC's "The Weekend," Vance lambasted Bondi for running to Fox News to hype up the arrest where she told hosts, "We are going to prosecute you, and we are prosecuting you. I found out about this the day it happened. We could not believe, actually, that a judge really did that. We looked into the facts in great depth… You cannot obstruct a criminal case. And really, shame on her. It was a domestic violence case of all cases, and she's protecting a criminal defendant over victims of crime."

ALSO READ:Violent J6er who broke into Capitol announces run for Congress in East Texas

According to Vance, the arrest, with the judge photographed being taken into custody in handcuffs had little to do with "protecting a criminal defendant" than it did as a warning to other judges to not buck Donald Trump's policies.

Noting that the DOJ report on the arrest was at odds with what Bondi was claiming, the former prosecutor claimed it will likely come back to haunt the attorney general doing Trump's dirty work.

"This is all in violation of very clear DOJ policy," Vance accused. "You're not permitted in a case of an indictment or a complaint to go to the press and talk about anything that's not in the four corners of the document, because it prejudices the defendant's rights."

"We will probably see a motion to dismiss this case outright," she then asserted before continuing, "If this was a normal Justice Department. Pam Bondi, [FBI director] Kash Patel, anybody else who was talking about this case on national TV would be referred to the Office of Professional Responsibility for disciplinary action"

"This is not a functional Justice Department," she added. "So the dirty laundry will come out in the wash in these proceedings, where the facts just don't add up."

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Following his appearance at the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday, where he was called out in a homily, Donald Trump jumped onto Truth Social to lash out at the New York Times and, in particular, reporter Peter Baker.

In his long tirade, the president took extreme exception to a Saturday report by Baker about negotiations involving Ukraine where the status of Crimea has become a sticking point.

In his rant, the president accused Baker and the New York Times of having it all wrong and accused them of giving former President Barack Obama a pass on the annexation of Crimea by Russia.

ALSO READ: 'Retribution or bust’: 'Secretary of Retribution' joins J6 leaders to demand mass arrests

As he wrote, "No matter what deal I make with respect to Russia/Ukraine, no matter how good it is, even if it’s the greatest deal ever made, The Failing New York Times will speak BADLY of it. Liddle’ Peter Baker, the very biased and untalented writer for The Times, followed his Editor’s demands and wrote that Ukraine should get back territory, including, I suppose, Crimea, and other ridiculous requests, in order to stop the killing that is worse than anything since World War II."

He then added, "Why doesn’t this lightweight reporter say that it was Obama who made it possible for Russia to steal Crimea from Ukraine without even a shot being fired. It was also Liddle’ Peter who wrote an absolutely fawning, yet terribly written Biography, on Obama. It was a JOKE! Did Baker ever criticize the Obama Crimea Giveaway? NO, not once, only TRUMP, and I’ve had nothing to do with this stupid war, other than early on, when I gave Ukraine Javelins, and Obama gave them sheets."

"This is Sleepy Joe Biden’s War, not mine," he accused. "It was a loser from day one, and should have never happened, and wouldn’t have happened if I were President at the time. I’m just trying to clean up the mess that was left to me by Obama and Biden, and what a mess it is. With all of that being said, there was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days. It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through 'Banking' or 'Secondary Sanctions?' Too many people are dying!!!"

You can see his post here.

On Saturday morning, MSNBC host Katie Phang invited Guardian reporter Hugo Lowell on to discuss his new report on the turmoil at the Pentagon under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and quickly singled out a startling revelation of an accusation of cocaine use.

With Hegseth under the gun for what has been dubbed "Signalgate," new revelations that he included his wife, brother and lawyer in a separate Signal chat where he discussed war plan, and use of an unsecured internet commercial "dirty line" from his Pentagon office, Lowell reported that fighting among dismissed Hegseth aides has also gotten messy.

According to his report, the DOD has been "marked for weeks by ugly internal politics" with his now-ousted chief of staff Joe Kasper pointing the finger at the departed Dan Caldwell, deputy chief Darin Selnick and chief to the deputy defense secretary Colin Carroll, with them reciprocating.

ALSO READ:'All hands on deck': Democrats unleash new strategy to derail Trump

According to MSNBC host Phang, what she fund intriguing was a passage where Lowell wrote, "The tensions among the former aides have continued since their collective ouster. Carroll has considered filing a defamation suit against Kasper and started making calls on the Monday after he was fired, asking people whether Kasper had ever been seen doing cocaine in a previous job. Kasper has complained that some of the calls went to his wife and previous clients, asking rhetorically to associates how he would have been able to hold a security clearance and pass regular drug tests."

"Your piece that just came out this morning is fantastic, but there was something that stuck with me was pretty hardcore," Phang prompted her guest. "I mean, Hugo, this is the Department of Defense, this is national security, this is the welfare of not only our armed forces and the people that are sacrificing to be able to defend us, but it's our safety. And this is the type of insanity that's going on under Pete Hegseth's's tenure."

"It was Colin Carroll, the chief of staff of the deputy secretary, who in the wake of his firing, you know, he was basically bundled out of the Pentagon along with two other aides who were seen as antagonistic or at odds with the chief of staff at the Pentagon, Joe Kasper and what we have seen in the days since is this kind of continuation of that interpersonal conflict," Lowell responded.

"And so the Monday, after Colin Carrol was was fired –– he was fired on the Friday –– he was busy calling up people around Kasper's life, including his wife and his in-laws and, and kind of former clients trying to chase down a tip that Kasper may have, been using cocaine in a previous job. and he claimed it was because he was trying to do research for his defamation suit," he elaborated.

"Now, we should say, you know, Joe Kasper, the chief of staff who has since left that role in the wake of all of this as well, he has strenuously denied using any cocaine," the Guardian reporter cautioned "And when reached by phone yesterday, told us that, you know, it's so 'egregiously. stupid' that I'm, you know, getting mired into this stuff and how could I have held a security clearance for so long if I was actually doing drugs? But the wider point is correct."

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According to administrators and former workers who kept Veterans Administration hospitals up, running and meeting the needs of U.S. veterans, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has brought nothing but disaster to their mission.

A deep dive from the New York Times reveals that deep cuts, firings and buying freezes have created a "chaotic ripple effect" leading to, among other problems, clinical trials being suspended due to a lack of support and personnel.

According to the report, changes coming from the Trump administration have "disrupted studies involving patients awaiting experimental treatments, forced some facilities to fire support staff and created uncertainty amid the mass cancellation, and partial reinstatement, of hundreds of contracts targeted by Mr. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency."

That, in turn, has k led some Republican lawmakers to express alarm at the DOGE overreach, with the Times reporting Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) admitting, "We want to make sure veterans get the care they need.”

According to the Times' Roni Caryn Rabin and Nicholas Nehamas, "Among the 2,400 employees fired from the V.A. since Mr. Trump’s inauguration are workers who purchase medical supplies, schedule appointments and arrange rides for patients to see their doctors. Many are veterans themselves. All were ' probationary' employees, meaning they were relatively new on the job and had fewer legal protections. Some may be reinstated, pending court action."

The report notes that one critical problem brought about by the cuts is the suspension of critical trials, "one of the agency’s core missions, offering veterans early access to cutting-edge treatments that are still in clinical trials."

However, the Times is reporting, "Mr. Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order freezing government hiring cut off many of the V.A.’s critical research staff midway through studies, said Rashi Romanoff, the chief executive of the National Association of Veterans’ Research and Education Foundations, an association that supports partnerships between the veterans department and nonprofits."

You can read more here.

Donald Trump's chaotic rush to push through a wave of changes to the government via executive orders is hitting "a wall" with judges who are already expressing anger and frustration in their rulings.

That is according to a report from Politico's Kyle Cheney who noted that over nine judges across the country have entered the fray as the president and his appointees conduct their "shock and awe" campaign to upend democratic norms.
According to the report, Trump's agenda suffered several body blows on Friday when Trump appointee, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, temporarily shut down efforts by the president and Elon Musk to place 2,200 USAID employees on leave. That was followed by Judge Paul Engelmayer halting Musk and his young DOGE staffers from rifling through sensitive Treasury records.

As Cheney noted, in some of the rulings there is an undercurrent of "visceral fury" aimed at the Trump administration.

Longtime U.S. District Judge John Coughenour, a Ronald Reagan appointee, took umbrage at a plan to undermine birthright citizenship and pointedly wrote in his ruling, "It has become ever more apparent that to our president, the rule of law is but an impediment to his policy goals. The rule of law is, according to him, something to navigate around or simply ignore.”

"Coughenour’s stunning assessment of a sitting president was also a stark contrast to the GOP-led Congress’ gentle compliance with Trump’s efforts to dramatically expand the powers of his office," Politico's Cheney wrote before adding, "For now, the initial decisions to slow down the onslaught are having widespread effects, forcing federal agencies to disclose more details about their opaque plans for the workforce, establishing guidelines for the handling of sensitive government data that Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” has been gobbling up and raising sharp questions about Trump’s effort to impound swaths of government spending authorized by Congress."

You can read more here.

MAGAland voters who are now unhappy with Donald Trump's appointees running roughshod over the government with billionaire Elon Musk and his DOGE workers doing the most damage, got no sympathy from MSNBC's Michael Steele on Saturday morning.]

With co-host Symone Sanders Townsend pointing out that many Americans are just now finding out how dependent they are on federal employees and government policies that impact their daily lives, Steele stepped in.

"It hurts, it hurts a lot of people, it hurts a lot of families," he offered." And you know, I know from some folks in MAGAland that I've talked to who are now sitting there going, 'Well, I didn't think, I didn't think that it would go here. I didn't think it would be like this.'"

"And I was like, 'I don't know what to tell you, boo!'" he continued while laughing and then adding, "The man told you this! What you want to do? What do you think being a dictator for one day meant?"

"Let's go back, I don't know, five years, six years," he later added. "Donald Trump has always told you what he wants to do, and he tells you because he doesn't think you can stop him. And so it was very important to understand what leveling up Project 2025 was all about."

"Keep in mind they backtracked on Project 2025 because they got called out on it," he continued. "If no one had focused on a 900-page policy paper, trust me, right now you'd be going, everybody would be going, 'Where? What Project? 2025?' But you knew. You knew, you had it."

Watch below or at the link.

Reporting from Tel Aviv, an obviously distressed Yasmin Vossoughian of MSNBC stated the feeling on the ground from where she was standing was that Donald Trump's comments about the U.S. taking control of Gaza could lead to a new war.

At a Tuesday press conference Tuesday the president blurted out, "The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too," before later adding, "We'll own it."

Speaking with the co-hosts of MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Vossoughian began by stating, "I think it is important to be frank about the situation here in the Middle East. It feels as if Donald Trump has literally dropped a nuclear bomb."

ALSO READ: Top GOPer's ‘most immediate’ priority for new committee includes probing a MAGA conspiracy

"Donald Trump campaigned on getting the United States out of foreign wars," she added. "It feels as if, after yesterday evening standing aside Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu that Donald Trump may very well have gotten the United States into another war."

"This is the type of rhetoric that will unite, that can feasibly unite, the Middle East," she added. "We have heard from MBS [Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud] of Saudi Arabia denouncing what Donald Trump has said. We have heard, obviously, from Islamic militants, from the Palestinian Authority to Islamic Jihad to Hamas, who have all understandably denounced what Donald Trump has said."

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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt did not take kindly on Wednesday when a reporter asked her about Donald Trump's plans to occupy the Gaza Strip and spend billions remaking it into the "Riviera of the Middle East."

In a clip shown on CNN, Leavitt was asked how Trump's Gaza vision squares with the "America First" policies he rode to re-election.

Leavitt immediately dismissed the question and claimed Trump's comments were part of the "out of the box" thinking his supporters admire.

"I would reject the premise of your question that this forces the United States to be entangled in conflicts abroad," she snapped. "The president has not committed to putting boots on the ground in Gaza. He has also said that the United States is not going to pay for the rebuilding of Gaza."

"His administration is going to work with our partners in the region to reconstruct this region. and let me just take a step back here, because this is an out-of-the-box idea," she lectured. "That's who President Trump is, that's why the American people elected him and his goal is lasting peace in the Middle East for all people in the region."

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MSNBC host Jen Psaki made her way through a history of presidential inaugurations that were held in extreme cold before suggesting Donald Trump pulled the plug on his for alternative reasons.

With the president-elect's team moving the proceedings to the toastier confines of the Capitol, leaving a multitude of MAGA supporters out in the cold, Psaki first pointed out the late President Jimmy Carter wasn't deterred when "when temperatures dipped below 30 degrees."

As she noted, "It's going to look a lot different than the first time around, in large part because it will take place inside. The Trump team pointed to the frigid forecast as the reason for moving it indoors," before adding, "Yes, it is indeed going to be frigid here in Washington tomorrow."

ALSO READ: Inside the parade of right-wing world leaders flocking to D.C. for Trump's inauguration

She added, "Barack Obama, when wind-chills were in the teens and nearly 2 million people still gathered? It was cold. very cold, I can promise you. Heck, I mean, JFK didn't even wear an overcoat when the high was 26 degrees and there were eight inches of snow on the ground."

"So sure, they say it's the weather," she continued. "I have a hunch crowd size anxiety might just be a factor -- who knows?" she smirked.

You can watch below or at the link.

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Following the closure of TikTok late Saturday night, Donald Trump jumped on his Truth Social account to throw his support, once again, behind the embattled social media platform.

Hours before the platform was supposed to shut down, the ownership pulled the plug themselves with a message now popping up that saysd, in part: "Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now,” before adding, “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”

President-elect Trump returned the message in kind on Truth Socials, simply writing: "SAVE TIKTOK!"

Not all of his supporters agreed in the responses with more than a few leery of the Chinese connection.

As T.W. Fuller, who claims, "Conservatism is moving America forward," wrote, "Save America first, then we can worry about what happens to TikTok. But if TikTok is to be saved, make it American owned, and make it safe for everyone who uses it."

"Only if China doesn’t own it, I don’t want them to steal my information," added Rich Rhonda whose bio reads, "Jesus is my King.Trump is my President."

"Please enforce the law. No mercy for TikTok. Red book, lemon 8, etc. should be banned, or forced to divest also," begged CedarRockSC who has praised Trump's alliance with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Kamala Harris critic GiaB, accused, "That tells the American people you’re kissing Chinese ass!"

"Was @realDonaldTrump hacked?" asked Kristine.Thomas11.

"LET TIKTOK BURN TO HELL IF CCP is NOT selling to USA Investors STOP BEING CHILDISH. TIKTOK IS AN EVIL DATA COLLECTION APP THAT IS DESIGNED TO DESTROY MIND & SOUL OF USA IDIOTS THAT USE IT WAKE UP & DONT MAKE THE MISTAKE Anything China is out to destroy USA," raged ChiefO, whose avatar is a shot of Trump pumping his fist after the Pennsylvania assassination attempt.

Constitutional Conservative cinciclone agreed and added, "It's not Tiltok that needs saved... IT'S THE CONSTITUTION!!!"

Donald Trump may find himself sitting on pins and needles waiting for the Senate to vote on his Cabinet nominees because Senate Democrats are still seething over how Republicans treated President Joe Biden's selections four years ago.

That is according to a report from Politico's Ursula Perano and Jordain Carney, who are reporting that only Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is slated for a quick vote with the other nominees being slow-walked when it comes to confirmation votes.

Noting that Rubio faces little to no opposition, largely because he is one of the Senate's own, the report notes that there are a variety of reasons for delaying votes on other Cabinet selections ranging from missing paperwork, hearings that have been postponed and plans by Democrats to refuse to "yield debate time on Trump’s most controversial nominees."

According to the report, "Democrats are wary of giving Republicans more help than they got on confirming President Joe Biden’s Cabinet picks on Jan. 20, 2021 — when Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines was the only nominee to get through that day. Senate Democrats had allowed two Cabinet confirmations for Trump in 2017, for Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly."

One Democratic senator claimed that, this time, turnabout is fair play even when it comes to Trump's less controversial nominees.

"Were Republicans accommodating?” noted Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) before observing, “When Republicans change tradition and precedent here, they have to understand, that comes with consequences.”

Case in point, Trump's highly troublesome nominee to be secretary of defense, Fox News personality Pete Hegseth, who is beset with accusations of public drunkenness and sexual assault, could see the Senate "hold a vote on his nomination Monday evening, but Democrats aren’t expected to assent to an immediate floor vote given the controversy around his nomination."

“I expect our Democratic friends will delay it to the extent to which they are free to do under the rules. Wednesday, Thursday perhaps,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) conceded.

Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) a fierce Hegseth critic responded, "We’ve made it clear we feel that there’s more information that should be provided, and not just for our benefit, but for our Republican colleagues too."

Additionally, "Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi likely won’t see confirmation until the week after next under a timeline described Thursday by Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley. That’s because the panel’s Democrats can request a one-week delay of any nominee placed on the committee’s agenda, which is expected to happen at an initial panel meeting next week," Politico is reporting.

You can read more here.

For the second time in a week, MSNBC host Joe Scarborough got into an argument with one of his regular "Morning Joe" panelists which led, in this case, to co-host Mika Brzezinski interceding and taking the show to commercial.

Last week Scarborough got into an argument with fellow MSNBC host Michael Steele over the effectiveness of being civil with Donald Trump with Steele at one time telling his counterpart, "I'm telling you something you seem to forget –– so, let me make my point, you may not like it, but I'm going to make it."

On Wednesday it was Scarborough battling with Financial Times columnist and Morning Joe regular Ed Luce over President Joe Biden's capabilities in his final days in office, with Scarborough insisting his interview with the outgoing president showed a man more than able to fulfill his duties and Luce pointing out that Biden has slipped.

ALSO READ: Fox News has blood on its hands as Trump twists the knife

"Did he occasionally jumble a few words or a few names? Yes," Scarborough conceded. "But he corrected those as well. So after two, two and a half, three hours of it with him in the White House, going all over the White House, I did not see that."

With Luce responding that foreign leaders he spoke with "did not see that," he continued, "I think that people, you know, who are getting older and have waning energy and vitality can go in and out. They can have strong moments, they can have weak moments. I think, though, the key thing here was that the debate last June occurred several days after Biden had been traveling and wasn't considered to be shocking by a lot of the people I know in various circles around the White House, that that was the performance that reflected Biden's mental powers at the time. so I think the American public had it right."

"I'm sorry, wait, wait, I've got to interrupt you again and again, and you and I are very good friends but I've got to stop you right there," Scarborough interjected. "I've had in-depth conversations with people in the White House before, during and after who are still trying to figure out what happened that night."

"Joe, I'm not making stuff up here. I talk to people who know Biden as well, and I can assure you, I had many conversations over the previous couple of years about his declining energy, his declining memory, his increasingly short daily schedule to accommodate his declining memory and energy. So, you know, I'm not pulling this out of thin air," Luce protested.

"No! We're not saying that," the Morning Joe host exclaimed.

"Let me interrupt again," co-host Mika Brzezinski said as she stepped into the fray. "We're going to keep you here and continue this conversation after a quick break, because I think one of the answers is that two things can be true at the same time, but let's take a quick break."

Following the commercial break, Scarborough issued a mea culpa and stated he in no way was accusing his guest of making his story up.

You can watch below or at the link right here.

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Fox News personality Pete Hegseth's appearance before a Senate committee on Tuesday, as he seeks approval to become Donald Trump's secretary of defense, got a thumbs down on MSNBC Wednesday morning.

After sharing clips of the embattled Hegseth attempting to blow off credible accusations of public drunkenness and sexual improprieties, "Morning Joe" co-host Joe Scarborough singled out what he called an "outrageous lie" from the Trump nominee.

Beginning by stating Hegseth and the GOP senators indulged in enough "misinformation" to fill the morning show's entire four hours, he focused on Hegseth saying the job finally requires someone with "dust on their boots" –– implying former defense secretaries lacked his experience.

ALSO READ: Fox News has blood on its hands as Trump twists the knife

"This idea, Republicans that we need somebody with dust on their boots and this position and the suggestion that we haven't had people with dust on their boots in this position is either willfully lying or willfully ignorant," he told the panel.

"We have had actually some of the most decorated, heroic, brave, battle-tested men that have been holding the top positions over the past 4 to 8 years in the military and yes, women as well that have been there," he continued. "So the idea that this is some feel good exercise ignores the fact that whether from 'Mad Dog' Mattis to General [Mark] Milley, you have people that have been fighting and in Iraq and Afghanistan were there at the worst times in Fallujah."

"We've just got to go full stop because I'm sick and tired of people tearing down the men and women in uniform that are protecting us," he stated before later adding, "This insult that somehow our military is weak and woke is just an outrageous lie and it's an insult to our men and women in uniform."

You can watch below or at the link.

Multiple Democratic senators are pointing with alarm at what they believe are gaps in information provided by the FBI on one of Donald Trump's most controversial Cabinet nominees.

According to a report from the New York Times, the slim information provided on Fox News personality Pete Hegseth, chosen to be the president-elect's secretary of defense, does not include examinations of information they have been provided directly.

Hegseth is facing a slew of questions over accusations of sexual assault, excessive drinking and financial improprieties while heading up several veterans organizations.

ALSO READ: Trump intel advisor Devin Nunes still dismisses Russian election meddling as a 'hoax'

According to the Times, with Hegseth scheduled for a confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Democrats are questioning whether the nominee has received enough scrutiny in the short time allowed.

The Times is reporting, "several Democrats on the panel expressed concerns that they might not have relevant information for Mr. Hegseth’s confirmation hearing on Tuesday," adding, "Democrats on the committee believe there are additional allegations that should appear in the pages of an F.B.I. background check, to inform their questioning. That belief is based in part on information they have gleaned from individuals who have quietly approached Senate offices to divulge information about Mr. Hegseth."

Referring to outside information he has received, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) stated, “Damning is an understatement,” and suggested he feels what he has seen so far gives the "appearance of a cover-up."

Sen Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) also weighed in, pointing out, "I need to see his F.B.I. background check, we need to see his financial disclosures. And we need to know about any other potential lawsuits he might be facing, any other allegations he might be facing.”

The NYT report adds, "F.B.I. officials began calling and interviewing witnesses to Mr. Hegseth’s behavior last month, asking, among other subjects, whether Mr. Hegseth abused alcohol. But it not clear how many witnesses they reached, or how forthcoming those witnesses were."

You can read more here.

During an appearance on MSNBC's The Weekend," a former FBI general counsel urged the release of special counsel Jack Smith's final report on his investigation into Donald Trump stealing government documents and suggested it could contain "interesting details" that could have a bearing on one of his Cabinet picks.

Speaking with the hosts, Andrew Weissmann explained that he was interested in seeing what Smith found which could have a bearing on the nomination of Kash Patel to be the next FBI director.

"Basically on Monday, unless things change, the temporary stay that Judge [Aileen] Cannon issued is over," he began. "She shouldn't have even issued that with respect to either part of the report, but certainly the January 6th part is not a case that's in front of her."

ALSO READ: Trump intel advisor Devin Nunes still dismisses Russian election meddling as a 'hoax'

"So by Monday, unless things change, we should see that report related to the January 6th investigation, and there could be interesting new details in that report," he continued. "With respect to the Mar-a-Lago part, the classified document part, I think that is something really worth keeping our eye on because there could be lots of information in there, not just about Donald Trump and why he did what he did, but also about Kash Patel, who is reported to have gone to the grand jury and has said that he was there when Donald Trump allegedly declassified everything."

Watch below or at the link:

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Donald Trump's 2024 presidential election win is creating havoc in his hometown of Palm Beach as supporters and supplicants invade the town causing traffic problems for some of the wealthy denizens who don't appreciate the crowds and the traffic they bring.

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Trump making his Mar-a-Lago resort his home after he bolted out of New York City has created problems for the beach community that has only grown since he was re-elected.

The report notes the Secret Service shutdowns of main routes about town has riled longtime residents –– in particular some of the wealthier ones who are not used to being inconvenienced.

Also read: 'Bring it on': Defiant Raskin responds to GOP threats of retaliation for J6 investigation

As the Journal's Holly Peterson wrote, "New security measures, introduced after the assassination attempts over the summer, have made travel by air, land and sea in Palm Beach a testing affair whenever Trump’s in town. The president-elect now crosses blockaded bridges like Brezhnev’s Soviet convoys speeding through Moscow’s emptied thoroughfares."

The report adds that some trips that "once took nine minutes can now take an hour, depending on the time of day," with Peterson reporting, "This means the billionaires with estates within this mile-long zone need a special pass to get home. Everyone else living or working on either side of this zone has to drive over a drawbridge to the mainland, then back over another drawbridge onto the island again."

According to Tom Quinn who has maintained a home there for five decades, "The number one topic at any meal is parking and traffic. Wealthy people are used to paying their way out of travel inconveniences. When they can’t, they blow their top.”

The report adds that complaints reached such a fever pitch that "Local officials have threatened to shut down Mar-a-Lago or yank the special agreements that allow for parties there."

That led Palm Beach Mayor Danielle Moore to assert at a town meeting, "In my mind, if the road is closed, the Mar-a-Lago Club is closed.”

You can read more here.

In a rare combative moment on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Michael Steele battled with co-host Joe Scarborough over the effectiveness of being "civil" with Donald Trump with the two talking over each other as the rest of the panel held their tongues.

With the conversation turning to Trump's interactions with former President Barack Obama at Thursday's Jimmy Carter funeral service, Scarborough maintained that it is important to keep the lines of communication open with the president-elect –– likely in reference to his own controversial meeting, along with wife and co-host Mika Brzezinski, with Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

That set off a dispute with Steele, the co-host on MSNBC's "The Weekend" where Scarborough kept talking over his guest who wasn't having it.

ALSO READ: Trump intel advisor Devin Nunes still dismisses Russian election meddling as a 'hoax'

"Joe, you had your moment, let me just finish my point," Steele admonished Scarborough. "I get that, but I'm telling you something you seem to forget –– so, let me make my point, you may not like it but I'm going to make it and the reality of it is, I take your civility argument, you like to say 78 million people voted for Donald Trump, well 82 million people voted for Joe Biden and he didn't get that civility that you're talking about from Donald Trump in those four years."

"So now the expectation is, because he has won again and he's got 78 million people, we all have to be civil to Donald Trump, well okay, I'm prepared to be civil ––." he added only to have Scarborough to interrupt him with, "Nobody said that."

"You did!" the former RNC head shot back.

Scarborough then continued to talk over Steele, claiming, "I didn't say everybody has to stay civil."

"But the reality is, no, you are using the term civil, I'm using your term, you put civility on the table," Steele parried as Scarborough once again talked over him.

"But, Joe, I'm just saying –– fine, I'm not talking about that," Steele explained. "My main point is, everybody is looking at this from a one-way perspective; how we need to approach Donald Trump, how is he approaching us? The man wants to lock up citizens, the man wants to turn the government against them, how are we supposed to respond to that? Are we supposed to be civil?"

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Reacting in real-time as Donald Trump's sentencing hearing on 34 felony counts was ongoing, an MSNBC legal analyst admitted she was "legally shocked" at how the president-elect conducted himself.

With Trump appearing in Judge Juan Merchan's courtroom via video feed, the hosts on MSNBC read texts from producers in the courtroom and related that Trump chose to challenge his convictions that now make him a felon when he was already notified he would face no penalties.

According to former prosecutor Kristin Gibbons Feden, she could understand why the convicted Trump would want to push back, but was nonetheless still surprised he did.

ALSO READ: Revealed: The secret Republican plot to disenfranchise millions of voters

"Actually what stands out to me is, while I am legally shocked, I'm personally not surprised," she admitted. "I'm surprised that Donald Trump exercised his right of allocution. The right of allocution is a right that is promised to every single criminal defendant, right before they are sentenced by a judge to offer some type of self-advocacy, contrition, something to say, 'Hey, I'm remorseful for what I did.'"

"Doesn't sound like that's what happened today," MSNBC host Ana Cabrera interjected.

"Not. At. All," Gibbons Feden replied. "And again, most defendants who have made clear that they intend to appeal any conviction don't really exercise that right of allocution, and here Donald Trump did."

"The reason why I'm legally shocked is because he really didn't need to," she elaborated. "Judge Merchan already stated that he intended to not really give him a sentence, that unconditional discharge, which means you have the conviction, but you have no jail time, you have no parole, you have no probation, you have no fine. You essentially get to walk home, unlike most other criminal defendants."

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The entire panel on MSNBC's "The Weekend" reacted with disgust on Sunday over a report that Donald Trump held a secretive ceremony at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday night where he celebrated the work done by one of the lawyers who tried to get the 2020 election overturned.

On Sunday morning Vaughan Hilyard of NBC News reported that the celebration was not advertised in advance and the press was excluded, but comments Trump made were leaked where he praised attorney John Eastman as film clips were shown documenting his attempts to get former Vice President Mike Pence to not certify the 2020 election.

During the evening, Trump told the gathering, "I'm a big fan of John Eastman. Y'know, he was right. He happened to be right. That's why they changed the law and nobody wants to talk about that...They said he's not allowed to do it, he's not allowed to do it, and they convinced him he's not allowed to do it –– our vice president –– then right after the election they changed the law so he can't do it."

Also read: 'Bring it on': Defiant Raskin responds to GOP threats of retaliation for J6 investigation

"What was the sense in this room, what was the purpose of this gathering, is it just an in-your-face-moment or just a tale of things to come?" co-host Michael Steele asked.

"Right, let's be very clear," Hilyard replied. "There's no coincidence that this event in which he welcomed not only John Eastman, but Michael Flynn, and Jeffrey Clark, the man that urged the DOJ to put off all statements about the 2020 election, and they were up onstage, Rudy Giuliani was up onstage, and Peter Navarro, who spent time in prison for not complying with the subpoena from the January 6th committee, and they were watching a film that was a documentary about John Eastman."

That led co-host Symone Sanders Townsend to blow up.

"Let's just say... let's just put a finer point on it, this is sickening!" she exclaimed. "This is sickening, I am sick. Peter Navarro, Jeffrey Clark, the people that went to the Capitol to take up arms against the United States government, because the president at the time lied to them, that's what happened."

"Those are not patriots," she continued. "What Donald Trump did last night is a disgrace to the country and Constitution, and the fact that they didn't tell anybody about it lets you know that they knew what they were doing was untoward, and they wanted to do it anyway."

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Donald Trump's return to the Oval Office will find him confronting quite a different world than when he left after losing re-election in 2020 and there are warning signs already on the horizon he may find what worked for him before won't work this go-around.

According to a report from the Washington Post's Dan Balz, foreign policy experts are warning the president-elect that he will find working with foreign adversaries much more difficult and facing what one analyst called, "an axis of resistance" from countries such as Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.

According to Daniel Benjamin, president of the American Academy in Berlin, "That is now a hard and fast reality.”

Benjamin added, "Trump’s old playbook involved making believe that, on any given day, he could strike an amazing deal with any of them and be the opposing leader’s best friend. Think back to that wacky personal diplomacy with Kim Jong Un. That won’t cut it now.”

As Balz wrote, "Trump could quickly be drawn into foreign policy challenges. He will confront a world of chaos and conflict: a prolonged war in Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin more hostile than ever, and the Middle East still in turmoil after more than 15 months of warfare, with Iran weakened, Syria without Bashar al-Assad and Israel stronger militarily but scarred internationally because of its conduct in the war in Gaza."

'"They say, Trump begins with some clear assets to enhance his ability to shape events around the world but with perhaps less room for swagger," Balz added, before pointing out that "Robin Niblett, a distinguished fellow at Chatham House, a London-based think tank, noted, in a more dangerous world, 'the cost of throwing his weight around could be greater.'"

You can read more here.

Reacting to Judge Juan Merchan compelling Donald Trump to undergo a sentencing hearing next week related to his multiple hush money convictions, former RNC chair and current MSNBC host Michael Steele stated that the president-elect will never shed the stain of being known as a convicted criminal.

Acknowledging the president-elect will not be getting any jail time, as Merchan indicated in his Friday ruling, Steele said the judge's maneuvering left Trump with nowhere to go to clear his name and that is entirely appropriate.

As he explained to his MSNBC co-hosts, "But here is the beauty. That is why I keep saying those two words: 'still convicted.'"

ALSO READ: Merrick Garland's last task and the explosive evidence that could save America

"When the jury says you are guilty, that is the seminal moment in any criminal case is when the jury of your peers say, 'You did it and you are guilty for it.' When the judge comes back and goes, ''Okay, they found you guilty, you are guilty. I've got a range of things I do to you,' and all the judge is saying, 'Okay, I will acknowledge the fact you are now coming in in a week's time as the new president of the United States ––you are still convicted. I may not fine you, I may not give you jail time, but you will not be able to erase what that jury did.

"By the judge saying what he is saying, that is an important piece," he added. "So everyone don't get tripping out about 'Oh, my god. He didn't give him any time, he's not making him pay.' He's still convicted. Two words, baby, that's all it takes."

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A panel discussion on MSNBC's "The Weekend" was disrupted with laughter on Saturday morning after co-host Symone Sanders Townsend read a post that Donald Trump had just put up on Truth Social moaning about how he has been treated.

In the midst of a discussion on a ruling from Judge Juan Merchan that Donald Trump will still have to sit for a sentencing hearing next week even though it has been implied he will see no jail time, Sanders Townsend pointed out the the president-elect was addressing it at the same time on his main social media platform in two rambling posts.

With Sanders Townsend reading from the Trump post, dryly telling her co-hosts, "The president-elect has thoughts on his social media site. –– he is not happy about this," she then did a dramatic reading of Trump claiming, "There has never been a President who was so evilly and illegally treated as I. Corrupt Democrat judges and prosecutors have gone against a political opponent of a President, ME, at levels of injustice never seen before."

ALSO READ: Poor Trump supporters are about to get a rude awakening — but we shouldn't be celebrating

"In case it wasn't clear!" co-host Alicia Menendez laughed at Trump's mention of "me."

That led co-host Michael Steele to interject, "Me! I'm the president! Waaaaa, waaaaa."

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MSNBC "Morning Joe" co-host Jonathan Lemire did not hold back on Friday morning calling out Donald Trump for failing to walk back his complaints about President Joe Biden's administration about national security by using the New Orleans attack and Las Vegas Tesla explosion on the country's border policies.

In a series of posts on Truth Social following the two incidents, the president-elect raged at Democrats, the FBI and the DOJ, and claimed the incidents had something to do with undocumented immigrants.

After reading Trump's posts, Lemire made it clear that both perpetrators were Americans who also both served in the U.S. Army.

ALSO READ: Merrick Garland's last task and the explosive evidence that could save America

Then he laid into Trump.

"Let's be clear yet again," Lemire explained. "This terrorist suspect was born in Texas, U.S. citizen, served in the Army, seems to have nothing to do with the border, but yet the fear-mongering here from Trump and his fellow Republicans, including the man who in a few hours wants to retain his post as House Speaker, goes on unabated and, frankly, strikes me as dangerous."

After pointing out that president-elect has made no effort to correct the record, he added, "I mean, it is a lie, and it's also the latest in a pattern of Donald Trump being unable to make a mistake. You know, in the hours after the attack, there was erroneous reporting elsewhere that suggested that this attack may have had something to do with the border. He seized on that, made that the narrative."

"That reporting had to be retracted, officials have cleaned it up, we know it's nothing to do with it, but he can't let it go," he explained. "He is trying to use it for his political purposes, no matter –– even though it could hinder the investigation and certainly could leave other people vulnerable because of his dangerous rhetoric."

"This man is about to be president again, dealing with outright lies on national security issues. It is deeply, deeply dangerous," he added.

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Confronted by the possibility of a revolt by far-right House members against re-electing House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), the GOP leadership is considering taking emergency measures to assure the certification of the votes for Donald Trump as president next week.

According to a report from CNN, there is a consideration of an "emergency break glass option" on the table designed to go around the lack of a speaker if one is not voted in on Friday.

As it stands now, there is one definite no vote on Johnson from Rep. Tom Massie (R-KY), with as many as 14 more House Republicans who are on the fence about handing the gavel back to the Louisiana conservative.

ALSO READ: Merrick Garland's last task and the explosive evidence that could save America

With that in mind, there is consideration being given to calling an emergency session –– the "break the glass" scenario –– that would allow the Trump presidential certification to proceed four years after it was disrupted by supporters of the losing Trump who stormed the Capitol and forced lawmakers to flee for their lives.

However, as CNN is reporting, that "special" session may not come to pass because it "would be a tough sell for many institutionalist Republicans."

RELATED: Former law review editors lay out roadmap for not certifying Trump's win

Should it not come to pass, the slim Republication majority may just wait up the speaker leadership squabble knowing they have until Jan. 20 when the inauguration ceremony is scheduled.

You can read more here.

Donald Trump ended his New Year's Day going on the attack after the attack in New Orleans in the early morning followed by a Tesla Cybertruck blowing up in front of his Las Vegas hotel, which together seem to have rattled him as he demanded the CIA become involved in domestic affairs.

Taking to his Truth Social account late in the evening, the president-elect pointed fingers in multiple directions and stuck to his guns blaming everything going wrong in the country on Democrats and the country's law enforcement apparatus.

On Truth Social, he wrote, "Our Country is a disaster, a laughing stock all over the World! This is what happens when you have OPEN BORDERS, with weak, ineffective, and virtually nonexistent leadership. The DOJ, FBI, and Democrat state and local prosecutors have not done their job. They are incompetent and corrupt, having spent all of their waking hours unlawfully attacking their political opponent, ME, rather than focusing on protecting Americans from the outside and inside violent SCUM that has infiltrated all aspects of our government, and our Nation itself."

ALSO READ: Merrick Garland's last task and the explosive evidence that could save America

He then continued, "Democrats should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this to happen to our Country. The CIA must get involved, NOW, before it is too late. The USA is breaking down - A violent erosion of Safety, National Security, and Democracy is taking place all across our Nation. Only strength and powerful leadership will stop it. See you on January 20th. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

Hours later, at approximately 1AM, he posted, "TRUMP WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING!"