1 Battle of the Billionaires? Bloomberg Reportedly Planning To Run
Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg is reportedly going to jump into the Democratic presidential race. According to sources, the billionaire businessman is planning to file for Alabama's Democratic primary – and the state’s deadline for filing is today. Here’s the thing, Bloomberg has previously toyed with the idea of launching a presidential run, but said earlier this year that he wasn’t interested. And just because he’s filing doesn’t mean he’s definitely “in,” it just keeps the door open for him to pursue the concept. Still...all signs are that he’s jumping in – sources say he's "tired of being an almost ran" and that he realize this is the last opportunity he'll have. Them consider the statement made to “Politico” by his spokesman, Howard Wolfson. "We now need to finish the job and ensure that Trump is defeated — but Mike is increasingly concerned that the current field of candidates is not well positioned to do that," Wolfson notes. "If Mike runs he would offer a new choice to Democrats built on a unique record running America’s biggest city, building a business from scratch and taking on some of America’s toughest challenges as a high-impact philanthropist."
2 State Dept Official Hits Giuliani In Impeachment Deposition
Veteran diplomat George Kent is accusing President Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, of leading a campaign of lies and incorrect information about ousted U.S.-Ukraine Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch. In newly-released transcripts of his deposition in the House impeachment inquiry, Kent said Giuliani's assertions were without basis and "untrue, period." To review, Kent is a deputy assistant secretary of state and an expert on Ukraine and Russia. Apparently, he also raised concerns about Giuliani's efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate Democrats and said he was subsequently sidelined in deliberations on Ukraine. We’ll learn more next week as Kent is scheduled to testify in the first public hearing of the impeachment investigation on Wednesday. A statement from Democrats leading the impeachment probe says Kent "recognized the impropriety of pressuring Ukrainian officials to undertake politically-motivated investigations to help President Trump's re-election prospects in 2020."
3 Judge Orders Trump To Pay $2M Dollars In Dispute Involving Trump Foundation
President Trump must pay a two-million-dollar judgment for misusing his now-shuttered Trump Foundation money to help pay for his 2016 presidential campaign. The ruling came as part of a settlement in a case that was brought by the New York Attorney General's office – which resulted from the televised fundraiser for veterans held in 2016.
The two-million-dollar award will be divided by collection of other nonprofit organizations. This, everyone can agree on. What isn’t? Trump admitting that he pilfered money from anywhere for his campaign. In a statement, the Attorney General’s office notes: “Trump and the Foundation have admitted key facts about their illegal political coordination with the Trump campaign, including that a purported Foundation fundraiser in January 2016 was in fact a campaign event, and that Foundation gave the Trump campaign complete control over the timing, amounts, and recipients of the $2.8-million raised through that event. Mr. Trump further admits that he and his campaign took credit for the grants that the Foundation made with funds that had been raised from the public. Justice Scarpulla noted in her decision that “Mr. Trump’s campaign, rather than the Foundation: (1) ‘planned’ and ‘organized’ the Fundraiser; and (2) ‘directed the timing, amounts, and recipients of the Foundation’s grants to charitable organizations supporting military veterans.’”
What’s Mr. Trump say? In short, that the AG is lying...and that he’s clean. Lashing out on Twitter, the President accuses New York’s Attorney General of “deliberately mischaracterizing” a settlement in a lawsuit involving his charity for “political purposes.” “I am the only person I know, perhaps the only person in history, who can give major money to charity ($19M), charge no expense, and be attacked by the political hacks in New York State,” he offers. “Every penny of the $19 million raised by the Trump Foundation went to hundreds of great charitable causes with almost no expenses.”