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1 Rep. George Santos Pleads Not Guilty To 13-Count Federal Indictment
New York Representative George Santos was arrested yesterday morning after being indicted on 13 federal charges. Santos pleaded not guilty at his arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Arlene Lindsay and was released on a $500,000 bond after surrendering his passport. The 13-count indictment from a federal grand jury includes seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives, and one count of theft of public funds. After his arraignment, Santos spoke with reporters and said it’s his “right to fight to prove my innocence,” and accused the Justice Department of leading a “witch hunt” against him. When asked if he still planned to run for reelection to his seat, he responded with “Yes,” before adding that “Reelection is a very far time away.” Santos is also under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, and many legislators have called for him to resign, including other Republicans in the New York delegation. He told reporters yesterday that he will not resign.
2 There Were No Surprises During CNN's Town Hall With Trump
Former President Donald Trump seemed like his old self during last night’s town hall on CNN. Trump didn’t shy away from legal dramas or his opinions on several issues. CNN’s Kaitlan Collins pushed back against Trump’s statements several times, with the former president not swaying from his statements. Here are some of the topics former President Trump talked about in front of a room full of Republicans, with many of his answers bringing cheers and applause from the attendees: When asked about the verdict issued by a New York jury on Tuesday that he was liable for sexual abuse in the case brought by advice columnist Jean Carroll, Trump denied the accusations, saying “This woman, I don’t know her. I never met her. I have no idea who she is.” Trump responded to a question about whether the verdict would hurt him with female voters by saying that he doubted it. One of the largest problems in the federal government at the moment is the crisis over raising the debt ceiling. When asked what he thought should be done, Trump said that if Democrats didn’t agree to massive budget cuts, “you’re going to have to do a default.” When asked about his previous statements that the debt ceiling shouldn’t be used in negotiations, he replied “I was president then, now I’m not.” Trump said he would return to a family separation immigration policy if he’s reelected, saying, “When you say to a family that if you come, we’re going to break you up, they don’t come.” On the war between Ukraine and Russia, Trump wouldn’t say who he wanted to see win, and instead focused on people being killed in the conflict. “I don’t think in terms of winning and losing. I think in terms of getting it settled so we stop killing all these people.” He went on to say he would end the war “in 24 hours” if were to win in 2024. One question he didn’t give a clear answer to was about his stance on a federal abortion ban. He bragged about the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last year as “such a great victory,” but said he supports exemptions to abortion bans for cases of rape, incest, and when the life of the mother is in danger. Despite those answers, he never confirmed he would sign a federal abortion ban into law as president.
3 Title 42 Ends At Midnight
The pandemic-era Title 42 immigration policy that was put into place to change the way immigrants were dealt with is set to expire tonight at 11:59 p.m. at the same time the national COVID public health emergency ends. The original Title 8 law will go back into effect when Title 42 expires, which gives immigrants a legal path to enter the country. Officials had previously warned that the end of the law could see 10,000 migrants crossing the border every day, but the number has already topped 11,000 per day. The expiration of the policy may not lead to a big change in the situation at the border. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz said yesterday that only 17% of Tuesday’s border crossers were subject to Title 42 and says that the end of Title 42 may not have as much of an impact on immigrant numbers as has been projected.