Trump news latest news: Ex-president bragged Patriots’ Bill Belichick ‘kissed
Stormy Daniels obliquely denies having written statement on Trump affair
As a US congressional committee prepares to investigate Donald Trump’s handling of administration documents after 15 boxes of records were transferred from his Mar-a-Lago residence.
The former president insists he was “under no obligation” to hand over any materials – despite laws requiring him to do exactly that.
Mr Trump also reportedly used a secret service agent’s phone to call Melania Trump after news of his alleged affair with Stormy Daniels broke in 2018, it was revealed on Sunday.
CNN reported that the agent was not pleased that his phone was used in this manner.
“Unusual gaps” in Mr Trump’s White House phone log have frustrated the 6 January select committee that is investigating the Capitol riot as well.
On Friday, the former president had lashed out at the committee, saying it was “out of control” and revived baseless voter fraud narratives.
He also attacked journalist Maggie Haberman over reporting from a forthcoming book about his term in office. Then, on Saturday morning, he described his presidency to Fox News as a “romantic period.”
“Our country was thriving. We were just beating everybody,” the former president said.
Senior Biden aide quits White House
A top White House staffer in the communications department announced her resignation on Monday.
The departure of the staff member, Mariel Saez, is only notable because of just how few staffers have left the White House under Joe Biden’s leadership since he took office in January of 2021. Ms Saez is one of just a handful of high-profile departures, with the only other significant recent change being the resignation of Dr Eric Lander, Mr Biden’s top science and technology adviser, after an investigation found that he bullied staff.
Vice President Kamala Harris’s office has seen a handful of departures as well, including that of her chief spokeswoman Symone Sanders, amid reports of friction between the two offices. The White House has publicly denied that any such friction exists.
By contrast, the Trump administration saw a whirlwind of departures over the course of the four years Donald Trump was in office, culminating in a final wave of resignations in the hours after the January 6 attack on Congress.
Read more from The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg:
John Bowden14 February 2022 18:52
DC drops mask mandate a day after Biden stresses importance
In what ended up being embarrassing timing for the White House, Washington DC’s Mayor Muriel Bowser announced an impending end to both the city’s vaccination and mask mandates for businesses and other venues on Monday — less than a day after President Joe Biden expressed their importance during a nationally-televised interview.
The changes will bring an end to the requirement that residents and visitors wear masks in restaurants, bars, shops and other buildings. Masks will still be required in government buildings and on public transit.
Just a day earlier, Mr Biden had stressed that mask-wearing was not an issue of personal freedom, given the risk an unmasked and/or unvaccinated person can…
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