Trump’s former counsel Don McGahn testifies to House panel
WASHINGTON — Former White House counsel Donald McGahn was questioned for hours Friday by House Judiciary Committee Democrats about the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and whether then-President Donald Trump tried to head it off.
Few explosive or timely new revelations were expected from the closed-door interview. But McGahn’s appearance marks the end of a two-year legal standoff over whether an executive branch official can be forced to testify to Congress, even if his appearance does not provide either side with a clear-cut legal victory.
Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, and other panel members from both parties were limited in what they could ask McGahn under an “agreement in principle” worked out among McGahn’s lawyers, President Joe Biden’s Justice Department and House legal counsel.
A transcript of McGahn’s testimony is supposed to be publicly released within seven days. But Nadler said he was unsure when it would be made public because it first will be reviewed by lawyers for the Justice Department, Trump and McGahn.
McGahn left his job as White House counsel in October 2018 and is now a partner at the law firm of Jones Day. He did not return a telephone call to his office on Thursday.
—Bloomberg News
MyPillow lawsuit claims potential loss of $2 billion due to 'conspiracy'
MINNEAPOLIS – MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell is suing a pair of election machine manufacturers as part of his ongoing legal battle over debunked claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
In an 82-page complaint filed in Minnesota federal court this week and laced with Orwellian and science-fiction references, Lindell accused Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic of "weaponizing the litigation process to silence political dissent and suppress evidence showing voting machines were manipulated to affect outcomes in the November 2020 general election."
Lindell remains one of the most prominent purveyors of the discredited theory that election machines were rigged and hacked to steal votes away from former President Donald Trump in favor of President Joe Biden last year.
State and federal election officials, the U.S. Department of Justice and intelligence community all concluded that no widespread fraud occurred in the 2020 election. Judges nationwide have meanwhile dismissed dozens of court challenges that sought to overturn the 2020 election results.
Earlier this year, Dominion filed a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C., against both Lindell and his Chaska-based MyPillow company over Lindell's claims, which recycled allegations that originated elsewhere and were broadcast in multiple "docu-movies" Lindell produced.
The new lawsuit filed on behalf of Lindell in Minnesota federal court this week repeats many of the allegations outlined in a similar suit filed by MyPillow in April. Lindell has also asked a judge to dismiss Dominion's defamation suit.
In the complaint, his attorneys estimated that he could lose up to $2 billion in damages related to Dominion's and Smartmatic's "collective role in their conspiracy and enterprise to harm him."
—Star Tribune
NYC mayor candidate facing new sexual misconduct allegations, report says
NEW YORK — A former Manhattan bartender accused Scott Stringer on Friday of forcibly kissing and groping her at a watering hole he used to own on the Upper West Side nearly three decades ago — the second woman to come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against the mayoral hopeful.
Teresa Logan, now 47, told The New York Times that Stringer subjected her to the unwanted advances while she was working for him in the spring of 1992 at Uptown Local, a since-shuttered bar on First Avenue that he co-founded and helped run.
Logan, who was 18 at the time of the alleged incidents, said she was motivated to come forward after hearing about Jean Kim, a former aide on Stringer’s 2001 public advocate campaign who has also accused him of unwanted sexual advances.
“It was like this trigger,” Logan told the newspaper of Kim’s claims. “There’s like a visceral feeling hearing her on the news, and him, and hearing her and knowing she was right. I was like, I know I have to do this.”
Stringer, who lost a number of high-profile endorsements after Kim’s accusations surfaced last month, did not deny Logan’s allegations.
“While I do not remember Ms. Logan, if I ever did anything to make her uncomfortable, I am sorry,” Stringer said.
—New York Daily News
‘Drake & Josh’ star Drake Bell charged with crimes against children
Former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell, who played Drake in the teen sitcom “Drake & Josh,” was arrested in Ohio and charged with crimes against children, police told the New York Daily News on Friday.
The actor faces one count of attempted endangerment of a child and one count of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, though it was not immediately clear what prompted those charges.
Court records show Bell was indicted May 21 and taken into custody Thursday over a December 2017 incident in Cleveland. He’s out on $2,500 bond and is expected to face a judge June 23, according to Cuyahoga County Clerk of Courts.
Bell, 34, has pleaded not guilty.
The Santa Ana, California, native, whose legal first name is Jared, starred in the popular Nickelodeon show from 2004 to 2007. He’s also a musician and had a recurring role on Amanda Bynes’ variety series “The Amanda Show.”
This is not the first time the actor is accused of breaking the law. In 2015, he was sentenced to four days behind bars for driving under the influence. It was his second DUI conviction in six years.
—New York Daily News
