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Parents sue TikTok after daughter dies attempting ‘blackout’ social media challenge

July 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A Wisconsin family is suing TikTok after their 9-year-old daughter died attempting the so-called “blackout challenge” popularized on social media.

Arriani Jaileen Arroyo died by asphyxiation on Feb. 26, 2021. Now, her family, along with the parents of 8-year-old Lalani Walton of Texas, who also died of asphyxiation by strangulation on July 15, 2021, have come together with the Social Media Victims Law Center to file a lawsuit against TikTok on behalf of their daughters.

“This is not easy, to wake up every day and know that your little girl is never coming back,” Arriani’s mother Christal Arroyo Roman told ABC News’ Good Morning America on Saturday. “You’re never gonna hear her voice, you’re never gonna see her smile or hear her say ‘I love you.'”

Arriani was everything to her family. Her mother said she was an intelligent and stylish little diva who loved doing nails, dancing, and would give the coat off her back to those she loved. Like many children across the country, she also enjoyed following social media trends, including food challenges and learning new dances.

“We just never thought that there was a darker side to what TikTok allows on its platform,” Roman said.

In the wake of the two girls’ deaths, the Arroyos and Walton’s family are calling on TikTok for answers. The Arroyos told ABC News the families are speaking out in hopes of preventing other children from falling victim to the same crushing fates as their daughters.

“We just want people to be aware, because we don’t want no other children out there to be a statistic of this situation again,” Arriani’s father Heriberto Arroyo Roman said. “We want to make sure that we can save other kids.”

According to the June 30 lawsuit filed by the Social Media Victims Law Center on behalf of the families, multiple children from different states and countries died last year by asphyxiation after attempting the same “blackout challenge” — in which children choke themselves until they pass out — allegedly suggested to them on their TikTok “For You” pages.

The lawsuit specifically claims that “at all times relevant, TikTok’s algorithm was designed to promote ‘TikTok Challenges’ to young users to increase their engagement and maximize TikTok’s profits.”

It also claims the company was aware that some of the challenges allegedly being promoted to young people could be deadly, but that it did not act to correct the problem.

“TikTok outrageously took no and/or completely inadequate action to extinguish and prevent the spread of the Blackout Challenge and specifically to prevent its algorithm from directing children to the Blackout Challenge, despite notice and/or foreseeability that such a failure would inevitably lead to more injuries and deaths, including those of children,” the lawsuit reads.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, different versions of the challenge — sometimes referred to as the “choking game” — have existed for years and predate social media. But the lawsuit claims TikTok’s endless timeline algorithm has exposed children to those trends with deadly results.

Matthew Bergman, founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center and the lead attorney on the case, told ABC News that the lawsuit is focused on TikTok’s concerns for profitability, allegedly without regard for the harmful effects its engineering may have on the platform’s youngest users.

“This is a case about saving kids,” Bergman said. “Let’s be clear, children are sent to these challenges by the TikTok algorithms. This is not an accident and it’s not a coincidence.”

Bergman and the Arroyo family claim tragic events like Arriani’s and Lalani’s deaths were predictable and preventable by TikTok, which they claim promotes “engineered addiction,” according to the lawsuit complaint.

“Engineered addiction,” as defined by the lawsuit, is a familiar feature across many popular social media platforms and includes “bottomless scrolling, tagging, notifications, and live stories.”

“TikTok engineers its social media product to keep users, and particularly young users, engaged longer and coming back for more,” the complaint alleges.

Reached for comment, a TikTok spokesperson pointed ABC News to a statement the company released last year about the challenge but did not address allegations that the platform algorithms directed children to dangerous content.

“This disturbing ‘challenge,’ which people seem to learn about from sources other than TikTok, long predates our platform and has never been a TikTok trend. We remain vigilant in our commitment to user safety and would immediately remove related content if found. Our deepest sympathies go out to the family for their tragic loss,” the previous statement read.

Currently, searching the “blackout challenge” hashtag on TikTok redirects users to the application’s community guidelines, which is typically done when certain hashtags are related to harmful activities.

Experts warn of danger of gamification of disturbing trends online

Dr. Dave Anderson, a clinical psychologist from the Child Mind Institute, warned parents about risks to talk about with young kids who are on social media.

“If you see something online and you see people framing it as fun or a challenge or something interesting, you’re sort of gamifying the particular thing and decreasing people’s perception of the risks,” Anderson said, speaking with GMA on Saturday. “So calling it a ‘blackout’ challenge is branding.”

Linda Charmaraman, Ph. D., a senior research scientist at the Wellesley Centers for Women and director of the Youth, Media & Wellbeing Lab, specializes in the research of early childhood adolescence and said monitoring is not enough because even the most “carefully watching parent” can miss a crucial moment in which a young child may be influenced to harm themselves by social media.

“[Children] have this trust that nothing bad’s gonna happen to them,” Charmaraman told ABC News. “And they don’t think as carefully as somebody who’s two years older or four years older, that there could be consequences not just on their physical health but their mental health, on their spiritual health.”

Charmaraman suggested parents “keep having dialogues and enlist their village” to engage in conversations with children about the content they consume on social media platforms to help keep them safe.

“It’s not a one big talk kind of situation,” Charmaraman said. “It’s an ongoing kind of exploration and partnership.”

What to know about Paxlovid, the COVID-19 therapy that Biden is taking

July 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — When White House officials announced President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 Thursday, they revealed he was prescribed Paxlovid.

Here’s what to know about the COVID-19 treatment:

Paxlovid is an at-home antiviral therapy developed by Pfizer, which was authorized under emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for those aged 12 and older at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19 in December 2021.

High-risk patients included those with underlying medical conditions, and those who are older or unvaccinated.

Clinical trial data showed Paxlovid reduced the risk of hospitalization and death for high-risk patients with mild-to-moderate symptoms by nearly 90%.

Paxlovid was hailed a game-changer because it was the first COVID-19 treatment that did not require an infusion, making it more convenient to give to patients.

The treatment is made up of two medications: ritonavir, commonly used to treat HIV and AIDS, but helps boost levels of other antiviral medications, and nirmatrelvir, an antiviral that works to inhibit an enzyme the virus uses to make copies of itself. Together, these drugs work to prevent the spread of the virus throughout the body.

Patients take three pills — two nirmatrelvir pills and one ritonavir pill — twice daily over the course of five days and it requires a prescription.

Side effects are rare but include an altered sense of taste, nausea, diarrhea, muscle aches and abdominal pain.

Doctors have said Paxlovid is most effective when given as soon after a diagnosis of COVID-19 as possible. Taking it later during the course of the illness may result in the drug not being as effective.

Paxlovid is not meant to be taken as a prophylactic after exposure to COVID-19 or if a patient is already hospitalized.

In May, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an advisory, warning doctors to be on the lookout for a rare, but increasingly reported phenomenon known as “COVID-19 rebound.”

COVID-19 rebound has typically been reported to occur among patients who took Paxlovid between two and eight days after recovery. Patients either experience a recurrence of COVID-19 symptoms or test positive after having tested negative.

“Limited information currently available from case reports suggests that persons treated with Paxlovid who experience COVID-19 rebound have had mild illness; there are no reports of severe disease,” the CDC wrote.

Trader Joe’s recalls popular snickerdoodle cookies over possible contamination

July 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Trader Joe’s announced this week that it is recalling its popular soft-baked snickerdoodle cookies, citing possible plastic contamination.

“We have been alerted by our supplier of Trader Joe’s Soft-Baked Snickerdoodles (SKU# 94075, BB (Best By) Date 02/03/2023) that product with the aforementioned Best By Date may contain hard plastic pieces,” the retailer said in a statement on its website on Wednesday.

According to the store, there have been no injuries reported so far, and all of the potentially affected product was removed from sale.

“If you purchased any Soft-Baked Snickerdoodles, please do not eat them. We urge you to discard the product or return it to any Trader Joe’s for a full refund,” the company added. “We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.”

Questions may be directed to Trader Joe’s Customer Relations by phone at(626) 599-3817, Monday through Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Customers can also send an email using the form on the Trader Joe’s website.

As Mashed reported on Thursday, the snickerdoodles are made by the manufacturer Enjoy Life Natural Brands and sold under the Trader Joe’s label.

Enjoy Life issued a separate voluntary recall on June 30 for “a limited quantity of a select list of baked snacks products due to the potential presence of hard plastic pieces.”

Those items include the company’s Soft Baked Snickerdoodle, Chocolate Chip, Double Chocolate Brownie, Sunseed Butter Chocolate Chip and Monster Cookies. The company’s Sunseed Crunch and Caramel Blondie Chewy Bars were recalled as well, along with the brand’s Rich Chocolate and Salted Caramel Life Brownie Bites.

Enjoy Life Soft Baked Fruit & Oat Breakfast Ovals in flavors Apple Cinnamon, Chocolate Chip Banana and Berry Medley were affected by the recall, as were the company’s Soft Baked Cookies – Amazon Variety Packs.

Full product codes, photos and “Best By” dates for the recalled Enjoy Life products can be found on the Food and Drug Administration’s website.

“There have been no reports of injury or illness received by Enjoy Life Foods to date related to these products,” the company said in a press release. “Consumers who have this product should not eat it and should discard any product they may have but should keep any available packaging and contact the company at 1 (855) 543-5335, 24 hours a day to get more information about the recall and how to receive a refund.”

Former Minneapolis police officer Thomas Lane sentenced in George Floyd killing

July 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(ST. PAUL, Minn.) — Former Minneapolis police officer Thomas Lane was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison in a federal court on Thursday morning for violating George Floyd’s civil rights.

Lane, 39, is one of three former Minneapolis police officers who were convicted earlier this year of depriving Floyd of his right to medical care as the handcuffed, unarmed 46-year-old Black man was pinned under the knee of their senior officer, Derek Chauvin, for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020. Floyd’s videotaped killing in Minneapolis sparked anti-racism protests and calls for police reform across the United States and around the world.

Lane’s former Minneapolis police colleagues, 28-year-old J. Alexander Kueng and 35-year-old Tou Thao, were also convicted of failing to intervene to prevent Chauvin, 46, from applying bodily injury to Floyd. Lane, who was heard on video twice asking his fellow officers whether they should turn Floyd onto his side, did not face that charge. Chauvin knelt on the back of Floyd’s neck, while Kueng knelt on his back, Lane held his legs and Thao kept bystanders away.

During their trial in February, Lane, Kueng and Thao each took the witness stand and attempted to shift the blame to Chauvin, who was a 19-year veteran of the Minneapolis Police Department. Lane told the jury that Chauvin “deflected” all his suggestions to help Floyd, while Kueng testified that Chauvin “was my senior officer and I trusted his advice” and Thao attested that he “would trust a 19-year veteran to figure it out.”

The jury handed down convictions after deliberating for roughly 13 hours.

Magnuson has not yet set sentencing dates for Kueng and Thao.

Lane faces a separate sentencing in state court on Sept. 21, after changing his plea to guilty to a reduced charge of aiding and abetting manslaughter. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors agreed to dismiss the top charge against him of aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder, according to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.

Thao and Kueng, who have rejected plea deals offered by prosecutors, are scheduled to go on trial in state court on Oct. 24 over charges of aiding and abetting both second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Earlier this month, Chauvin was sentenced to 21 years in prison on separate federal civil rights charges in Floyd’s killing and in an unrelated case involving a Black teenager. He had already been sentenced to 270 months, minus time served, which equals about 22 1/2 years in prison, after being convicted in state court last year of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

BBC issues apology to royal family for infamous Princess Diana interview

July 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — The BBC has formally apologized to members of the royal family for the bombshell 1995 interview between the late Princess Diana and then-BBC journalist Martin Bashir.

A report last year found that Bashir had “deceived and induced” Diana to obtain the interview.

The network issued the apology to Prince Charles and Princes William and Harry on Thursday. It was delivered by Tim Davie, director-general of the BBC, who said in a statement the outlet would “never show the programme again … nor will we license it in whole or in part to other broadcasters.”

“It is a matter of great regret that the BBC did not get to the facts in the immediate aftermath of the programme when there were warning signs that the interview might have been obtained improperly,” Davie stated.

“Instead, as The Duke of Cambridge himself put it, the BBC failed to ask the tough questions,” he continued. “Had we done our job properly Princess Diana would have known the truth during her lifetime. We let her, The Royal Family and our audiences down.”

More than 23 million people watched the Panorama interview that Bashir did with Diana, who died just two years later, in August 1997, after a car crash in the Pont D’Alma tunnel in Paris. William and younger brother Harry were 15 and 12, respectively, when their mother died.

Diana’s comments in that interview about her marriage to Prince Charles and his alleged affair with his now-wife Camilla, the duchess of Cornwall, sent shock waves throughout the world — and the royal family. Diana and Charles divorced just one year after the interview aired, in 1996.

Despite vowing to never re-air or distribute the interview again, Davie said Thursday that “it does of course remain part of the historical record and there may be occasions in the future when it will be justified for the BBC to use short extracts for journalistic purposes, but these will be few and far between and will need to be agreed at Executive Committee level and set in the full context of what we now know about the way the interview was obtained.”

“I would urge others to exercise similar restraint,” he added.

After last year’s report, which was released following an inquiry by Lord Dyson, William and Harry issued statements reacting to the news.

“It is my view that the deceitful way the interview was obtained substantially influenced what my mother said. The interview was a major contribution to making my parents’ relationship worse and has since hurt countless others,” William said at the time. “It brings indescribable sadness to know that the BBC’s failures contributed significantly to her fear, paranoia and isolation that I remember from those final years with her.”

“But what saddens me most, is that if the BBC had properly investigated the complaints and concerns first raised in 1995, my mother would have known that she had been deceived,” he added. “She was failed not just by a rogue reporter, but by leaders at the BBC who looked the other way rather than asking the tough questions.”

Harry issued his own statement on the matter.

“Our mother was an incredible woman who dedicated her life to service. She was resilient, brave, and unquestionably honest. The ripple effect of a culture of exploitation and unethical practices ultimately took her life,” he said.

“To those who have taken some form of accountability, thank you for owning it,” he continued. “That is the first step towards justice and truth. Yet what deeply concerns me is that practices like these — and even worse — are still widespread today. Then and now, it’s bigger than one outlet, one network, or one publication.”

“Our mother lost her life because of this, and nothing has changed,” Harry concluded. “By protecting her legacy, we protect everyone, and uphold the dignity with which she lived her life. Let’s remember who she was and what she stood for.”

President Biden tests positive for COVID-19

July 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 for the first time Thursday morning, his office said.

Biden, 79, has “very mild symptoms” and is taking Paxlovid, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

Biden is experiencing a dry cough, runny nose and fatigue, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said. The physician to the president, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, said Biden’s systems started Wednesday evening.

The president went to bed feeling fine but didn’t sleep well and subsequently tested positive in the morning, Jha added.

Jean-Pierre said an update will be provided every day as Biden “continues to carry out the full duties of the office while in isolation” at the White House.

Close contacts, “including any Members of Congress and any members of the press who interacted with the President during yesterday’s travel,” will be informed on Thursday, Jean-Pierre said.

Biden traveled to Somerset, Massachusetts, on Wednesday where he announced executive actions to address climate change. The president greeted Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska at the White House on Tuesday.

“He has been in contact with members of the White House staff by phone this morning, and will participate in his planned meetings at the White House this morning via phone and Zoom from the residence,” Jean-Pierre said.

The president will work in isolation until he tests negative, she said.

Biden was last tested for COVID-19 on Tuesday, when he tested negative, she added.

Biden is fully vaccinated and received two boosters; his second booster shot was March 30.

First lady Jill Biden tested negative Thursday morning in Detroit and will keep her full schedule in Michigan and Georgia through the day, her office said. She will continue following CDC guidance with masking and distancing, her office said.

ABC News Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton said the biggest factor in treatment will be the president’s age.

“That is why,” she said, it’s “no surprise that he’s being treated with the antiviral pill Paxlovid. It’s been shown in clinical trials to be 89% effective in reducing the risk of severe COVID-19 illness, meaning hospitalization or death.”

Ashton stressed, “He is going to be closely monitored at the White House by the personal physician of the president, and if anything looks like it is going in the wrong direction, I absolutely expect that he would be hospitalized, if nothing else than for more close observation. But remember, the White House is not like your home or my home — they can do a lot of medical monitoring and observation and testing right there.”

Former President Donald Trump was briefly hospitalized at Walter Reed Medical Center in October 2020 after he tested positive for COVID-19.

Paxlovid, an antiviral pill developed by Pfizer, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for those aged 12 and older in December 2021.

Patients take three pills twice daily over the course of five days. The pill was hailed as a game-changer because it was the first COVID-19 treatment that did not require an infusion, making it more convenient to give to patients.

Paxlovid is made up of two medications: ritonavir, commonly used to treat HIV and AIDS, and nirmatrelvir, an antiviral that Pfizer developed to boost the strength of the first drug. Together, they prevent an enzyme the virus uses to make copies of itself inside human cells and spread throughout the body.

Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive for COVID-19 in April. Dr. Anthony Fauci, a senior adviser to the president on the pandemic, tested positive last month.

Victoria’s Secret launches ‘Bare,’ its first fine fragrance in years

July 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — It’s 2022, and Victoria’s Secret is coming in hot with its first fine fragrance in five years.

“Bare,” the brand’s latest scent, launched this week. According to the company, “Bare” celebrates individuality and self-expression.

“This soft, warm scent transforms on skin, creating a signature that’s uniquely yours,” the company captioned the video revealing the launch.

“Bare Eau de Parfum” includes an alluring blend of musky mandarin, floral Egyptian violet petals and warm Australian sandalwood. Victoria’s Secret says the fragrance was formulated to adapt to every person’s body chemistry to create a unique scent for anyone who wears it.

The packaging for the latest fragrance is created with upcycled materials and responsibly sourced ingredients. Additionally, it uses a new cryptosym technology — created and trademarked by Symrise, a German chemicals company based in Holzminden — which has the capability to encrypt scent formulations to preserve its novelty and protect it from future replication.

“Bare Eau de Parfum is our most intimate fragrance yet. It’s about a quiet confidence that comes from knowing your authentic self, and celebrates individuality in its most natural form,” Kristen Lagoa, Victoria’s Secret vice president of merchandising, beauty and accessories, said in a statement.

The ad campaign for the new fragrance features a diverse lineup of women, ranging from social advocates and herbalists to artists and creatives — all with different backgrounds and body types.

Throughout the imagery, models are seen alongside inspiring quotes such as “Comparison is the thief of joy” and “It’s really the simple things that hold the most space for our healing.”

The latest campaign marks a major transformation from Victoria’s Secret’s past branding. In 2018, the company faced criticism after Ed Razek, the former chief marketing officer for L Brands — Victoria’s Secret’s parent company — told Vogue he didn’t think the brand should add plus-size or transgender models to its annual fashion show “because the show is a fantasy.”

Razek later apologized for his comments and resigned from the company.

The brand ultimately said farewell to its famed “Angel” models last year and launched The VS Collective to revamp its image, featuring a diverse lineup of “ambassadors,” including Valentina Sampaio, who is transgender, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and LGBTQIA+ activist and professional soccer player Megan Rapinoe, along with several others.

“Bare” is available nationwide now online and in-stores. It’s also slated to launch worldwide starting Aug. 23.

Unrelenting heat wave spreads from South into Northeast: Latest forecast

July 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The unrelenting heat wave pounding the U.S. is still going strong, with 24 states and 103 million Americans on alert for dangerous temperatures Thursday.

Triple-digit heat is still hitting the West with Thursday temperatures forecast to reach 113 degrees in Palm Springs, California and 114 in Las Vegas. If “Sin City” reaches 114, it’ll break its record high of 113.

In the South, Dallas hit a record high of 109 degrees on Wednesday as Texas’ ongoing heat wave continues to fan spreading wildfires.

The heat is spreading from hard-hit Texas to Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida and the Carolinas.

The heat is also slamming the Northeast. The heat index — what temperature it feels like with humidity — is expected to skyrocket Thursday to 107 degrees in Philadelphia, 103 in New York City and Washington, D.C., and 101 in Baltimore and Hartford, Connecticut.

The Northeast heat is expected to intensify over the weekend when actual temperatures could approach 100 degrees. Record highs are possible on Sunday from Philadelphia to New York City.

If New York City stays above 90 degrees for seven days in a row, the city will mark its longest heat wave in nine years.

Philadelphia has issued a heat health emergency that’ll begin at noon Thursday.

High temperatures are also still inundating Europe, where it’s forecast to hit 103 degrees in Madrid and 99 degrees in Milan.

Former Minneapolis police officer Thomas Lane faces sentencing in George Floyd killing

July 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(ST. PAUL, Minn.) — Former Minneapolis police officer Thomas Lane will be sentenced in federal court on Thursday morning for violating George Floyd’s civil rights.

Lane, 39, is one of three former Minneapolis police officers who were convicted earlier this year of depriving Floyd of his right to medical care as the handcuffed, unarmed 46-year-old Black man was pinned under the knee of their senior office, Derek Chauvin, for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020. Floyd’s videotaped killing in Minneapolis sparked anti-racism protests and calls for police reform across the United States and around the world.

The jury handed down convictions after deliberating for roughly 13 hours.

Magnuson has not yet set sentencing dates for Kueng and Thao.

Earlier this month, Chauvin was sentenced to 21 years in prison on separate federal civil rights charges in Floyd’s killing and in an unrelated case involving a Black teenager. He had already been sentenced to 270 months, minus time served, which equals about 22 1/2 years in prison, after being convcited in state court last year of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

ABC News’ Kiara Alfonseca, Bill Hutchinson, Janel Klein, Whitney Lloyd, Mark Osborne and Stephanie Wash contributed to this report.

What is witness tampering, and could Trump possibly be charged?

July 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The House select committee investigating Jan. 6 is holding its second prime-time hearing on Thursday, which will focus on the Trump White House’s reaction to the insurrection as it unfolded.

Following a recent and highly publicized hearing, renewed attention is on witness tampering and the possibility that it was committed by Trump.

During a recent hearing, Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, the committee’s vice chair, said that Trump attempted to call a witness in the committee’s investigation into last year’s attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“After our last hearing, President Trump tried to call a witness in our investigation — a witness you have not yet seen in these hearings. That person declined to answer or respond to President Trump’s call and, instead, alerted their lawyer to the call,” Cheney said at the time.

The committee warned against witness tampering as it continues its investigation. “Let me say one more time, we will take any effort to influence witness testimony very seriously,” Cheney said.

But what is witness tampering, and did Trump possibly commit it?

What is witness tampering?

Witness tampering is a federal crime and is considered a form of obstruction of justice.

According to the Department of Justice, witness tampering occurs when someone tries to “influence, delay or prevent the testimony of any person in an official proceeding.”

“It’s either threatening a witness with some type of harm if the person doesn’t testify in a certain way or doing this thing, which is defined by Congress as correctly persuading someone to say something,” Robert Weisberg, faculty co-director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center, told ABC News. “Unfortunately, Congress has done an absolute horrible job defining the crime.”

Congress has the authority to investigate if a crime took place, but it doesn’t have the power to charge someone with witness tampering — that is left up to the Department of Justice.

A person could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison if found guilty of witness tampering.
Jan. 6 witness Trump allegedly tried to call was White House support staff, sources say

Donald Trump’s alleged witness tampering

The committee has examined not only the insurrection at the Capitol, but also then-President Trump’s possible role in the events leading up to, during and after that day, actions the committee says were a “dereliction of duty” on his part.

Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing, has repeatedly criticized the House select committee for its investigation into the Jan. 6 riot, calling it one-sided and politically motivated.

Cheney’s bombshell accusation about Trump raises questions on if he committed a crime and, if so, if there’s enough evidence to charge him.

“It would depend on the strength of the case,” Peter Zeidenberg, a former federal prosecutor, told ABC News. “When people make calls like that, usually it’s a little more guarded and a little bit of a wink wink, nudge nudge.”

Trump allegedly attempted to call a White House support staffer, a person he wouldn’t normally call, sources said.

Despite not reaching the witness during the purported call, a crime still allegedly took place, this according to guidance from the DOJ under section 18 U.S.C. 1512, “Protection of government processes — Tampering with victims, witnesses or informants.”

“There is no requirement that the defendant’s actions have the intended obstructive effect,” it reads.

Trump spokesperson Taylor Budowich sharply criticized Cheney’s accusation while also going after the media — but did not deny her claims.

“The media has become pawns of the Unselect Committee. Liz Cheney continues to traffic in innuendos and lies that go unchallenged, unconfirmed, but repeated as fact because the narrative is more important than the truth,” he tweeted on July 12.

Cheney’s claim against the former president isn’t the first time Trump has been accused of obstructing justice.

Michael Cohen

Michael Cohen, Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, was convicted in 2018 for tax evasion, violating campaign finance rules and lying to Congress.

For years, Cohen had signaled loyalty to Trump. But after the FBI raided his home in 2018, he was open to cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the then-president.

Cohen’s lawyer said that Trump’s advisers were hinting that he would pardon Cohen following the FBI’s raid into his home. Once Cohen agreed to testify, Trump began publicly attacking his former lawyer and suggested that his father-in-law should be investigated.

The House Committee on Oversight and Reform said at the time that “efforts to intimidate witnesses, scare their family members, or prevent them from testifying before Congress are textbook mob tactics that we condemn in the strongest terms. Our nation’s laws prohibit efforts to discourage, intimidate, or otherwise pressure a witness not to provide testimony to Congress.”

In 2019, after a delay, Cohen testified in front of the House Oversight Committee about his time working for his former boss. Cohen said he initially delayed his testimony because of “ongoing threats against his family from President Trump.”

Could Trump be charged?

It’s unlikely Attorney General Merrick Garland will charge Trump, especially if he plans to run for president again, according to Weisberg.

“If he declares he’s running for president, even though that doesn’t give him any immunity from indictment, we know that’s exactly the situation Garland fears, namely indicting someone amidst a presidential campaign, because he doesn’t want the criminal justice systems to distort the political process,” Weisberg said.

“There’s a weird kind of leverage that Trump has here,” he added.

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