(NASSAU, THE BAHAMAS) — Sam Bankman-Fried, the embattled former CEO of cryptocurrency giant FTX and trading firm Alameda Research, told ABC News he was ultimately responsible for the downfall of both companies, but denied that he knew “that there was any improper use of customer funds.”
“I really, deeply wish that I had taken a lot more responsibility for understanding what the details were of what was going on,” he said. “I should have been on top of this, and I feel really, really bad and regretful that I wasn’t,” he said. “A lot of people got hurt. And that’s on me.”
Bankman-Fried spoke to George Stephanopoulos and ABC News for his first network interview since both companies in his cryptocurrency empire filed for bankruptcy this month. He addressed rumors that have swirled since the collapse and discussed his uncertain path forward. The interview took place in the Bahamas island of Nassau where FTX was headquartered.
Watch George Stephanopoulos’ full interview with Sam Bankman-Fried on “Good Morning America” on Thursday
FTX filed for bankruptcy protection in November after a rival cryptocurrency exchange announced it was backing out of a plan to acquire it. The filing follows reports that FTX used deposits to pay Alameda Research creditors, a claim reportedly made by former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison during a call in early November. Bankman-Fried said he was not aware that was true but said Alameda had a large position open on FTX that was “overcollateralized a year ago.” He also partially blamed a market collapse that “threatened that position quite a bit” as well as mismanagement.
Ellison did not immediately respond to ABC News’ requests for comment.
“I failed to have someone in place who was managing that risk, who was managing that position, managing that account. I failed to have proper oversight” that led to the crash of FTX, Bankman-Fried said.
In the interview, Bankman-Fried also denied he witnessed any illegal drug use by FTX employees, and he said reports that he and Ellison were in a polyamorous relationship are false and his romantic relationship with Ellison lasted only six months. “I lived with a bunch of monogamous couples when I was here, some of whom got married over the course of their time here. I don’t know of any polyamorous relationships within FTX.”
Bankman-Fried, 30, said he currently owns just one ATM card and has $100,000 in his bank account, a drastic reversal from the estimated $20 billion net worth that thrust him into the spotlight. He ultimately blamed the collapse of FTX on his struggle with risk management.
“There is something maybe even deeply wrong there, which was I wasn’t even trying. Like, I wasn’t spending any time or effort trying to manage risk on FTX and that that was obviously a mistake,” he said. “If I had been spending an hour a day thinking about risk management on FTX, I don’t think that would have happened. And I don’t feel good about that.”
Today, Bankman-Fried said his focus is on working through the regulatory and legal processes and “trying to focus on what I can do going forward to be helpful.” In the future he said he hopes he will be able to say he “made it up to everyone who got hurt.”
He added, “At the end of the day, it’s not my call what happens. And the world will judge me as it will.”
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced “long overdue” commitments to Native American nations.
“On my watch, we’re ushering in a new era and advancing a way for the federal government to work with tribal nations,” Biden said as he spoke at the first in-person White House Tribal Nations Summit in six years, knocking his predecessor for not hosting any such forum.
Biden announced $135 million to help tribal communities impacted by climate change. Eleven “severely impacted tribes” will receive funds, according to the Interior Department, and three are planning on relocating entirely to new areas: the Newtok Village in Alaska, the Native Village of Napakiak in Alaska, and the Quinault Indian Nation in Washington.
“There are tribal communities at risk of being washed away, washed away by superstorms, rising sea levels and wildfires raging,” Biden said Wednesday, calling the damage “devastating.”
Biden also touted the billions of dollars made available to tribal nations through the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. Those investments, Biden said, helped Indian Country vaccinate residents, rebuild roads, provide clean drinking water and more.
“Together, my entire administration is advancing the economic agenda and making historic investments in Indian country and, I might add, that are long overdue,” Biden said.
Over 300 tribal representatives are expected to attend the two-day summit held at the Interior Department. Biden began his remarks by thanking Interior Secretary Deb Haaland for her leadership, noting she’s the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary.
Haaland, introducing Biden to the podium, said the investments made by the Biden administration are “already improving the lives of so many.”
“You and I know firsthand that native people have not always had friends in the White House,” she said.
Among the new investments and changes announced by the White House to strengthen tribal nations are a presidential memo standardizing how federal agencies consult with tribes, requiring federal agencies to recognize “Indigenous Knowledge” in research and decision-making, and a draft of a 10-year plan to revitalize native languages. Federal agencies will also buy more electricity and energy products from tribes, and announce a new initiative to build electric vehicle charges on tribal lands.
On Wednesday, Biden also pledged to protect Nevada’s Spirit Mountain and the surrounding wilderness area.
“I’m committed to protecting this sacred place that is central to the creation story of so many tribes that are here today,” Biden said, adding there’s “so much more that we’re going to do to protect the treasured tribal lands.
“Everyone’s entitled to be treated with respect and dignity, the dignity that comes from just being who you are,” Biden said as he closed his remarks. “This is especially true for tribal nations. The United States owes a solemn trust and treaty obligations that we haven’t always lived up to.”
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The 2024 presidential race is still two years away but a major change to Democrats’ primary process — affecting which candidates run and which states get first crack at voting on their chances — could come any day now.
Some party members are just waiting for their current leader, Joe Biden, to weigh in himself.
For months, members of the Democratic National Committee’s group focused on rules and bylaws have been meeting in an effort to refresh the order of states in the party’s presidential nominating contest. Many Democrats believe the current starting schedule of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and then South Carolina does not accurately represent the makeup of the party’s voters and, as such, shuts out candidates who might ultimately do better nationwide.
These critics cite Biden’s own, deceptively rough nominating experience in 2020 — when poor showings in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada led many observers to predict that voters were rejecting him.
Instead, Biden went on to easily win the Democratic nomination once more states voted. He was then elected to the White House.
“It really does matter which state goes first in the calendar. The state that goes first really shapes the start of the primary: It dictates how candidates spend their resources in the off-year, it can create momentum, it can set the tone,” said Nevada Democratic strategist Rebecca Lambe.
Earlier this year, national Democrats began a formal push to shake up the calendar, putting in jeopardy the first-in-the-nation status for the caucuses in Iowa, which is older and whiter and trending more conservative than many other parts of the country, including states that have been electing Democrats. (The second state on the calendar, New Hampshire, guarantees its spot through a law that could set off a scheduling scramble if any primary is moved before it — more on that below.)
The DNC, made up of state party chairs, politicians and the like, shelved plans to decide on a restructured presidential nominating calendar from July until after the midterms, setting a new deadline for early December.
Biden has not publicly offered his preferences on the calendar and his press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, on Monday referred reporters’ questions to the DNC.
Some committee members say they have found that vexing as they approach making significant changes to the process that will impact what is likely to be the president’s own reelection bid in 2024 — and potentially the campaign cycles beyond.
DNC members said that a lack of input from the White House might be holding up information disseminated to them by the committee about a meeting on Thursday to start settling on the primary calendar, with December’s deadline looming.
“The DNC has gone completely silent, and it’s understood that it is because the White House hasn’t made a decision on what it wants,” said one member of the committee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal discussions.
Another DNC member familiar with decision-making, who likewise requested anonymity, told ABC News that they do not expect Biden to “weigh in heavily” on the calendar but they do expect his staff to make “winks and nods” privately before the group convenes Thursday — which this member would view as a generally encouraging sign that the White House approves of the party’s decision to pursue a different nominating calendar.
This member conceded that many of their colleagues have been “frustrated” by the silence, however.
“We all want guidance. We want to know what the thinking is,” the member said. “We kind of know in this business that if the White House is not weighing super strongly about something, it’s because it’s kind of a wink and a nod that they’re agreeing with the direction that this is going in, at least, the broad strokes. And Democrats, we all agree that this needs to change.”
The White House declined to comment for this story.
Carol Fowler, a member of the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee (RBC) from South Carolina, said she thinks Biden’s decision in this process “absolutely” will impact the way the nominating calendar will be finalized.
“I have always assumed that at some point in this process, we will hear from the White House and know what President Biden’s preference is. There is nobody on that committee — I don’t think — who would want to oppose the president in this,” she said.
It may all seem bureaucratic and confusing to the casual observer, but the stakes of the decision are high, with many Democrats saying the traditional order of their primaries is in desperate need of a change to encourage the kinds of candidates who can ultimately appeal to voters nationwide — the true purpose of the process.
“I would 100% call it an imperative for the national party to figure this out ahead of a competitive primary going forward,” said Rebecca Pearsey, a Democratic strategist who worked on Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s 2020 campaign.
Party experts said two key questions hang over the deliberations, which are expected to begin at the meeting on Thursday and stretch into the weekend:
If the DNC swaps Iowa out as the first state, how can Democrats continue to ensure an early focus on the larger Midwest, which is home to multiple battleground states? And what order will that final grouping of early states be in?
Below is a breakdown of the current early states and two potential additions.
Will another Midwest state replace Iowa?
Michigan and Minnesota have been cited by committee members as the Midwestern front-runners jockeying for Iowa’s top spot. Both states applied earlier this year to be the first state on the nominating calendar and both are run by Democratic governments, making it easier to shift primary dates.
Minnesota Democrats, in a June pitch, argued that their high turnout — especially among diverse racial communities — along with strong union membership and robust LGBTQ communities should be a draw. While Michigan is racially more diverse than Minnesota, Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party’s chairman, Ken Martin, told ABC News that his state wins out as far as voter turnout among those same groups.
Rep. Debbie Dingell, who has long championed Michigan’s inclusion in the early primary window, believes her home state is “very much in the mix” and balked at the insinuation from some other Democrats that the state is simply too large and too expensive for candidates that early in the cycle.
“Our state reflects the diversity of this country. And that’s what you need,” Dingell said. “You need to test these candidates so they are being screened for the question: Can they win in November? And Michigan meets that criteria to a T.”
But some in the party said that one of the biggest limitations for Michigan holding an earlier primary is its size. For example, committee members noted that the state’s large media markets could cost initially lesser-known candidates — like, in 2008, Barack Obama — a real shot at emerging from a crowded field.
Another factor, some members said, would be that Michigan would award so many more delegates than the other traditional early states (like New Hampshire and South Carolina) that it would create an imbalance. Candidates would essentially focus only on one part of the country and that state’s voters would gain outsized influence, repeating the current problem.
The odds are increasingly stacked against Iowa to keep its top spot on Democrats’ nominating calendar Still, Scott Brennan, Iowa’s committee member on the national RBC, told ABC News that he feels confident his state will be competitive in keeping its spot after they restructured their infamously complicated caucus process to “satisfy all the concerns that were ever raised.”
Brennan said it would be a “tremendous win” if the state were to stay in the early window.
In South Carolina — the first Southern state on the calendar and the first state with a sizable bloc of Black voters, who are a crucial Democratic constituency — state Democrats said the optimistic they’ll keep a spot as one of the initial nominating states.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire did not suffer from the crippling logistical issues that hamstrung Democrats’ 2020 Iowa caucuses. But the state, which is about 90% white, still faces criticism that it lacks sufficient diversity to represent the party base as it fights to keep its No. 2 slot.
However, the state Democratic Party insists on its record of holding successful primaries that force candidates to wear out their shoe leather to prove their skill at face-to-face campaigning.
“New Hampshire voters are extremely active. They’re very involved in the process,” said New Hampshire Democratic Party spokesperson Monica Venzke. “Candidates who come to New Hampshire leave stronger candidates.”
State law also mandates that New Hampshire must hold its primary seven days before any other in the country. Neither Democrats or Republicans in state government seem eager to change that rule, which would pose a hurdle to other states looking to leapfrog it on the calendar. If the DNC chooses to have another state primary go first, that could trigger a kind of calendar arms race in which New Hampshire simply moves its primary up as well to abide by its law.
Currently, Iowa can go ahead of it because Iowa holds caucuses, not primaries. The caucus system, which is different than a standard election, is used by fewer and fewer states and territories each cycle. Nevada abandoned it after 2020.
Nevada
Nevada is one of the states making the biggest push to go first in the primary calendar, which ticks many of the DNC’s self-described boxes.
Nevada boasts significant racial diversity and is not expensive or vast enough — in terms of the necessary campaign team — to price out some candidates. It also remains a perennial swing state, so a candidate who wins enough Democratic voters there could make the argument that they are more electable in a tight race.
“Nevada is a state where you can find out who can go the distance,” said Lambe, the strategist.
As for how Nevada could be squeezed ahead of New Hampshire’s state law, though, some in the party said it would be a thorny matter best solved by the national committee.
“It’s really going to be an issue for the DNC to work through on how to enforce the new calendar,” a strategist said, “but it can be dealt with with tough rules and sanctions.”
(TRENTON, N.J.) — Animal protection groups are seeking an emergency court challenge to stop a black bear hunt from taking place next Monday in New Jersey. The state’s Fish and Game Council authorized the hunt earlier this month.
The groups allege that the council bypassed required procedures for a hunt by misusing an emergency rule-making loophole. Plaintiffs are asking the court to allow them to file an emergency motion.
The Fish and Game Council approved emergency regulations on Nov. 15 to “control the black bear population and reduce the threat of dangerous encounters between bears and humans through regulated hunting and non-lethal management measures,” according to the council’s website.
The council claimed the hunt was authorized due to increasing public safety concerns associated with the growing bear population. The hunting season is set to run from Dec. 5 to Dec. 10. Hunting is allowed a half hour before sunrise to a half hour after sunset.
Hunters will not be allowed to take or kill a black bear weighing less than 75 pounds or if the bear is in the presence of cubs, according to the council.
The hunt does not limit the total number of bears that can be killed, according to animal protection groups.
The council will hand out 11,000 black bear hunting permits. Each hunter can get up to two permits for different hunting zones but is only allowed to kill one bear during the whole season.
Animal protection groups say black bears are “extremely slow to reproduce” and dispute the council’s assertion that the state’s bear population will grow by 33% in two years.
Opponents also claim officials do not know the accurate number of bears in the state.
“Scientific studies show only a weak correlation between the population of bears and bear attacks. Bear-human interaction is more closely connected with specific human behaviors that drive encounters. Some states with large black bear populations have fewer conflicts than states with much smaller bear numbers,” the Humane Society of the United States said in a statement.
(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.) — The suspect accused of opening fire inside an LGBTQ bar in Colorado Springs, Colorado, has been praised by online extremists who have called for copycat attacks, according to a Department of Homeland Security bulletin made public Wednesday.
“Following the late November shooting at an LGBTQI+ bar in Colorado Springs, Colorado — which remains under investigation — we have observed actors on forums known to post racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist content praising the alleged attacker, the latest National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin (NTAS), dated Nov. 30 says. “Similarly, some domestic violent extremists in the United States praised an October 2022 shooting at a LGBTQI+ bar in Slovakia and encouraged additional violence. The attacker in Slovakia posted a manifesto online espousing white supremacist beliefs and his admiration for prior attackers, including some within the United States.”
The NTAS bulletin, brought back by the current Homeland Security secretary, is the seventh after the current one expired on Wednesday.
“Threat actors have recently mobilized to violence, citing factors such as reactions to current events and adherence to violent extremist ideologies. In the coming months, threat actors could exploit several upcoming events to justify or commit acts of violence, including certifications related to the midterm elections, the holiday season and associated large gatherings, the marking of two years since the breach of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and potential sociopolitical developments connected to ideological beliefs or personal hostility,” the bulletin said. “Targets of potential violence include public gatherings, faith-based institutions, the LGBTQI+ community, schools, racial and religious minorities, government facilities and personnel, U.S. critical infrastructure, the media, and perceived ideological opponents.”
Senior DHS officials reiterated on a conference call with reporters the threat environment in the United States remains “heightened.”
The bulletin also mentions threats to the Jewish community, and perceptions of government overreach. The official added the Jewish community “seems particularly targeted” in recent days.
“Some domestic violent extremists have express grievances based on perceptions that the government is overstepping its Constitutional authorities or failing to perform its duties,” the bulletin says. “Historically, issues related to immigration and abortion have been cited by prior attackers as inspiration for violence. Potential changes in border security enforcement policy, an increase in noncitizens attempting to enter the U.S., or other immigration-related developments may heighten these calls for violence.”
John Cohen, the former acting head of intelligence at DHS said the bulletin serves as a reminder of the threats that the country faces.
“This most recent DHS NTAS reflects dangerous nature of the current threat environment which includes mass casualty attacks by lone offenders motivated by a combination of ideological beliefs and personal grievance cultivated through the consumption of online content,” Cohen, now an ABC News contributor said. “This bulletin is important in that it informs the public regarding the threat facing the United States. That said – while informing the public is critical, I remain concerned that enough isn’t being done to adjust our investigative and threat mitigation efforts to actually prevent the attacks that continue to impact far too many communities and families across America.”
Officials on the call cited a man who appeared at Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s house looking for him, and well as the recent attack against the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, in which the suspect allegedly was looking for Pelosi herself.
Threats against the midterm elections were “isolated” according to the bulletin.
“While violence surrounding the November midterm elections was isolated, we remain vigilant that heightened political tensions in the country could contribute to individuals mobilizing to violence based on personalized grievances,” the bulletin says. “Over the past few months we observed general calls for violence targeting elected officials, candidates, and ballot drop box locations.”
Once speech crosses the line, the department becomes alerted to it, senior officials on the call said.
(BOSTON, Mass.) — Prince William thanked the “people of Boston” as he and his wife Kate arrived in the city to kick off their first U.S. tour in nearly a decade.
Their whirlwind tour ends with an awards ceremony for the Earthshot Prize, an initiative William launched in 2019 to create solutions for environmental problems.
This is William and Kate’s first visit to the United States since they visited New York City in 2014. It is also their first overseas trip since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September and their first overseas trip since taking on the titles of Prince and Princess of Wales.
“[William and Kate] are both excited for their first international trip since taking on their new roles,” a Kensington Palace spokesperson told ABC News. “Both appreciate the history associated to the titles but understandably want to look to the future and pave their own paths.”
Check back for updates throughout their trip.
William and Kate light Boston green
William and Kate’s first stop on their Boston trip was Boston City Hall.
They were greeted by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, the first woman and first person of color to be elected as mayor in the city last year, and U.S. Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy.
In honor of the Earthshot Prize, which was inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s Moonshot Initiative, the couple helped light Boston buildings and landmarks green.
In his address to Mayor Wu and the crowd at Boston City Hall, Prince William thanked Wu and Reverend White-Hammond for their support for the Earthshot Prize. He also noted why Boston was the “obvious choice for the Earthshot Prize in its second year” and said he was inspired by President Kennedy’s moonshot speech to launch the Earthshot Prize.
“Sixty years ago, President John F. Kennedy’s ‘moonshot’ speech laid down a challenge to American innovation and ingenuity,” Prince William began. “‘We chose to go to the moon,’ he said, ‘not because it is easy, but because it is hard.'”
“Where better to hold this year’s awards ceremony than in President Kennedy’s hometown, in partnership with his daughter and the foundation that continues in his name,” he added. “Boston was also the obvious choice because our universities, research centres and vibrant start-up scene make you a global leader in science, innovation and boundless ambition. Mayor Wu, you have also been a leader in putting climate policies at the heart of your administration. Thank you.”
“Like President Kennedy, Catherine and I firmly believe that we all have it in ourselves to achieve great things, and that human beings have the ability to lead, innovate and problem-solve,” William said. “We cannot wait to celebrate the Earthshot Prize later this week, and we are both looking forward to spending the next few days learning about the innovative ways the people of Massachusetts are tackling climate change.”
President Biden to greet Prince William and Kate in Boston on Friday
Earlier on Wednesday during a White House press briefing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden “intends to greet the prince and princess of Wales” on Friday when he is in Boston. The White House previously announced that Biden would be in Boston this week for a fundraiser.
William and Kate arrive in Boston
Upon their arrival in Boston Wednesday morning, William said he and Kate are “delighted to be back in the United States.” He also used the moment to reflect about his grandmother, who celebrated her 1976 bicentennial in the U.S.
“On this, our first visit since the death of my grandmother, I would like to thank the people of Massachusetts and particularly of Boston for their many tributes to the late queen. She remembered her 1976 bicentennial visit with great fondness,” William said in a statement.
“My grandmother was one of life’s optimists. And so am I,” he added. “To the people of Boston, thank you. I’m so grateful to you for allowing us to host the second year of the Earthshot Prize in your great city. Catherine and I can’t wait to meet many of you in the days ahead.”
Spokesperson for William addresses racism accusations surrounding godmother
As William and Kate were making their way to Boston, a controversy erupted in the U.K. involving William’s godmother, Lady Susan Hussey.
Hussey, a longtime lady-in-waiting to the late queen, was accused of making racist remarks to an attendee at a reception hosted by Queen Escort Camilla on Tuesday at Buckingham Palace.
On Wednesday, Buckingham Palace said it had launched an investigation into the allegation and said Hussey had “stepped aside from her honorary role.”
A spokesperson for William commented on the incident while briefing reporters ahead of William and Kate’s arrival in Boston.
“This is a matter for Buckingham Palace but as the Prince of Wales’ spokesperson, I appreciate you’re all here and understand you’ll want to ask about it. So let me address it head on,” the spokesperson said. “I was really disappointed to hear about the guest’s experience at Buckingham Palace last night.”
He continued, “Obviously, I wasn’t there, but racism has no place in our society. The comments were unacceptable and it is right that the individual has stepped aside with immediate effect.”
(NEW YORK) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday it will expand wastewater testing for polio to select communities across the U.S. after a person tested positive for the disease in New York this summer.
The initiative will start in two communities: Oakland County, Michigan, and a yet-to-be named county in the Philadelphia area.
Wastewater testing will extend to counties with low rates of polio vaccination or to counties connected to communities in New York where polio has been detected in wastewater, according to the CDC, including Rockland County, where a single case of vaccine-derived polio was detected.
On July 21, the New York State Department of Health revealed a patient in Rockland County had contracted a case of vaccine-derived polio, the first case in the United States in nearly a decade.
Since then, officials said the patient was a previously healthy 20-year-old man. He was diagnosed after he went to the hospital when he developed paralysis in his legs.
Vaccine-derived polio occurs when someone takes the oral polio vaccine, containing a weakened version of the virus.
In rare cases, oral vaccine patients can shed the virus in their stool, which can then spread through sewage and affect those who are unvaccinated.
As of Oct. 28, 89 positive wastewater samples have been collected in New York with 82 samples genetically linked to the Rockland County patient, health department data shows.
Although wastewater testing cannot provide data on how many people are infected with polio, it can tell scientists where polio is spreading and where vaccination campaigns may be needed.
“Wastewater testing can be an important tool to help us understand if poliovirus may be circulating in communities in certain circumstances,” Dr. José Romero, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said in a statement.
“Vaccination remains the best way to prevent another case of paralytic polio, and it is critically important that people get vaccinated to protect themselves, their families and their communities against this devastating disease,” the statement continued.
Officials have stressed the importance of getting vaccinated against or staying up to date with the immunization schedule. Among unvaccinated people, polio can lead to permanent paralysis in the arms and/or legs and even death.
(WASHINGTON) — Attorney General Merrick Garland took something of a victory lap on Wednesday, a day after the Department of Justice secured convictions in one of the Jan. 6 investigation’s highest profile prosecutions.
Stewart Rhodes, a Yale Law School graduate-turned-militiaman, was found guilty Tuesday of his most serious charge, seditious conspiracy, following a sprawling two-month trial in federal court in Washington and three days of jury deliberations.
An associate, Kelly Meggs, was also found guilty of seditious conspiracy in the first such convictions by a jury since 1995.
They could both face a maximum of 20 years in prison for that charge alone. Rhodes’ attorney said they will appeal.
“Our work yesterday marked significant successes,” Garland said on Wednesday.
Meggs and Rhodes, along with three others connected to the Oath Keepers, who were all tried together, were each convicted on some but notably not all of their charges — indicating jurors rejected some of the prosecutions’ arguments.
Three of the five were acquitted of seditious conspiracy.
“These convictions were the result of tireless work by Justice Department agents, attorneys, analysts and support staff beginning in January 2021 with a methodical collection of evidence and continuing through the presentation of that evidence during the seven-week trial that began in October of 2022,” Garland told reporters at the Justice Department.
“Their skill and dedication are in the very best tradition of the Justice Department. And we are all extremely grateful to them,” he said.
The seditious conspiracy convictions, Garland said, made clear that DOJ will hold accountable anyone responsible for the Jan. 6 attack.
Garland has named longtime federal prosecutor Jack Smith as special counsel to oversee the major Jan. 6 cases as well as the investigation into sensitive documents with classified markings that were taken from the White House by Donald Trump after his presidency ended.
The attorney general said Wednesday that he met with Smith in choosing him as special counsel and said the investigation is not being slowed down by the change in prosecutors overseeing the cases.
He also said the Justice Department would like transcripts from interviews conducted by the House Jan. 6 committee but did not say whether or not he was satisfied with how long the process was taking.
ABC News’ Alexander Mallin contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The House Ways and Means Committee has received access to former President Donald Trump’s tax returns after the Supreme Court last week rejected his final objection on the issue.
“Treasury has complied with last week’s court decision,” said a spokesperson for the department that includes the Internal Revenue Service in possession of Trump’s confidential tax returns, which he has long resisted disclosing, unlike past presidents.
The chairman of the House committee, Richard Neal, declined to comment earlier Wednesday when asked if the panel had officially received the documents. But he said the committee intended to see the investigation through, despite the ticking clock before the new Congress begins in early January.
Neal, D-Mass., will surrender chairmanship of his committee to a Republican in January after the GOP won majority control of the House in the midterm elections.
He said the next step would be to have a meeting of the Democratic caucus. He wouldn’t say whether the committee planned to release the tax documents publicly.
The committee had requested six years’ worth of Trump’s returns as part of an investigation into IRS audit practices of presidents and vice presidents.
In his petition to the Supreme Court, Trump accused the committee of seeking his taxes under false pretenses.
Court cleared the way for Trump to turn over taxes
The Supreme Court on Nov. 22 denied Trump’s request to block an appeals court order that he surrender his tax returns and other financial records to the House Ways and Means Committee.
The court offered no explanation for its decision and there was no noted dissent or vote breakdown. It marked the fourth time Trump has lost a high court appeal related to requests for his taxes.
The move was the end of the road for Trump in the yearslong saga of congressional subpoenas for his tax records in the stated interest of drafting oversight legislation.
The Democratic-controlled committee argued that — by the Supreme Court’s own guidelines laid out in a 2020 ruling in the same ongoing dispute — judges must defer to the legitimate legislative purpose behind a request for information. They said that standard was plainly met in this case.
“We knew the strength of our case, we stayed the course, followed the advice of counsel, and finally, our case has been affirmed by the highest court in the land,” Neal said last week. “Since the Magna Carta, the principle of oversight has been upheld, and today is no different. This rises above politics, and the Committee will now conduct the oversight that we’ve sought for the last three and a half years.”
While Trump has claimed the subpoena is a politically motivated fishing expedition, the committee said the documents were critical for drafting “legislation on equitable tax administration, including legislation on the President’s tax compliance.”
On Nov. 1, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts granted a temporary administrative stay of a lower court order regarding Trump’s tax returns and other financial records. On Nov. 22, Roberts officially lifted that stay.
(WASHINGTON) — Hundreds of thousands of rail workers stand on the brink of a strike that would snarl the nation’s supply chain, driving up prices for households already under strain and eventually leaving some store shelves bare, supply chain analysts and industry groups told ABC News.
“Let me be clear: a rail shutdown would devastate our economy,” President Joe Biden said on Monday. “Without freight rail, many U.S. industries would shut down.”
A strike would cause $2 billion a day in lost economic output, according to the Association of American Railroads, which lobbies on behalf of rail companies. Rail transports about 40% of the nation’s long-distance freight and one-third of exports.
The economic costs of a strike would crunch the finances of everyday Americans forced to pay more for products and forgo others in short supply, the experts and trade groups said.
To be sure, the industry may avert a strike before the deadline arrives on Dec. 9.
The House on Wednesday passed a law that imposes the terms of a tentative agreement reached in September, but since rejected by several unions. In addition, the chamber passed a bill that would grant rail workers seven sick days each year, an increase from one sick day afforded under the tentative agreement. The Senate is expected to take up the measures soon.
If the strike moves forward, however, here’s how it would affect your finances:
Price increases
A rail strike would likely increase prices for a range of goods that includes gas and food, experts told ABC News.
The price of gas has fallen 7% over the past month to a national average of about $3.50 per gallon. But a rail strike would send gas prices back upward, Patrick de Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told ABC News.
“It very likely would cause prices to rise,” he said. “It would be a major problem.”
Last year, crude oil carried on freight rails amounted to 162,000 barrels per day or approximately 1.5% of U.S. production, according to the Association of American Railroads, or AAR.
Moreover, freight rails transport 75% of new cars and light trucks, as well as 780,000 carloads of paper and lumber, the AAR said.
If a strike halts freight rail, many business will turn to trucking as an alternative form of delivery, raising distribution costs, said Ben Siegrist, the director of infrastructure, innovation and human resources policy at the National Association of Manufacturers.
“It’s supply and demand,” he said. “Spot rates for trucks would unquestionably skyrocket.”
The potential price spike would arrive as inflation already stands near a 40-year high, with year-over-year consumer price increases last month reported at 7.7%.
“It’s likely to cause some increases in prices on top of what we’re already experiencing,” Kyle Handley, a professor of economics at the University of California, San Diego, told ABC News. “It’s another shock to supply chains that are already stressed.”
Supply shortages
If a potential strike extends from a few days to a few weeks, the effects will extend from price increases to supply shortages, experts and trade groups said.
“Initially, most products will be readily available as retailers and manufacturers have tended to increase stocks and inventories, having been scared by mistakes and shortfalls during COVID,” Joseph Schofer, a professor emeritus of civil and environmental engineering at Northwestern University, told ABC News.
“Were the strike to continue, inventories will be drawn down and the impacts will spread,” he added.
As with price increases, the shortages could affect industries like energy, agriculture, autos and manufacturing.
Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, said in a statement that a rail strike would pose a significant challenge for food supply.
“Farmers not only rely on trains to transport food and feed, they also rely on rails to bring important supplies like fertilizer to the farm,” she said. “A shutdown or slowdown would have devastating consequences to our national and global food security.”
Eventually, a strike would bring barren shelves at retailers, Jeff Macher, a professor of strategy and economics at Georgetown University’s Center for Business and Public Policy, told ABC News.
“A strike would lead to substantial retail product shortages, increased costs to consumers and firms, and plant shutdowns,” he said.
To the relief of gift buyers, however, holiday shopping would remain largely unaffected by a strike, Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation, told ABC News.
“For the holiday shopping season, a lot of goods are moved well in advance of the holidays,” he said.
Still, the financial disruption from a rail strike adds up to more than many Americans would expect, said Handley, of the University of California, San Diego.
“When these things come up, we find out how important rail is to the American economy,” he said. “For the most part, it’s operating entirely in the background and nobody ever sees it.”
