(WASHINGTON) — The top federal judge for the D.C. district court has issued a swift rejection of former President Donald Trump’s assertion of executive privilege to prevent former Vice President Mike Pence from testifying before a grand jury investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
At the same time, the judge issued a ruling that narrowly upheld parts of a separate legal challenge brought by Pence’s attorneys, who have argued Pence should be exempt from providing records or answering certain questions that align with his duties as president of the Senate overseeing the formal certification of the election on Jan. 6, 2021.
According to sources, D.C. Chief Judge James Boasberg ordered that Pence should have to provide answers to special counsel Jack Smith on any questions that implicate any illegal acts on Trump’s part.
Pence’s team had argued that such communications could run afoul of the Speech and Debate Clause that shields officials in Congress from legal proceedings specifically related to their work.
The special counsel’s office declined to comment to ABC News. Spokespeople for Pence and Trump did not immediately respond.
Boasberg’s rulings came just four days after his and Pence’s lawyers appeared at the district court to argue their challenge to the subpoena from the special counsel.
It was not immediately clear whether Trump or Pence’s legal teams are planning to appeal the rulings.
Pence has previously vowed to fight the subpoena to the Supreme Court if necessary, most recently telling ABC’s Chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl, “We’re going to respect the decisions of the court, and that may take us to the highest court in the land.”
The February subpoena to Pence demanded he provide documents and testimony related to the failed attempt by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election and followed months of negotiations between federal prosecutors and Pence’s legal team.
Boasberg’s orders followed upon another recent ruling by his predecessor in the role as D.C.’s chief judge, Judge Beryl Howell, who similarly rejected Trump’s claims of executive privilege over the testimony of multiple other top aides, including his former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
In a letter reviewed by ABC News, White House special counsel Richard Sauber informed Jack Smith that President Joe Biden would not be asserting executive privilege over Pence’s testimony.
“These events — which reflected the most serious attack on the operations of the Federal Government since the Civil War — threatened not only the safety of Congress and others present at the Capitol, but also the principles of democracy enshrined in our history and our Constitution,” Sauber wrote to Smith in February, after Smith had reached out the White House to determine whether the president planned to assert privilege over Pence’s grand jury appearance.
“In light of these unique circumstances, President Biden has determined that an assertion of executive privilege is not in the public interest with respect to the efforts to thwart the orderly transition of power under our Constitution.”
Primary Wave Music has acquired the catalog of yet another classic rocker. Billboard reports the company’s purchased the royalty rights of the late Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Bob Burns in what’s being described as a multimillion dollar deal.
Burns, a founding member of the band who died in a car accident in April 2015 at age 64, is credited on recordings from the group’s first two albums, 1973’s (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd) and 1974’s Second Helping. That includes such Lynyrd Skynyrd classics as “Free Bird,” “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Simple Man.”
“Lynyrd Skynyrd’s first two albums are timeless and are celebrated to this day,” Primary Wave Music’s senior vice president of business & legal affairs, Samantha Rhulen, shares, noting it’s “an incredible honor” to have his catalog. She added they “will ensure that his legacy is recognized by generations to come.”
Burns’ catalog is just one of many Primary Wave has acquired in recent months. Others include Joey Ramone, The Doors’ Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek and Steve Van Zandt.
(WASHINGTON) — The House Foreign Affairs Committee has served Secretary of State Antony Blinken with a subpoena for a classified document from diplomats in Kabul warning the Afghan government was at risk of collapse as the last American troops prepared to exit.
It marks a significant escalation in the GOP probe of how the Biden administration handled the tumultuous U.S. withdrawal.
The Republican chairman of the committee, Rep. Mike McCaul, said in a statement Monday night that the panel “made multiple good faith attempts to find common ground” with Blinken to allow lawmakers to see what’s called a “dissent cable” sent to State Department leadership in July 2021 as well as Blinken’s reply, calling the communication “a critical piece of information.”
“Unfortunately, Secretary Blinken has refused to provide the dissent cable and his response to the cable, forcing me to issue my first subpoena as chairman of the committee,” McCaul continued, adding that the panel expects the State Department will “follow the law and comply with this subpoena in good faith.”
But State Department officials have indicated that the agency is unlikely to hand over the documents without mounting a challenge.
“The department followed up with the committee to reiterate its willingness to provide a briefing about the concerns raised and the challenges identified by Embassy Kabul, including in the dissent channel. The Committee chose instead to issue a subpoena,” State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said in statement.
“The department remains committed to providing the committee the information it needs to conduct its oversight function, and has already provided thousands of pages of documents responsive to the committee’s request,” Patel said.
Blinken argued against supplying lawmakers with the requested documents during a hearing before the committee last week, claiming that turning them over may have a chilling effect on State Department employees who are free to use the private channel within the department to express misgivings or concerns.
“The tradition of having a dissent channel goes back decades,” the secretary testified. “It’s a unique way for anyone is the department to speak truth to power as they see it without fear or favor. And they do it by the regulations we established for these cables in a privileged and confidential way.”
But Republicans and even some Democrats say that there is value in examining the documents, which provide a first-hand account of conditions on the ground in Afghanistan during the days and weeks leading up the final, chaotic phase of the U.S. withdrawal as a Taliban offensive swept across the country and threatened the capital.
A source previously told ABC News that the cable, co-signed by nearly two dozen U.S. Embassy staffers on July 13, 2021, called on the Biden administration to begin airlifting Afghan allies out of the country immediately and urged Washington to use stronger language to condemn the Taliban’s atrocities.
The source said Blinken promptly read the cable and responded to it. The Biden administration also announced an operation to relocate Afghans who worked with U.S. and NATO forces the day after the initial memo was sent.
However, evacuations did not begin until late July, meaning only a small share of the tens of thousands of Afghans eligible for special immigration visas could be taken out before Kabul was retaken by the Taliban, prompting bipartisan criticism of the Biden administration.
In the hectic final days of the U.S. occupation, the terrorist group ISIS-K also carried out a suicide bombing near the crowded entrance to the Hamid Karzai Intenational Airport in Kabul, killing 13 American servicemembers and scores of Afghans.
“The American people deserve answers as to how this tragedy unfolded,” McCaul said in his statement announcing the subpoena.
ABC’s Cindy Smith and Conor Finnegan contributed to this report.
President Joe Biden will welcome South Korea’s president, Yoon Suk Yeol, next month and has reportedly reached out to both Lady Gaga and BLACKPINK to perform during the visit.
Korea JoongAng Dailyreports Biden will host Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee on April 26, which will culminate in a state dinner that’ll feature a joint culture event. The president has reportedly asked Gaga and the K-pop superstars to assist with the event.
YG Entertainment, which reps BLACKPINK, said in a statement on Tuesday, “We have received the offer and are discussing the matter.” It is unknown at this time if they will accept, as the ladies are scheduled to perform in Mexico City on April 26 and April 27 as part of their BLACKPINK World Tour [Born Pink].
It is also unknown if Gaga will be in attendance.
For those who might think the pairing is random, BLACKPINK and Gaga know each other. BLACKPINK was featured on the song “Sour Candy” off of Gaga’s latest album, Chromatica.
The White House announced the state dinner earlier this month, saying it will be held to commemorate “the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-ROK alliance, which is critical to advancing peace, stability, and prosperity for our two countries, the Indo-Pacific, and around the world.”
The Alarm is giving fans another taste of their upcoming album, Forwards. The band has released the third single from the record, “Whatever,” along with a video that was inspired by frontman Mike Peters’ second battle with cancer in 2022.
“I was inspired to write this song after hearing John Lennon sing ‘Whatever Gets You Thru The Night’ on the hospital radio,” Peters tells The Big Takeover, which premiered the video. “I thought to myself, ‘Never mind the night … what am I going to do to get through life?’”
He adds, “The song ‘Whatever’ was born soon after and it’s really about the most simple, yet most important things like family, friends and loved ones who help you in the hours of need and an appreciation of life’s fundamental gifts such as being able to breathe, talk and to walk.”
Forwards will be released June 2 on both CD and vinyl, with two vinyl options available, a classic green and white star white vinyl edition, plus a limited edition metallic green vinyl, available only at independent record stores. The album is available for preorder now.
Coi Leray has earned her first top-10 Hot 100 hit thanks to her viral hit “Players.”
Billboard reports the song leaped from its previous position at the #12 spot to #9 on the music chart, with 58.5 million in airplay audience (an 11% increase), 4,000 sold (up 5%) and a total of 10.5 million streams, which is up 3% from last week. It’s her third song on the Hot 100, following previous top-40 hits “Blick Blick!” and “No More Parties,” but her first solo track to secure a spot on the list.
“My first top 10 record. Dolo,” Coi captioned a post about her latest achievement.
“Players” was released in late November and samples Grandmaster Flash‘s “The Message.” It now sits atop the Hot Rap Songs chart for its second week.
Coi’s dropped several versions of the track since it’s gone viral. The most recent, “Players (Busta Rhymes Remix),” came out Friday.
(NEW YORK) — Social media app TikTok faces mounting bipartisan hostility in Washington D.C., where Biden administration officials and lawmakers are weighing a possible ban of the platform.
The app, which counts more than 150 million U.S. users each month but is owned by a China-based parent company, has faced growing scrutiny from government officials over fears that user data could fall into the possession of the Chinese government and the app could be weaponized by China to spread misinformation.
However, there is no evidence that TikTok has shared U.S. user data with the Chinese government or that the Chinese government has asked the app to do so, cybersecurity experts told ABC News.
Still, there’s reason to believe that the Chinese government could compel the company to share data on U.S. users or manipulate content on the app to forward a pro-China agenda, considering the nation’s authority over domestic companies and previous misleading statements made by TikTok on related issues, the experts added.
“We don’t have smoking-gun evidence,” Sarah Bauerle-Danzman, a professor who specializes in national security and business investment at Indiana University, told ABC News. “But we do know that if the [Chinese government] asks TikTok for any data, they would be compelled to provide it and we also probably wouldn’t know if they did.”
In a statement, TikTok cited Project Texas, an initiative that the company says keeps all U.S. user data on servers within the country.
“The whole point of Project Texas is to put TikTok U.S. user data and systems outside the reach or influence of any foreign government,” the company said in a statement to ABC News.
“Today, all new protected U.S. user data is stored exclusively in infrastructure in the United States, and today all access to that environment is managed exclusively by TikTok U.S. Data Security, a team led by Americans, in America,” the company added.
Here’s what we know and don’t know about the national security threat posed by TikTok.
No evidence that TikTok has shared US user data with the Chinese government
A key fear among lawmakers and other government officials is that TikTok could share sweeping data on U.S. users with the Chinese government or the Chinese government could force the platform to manipulate the content displayed to U.S.-based users.
But there is no evidence available that suggests TikTok has shared U.S. user data or altered content for U.S. users at the behest of the Chinese government, cybersecurity experts said.
“We actually lack any evidence that China is regularly or systematically collecting TikTok data,” Ahmed Ghappour, a professor at Boston University who focuses on computer security and criminal law, told ABC News.
“We lack any evidence that China has attempted to compel TikTok to manipulate user recommendations or user data in any way that would rise to the level of a national security threat,” he added.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew pointed to the lack of evidence during roughly five hours of testimony before a House committee on Thursday.
“I think a lot of risks that are pointed out are hypothetical and theoretical risks,” Chew responded. “I have not seen any evidence.”
“I’m eagerly awaiting discussions where we talk about evidence,” he added.
In fact, some House members critical of TikTok acknowledged the lack of evidence.
Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, closed the proceeding with a line of questions focused on potential data sharing between TikTok and the Chinese government.
“Maybe you haven’t done it yet,” Crenshaw said, addressing Chew. “But my point is that you might have to.”
“If you want to know why Democrats and Republicans have come together on this,” Crenshaw added. “That’s why.”
Despite a lack of evidence for the national security threat posed by TikTok, it remains a legitimate theoretical concern, since China has shown a previous willingness to exploit user data and wields extensive authority over domestic companies, cybersecurity experts said.
“We know that China is very aggressive when it comes to spying,” James Lewis, a data security expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told ABC News. “TikTok hasn’t been caught. The Chinese have been caught.”
For instance, in 2015, hackers working on behalf of China broke into the computer system of the Office of Personnel Management, a federal agency, compromising the data of as many as 4 million federal employees, the Washington Post reported.
Last month, the U.S. military shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina, ending days of travel that took the balloon across the continental United States.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a trip to Beijing just hours before he was set to depart. Blinken called the balloon a “clear violation” of U.S. sovereignty and international law. Days later, China accused the U.S. of flying spy balloons into its airspace without permission more than 10 times since the start of 2022 — an allegation that the U.S. denied.
Meanwhile, China’s use of digital surveillance on its own residents is well-documented, including the deployment of app-based data to spy on residents as part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under Chinese law, the government could force TikTok-parent company ByteDance to turnover U.S. user data and manipulate content displayed on the app, cybersecurity experts said, noting that a lack of transparency makes it difficult to determine whether such a request has taken place.
“There wouldn’t be a paper trail necessarily that would be available to the public to see if this were to occur,” Bauerle-Danzman said.
TikTok has repeatedly denied sharing U.S. user data with the Chinese government or receiving a request along those lines.
However, the company has previously provided misleading information on related issues, some experts said.
TikTok engineers based in China gained access to intimate information on U.S. users between September 2021 and January 2022, even after a TikTok executive told the Senate in sworn testimony in October 2021 that a “world-renowned, US-based security team” determined which employees accessed such data, BuzzFeed reported in June.
“TikTok has a documented history of saying one thing and not always being accurate about that information,” Bauerle-Danzman said.
In response to concerns about U.S. user data, Chew has touted Project Texas, an ongoing effort that he says keeps all data on U.S. users within the country through a partnership with Oracle. During his testimony before the House, Chew said ByteDance remains capable of accessing user data but will no longer be able to do so after TikTok completes Project Texas.
Chew also said the company would welcome information security controls approved by a U.S. government monitor and enforced by a third party.
“Trust must be earned through action, not words,” Chew said.
ABC News’ Britt Clennett, Karson Yiu and Morgan Winsor contributed reporting.
50 Cent and the Minnesota Timberwolves are now business partners. According to the NBA, the rapper’s Sire Spirits company has entered a multiple-year partnership with the organization.
Per the terms, the Wolves have named the brand’s Branson Cognac and Le Chemin du Roi Champagne their official spirit partner and champagne, respectively. Sires will open a bar with naming rights on the 200 level of the Target Center, which will offer their cognac, champagne and specialty cocktails. The brand will also sponsor of a Sip & See VIP pregame happy hour for players’ partners and family members.
Additionally, the partnership will see 50’s G-Unity Foundation team up with the Timberwolves & Lynx Basketball Academy for two community basketball clinics throughout the season, and the distribution of long-form content covering local minority-owned businesses that work with the Wolves on their socials.
“I had the opportunity to meet with the Timberwolves and knew they were the perfect partners for Sire Spirits,” said 50, whose company also has deals with the Houston Rockets, Texans and Astros, as well as the Sacramento Kings and Indiana Pacers. “I am a big fan of the team, and I am excited to spend more time in Minnesota and get to know all the fans.”
Jimin recently revealed he originally wasn’t enthused about being a member of BTS and revealed his bandmate, Suga, changed his mind.
He appeared on Suga’s talk show, Suchwita, to promote his new album, FACE.
The singer reflected on starting his music career over a decade ago and said, translated from Korean, “When I first joined the agency as a trainee, I didn’t have any ambition to be on the team. Because I didn’t think it was my team.”
He credited Suga with making him feel welcome. “I still remember the lights were off and we were in our beds. I think we all woke up because [RM] was snoring. You were on the top bunk and … you said, ‘You’re a good singer so I really want you to be on our team,'” he recalled. “That’s when my ambition sparked.”
When asked where he’ like to go next, Jimin said he’d want to go to 2025 — the year BTS is expected to reform after all the members complete their mandatory military service. “By then, we’ll all be together … I wonder what we’ll be like, too,” he noted.
He and Suga expressed excitement for 2025, adding they think they’ll have a lot of fun making new music with the group because everyone was able to pursue solo projects during their hiatus.
Until the band reforms, fans can relive one of BTS’ biggest U.S. concert on Disney+, BTS: PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE – LA.
In other BTS news, a pop-up store will open in New York City to celebrate their 10th anniversary as a band. Fans can visit The BTS POP-UP: Space of BTS on the third floor of The Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards starting April 27.
(WASHINGTON) — The country’s top banking regulators faced a grilling from lawmakers Tuesday about who was responsible for the the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.
The Senate Banking Committee heard testimony from officials at the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Treasury Department in its first hearing about the overnight collapses of the institutions.
“Did the Fed drop the ball because it didn’t see the risks that were building?” chairman Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, asked as he kicked off the proceedings.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., argued “warning signs should have been flashing red and SVB should have stood out as it was: absolutely a problem child.”
“I hope to learn how the Federal Reserve could know about such risky practices for more than a year and failed to take definitive corrective action,” Scott added, pointing to testimony that supervisors flagged weaknesses as early as 2021. “By all accounts, our regulators appear to have been asleep at the wheel.”
Michael Barr, the Federal Reserve’s vice chair for supervision, pushed back that it was the job of bank managers to resolve issues stemming from their unique business models.
“The bank failed because its management failed to appropriately address clear interest rate risk and liquidity risk,” Barr said, going on to describe the actions of executives a “textbook case of bank mismanagement.”
Barr testified alongside Nellie Liang, the undersecretary for domestic finance at the Treasury Department, and Martin Gruenberg, who chairs the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Barr and Gruenberg signaled they have tools to reprimand bank executives — including civil money penalties, the payment of restitution or ban from the banking industry — pending the findings of investigations.
“We retain this authority even after a bank fails, and we stand ready to use this authority to the fullest extent based on the facts and circumstances,” Barr said.
President Joe Biden has called on Congress to make it easier to punish failed bank executives, including clawing back their compensation. Gruenberg stated Tuesday the FDIC didn’t have explicit authority to claw back pay but could go after executives in these other ways.
Biden also called for stricter banking rules to prevent more collapses.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., on Tuesday hammered regulators on their commitment to tightening banking rules in the wake of these failures.
One after another, all three officials said they agreed banking rules should be strengthened.
“Each of you at this table has authority that you could exercise right now to strengthen rules for big banks and to ensure that our banking system and our economy are safer,” Warren said. “I urge you to use that authority, and I urge my colleagues here in Congress to do our part to protect American families and small businesses from yet another banking crisis.”
Barr and other officials faced questions about whether recent changes to regulation and supervision, including the Trump-era rollbacks of the Dodd Frank Act, contributed to the banks’ implosions.
“If it’s the regulator’s fault, it better be fixed. If it’s the regulation’s fault, it better be fixed,” Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said. “If it’s something else, I hope there’s a report to this committee saying, ‘You know what guys, this can happen again unless this happens.'”
But Republicans, who are generally opposed to more regulation, questioned if bank regulators already had the appropriate tools but decided not to use them.
Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo, a chief architect of the 2018 legislation, said it still allowed the Fed to use its discretion to impose stricter standards on individual institutions.
“You are not using the tools in your toolbox,” said Alabama Sen. Katie Britt. “That is what people hate about Washington.”
Barr agreed the Federal Reserve is granted “substantial discretion” under that law, and that would be “one of the areas we’ll be looking at in our review.”
The Federal Reserve is looking into the bank failures and their practices, with reports expected by May 1. Barr vowed “transparency” and said the Federal Reserve welcomes independent investigations.
Regulators also defended the decisions they made in the days after the collapse, including the decision to protect all deposits, citing the risk of contagion for smaller and regional banks.
“The situation demanded a swift response. In the days that followed, the federal government took decisive action to strengthen public confidence in the U.S. banking system and to protect the U.S. economy,” Liang said.
