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How does the Biden classified documents matter compare to Trump’s?

January 10, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The revelation that classified documents were kept at the Biden Penn Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, a Washington, D.C., think tank, has raised questions about how the situation involving President Joe Biden compares with the classified documents seized at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home.

Trump has sought to liken the classified documents at Biden’s office, used after he left as vice president in connection with his being a honorary professor at the University of Pennsylvania, to the documents taken by the FBI from Mar-a-Lago in August.

“When is the FBI going to raid the many homes of Joe Biden, perhaps even the White House,” Trump posted on his social media site Truth Social after the revelation. “These documents were definitely not declassified.”

In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity in September, Trump maintained that he had declassified the documents at Mar-a-Lago, that he could do so simply by thinking about it, and even said that they were his property.

How did each respond?

When the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago and found a large number of classified documents — some containing top secret markings — it came after a months-long effort by the National Archives and Justice Department to retrieve them.

By contrast, when Biden attorneys found what they said was a small number of documents in November when closing the office, which Biden was said to have used only periodically, they said they immediately notified the National Archives.

“The documents were not the subject of any previous request or inquiry by the archives,” Richard Sauber, a special counsel to Biden, said in a statement.

Number of classified documents

“The White House is cooperating with the National Archives and the Department of Justice regarding the discovery of what appear to be Obama-Biden Administration records, including a small number of documents with classified markings,” Sauber said.

The exact nature of the documents isn’t clear, but the Justice Department has launched a preliminary review into the Biden matter, sources told ABC News.

Meanwhile, Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith has been tasked with figuring out if Trump broke any laws and obstructed the investigation into the hundreds of classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago.

“It is surprising to hear there were classified documents found at the Penn Biden Center, but based on the details that have come out, it appears to be some somewhat of a different context than the much larger number of classified documents that were found at former presidents President Trump’s residence at Mar a Lago,” Javed Ali, the former Senior Counterterrorism Director on the National Security Council said in an interview with ABC News.

Intent and knowledge?

Ali, now a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Policy, said it is concerning that classified documents were found at the Penn Center, but it is not known what damage has been done, if any.

“Was this a case of sloppy record handling or something more intentional? We also don’t yet know the answer to that, but I suspect my colleagues in the intelligence community are doing what is known as a damage assessment to determine what exactly was contained in these documents, who potentially may have had some kind of unauthorized access to them and what if any kind of mitigation measures need to go in place,” he said.

It’s not clear whether Biden, unlike Trump, was aware of the classified documents at the office.

Attorney General Merrick Garland has assigned U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John Lausch with leading the review into how the documents ended up at the Penn Biden Center, a source familiar confirmed.

Lausch’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The FBI referred comment to DOJ, who declined to comment.

“U.S. Attorney Lausch is a by-the-book prosecutor who was confirmed with bipartisan support during the previous administration,” Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin said in a statement Tuesday. “I trust that he will handle this investigation with the utmost professionalism and without bias.”

In September, Biden was critical of the former president’ handling of classified documents in an interview with the CBC News program “60 Minutes.”

“How that could possibly happen,” Biden said. “How one — anyone could be that irresponsible. And I thought — what data was in there that may compromise sources and methods … And it’s just — totally irresponsible.”

But he has ignored reporter questions about the politically sensitive matter so far during a summit meeting in Mexico.

Reaction from both Republicans and Democrats has been predictably sharply different.

“So, if then Vice President Biden took classified documents with him and held them for years and criticized President former President Trump during that same time that he had those classified documents, and only after it was uncovered, did he turn them back,” Steve Scalise, a Republican from Louisiana said on Capitol Hill Tuesday. “I wonder why the president asking the same questions of him as vice president taking classified documents that they were asking President Trump.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, praised the Biden administration for going through the proper channels.

“I applaud President Biden and Attorney General Garland for their professional, nonpartisan handling of this situation,” Durbin said. “Unlike former President Donald Trump, who allegedly obstructed efforts to recover hundreds of classified documents, the handful of classified documents reportedly found at the Biden Center were immediately sent to the National Archives and President Biden is allowing the Justice Department to operate free of political interference.”

In a letter Tuesday to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, Rep. Mike Turner, the incoming GOP chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, asked for a “damage assessment” to be done about the classified documents found at the Biden Penn Center.

“I write to request an immediate review and damage assessment following numerous reports that then Vice-President Biden removed, and then retained highly classified information at an undisclosed and unsecure non-government office in Washington, D.C., for a period of at least six years,” Turner, an Ohio Republican, wrote in the letter.

“It has been reported that a portion of the materials at issue were marked “sensitive compartmented information,” indicating the highest classification and most sensitive intelligence information in our government,” he said.

“This discovery of classified information would put President Biden in potential violation of laws protecting national security, including the Espionage Act and Presidential Records Act. Those entrusted with access to classified information have a duty and an obligation to protect it. This issue demands a full and thorough review,” Turner said.

Janis Ian to receive Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Folk Music Awards

January 10, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Janis Ian is set to be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at next month’s International Folk Music Awards.

The event will take place February 1 at the opening night of the Folk Alliance International’s annual conference in Kansas City, Missouri, and will be broadcast live online.

The Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Awards are handed out each year “to honor the cultural impact of legendary folk music figures,” one Living, one Legacy and one Business/Academic.

This year’s other honorees include John Prine’s Oh Boy Records, which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, and the late singer/songwriter and activist Josh White.

In Mexico, Biden dodges questions on discovery of classified documents

January 10, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(MEXICO CITY) — One day after President Joe Biden’s special counsel confirmed classified documents were discovered in Biden’s former personal office, the president had yet to directly address a key question: Did he knowingly mishandle classified material?

Meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Tuesday morning in Mexico City, Biden ignored reporters’ efforts to shout versions of that question, instead focusing on his goals for the North America Leaders’ Summit.

The Justice Department is currently looking into the matter, scrutinizing the set of documents, which were discovered in early November at the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Biden Center in Washington. Biden worked there in the years following his vice presidency. The existence of the documents was first reported Monday by CBS News, and confirmed by ABC News.

While Biden has yet to comment on the politically explosive matter, he has not been shy to criticize former President Donald Trump’s mishandling of classified information, after the FBI raided Trump’s personal office at the Mar-A-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, in August.

“How that could possibly happen? How one — anyone could be that irresponsible? And I thought, what data was in there that may compromise sources and methods? By that I mean names of people who helped or th– et cetera. And it just — totally irresponsible,” Biden said in an interview on the CBS News program “60 Minutes” in September.

In August, when asked whether it is ever appropriate to take classified documents home, away from the White House, Biden told reporters, “it depends.”

“Depending on the circumstance. For example, I have in my home a, a cabined-off space that is completely secure. I’m taking home with me today, today’s PDB (President’s Daily Brief). It’s locked, I have a person with me, military with me. I read it, I lock it back up, and give it to the military,” Biden said, when asked if it was ever appropriate to take home classified documents.

When pressed whether it would be appropriate to do without a specialized, secured area, Biden once again said, “it depends.”

“Depends on the document and it depends on how secure the room,” Biden said.

According to a statement from Richard Sauber, President Biden’s special counsel, the White House is fully cooperating with the National Archives and the Department of Justice in this matter. The statement claims the documents were immediately handed over for review upon discovery by the president’s personal attorneys, who were packing files in order to vacate the office.

Attorney General Merrick Garland has tasked a Trump appointee, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John Lausch, to look into the handling of the documents.

Former President Trump reacted to the discovery of the Biden documents Monday evening on his Truth Social account.

“When is the FBI going to raid the many homes of Joe Biden, perhaps even the White House? These documents were definitely not declassified,” Trump claimed.

On Capitol Hill Tuesday, newly-empowered House Republicans were quick to call for investigation. Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio, the top Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee, asked Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to carry out “an immediate review and damage assessment” pertaining to the storage of the documents.

Other Republicans drew a comparison between the Biden documents, and the ongoing legal fight over the classified documents discovered at Trump’s personal office.

“It’s unprecedented to raid the residence of a former president for something that every president, including the current president, has done accidentally — I’m gonna assume accidentally – pack documents that may be classified,” Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the GOP chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, told ABC News.

“If then Vice President Biden took classified documents with him and held them for years, and criticized former President Trump during the same time that he had those classified documents … I wonder why the press isn’t asking the same questions of him,” Majority Whip Steve Scalise said.

Some Democrats are also expressing concern.

“Obviously if there are classified documents anywhere they shouldn’t be, that’s a problem and a deep concern,” said Rep. Adam Schiff of California, former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

ABC News’s Katherine Faulders, Will Steakin, Lauren Peller and Gabe Ferris contributed to this report.

AMC reveals its ‘Walking Dead’ plans, including spin-off with Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira

January 10, 2023 by WDNY Radio

On Tuesday, as part of AMC’s Television Critics Association winter confab, the network unveiled its plans to continue The Walking Dead universe.

The recently retitled The Walking Dead: Dead City will debut in June. Jeffrey Dean Morgan‘s Negan and Lauren Cohan‘s Maggie will tackle a “post-apocalyptic Manhattan long ago cut off from the mainland.” AMC notes, “The crumbling city is filled with the dead and denizens who have made New York City their own world full of anarchy, danger, beauty, and terror.” The show will debut this June.

As reported, Norman Reedus‘ fan favorite character will find himself in Europe in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, debuting later this year. The network teases, “Daryl washes ashore in France and struggles to piece together how he got there and why. The series tracks his journey across a broken but resilient France as he hopes to find a way back home.”

The network also revealed that Andrew Lincoln‘s Rick Grimes will finally reunite with his onscreen love Michonne, played by Black Panther series star Danai Gurira, in their as-yet-untitled series that they’ll also executive produce. It gets underway this year and premieres in 2024.

“The spinoff series … presents an epic love story of two characters changed by a changed world,” the network explains. “Rick and Michonne are thrown into another world, built on a war against the dead … And ultimately, a war against the living. Can they find each other and who they were in a place and situation unlike any they’ve ever known before? Are they enemies? Lovers? Victims? Victors? Without each other, are they even alive — or will they find that they, too, are the Walking Dead?”

AMC also announced that the eighth and final season of Fear the Walking Dead begins Sunday, May 14.

Wet Leg, Gorillaz, Björk playing Coachella 2023

January 10, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Wet Leg, Gorillaz and Björk are among the artists playing Coachella 2023.

The bill also includes Blondie, Yungblud, WILLOW, The Linda Lindas, Dominic Fike and Cannons. The headliners are Puerto Rican rap star Bad Bunny, K-pop sensations BLACKPINK, alternative R&B artist Frank Ocean and DJ Calvin Harris.

Coachella 2023 will take place April 14-16 and April 21-23. A presale for tickets — which are “very limited” for the first weekend, according to a press release — begins this Friday, January 13, at 11 a.m. PT.

For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit Coachella.com.

Longtime Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg sentenced to 5 months in jail

January 10, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Allen Weisselberg, one of former President Donald Trump’s most trusted and loyal employees, was escorted out of court in handcuffs Tuesday after being sentenced to five months in jail for evading more than $1.7 million in taxes on unreported income in the form of company-provided perks that included the rent on his Manhattan apartment, the leases on cars for himself and his wife and tuition for his grandchildren.

Weisselberg, 75, was sentenced to five months on Rikers Island, New York City’s notorious jail complex, followed by five years’ probation, after he pleaded guilty in August to orchestrating a 15-year tax scheme while working at the Trump Organization as chief financial officer.

He appeared for his sentencing dressed casually in blue pants, a white T-shirt and an olive green fleece jacket.

“He is obviously dressed the way he is dressed because he expects to be remanded today,” defense attorney Nicholas Gravante told the judge.

As part of a plea deal, Weisselberg testified over three days in November against the Trump Organization at its criminal trial, which resulted in a conviction against the company for paying the personal expenses of some executives without reporting them as income, and for compensating them as independent contractors instead of full-time employees.

He was promised a sentence of five months in jail and five years’ probation in exchange for his testimony, and agreed to repay nearly $2 million in taxes owed.

“The People believe that Mr. Weisselberg provided truthful testimony about the underlying facts of his allocution and plea,” a prosecutor, Susan Hoffinger, said.

Weisselberg walked a fine line during his testimony in the Trump Organization trial. He conceded he evaded $1.7 million in taxes by taking part of his compensation in off-the-books luxuries like rent, car leases and private school tuition. He also said the scheme benefitted two entities of the Trump Organization — Trump Corporation and Trump Payroll Corporation — by causing them to have a lower payroll tax burden. However, he said nothing to implicate Trump himself in the scheme.

Weisselbarg “knew and thought in his mind that there were benefits to the companies,” Hoffinger told the judge.

Though the plea agreement called for a predetermined five-month jail term, Gravante asked for an additional reduction, citing Weisselberg’s lack of criminal history, his military service, his full acceptance of responsibility and, the attorney said, the lack of danger he posed to the community.

“Each month makes a big difference when you’re 75 years old, because each week you’re incarcerated represents a larger percentage of his life,” Gravante said.

“I think the words expressed by Mr. Gravante express my thoughts and my feelings,” Weisselberg said.

The judge declined, saying an even stiffer sentence would be appropriate for conduct “driven by greed.”

“I would be imposing a sentence much greater than that,” Judge Juan Merchan said, citing evidence in the trial of the Trump Organization that Weisselberg arranged a $6,000 payment for his wife so she could later claim Social Security benefits.

“At a time when so many Americans work so hard in the hope they might one day benefit from their contributions to Social Security, your client found a way to get his wife a $6,000 payroll payment so she could one day receive the benefits to which she was not entitled,” Merchan said.

Weisselberg, while no longer the Trump Organization’s chief financial officer, remained employed with Trump’s family real estate firm and expected to make more than $1 million last year in salary and bonuses, according to his testimony at trial.

He pleaded guilty in August to one count of grand larceny in the second degree; three counts of criminal tax fraud in the third degree; one count of scheme to defraud in the first degree; one count of conspiracy in the fourth degree; one count of criminal tax fraud in the fourth degree; four counts of offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree; and four counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.

“Allen Weisselberg admitted in Court that he used his position at the Trump Organization to bilk taxpayers and enrich himself,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said at the time of his guilty plea. “Instead of paying his fair share like everyone else, Weisselberg had the Trump Organization provide him with a rent-free apartment, expensive cars, private school tuition for his grandchildren and new furniture — all without paying required taxes.”

Weisselberg testified at the trial of the Trump Organization that he reduced his reported salary by the total amount of personal expenses paid and that the company benefitted by paying less in payroll taxes. He also testified his primary motive was greed.

As part of this testimony, he told a story about sitting with Trump in his office on the 26th floor of Trump Tower one day in 2012 when Donald Trump Jr. walked in with checks for his father to sign to cover tuition payments for Don Jr.’s children.

Trump looked over at Weisselberg with a chuckle and said, “I might as well pay for your grandkids too,” according to Weisselberg’s testimony.

Trump then began paying $100,000 a year for Weisselberg’s two grandchildren to attend Columbia Grammar School. Weisselberg did not declare it as income and never paid taxes on it, he testified.

Trump, who was not a defendant in the case against the Trump Organization, denied any wrongdoing and called the case “a continuation of the Greatest Political Witch Hunt in the History of our Country.”

Moneybagg Yo announces GloRilla collaboration, “On Wat U On”

January 10, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Memphis rappers Moneybagg Yo and GloRilla are uniting for a new song that is scheduled to drop later this week.

Moneybagg made the announcement Tuesday, sharing the name of the track, “On Wat U On,” and the cover art on his social media.

The news comes less than 24 hours after he and GloRilla, who is also his Collective Music Group label mate, teased their upcoming collab. A video posted to their Instagram accounts sees them dancing to a snippet of the unreleased song.

“On Wat U On” drops Friday and will likely appear on Moneybagg Yo’s next album, which he says has a total of 22 songs. “My Album Is A Heartless Edition Hope Y’all Ready,” he writes of the upcoming project.

Kendrick Lamar named headliner of Bonnaroo 2023

January 10, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival has unveiled the lineup for its 2023 event, and it appears Kendrick Lamar will be headlining.

The rapper is slated to take the stage on the second of the four-night festival. Other headliners include Zeds Dead and Liquid Stranger, Odesza and Foo Fighters.

The 2023 Bonnaroo festival is scheduled for June 15-18 at the Bonnaroo Farm in Manchester, Tennessee. Big Freedia, Baby Keem, Three 6 Mafia, Lil Nas X and J.I.D are just a few of the artists tapped to perform at the annual event.

The early access sale begins Thursday, January 12, at 10 a.m. CT, followed by a general sale if tickets don’t sell out.

Dustin Lynch keeps “Party Mode” going with “Stars Like Confetti”

January 10, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Dustin Lynch is inviting you to an alcohol-fueled rager in the woods!

While that’s not exactly surprising from the guy whose most recent hit was “Party Mode,” it’s actually just the setup for his new music video.

“Pumped to let y’all know that Stars Like Confetti will be my next single at country radio!” Dustin shared on Instagram, along with a clip complete with drinks, RVs and an inflatable pool. “We’re dropping the official music video Friday at 1pmCT!”

Both “Stars Like Confetti” and “Party Mode” are on Dustin’s latest album, Blue in the Sky, alongside his smash duet with MacKenzie Porter, “Thinking ‘Bout You.”

Christine McVie’s life celebrated in Los Angeles

January 10, 2023 by WDNY Radio

The life of Christine McVie was celebrated in Los Angeles Monday night. TMZ reports that a memorial service for the late Fleetwood Mac star took place at Little Beach House in Malibu.

Paparazzi photos show that several of Christine’s bandmates were in attendance to celebrate her life, including Mick Fleetwood and Stevie Nicks, as well as former bandmate Lindsey Buckingham.

As previously reported, McVie passed away November 30 at the age of 79 following a short illness. The band released a statement following news of her death, sharing, “There are no words to describe our sadness at the passing of Christine McVie,” calling her the “best musician anyone could have in their band and the best friend anyone could have in their life.”

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