January 30, 2026 at 9:57 PM EST
GOP-appointed judge smacks down Trump admin for hiding government spending: report

Law & Crime reports a federal judge called out President Donald Trump's administration for violating a court order demanding access to hidden spending plans. In win for transparency groups, U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, first appointed by President Ronald Reagan and later by Presidents George H.W. Bush and Clinton, had to school the Trump administration over what it could and could not hide from the public.

January 30, 2026 at 9:35 PM EST
MAGA hurls racist attacks at Trump official

One high-ranking member of President Donald Trump's administration is now being subjected to a fusillade of racist insults from Trump supporters. MS NOW columnist Ja'han Jones wrote Friday that Madhu Gottumukkala -- who is Trump's acting head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) -- is the latest target of far-right rage after he was caught in a scandal. According to Politico, Gottumukkala uploaded sensitive government documents to a public version of ChatGPT. None of the documents were classified, but they were reportedly classified as "for official use only."

January 30, 2026 at 8:48 PM EST
Trump loses in court again after judge blocks attempt to restrict voting

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports a federal judge on Friday blocked federal agencies from requesting citizenship status when distributing voter registration forms. The decision amounts to the latest derailment of President Donald Trump's far-reaching executive order seeking to change the face of voting in national elections. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly (an appointee of former President Bill Clinton) ruled that the Constitution's separation of powers give states authority over setting election rules, with some input from Congress -- not the White House.

January 30, 2026 at 8:22 PM EST
Conservative Hollywood media mogul slams Trump's 'dictator-like' move

The recent arrest of journalist Don Lemon has set off alarm bells within the media world - including from one prominent media executive with ties to President Donald Trump. In a Friday segment on his gossip site TMZ, founder Harvey Levin lamented the Trump administration's indictment of Lemon - a former CNN anchor -- and suggested Trump was taking a page from the authoritarian playbook.

January 30, 2026 at 8:04 PM EST
The real reason Donald Trump didn't fire Kristi Noem

President Donald Trump may have fired Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem if she ran the agency during his first term. But his second term is different -- possibly due to the first high-profile appointee Trump fired. In a Friday article for The Independent, correspondent Andrew Feinberg wrote that Noem may have to give thanks to Gen. Michael Flynn (Ret.), who served as Trump's first White House National Security Advisor. Flynn's tenure was short-lived, and he was let go after just 22 days on the job after he was found to have had back-channel communications with Russia's ambassador to the United States and lied about it to the FBI.

January 30, 2026 at 5:28 PM EST
Trump official traveled to Epstein's island years after claiming he cut ties: NYT

One member of President Donald Trump's Cabinet apparently sought to travel to convicted child predator Jeffrey Epstein's private island, according to a newly released document. The New York Times reported Friday that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick sent an email to Epstein in 2012, telling him that he and his family were going to be in the Caribbean and asking if they could meet for lunch. Epstein responded through an assistant, who gave Lutnick information about Epstein's "Little Saint James Island" in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

January 30, 2026 at 5:15 PM EST
Melania Trump exchanged affectionate emails with chief Epstein accomplice

The New York Daily News is reporting on new "gushing" emails from the latest trove of documents from the Epstein files, showing First Lady Melania Trump with an apparently strong relationship with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell (who was convicted for procuring victims for Jeffrey Epstein) two years before Melania married now-President Donald Trump. "Dear G! How are you?" Melania asked in one email to Maxwell, dated October 2002. "Nice story about JE in NY mag. You look great in the picture."

January 30, 2026 at 4:41 PM EST
'As weak as it gets': Attorneys laugh at Trump DOJ's indictment of Don Lemon

The indictment of journalist Don Lemon was recently unsealed, and many legal experts are largely in agreement that the charging document is flimsy at best. On Friday, CNN host Jake Tapper posted the unsealed 12-page indictment of his former colleague to his official X account. Lemon has been charged with one count of conspiracy against right of religious freedom at place of worship and one count of impeding access to the exercise of religious freedom at a place of worship. The charges stem from Lemon documenting a protest at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota where one of the pastors is reportedly in a leadership position within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

January 30, 2026 at 4:21 PM EST
Trump admin fired Atlanta FBI chief for 'refusal to carry out' election raid: report

MS NOW Justice and Intelligence correspondent Ken Dilanian is now reporting that President Donald Trump administration's seizure of Fulton County, Georgia election records may be either more flimsy or more political than proclaimed. "Two people familiar with [the] matter tell MS NOW News that the special agent in charge of the FBI's Atlanta Field office, Paul Brown, was forced out of that job earlier this month over his qualms about, and refusal to carry out, the searches and seizures of the Fulton County ballots," Dilanian announced on X.

January 30, 2026 at 3:57 PM EST
FBI inundated with 'salacious allegations' of Trump assaulting women in Epstein files: CNN

President Donald Trump's administration has apparently been aware of allegations he assaulted a woman, according to one reporter reviewing the latest batch of Epstein files. CNN correspondent MJ Lee reported Friday on the contents of some of the "302 documents" that are included in the most recent tranche of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents the Department of Justice (DOJ) recently released. 302 forms are official FBI files for documenting witness interviews and summarizing victim statements.

January 30, 2026 at 12:06 PM EST
Deputy AG's bizarre reason for Gabbard at FBI raid: 'She happened to be in Atlanta'

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard appeared Wednesday in a large coat and hat as the FBI raided a Fulton County elections office in Georgia. It piqued the interest of reporters at a Justice Department press conference on Friday as Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche spoke.

January 30, 2026 at 11:47 AM EST
Trump staffer backed into corner after claiming reporters 'intentionally mislead' public

White House deputy chief of staff James Blair on Friday called out media outlets for not posting in their headlines that reporter Don Lemon was arrested as a result of a grand jury indictment. That information, however, remains under seal. "Any 'news' outlet failing to make clear in their headline that Don Lemon was indicted by a federal grand jury is intentionally misleading the public. Thank you for your attention to this matter," said Blair on X.