Latest news with #DepartmentofJustice
Yomiuri Shimbun
4 hours ago
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Treat Trump as a Politician, Not a Businessman; These Days, the President May Not Want a ‘Deal'
Is U.S. President Donald Trump a politician or a businessman? The answer varies depending on who you ask. During my tenure as a Washington correspondent for The Yomiuri Shimbun from January 2021 to November 2024, I heard both perspectives across the country. Answering this question can help resolve the issue of how Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba should deal with Trump. When I spoke to Trump supporters at his rallies, I always tried to ask why they supported him. The majority answered, 'Because he's a businessman.' They believed in Trump's strong position on the economy and his understanding of the hearts of workers. Even Trump himself knows that he is more attractive to his supporters if he remains seen as a businessman. However, the image of Trump that I formed while closely following him as a correspondent for the four years between his two administrations is completely different from the views of his supporters. From my perspective, he was a genuine politician and a former president. Every time I heard Trump supporters' comments about him being a businessman, I muttered to myself: 'It's a facade. It's a misunderstanding.' But this had not been my first impression of him. In January 2021, shortly after I was assigned as a Washington correspondent and as Trump was leaving office, he independently organized his own farewell ceremony at Joint Base Andrews in the Washington suburbs after skipping President Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony. The song playing as Air Force One took off was 'My Way.' The lyrics 'I've had my fill, my share of losing' made me certain he would never return to the White House. Most people in Washington would have thought the same way at the time. The job of a politician is simply too risky in many ways and no financial gain was expected for Trump. However, my prediction was proven wrong when he announced he would run again for president. Even after being indicted on four charges, he repeatedly criticized such moves as a 'witch hunt' carried out by the Department of Justice and the Biden administration. He faced a number of civil lawsuits and was ordered to pay millions of dollars. If he had returned to being a businessman, it was doubtful he would have faced such judicial pressure. Moreover, Trump was shot at a rally in Pennsylvania last July. He nearly lost his life, but he turned his brush with death into a political opportunity. The man I observed over the past four years was not a businessman, but a tough politician with a greed for power. Last December, I returned to Nagatacho, the area of Tokyo regarded as the heart of Japanese politics, as a political reporter. I was anxious when I heard that the prime minister had told his staff that Trump was a businessman, because I thought that if he negotiated business-like deals with Trump, I could not see a favorable outcome. In fact, shortly after taking office, Ishiba sought advice on Trump from Japanese businessmen. In January of this year, he met with Masayoshi Son, chairman and president of SoftBank Group, and asked him for advice on how to deal with Trump. Son is a longtime business friend of Trump, who calls him 'Masa.' However, Japanese diplomats and government officials who had been observing Trump in Washington were having the same thoughts as me. They began to turn the tide. While there were contradictions between what the diplomats said and what Son said, the prime minister began to listen to diplomats' advice on how to deal with Trump. The diplomats' persistent persuasion finally got the prime minister to adjust his perspective. The Japan-U.S. summit meeting in February was a successful one. Ishiba paid the utmost respect to Trump as a politician. At the press conference after the summit, Trump described Ishiba positively as 'going to be a great one.' He also commented, 'I've gotten to know him, not for long, but I can see what they have.' At the second summit between the two leaders in Canada in June, both of them avoided trying to reach a deal on the 'Trump tariffs.' Trump doesn't always want a deal, because he is no longer a businessman. He is now a politician who prioritizes national interests and reputation, and cares about the results of elections as Ishiba does. It seems to me that continuing negotiations was a sensible choice for Ishiba. After the summit, Trump again referred to Ishiba, saying: 'I think he's going to do a very good job. The Japanese are tough.' This remark suggests that Ishiba is valued as a counterpart by Trump, one step toward achieving Ishiba's goal of protecting Japanese industries. It has been 40 years since Ishiba was first elected to the Diet in his twenties, joining the political world after a career in banking. Prime Minister Ishiba, stay a politician. I believe that is the stance that will guide Japan-U.S. negotiations down the right path for the country of Japan. Political Pulse appears every Saturday. Hiroshi Tajima Hiroshi Tajima is a staff writer in the Political News Department of The Yomiuri Shimbun.
The Hill
8 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hill
University of Virginia president resigns facing DOJ pressure: Report
University of Virginia's president has resigned amid a Department of Justice probe into the school's diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, according to reports from the New York Times. Ryan's resignation will be effective 'no later than August 15,' a person familiar with the matter told the Times. University board members had alleged the school was not in compliance with President Trump's January executive order barring DEI practices at institutions that receive federal funding. Harmeet K. Dhillon, the head of the Justice Department's civil rights division, wrote a letter to Ryan on April 28 saying the office had received complaints the university's administration had failed to follow Trump's directive. The Times reported that the DOJ wrote another letter on June 17 saying, 'Time is running short, and the department's patience is wearing thin.' The school and Justice Department did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment on the matter. Axios reported earlier on Friday that the Trump administration was trying to push out Ryan. A university spokesperson told the outlet, 'UVA is committed to complying with all federal laws and has been cooperating with the Department of Justice in the ongoing inquiries. The federal government's support of the University is essential to continue the core mission of research, education and clinical care.' Ryan previously served as the dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education prior to joining the University of Virginia in August 2018. Virginia's Democratic senators blasted the Trump administration following news of his departure. 'It is outrageous that officials in the Trump Department of Justice demanded the Commonwealth's globally recognized university remove President Ryan — a strong leader who has served UVA honorably and moved the university forward — over ridiculous 'culture war' traps,' Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine said in a statement. 'Decisions about UVA's leadership belong solely to its Board of Visitors, in keeping with Virginia's well-established and respected system of higher education governance. This is a mistake that hurts Virginia's future.' The Trump administration has picked fights with various high-profile universities over diversity programs and their alleged failure to tackle anti-semitism on campus. Columbia University caved to those demands in an attempt to maintain federal funding, while Harvard has so far stood its ground. The Times reported this week that Harvard's leaders are debating how to reach a deal without being seen as capitulating to Trump.
New York Post
8 hours ago
- New York Post
College student faces serious prison sentence for firebombing Tesla dealership
The college student accused of firebombing a Tesla dealership in Kansas City faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted on all charges. Owen McIntire, who has been released to receive gender-affirming care, allegedly hurled Molotov cocktails at a Tesla dealership, blowing up two cars and causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages in March, officials said. The 19-year-old UMass Boston student has pleaded not guilty to malicious destruction of property and unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device. He faces up to 30 years, if convicted on all counts, according to the Kansas City Star. His case was elevated to the Department of Justice's national security division, which is typically focused on terrorism and espionage, after Attorney General Pam Bondi labeled the incident a case of 'domestic terrorism.' Owen McIntire, 19, is facing up to 30 years in prison if convicted. Department of Justice 'Let me be extremely clear to anyone who still wants to firebomb a Tesla property: you will not evade us,' Bondi said in April in announcing McIntire's arrest. 'You will be arrested. You will be prosecuted. You will spend decades behind bars. It is not worth it.' Federal authorities responded sharply to dozens of reports of vandalism at Tesla dealerships across the country in an apparent protest against Tesla CEO and President Trump's pal Elon Musk, who at the time was serving as the head of the administration's cost-cutting agency DOGE. The Federal Bureau of Investigation launched a new task force for investigating such reports. Trump even suggested sending the criminals to serve 20-year jail sentences in El Salvador, where the US recently rented out a prison for deported illegal alleged gang members. McIntire allegedly destroyed two Teslas and charging stations in March, KMBC News Last month, McIntire was granted release by a judge due to 'serious and ongoing' medical needs — which include gender-affirming medical care that requires daily medication as well as mental health support. McIntire is on the autism spectrum and was diagnosed with both ADHD and depression, all of which require medications and treatments that excuse him from remaining in prison, his lawyers successfully argued. He was allowed to move to his parents' Parkville, Missouri, home but must wear an ankle monitor and abide by other conditions, according to the Kansas City Star, Prosecutors wanted to keep McIntire in custody ahead of his trial. His trial is set for Aug. 11.
Irish Examiner
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
‘Value for money' cited as reason to evict Ukrainians from accommodation
The Department of Justice has cited 'value for money' among its motivations to evict 123 Ukrainians from a temporary accommodation centre in Millstreet, Co Cork. Residents of the Green Glens Arena were devastated to learn that they will have to leave their homes by August 29. The news was outlined in a letter sent to the residents by the Department of Justice. Their decision sparked a campaign by Fiona Corcoran, from Cork charity the Greater Chernobyl Cause, to halt the eviction. Residents were told by the Department of Justice that a letter will be sent with locations of their new accommodation, but they are unsure of when this will arrive or if they will be relocated in Cork. The Department of Justice issued a statement shedding light on its decision: 'As part of the response to the unprecedented humanitarian crisis of the war in Ukraine, the Department of Integration, at the time, contracted for a variety of different commercial properties,' a representative for the department said. 'All accommodation contracted by the department is temporary in nature, and Ukrainian citizens are advised of this when requesting emergency accommodation.' Decrease in demand for accommodation for Ukrainian citizens 'As the demand for accommodation for Ukrainian citizens decreases, and they make their own independent arrangements for accommodation, the department is carrying vacancies in commercial contracts. 'As a result, the department ends contracts on a regular basis in order to ensure value for money and greater oversight of the portfolio. 'This means that a number of Ukrainian citizens who are in State-supported accommodation are being moved to other accommodation.' The department representative added that they need to make the 'best possible use of state funds'. 'Any Ukrainian citizen resident in a property affected will be offered alternative emergency accommodation at a different site if they still require it. 'We need to provide the best we can for all those who come to Ireland fleeing war or oppression in Ukraine and other countries, while balancing this with the requirement to make best possible use of State funds.' The department reiterated its intentions, adding 'the Ukrainian residents at Green Glens Arena, Co Cork', will be relocated by August 29. The department has sent updates, through the accommodation providers, to the residents who will be affected, to let them know that the contract is ending with that provider. Fiona Corcoran, from the Greater Chernobyl Cause, said the charity is committed to preventing this. 'These residents are not just passive recipients of aid. They are working, attending school, and actively striving to rebuild their lives,' Ms Corcoran said. 'Many of them are seeking housing in the local area, but this is made increasingly difficult by the severe shortage of rental accommodations.'
Daily Mirror
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
10 chilling Donald Trump moments as Court gifts him almost unlimited power
Donald Trump celebrated a "tremendous win" in the Supreme Court - who severely curtailed the ability of judges to block his orders and boosted his own power. The ruling will remove federal judges' powers to halt or delay his executive orders nationwide - even if they're unconstitutional. It effectively means the Supreme Court is the only hurdle between Trump and doing anything he wants. And the Supreme Court is stacked in Trump's favour. Anyway, yesterday Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had an early morning press conference, theoretically to counter claims that the precision strike on Iran's nuclear capabilities had not been entirely successful. We were all hoping to learn more details of the strike, and any new intel they could share about its success or failure. What we actually learned was that Hegseth really doesn't like the media. He gave a series of shouty and bitter rants about the reporters covering the strike, whom he sees as insufficiently glorifying of the Trump regime and its controversial military activities. Here's more of that, and all the other things that went on in Trump land in the last 24 hours. Everything is fine, here's what you need to know. The Supreme Court basically ruled this morning that Trump can do whatever he wants without federal or district judges being able to stop him. Trump has repeatedly rattled at "radical left judges" blocking his - often apparently unconstitutional - orders. And he said today's decision was a "monumental victory for the constitution, the separation of powers and the rule of law." Others might argue that with an unassailable conservative majority on the Supreme Court, it's a massive blow to the separation of powers - and a huge boost to the power of the President. He also reassured those present that the ruling would only take "bad, sick" power away from judges, which is certainly a relief. In response to a question from Lindell TV, a channel owned by Mike Lindell, the far-right conspiracy theorist and pillow salesman, Trump indicated he'd be up for the Department of Justice launching investigations into the judges who ruled - accurately - that he lost the 2020 election. "All I can say is...I hope so. I hope they're doing their thing because that election was rigged and we can't allow that to happen," he said. Should be noted that one of the people the Lindell TV "reporter" suggested had been subject to "political the Biden administration" was... Mike Lindell, who recently lost a $2.3 million defamation case brought by former employees of a voting equipment company. "We're cutting $1.7 trillion in this bill and you're not gonna feel any of it," Trump said, implausibly yesterday at an event celebrating his "big, beautiful" budget bill. "Your Medicaid is left alone. It's left the same." Analysts suggest this is unlikely to be true. It's the biggest cut to the Medicaid budget in history - and will almost certainly lead to millions of people losing their health insurance. He also claimed the bill changed the rules so there is "no tax on social security for our great seniors." That is, in fact, not in the bill. If you thought people were upset with ICE rounding people up for deportation, occasionally at random, well just you wait. Trump yesterday pledged to ramp up deportations to 1 million a year. (While that's significantly higher than last year, it's actually slightly lower than in 2023.) "I will never say good looking waitress, because looks don't matter anymore in our modern society," Trump said, during an unscripted weave at the White House event. "She happened to be beautiful but I won't say that...." He went on to claim the waitress, who addressed him as "sir" - often a sign that a Trump anecdote is apocryphal - had given him the idea to scrap tax from tips. The idea has been around since the 1980s, it wasn't invented by this mythical waitress who called Donald Trump "sir." And here's the thing about tax on tips - it's probably not going to help many people. Only 5% of workers in the bottom earnings quartile earn tips. And among those, 37% earn so little that they pay no income tax anyway, so wouldn't benefit at all. Earlier, across town, Pete Hegseth had been expressing his extreme displeasure at the fourth estate. He scolded he media at a Pentagon briefing Thursday for 'breathlessly' focusing on an intelligence report he downplayed as preliminary. The Pentagon briefing included a detailed narrative about military tactics and hardware. But it was short on information about how much the attack setback the Iranian nuclear program. He said they decided to hold Thursday morning's news conference because "there was a great deal of irresponsible reporting" based on a preliminary intelligence assessment. He criticised "biased leaks to biased publications." "If you want to know what's going on at Fordo, you better go there and get a big shovel," he said. He blasted the media for "hunting for scandals all the time." And he accused reporters of failing to acknowledge "historic moments" like improved military recruiting and increased spending on European defence by NATO members. He then shifted to attacking the "fake news" for reporting on a preliminary assessment about the impact of recent US strikes on Iran. "President Trump," Hegseth concluded, "directed the most complex and secretive military operation in history, and it was a resounding success." The strategists behind D-Day, the bombing of Hiroshima, the killing of Osama Bin Laden and the thing with the Hamas pagers would probably like a word. Hegseth also urged reporters, instead of holding them to account and asking reasonable questions about the success or failure of a military operation, to "Wave an American flag. Be proud of what we accomplished." Fox News Reporter Jennifer Griffin asked a fairly reasonable question - are you sure none of the highly enriched uranium was removed? And Hegseth replied studs up: "Jennifer, you've been about the worst. The one who misrepresents the most intentionally..." She replied: "I take issue with that." "One of the greatest, most professional, and most 'confirming' News Conferences I have ever seen!" Trump wrote on Truth Social. "The Fake News should fire everyone involved in this Witch Hunt, and apologise to our great warriors, and everyone else!" He also baselessly suggested that CNN and the New York Times, which reported on the intelligence assessment "will be firing the reporters who made up the FAKE stories." At the end of a press conference on Thursday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the following about Iran refusing to surrender to the US. "When you have a totalitarian regime, you have to save face. I think any common sense, open-minded person knows the truth about the precision strikes on Saturday night. They were wildly successful." At least, we think she was talking about Iran. Ron DeSantis gave Fox News a tour of his newly call it a detention camp for migrants. There are places for migrants to be processed, he said. And to be housed. And to be fed. "There'll be an ability for them to consult legal rights," he added. "If they have that." Yikes.
