Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Donald Trump's Own Justice Department Just Smacked Down One of His Favorite Conspiracy Theories

Donald Trump's Own Justice Department Just Smacked Down One of His Favorite Conspiracy Theories
U.S. President Donald Trump and Dept. of Justice head, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC. (Photo by Shawn Thew-Pool/Getty Images)

Conspiracy theorist in chief.

President Donald Trump received criticism on more than one occasion while on the campaign trail about repeating the conspiracy theories he hears on his preferred media outlets: Fox & Friends, Alex Jones' Info Wars, Gateway Pundit and Steve Bannon's (formerly) Breitbart.

Once he became president, Trump still repeats false claims even after they are easily disproven. Especially when they can be used to deflect from his own very real legal woes and legitimate administration scandals.


Rarely does anyone from his own administration correct his misinformation. But the Attorney General Jeff Sessions led Department of Justice (DoJ) just did.

Back in April, Trump posted a tweet about an ongoing DoJ case, trying to deflect from the information coming out after the FBI raided his longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen's, home and office. The raid was part of an open investigation into potential illegal activity by the New York federal prosecutor's office,  a division of Trump's DoJ.

Trump, after his claim that the raid proved due process was dead, tried to shift focus from himself to the Democratic Party and the prosecution of DNC staffer Imran Awan, who is a "Pakistani mystery man" according to the president.

In a rambling tweet, Trump threw accusations at a host of characters: "Obstructionist Democrats", Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the "DNC Server", "Clinton Emails" and "Documents held by the Pakistani mystery man."

Then again in June, Trump brought up Imran Awan again, by name. At the time, Trump was dealing with the fallout from a trade war he started, the off-again/on-again North Korean summit and continued revelations from the Mueller Russia investigation.

The president cried foul to the idea of a DNC staffer receiving a plea agreement from the DoJ. This was after several of Trump's own campaign and administration members reached plea agreements during the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and ties to the Trump campaign.

Tuesday, the Justice Department finally responded with a special note in their plea deal with Awan. It states:

Particularly, the Government has found no evidence that your client illegally removed House data from the House network or from House Members’ offices, stole the House Democratic Caucus Server, stole or destroyed House information technology equipment, or improperly accessed or transferred government information, including classified or sensitive information."

The federal prosecutors note addresses all of the claims in several conspiracy theories about Awan and the DNC. Theories the president repeated.

The note has no bearing on the plea deal and is unrelated to any charges brought against Awan. Their only purpose appears to be to get the truth out there and refute any lies still being told.

The Trump DoJ shares a sometimes volatile relationship with the president. Trump frequently takes to social media to call their legal investigations witch hunts and fake news.

So the DoJ took the opportunity to publicly set the record straight on at least one of their cases.

The intended target of the DoJ note was not missed by social media.

Will this lead to a new era of Trump administration officials telling the truth even if their boss doesn't? Probably not. But it does show some folks in the trenches have decided to speak up.

More from People/donald-trump

Hate Crime at McDonald's

A 19-year-old Wisconsin woman is celebrating a win after hate crime charges were filed against the two perpetrators who assaulted and beat her unconscious at McDonald's because she is a lesbian.

The attack occurred on May 13th when Kady Grass accompanied her 13-year-old cousin to McDonald's in Grass’s hometown of Carpentersville, Illinois, as a treat after attending the teen’s choir concert.

Keep ReadingShow less
bride holding a bouquet of flowers
Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

People Describe The Worst Thing That Happened At A Wedding They Attended

Most weddings are pretty standard affairs. Some are downright boring.

But some people have had wedding experiences that rival a Hollywood drama—or comedy.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Donald Trump
Fox News

Trump Dragged After Throwing Tantrum Over Wall Street's Brutal Insult About His Tariffs

President Donald Trump was widely criticized after he lashed out at Wall Street analysts over their new "TACO" acronym insult, which stands for "Trump Always Chickens Out."

The acronym refers to Trump’s pattern of announcing sweeping tariffs that initially rattle financial markets and drive stock prices down, only to later soften or reverse course, prompting a rebound in investor confidence and market gains.

Keep ReadingShow less
Shakira
Natasha Moustache/Getty Images

Shakira Shares Video Of Herself Taking A Hard Fall On Stage—But She Handles It Like A Pro

Shakira's year as a performer might have gotten off to a rocky start, but she's made it clear she won't let anything keep her down, including herself.

Back in February, the "Hips Don't Lie" singer had to cancel two of her tour dates after she was hospitalized for a stomach issue. She explained on Instagram that her doctor said she was not "in good enough condition" to perform at the time.

Keep ReadingShow less
Tom Cruise
Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures

Video Showing Tom Cruise's Hilariously Unusual Way Of Eating Popcorn Goes Viral

Tom Cruise's daring acts as Ethan Hunt in over 30 years of Mission: Impossible films made him famous. He has scaled tall buildings, leaped out of airplanes, and even hung from helicopters.

He has recently gone viral for something entirely different…eating popcorn.

Someone caught Cruise devouring popcorn furiously during a special showing of Mission: Impossible: Fallout at the BFI IMAX in London. As if it were a scene from one of his own action movies, he was filmed throwing it, one piece at a time, into his mouth.

Keep ReadingShow less