Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Fox News Just Explained How the Latest New York Times Blockbuster Report Points to 'Corrupt Intent' on the Part of Donald Trump

Fox News Just Explained How the Latest New York Times Blockbuster Report Points to 'Corrupt Intent' on the Part of Donald Trump
Screenshot via Fox News/YouTube

Well now.

Earlier today, a New York Times report revealed that President Donald Trump asked his then-acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker whether he could put ally Geoffrey Berman in charge of the Southern District of New York’s case against former Trump attorney Michael Cohen.

According to Fox News legal analyst Andrew Napolitano, if the report is accurate, then the president is guilty of showing “corrupt intent” and potential obstruction of justice. Whitaker himself could also be in trouble, he said.


“There’s two potential crimes here for Matt Whitaker,” Napolitano said. “One is actual perjury, lying to the Congress. The other is misleading. Remember, you can be truthful but still misleading."

But things look especially bad for the president: “That is an effort to use the levers of power of the government for a corrupt purpose to deflect an investigation into himself or his allies,” Napolitano said.

Asked by Fox News anchor Shepard Smith if the news amounted to obstruction of justice, Napolitano had this to say:

“Yes. Well, attempted obstruction. It would only be obstruction if it succeeded. If you tried to interfere with a criminal prosecution that may knock at your own door by putting your ally in there that is clearly an attempt to obstruct justice.”

Trump has denied that he ever had a conversation with Whitaker about intervening in the federal investigation into hush money payments Cohen made to women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump.

“No, I didn’t,” Trump told reporters at the White House earlier today. “There’s a lot of fake news out there.”

But the report nonetheless amplified concerns that the president obstructed justice and opened Whitaker up to further criticism.

On February 8, speaking during a House Judiciary Committee hearing, Whitaker denied he ever had any conversations about reassigning or firing anyone with the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office.

"At no time has the W.H. asked for nor have I provided any promises or commitments concerning the special counsel investigation or any other investigation," he said at the time.

The news prompted Representative Val Demings (D-FL), who asked Whitaker under oath if he'd spoken to the president about the Southern District of New York's case, to call for Whitaker to "clarify his testimony."

The Justice Department, meanwhile, issued a statement that did not directly address whether Whitaker and Trump had ever discussed installing Geoffrey Berman on the New York investigation but noted that Whitaker "stands by his testimony":

“Under oath to the House Judiciary Committee, then Acting Attorney General Whitaker stated that ‘at no time has the White House asked for nor have I provided any promises or commitments concerning the special counsel’s investigation or any other investigation.’ Mr. Whitaker stands by his testimony."

In November, lawyers George Conway (the husband of presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway) and Neal Katyal claimed in a New York Times editorial that Trump broke the law by appointing Matt Whitaker as acting attorney general.

The two attorneys argued that by appointing Whitaker, Trump was “evading the requirement to seek the Senate’s advice and consent for the nation’s chief law enforcement officer and the person who will oversee the Mueller investigation.”

“President Trump’s installation of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general of the United States after forcing the resignation of Jeff Sessions is unconstitutional,” the authors continued. “It’s illegal. And it means that anything Mr. Whitaker does, or tries to do, in that position is invalid.”

More from People/donald-trump

Donald Trump; Playstation 5 logo
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Gamers Rage After Sony Raises Price Of Playstation Amid Trump's Tariffs

Gamers are very unhappy after Sony announced a $50 price hike on PS5 gaming consoles due to "a challenging economic environment"—a move that puts them in line with many global businesses impacted by President Donald Trump's tariffs.

In a blog post, Isabelle Tomatis, Sony Interactive Entertainment's Vice President of Global Marketing, said the company has "made the difficult decision to increase the recommended retail price for PlayStation 5 consoles in the U.S. starting on August 21."

Keep ReadingShow less

People In Long-Term Relationships Explain The Things No One Tells You About

None of us can look into the future and scan everything that will ever happen to us, so there's really no telling exactly what will happen at that job, during that vacation, or throughout that relationship.

But at least on the last point, there are some things that tend to come up in long-term relationships and marriages that brand new love birds might not see coming.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @zarababyz's TikTok video
@zarababyz/TikTok

Little Girl Goes Viral For Her Adorable Way Of Wearing Her Backpack For First Day Of Preschool

Back-to-school season is in full swing, and everyone's social media feeds are full of cute, smiling faces off to their first day of school, more mature faces off to their last first day before college, and every school year in between.

And let's not forget the accessories, including outfits of the day, backpacks and purses, and more!

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @adayinaeats' TikTok video
@adayinaeats/TikTok

Working Mom Gets Emotional After Realizing She's Missing All Her Baby's Major Milestones

Anyone who has raised children or is regularly around children can attest that they truly do grow up so fast.

That's what makes it so hard for new parents to go back to work after having a baby. It's not necessarily balancing the new responsibilities of parenthood with their preexisting responsibilities as a working adult, in an office and at home. It's the fact that they're going to miss out on some of the first moments and milestones with their children, which they can't ever get back.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @heyimgazza's TikTok video
@heyimgazza/TikTok

Guy Sparks Debate After Preventing Seats In Front Of Him From Reclining For Entire 8-Hour Overnight Flight

We can all agree that flying can be long, frustrating, and uncomfortable, and most of us would love to experience a little more comfort when we fly. But preventing other people from seeking comfort likely isn't the way to go about it.

TikToker @heyimgazza was surprised when he witnessed a fellow passenger's questionable behavior and pressed the record button, capturing a man on camera who sat with his arms up for eight hours, hands pressed against the seats in front of him to prevent three passengers from reclining their seats.

Keep ReadingShow less