January 1, Barr Threatens to Quit Over Trump Tweets

This Day in History | 1945

U.S. Marines invade Iwo Jima, winning a decisive battle during World War II.

Good morning Middle Americans, 

President Trump says he has “total confidence” in his Attorney General William Barr.  But one has to wonder if that feeling is reciprocal. According to the Washington Post, Barr has had it with the president’s tweets. He said so to ABC news last week.  But since the tweets have continued, Barr is reemphasizing his displeasure to anyone who will listen. The last thing the president needs now is a shake-up at the DOJ. That means Barr, as opposed to other cabinet officials who’ve been summarily dismissed over smaller disagreements, has some leverage. 

One also has to wonder if this disagreement, ostensibly about tweets, might be about something more significant. Namely, we are wondering what Federal investigators in the Southern District of New York may have found, and how that is impacting the president and the attorney general’s behavior. 

Former Apprentice contestant, and Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich was released on Tuesday after serving eight years of his 14 year prison sentence for attempting to sell Barack Obama’s senate seat.  Blagojevich along with several other people including former New York City Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik received pardons or had their sentenced commuted thanks to President Trump. 

Tonight we’ll get a chance to see how Mike Bloomberg stacks up against the other Democratic candidates. The former NYC mayor has qualified for tonight’s Democratic Debate in Las Vegas.  He’s also promising to sell his hugely profitable media and data company, should he win the White House. 

And, if you like classic capers about jewel thieves we have a story that gives a look at a 21st century version of a crime that’s plagued the rich and famous since the beginning of time. 

Read all about it!

– Fraser Dixon

Report: Barr Says He May Quit If Trump Keeps Tweeting About Investigations

(Washington Post) – Attorney General William Barr has told people close to President Donald Trump – inside and outside the White House – that he is considering quitting over Trump’s tweets about Justice Department investigations, three administration officials said, foreshadowing a possible confrontation between the president and his attorney general over the independence of the Justice Department.

So far, Trump has defied Barr’s requests, both public and private, to keep quiet on matters of federal law enforcement. It was not immediately clear Tuesday whether Barr had made his posture known directly to Trump. The administration officials said Barr seemed to be sharing his position with advisers in hopes that the president would get the message that he should stop weighing in publicly on the Justice Department’s ongoing criminal investigations.

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President Trump Goes on Clemency Spree, and the List Is Long

(AP) — President Donald Trump went on a clemency blitz Tuesday, commuting former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s 14-year prison sentence and pardoning former New York City police commissioner Bernie Kerik, among a long list of others.

Those who got a break from Trump include financier Michael Milken, the “junk bond king” who served two years in prison in the early 1990s after pleading guilty to violating U.S. securities laws, and Edward DeBartolo Jr., the former San Francisco 49ers owner convicted in a gambling fraud scandal after building one of the most successful NFL teams in history. But Trump also commuted the sentences of several women with more sympathetic cases to balance out the men convicted of corruption.

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Bloomberg Promises to Sell Company If Elected President 

(Wall Street Journal) – Michael Bloomberg will sell Bloomberg LP, the multibillion-dollar financial-data and media company he co-founded nearly 40 years ago, if he is elected president, his campaign said Tuesday.

The campaign said Mr. Bloomberg would first put the company in a blind trust and eventually sell. Analysts have estimated the company could sell for as much as $60 billion.

The future of Mr. Bloomberg’s company had been in question since he announced his run for president in November, with him and his advisers going back and forth on whether he would place the business in a blind trust if he won, or if he would divest his interests entirely.

Initially, the campaign and people familiar with the company said Mr. Bloomberg intended to put the company into a trust or similar vehicle, in the event he were to win the election. But on the trail, Mr. Bloomberg later suggested a sale was a possibility.

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High-Tech Miami Jewel Thieves Stalked the Rich, Including Yankees Star Aroldis Chapman

(The Miami Herald) – Authorities early Tuesday busted a ring of Miami burglars they say used Instagram and high-tech surveillance to target wealthy marks, including New York Yankees star pitcher Aroldis Chapman.

The ringleader, police say, was Xandi Garcia, 30, who is currently jailed on a separate case — an allegation that he broke into the South Beach hotel room of the celebrity jeweler known as Eric The Jeweler, stealing a safe full of luxury bling, on the day of Super Bowl LIV.

Investigators say Garcia’s crimes were actually much more extensive, and included at least nine other participants. Among those arrested Tuesday were Garcia’s girlfriend, Maybel Sanchez, an Instagram model, and his friend, Daniel Pacheco.

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