ICE agents told they don’t need judicial warrants
According to an internal memorandum obtained by the Associated Press the Trump administration is telling its agents for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) they can break into private homes and take people into custody without having a warrant signed by a judge. The memo says that they can rely on what’s called an administrative warrant, which is something prepared by ICE and is not approved by a judge. Breaking into homes without a judicial warrant would appear to violate the Constitution. At the same time, the Trump administration is now sending ICE agents into Maine where they’re targeting workers in the state’s seafood industry.
Democrats want to know who’s profiting from Venezuelan oil
A group of Senate Democrats is demanding to know whether President Donald Trump’s inner circle stands to profit from Venezuelan oil sales. CNN reported that the administration has been holding private talks with the nation’s biggest oil companies. In a letter sent last night to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, 14 Democrats are urging senior officials to “immediately disclose any financial interests” they have in companies dealing with the oil industry in Venezuela. Democrats are increasingly scrutinizing the White House for what they say could amount to possible insider trading. They specifically cite Trump’s close connection to a top oil executive at Vitol who attended a White House meeting earlier this month and is a top donor to Trump’s presidential campaign.
Trump backs down at Davos
At The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Donald Trump backed down from his threats about Greenland. European leaders pushed back against Trump’s plan to either force Denmark to sell Greenland to the U.S. or to take the island by force and Trump caved. Trump claims that he and NATO’s secretary general negotiated the concept of a future deal on Greenland but Trump could not provide any details of the supposed concept. NATO’s secretary general has no power to make a deal on the behalf of Greenland, which is controlled by Denmark. Trump also dropped his threat to impose new tariffs on European countries after European leaders made it clear that if Trump did that they’d close European markets to U.S. products.
Winter storm still a threat
A major winter storm — one of the most extreme and widespread in years — is set to lash more than two dozen states later this week. Severe conditions could stretch more than 1,500 miles from the Plains across the South and into the Northeast. Widespread travel disruptions on roads and at airports are expected, and long-lasting power outages are also possible, particularly from ice in the South. Snow and ice are forecast to begin developing over the Central and Southern Plains tomorrow, intensifying and spreading Saturday from Oklahoma and northern Texas to North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland, and continuing through Sunday in parts of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast. The New York area is expected to be hit Sunday into Monday.
Jack Smith’s public testimony
Former special counsel Jack Smith, who brought two criminal indictments against President Trump that have since been dropped, is testifying publicly today. Smith is appearing before the House Judiciary Committee in what was forecast to be a contentious hearing. Trump has repeatedly called for Jack Smith to be criminally prosecuted. Smith’s legal team said Wednesday that he is “not afraid” of Trump and is prepared for grandstanding by members of Congress. Lawmakers have previously grilled Smith over his criminal investigations into Trump’s mishandling of classified documents and the president’s role in trying to overturn the 2020 election in closed door sessions.
Supreme Court appears not to buy Trump’s Federal Reserve action
During oral arguments on Wednesday over Donald Trump’s attempt to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, the Supreme Court justices signaled they likely would rule against what Trump has tried to do. The justices questioned Trump making an internet post against Cook last August and not giving Cook an opportunity to respond. John Sauer, once Trump’s personal attorney and now the U.S. solicitor general, argued the case for the Trump administration but it appeared that his arguments unsettled, even antagonized, justices across the ideological spectrum. Justice Amy Coney Barrett, one of the conservatives in the majority that usually sides with Trump, observed that economists had warned that allowing Trump to remove Cook from the historically independent Federal Reserve, “would trigger a recession.” Lower courts rejected the Trump position and have allowed Cook, still serving her 14-year term, to remain at her post as the litigation continues.
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