The 15 boxes of White House records that were stored at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence contained items marked as classified national security information.

That is according to the National Archives and Records Administration. The agency said Friday that the matter has been referred to the Justice Department.

They revealed the information in response to a Feb. 9 letter to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform Committee. House lawmakers had opened an investigation and the National Archives has reportedly asked the Justice Department to look into the matter. The FBI has not indicated what, if anything, will be done.

Twitter "hid" a tweet by President Donald Trump on Friday morning, saying that the message violated the platform's rules about "glorifying violence."

The tweet was in reference to protests in Minneapolis regarding the death of George Floyd. Trump threatened to send in the National Guard if Minnesota officials could not reign in rioting and added that "when the looting starts, the shooting starts." He also refered to looters as "THUGS."

According to

NBC News,

the phrase, "when the looting starts, the shooting starts" has some historical context. It was first used in 1967 Miami's police chief Walter Headley, who used the phrase in connection with racial minorities in the city. The quote was said to contribute to race riots in the city in the late '60s.

Trump's tweet is now no longer visible directly from his timeline. Instead, the tweet is covered up by a message.

"This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about glorifying violence. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public's interest for the Tweet to remain accessible," the message read.

It appears to be the first time Twitter has chosen to hide — but not delete — a tweet from Trump that violates the site's terms of service. Previously, Twitter had chosen not to do anything to Trump's tweets that violated its terms of service.

The move came hours after Trump signed an

executive order

that he said was designed to regulate what he considers to be "anti-conservative" bias in social media. Trump's order was in response to Twitter applying a fact-check link to two of his tweets about mail-in voting, which led users to more information on the subject.

On Friday morning, the White House Twitter account tweeted the same message that Trump had tweeted. A little over an hour later, Twitter chose to hide that tweet as well.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump outlined his administration's plan to reopen schools at a White House event.

The event was a "National Dialogue," featuring the President and First Lady Melania Trump.

Watch the event below:

Trump has been adamant that schools be reopened quickly, which is consistent with his administration's aggressive push to restart the economy. Trump has been calling for schools to reopen in the fall for months, and tweeted just last night that "SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL!!!"

School districts across the country closed their doors in March and were forced to pivot to e-learning to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Most chose not to reopen for the remainder of the school year.

Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued several guidelines for schools that planned to reopen amid the pandemic. In those guidelines, the CDC classified typical full-sized classes without social distancing as "highest risk."

Among the changes recommended by the CDC were:

• Classrooms where desks are spaced as far apart as possible and with all desks facing the same direction
• Staggered arrival and drop-off times and "flexible worksites" to encourage social distancing
• Recommended mask use for all faculty and older students
• Signage encouraging social distancing
• Time off policies to accommodate teachers who may have been exposed to the virus

Last month, National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said he welcomed a conversation about reopening schools, but stopped short of saying it was safe for students to return.

"I hesitate to make any broad statements about whether it is or is not quote 'safe' for kids to come back to school," Fauci told CNN in June. "When you talk about children going back to school and their safety, it really depends on the level of viral activity, and the particular area that you're talking about. What happens all too often, understandably, but sometimes misleadingly, is that we talk about the country as a whole in a unidimensional way."

In that interview with CNN, Fauci noted that most children tend to experience mild or no symptoms when contracting COVID-19.

Many colleges, including Harvard University, have already announced that they do not plan to hold in-person classes this fall and will instead hold courses online. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have said that international students on F-1 or M-1 visas will need to leave the country should their colleges hold classes online.

Trump's address comes as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations spike in several states.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson launched into an impassioned and unprompted defense of the St. Louis couple seen waving guns at Black Lives Matter protesters last month and later suggested that President Donald Trump has taken an interest in the situation.

Mark and Patricia McCloskey were seen on video June 28, brandishing an AR-15 rifle and a handgun while confronting protesters marching through the Portland Place neighborhood, where the McCloskeys live.

Police in St. Louis executed a search warrant at the McCloskey home Friday at the behest of St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s office. The couple’s lawyer said police seized an AR-15 from the house and that the couple had previously surrendered the handgun.

On Tuesday, after introducing a new grant program for small businesses during a press conference, Parson told reporters that he wanted “to address the McCloskey situation in St. Louis.”

Parson said the McCloskeys were using the Castle Doctrine to protect their property from protesters, “which they had every right to do.”

During his time as a state legislator, Parson helped expand the Castle Doctrine in Missouri — a stand-your-ground law that permits property owners to use any means deemed necessary, including deadly force, to protect themselves and their property when threatened.

Parson said police weren’t notified of the situation before reiterating “that couple had every right to protect their property."

He then slammed the District Attorney's office, without directly naming Gardner, for reportedly considering an indictment in the case.

“What they should not go through is a prosecutor attempting to take their constitutional rights away by filing charges against them for protecting their property,” Parson said.

He then said it was very difficult to remove an elected official — like Gardner — from office, calling it “one of the things we need to address in future sessions.”

It was at that point Parson invoked the White House.

“I just got off the phone with the president of the United States before I walked out here today,” Parson said. “He understands the situation in Missouri. He understands the situation in St. Louis — and how out of control it is for a prosecutor to let violent criminals off and not do their job and try to attack law-abiding citizens.”

Parson said Trump promised to do “everything he could within his powers to help with this situation and that he would be taking action to do that.”

“I’m thankful that he’s getting involved in the situation,” Parson said "... I’m thankful that he’s going to stand up for people and their legal rights.”

After opening up to questions, Parson acknowledged that “all I know is what I’ve heard” about the McCloskey case and that “I don’t know all the details of it,” but that “it’s quite evident they are standing on their property.”

“I think the president and the attorney general of the United States (William Barr) are going to take a look at it,” Parson said.

He later added, “The president doesn’t like what he’s seeing and the way these people are being treated. I know the attorney general was represented on that phone call today, so I think you’ll see some sort of actions. I think they’re going to look into things.”

Parson plans to have follow-up conversations with Trump after expressing his concern over the limited power the Missouri governor has to remove other elected officials, among other things.

“I don’t want to make it sound like he’s going to come in here and remove somebody from office, but I’m going to guarantee you the president’s focused on what’s happening here,” Parson said.

Parson has a press conference planned for Wednesday when he is likely to announce details of a special session about violent crime in Missouri.

The governor declined to discuss specifics of the special session. Democratic lawmakers have been calling for a special session on police reform since George Floyd’s death in late May sparked protests nationwide about policing and racism.

“My biggest concern right now for the state of Missouri is violent crime, homicides,” Parson said. “... We have to give the law enforcement officers the tools they need to fight violent crime. And, right now, more important than anything, we’ve got to stand up for these law enforcement officers that are dealing with violent crime.”

He blamed the protests for detracting from an officers’ ability to focus on “the street crimes that are happening out there and these violent crime situations.”

This story was originally published by Tod Palmer on KSHB in Kansas City, Missouri.

Predicting the outcome of elections can sometimes be easy. Other years, it is not. Professor Allan Lichtman has predicted every election since 1984, using a model he developed alongside Soviet Union scientists.

One of Lichtman's proudest achievements was accurately predicting the 2016 election. President Donald Trump signed a Washington Post article about Lichtman in recent years with his autograph and the phrase "good call."

THE METHOD

Lichtman doesn't look at polls.

"Polls are not predictors, they are misused as predictors," Lichtman said.

Instead, Lichtman looks at the political party currently controlling the White House. Then he uses 13 keys to gauge whether the party controlling the White House will lose or not.

They are: midterm gains, no contest in the primary, incumbency, no third party, strong short-term economy, strong long-term economy, major policy change, no social unrest, no scandal, no overseas failure, major overseas achievement, charismatic incumbent, uncharismatic opponent.

"If six or more, any six more, turn against the party holding the White House, they are a predicted loser," Luchtman said.

2020 PREDICTION

Lichtman says before 2020, Trump appeared to be heading to a reelection. However Trump has now lost seven keys.

In Lichtman's opinion, Trump has lost midterm gains, short term economy, long-term economy, no social unrest, no scandal, major overseas achievement, and charismatic incumbent.

"Could I be wrong? Of course human beings are wrong. But my keys have quite a track record," Lichtman said.

WASHINGTON —

Congress has overridden President Donald Trump's veto of a defense policy bill, a first by lawmakers since he took office nearly four years ago.

In an extraordinary New Year's Day session, the Republican-controlled Senate easily turned aside the veto, dismissing Trump's objections to the $740 billion bill and handing him a stinging rebuke just weeks before his term ends.

Trump had lashed out at GOP lawmakers on Twitter, charging earlier this week that “Weak and tired Republican ‘leadership’ will allow the bad Defense Bill to pass.″

Trump called the looming override vote a “disgraceful act of cowardice and total submission by weak people to Big Tech. Negotiate a better Bill, or get better leaders, NOW!"

The 81-13 vote in the Senate followed an earlier 322-87 override vote in the House of the widely popular defense measure. The bill provides a 3% pay raise for U.S. troops and guides defense policy, cementing decisions about troop levels, new weapons systems and military readiness, personnel policy and other military goals. Many programs, including military construction, can only go into effect if the bill is approved.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said before the vote that Congress has passed the National Defense Authorization Act every year for 59 years in a row, "and one way or another, we are going to complete the 60th annual NDAA and pass it into law before this Congress concludes on Sunday.''

The bill "looks after our brave men and women who volunteer to wear the uniform,'' McConnell said. “But it’s also a tremendous opportunity: to direct our national security priorities to reflect the resolve of the American people and the evolving threats to their safety, at home and abroad. It’s our chance to ensure we keep pace with competitors like Russia and China.''

The Senate override was delayed after Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., objected to moving ahead until McConnell allowed a vote on a Trump-backed plan to increase COVID-19 relief payments to $2,000. McConnell did not allow that vote; instead he used his parliamentary power to set a vote limiting debate on the defense measure, overcoming a filibuster threat by Sanders and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York.

Video below: Pelosi slams McConnell for halting stimulus checks

Without a bipartisan agreement, a vote on the bill could have been delayed until Saturday night. Lawmakers, however, agreed to an immediate roll call Friday once the filibuster threat was stopped.

Trump rejected the defense measure last week, saying it failed to limit social media companies he claimed were biased against him during his failed reelection campaign. Trump also opposed language that allows for the renaming of military bases that honor Confederate leaders.

Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he was “disappointed” with Trump’s veto and called the bill “absolutely vital to our national security and our troops.″

“This is the most important bill we have,″ Inhofe said. “It puts members of the military first.″

Trump has succeeded throughout his four-year term in enforcing party discipline in Congress, with few Republicans willing to publicly oppose him. The bipartisan overrides on the defense bill showed the limits of Trump’s influence in the final weeks of his term.

Earlier this week, 130 House Republicans voted against the Trump-backed COVID relief checks, with many arguing they were unnecessary and would increase the federal budget deficit.

The Democratic-controlled House approved the larger payments, but the plan is dead in the Senate, another sign of Trump’s fading hold over Congress.

Besides his concerns about social media and military base names, Trump also said the defense bill restricted his ability to conduct foreign policy, “particularly my efforts to bring our troops home.″ Trump was referring to provisions in the bill that impose conditions on his plan to withdraw thousands of troops from Afghanistan and Germany. The measures require the Pentagon to submit reports certifying that the proposed withdrawals would not jeopardize U.S. national security.

Trump has vetoed eight other bills, but those were all sustained because supporters did not gain the two-thirds vote needed in each chamber for the bills to become law without Trump’s signature.

Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called Trump's Dec. 23 veto a “parting gift" to Russian President Vladimir Putin "and a lump of coal for our troops. Donald Trump is showing more devotion to Confederate base names than to the men and women who defend our nation.″

CNN —

A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit from Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas and several Arizona Republicans seeking to force Vice President Mike Pence to help throw the election to President Donald Trump next week when Congress meets to count the Electoral College votes.

Judge Jeremy Kernodle of the Eastern District of Texas said on Friday that Gohmert and the others lacked standing to sue. In a filing late Friday, Gohmert and other plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal to the Fifth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Gohmert's suit was part of the GOP's attempt to overturn the presidential election using unproven allegations of mass voter fraud and charging that multiple states that President-elect Joe Biden won illegally changed their voting rules due to the pandemic.

Those arguments have failed dozens of times in state and federal courts over the past two months.

Gohmert and a slate of would-be Trump electors from Arizona had said only Pence could decide what electoral votes count — a remarkable argument suggesting vice presidents can directly determine who wins a presidential election, regardless of the results.

Kernodle, who was nominated by Trump and confirmed in the Senate by voice vote in 2018, wrote that Gohmert "alleges at most an institutional injury to the House of Representatives. Under well-settled Supreme Court authority, that is insufficient to support standing."

As for the group of Arizona Republicans, who claimed that Biden's electors in the state were unlawfully certified, Kernodle wrote that they "allege an injury that is not fairly traceable to the Defendant, the Vice President of the United States, and is unlikely to be redressed by the requested relief."

Kernodle does not get into the constitutionality of the Electoral Count Act or Pence's ceremonial role overseeing the certification process in his 13-page opinion.

Pence on Thursday asked Kernodle to reject the case, arguing that the legal issues from Gohmert should be directed to the House and Senate, rather than the vice president. Pence's filing did not say if he would entertain the possibility of interfering in the Electoral College count, but there is no public indication that he will.

"(A) suit to establish that the Vice President has discretion over the count, filed against the Vice President, is a walking legal contradiction," Pence said.

"Ironically, Representative Gohmert's position, if adopted by the Court, would actually deprive him of his opportunity as a Member of the House under the Electoral Count Act to raise objections to the counting of electoral votes, and then to debate and vote on them," Pence's filing added.

At least 140 House Republicans are expected to vote against counting the electoral votes on Jan. 6, CNN reported Thursday. Gohmert has said he will be one of them.

There have been no credible allegations of any issues with voting that would have impacted the election, as affirmed by dozens of state and federal courts, governors, state election officials and the departments of Homeland Security and Justice.

Both a House member and senator are required to mount an objection when Congress counts the votes. Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said Wednesday he will object, which will force lawmakers in both the House and Senate to vote on whether to accept the results of Biden's victory.

The Justice Department gave the White House a heads-up earlier this week that the Pence filing was coming, according to a person familiar with the matter. Word was sent to chief of staff Mark Meadows that the department would be asking the judge to reject the lawsuit. White House counsel Pat Cipollone was also aware it was coming.

It's not clear whether Trump, who remains furious at the Justice Department for its perceived inaction on voter fraud, was informed himself. He has taken an interest in Pence's role during the Jan. 6 proceedings, though Pence and others at the White House have tried to explain to him that it's merely a ceremonial post.

House General Counsel Doug Letter filed an amicus brief with the court on Thursday, asking for the Gohmert case to be dismissed, calling it a "radical departure from our constitutional procedures and consistent legislative practices."

"At bottom, this litigation seeks to enlist the federal courts in a belated and meritless assault on longstanding constitutional processes for confirming the results of a national election for President," the House attorney wrote.

The Trump campaign is also continuing its quest at the Supreme Court with the same baseless and unproven voter fraud claims. It twice this week asked the court to overturn Biden's win in Wisconsin. Other cases from the President and his allies looking to throw out Biden's victories in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin and Arizona are pending on the court's docket.

As President Donald Trump prepares for his last day in the White House, a former Trump advocate is ready to do his part to protect Trump from destroying "America's democracy."

On Friday, Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen tweeted that he was asked and has agreed to testify on "the wrongdoing" by Trump and his family.

"I have been asked and have agreed to cooperate with multiple government agencies to provide testimony on the wrongdoing by #Trump and the #TrumpFamily," Cohen tweeted. "I am doing this in large part as #Trump and family have tried, and thankfully failed, to destroy America’s democracy."

Cohen tweeted after news broke that Twitter had permanently banned the president "due to the risk of further incitement of violence" two days after a violent riot occurred at the U.S. Capitol.

Cohen also commented on Twitter banning Trump from its social platform.

"Know that #Trump relies on @Twitter to exist in the same way we require oxygen to breathe. He is losing his marbles right now!"

Related video: Capitol police outnumbered as rioters lay siege

Journalists were manhandled, threatened and had their equipment stolen or damaged by supporters of President Donald Trump during this week's riot at the U.S. Capitol.

The attacks, including a chilling scene distributed on social media of a photographer for The Associated Press being shoved around, led the National Press Photographers Association to call on authorities to investigate and prosecute people who targeted journalists.

“To do our jobs, photojournalists must be on the front lines to record the news,” the association said in a statement. “The threats, violence and aggression toward visual journalists are unconscionable acts that erode our democracy and our country's First Amendment rights.”

In one striking image, the words “Murder the Media” were scrawled on an indoor doorway at the Capitol.

The AP photographer, John Minchillo, is shown in a video taken by a colleague, being pushed, pulled and punched by a group of men standing outside of the Capitol. Some of the attackers are heard accusing him of being part of the left-wing group Antifa; Minchillo holds up his hands and show his press pass.

After about a minute, one of the demonstrators guides him away from his attackers. Minchillo stayed on the job.

Minchillo declined comment on Friday. On Twitter, he wrote, “Never become the story, that's the core principle. If I could ask for something? Don't linger on the outrage for too long.”

But he asked anyone who sees his message to reflect on the importance of journalism and subscribe to a local newspaper.

“While we are thankful he is OK, this is a reminder of the dangers journalists both in the U.S. and around the world face every day while simply trying to do their jobs,” said Patrick Maks, a spokesperson for the AP.

Another group of AP journalists on Wednesday had photographic equipment stolen and trashed outside the Capitol. One picture on social media saw electrical cords tied into a noose.

There were other incidents. Erin Schaff, a photojournalist for The New York Times, wrote in the newspaper about being surrounded by two or three men while in the Capitol who demanded to know who she worked for. One grabbed her press pass, saw she worked for the Times and she was thrown to the floor. One of her cameras was ripped away from her and the lens was broken on another, she wrote.

After being knocked to the ground, she screamed for help as loudly as she could.

“People just watched,” she wrote.

Police eventually came, but drew their guns and ordered her back on the ground. At that point, two other photojournalists vouched for her, she said.

Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, a photojournalist on assignment for The Washington Post, told the Committee to Protect Journalists that she had three different people threaten to shoot her on Wednesday. One man told her, “I'm coming back with a gun tomorrow and I'm coming for you,” she said.

“Journalists covering a democratic transition of power in Washington shouldn't have to run for cover,” said Mark Lodato, dean of Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Communications. “We've hit bottom.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter Sunday that the House is taking actions early this week that seek to remove President Donald Trump from office.

Monday morning, Pelosi says Majority Leader Hoyer will request unanimous consent to bring up the Raskin resolution, which calls on Vice President Mike Pence to convene and mobilize the Cabinet to activate the 25th Amendment to declare Trump incapable of executing the duties of his office. Afterwards, Pelosi says Pence would immediately exercise powers as acting president.

If they don’t get unanimous consent, the House leadership plans to bring the legislation to the floor on Tuesday for a vote.

Pelosi added that the House is calling on Pence to respond within 24 hours.

Next, Pelosi says the House will “proceed” with bringing impeachment legislation to the flood.

Trump has less than two weeks left in office before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in to take his place, but many Democrats and a growing number of Republicans say they want him out before then. Those lawmakers believe Trump played a large role in the assault on the U.S. Captiol on Wednesday, when Congress gathered for a joint session to confirm Biden's Electoral College victory.

At least five people died after the riots at the Capitol, including a police officer who suffered injuries from the pro-Trump protesters.

“In protecting our Constitution and our Democracy, we will act with urgency, because this President represents an imminent threat to both,” wrote Pelosi to her colleagues. “As the days go by, the horror of the ongoing assault on our democracy perpetrated by this President is intensified and so is the immediate need for action.”

NEW YORK (AP) — The manager for actor Chuck Norris says the "Walker, Texas Ranger" star was not present at last week's deadly riot at the Capitol in Washington.

A photo of a man resembling Norris apparently with a member of the mob began trending online.

USA Today reported that a Twitter user shared an Instagram story screenshot that was a Capitol rioter selfie with someone that looked like Norris.

According to USA Today, the tweet read, "Wait, so are we just not going to mention the fact that Chuck Norris was at the MAGA insurrection?"

But Norris manager Erik Kritzer tells The Associated Press on Tuesday the person in the photo is not Norris.

Kritzer acknowledged that the man photographed looked somewhat like Norris but said, "Chuck is much more handsome."

"Walker, Texas Ranger," in which Norris played karate-kicking lawman Cordell Walker, ran on CBS from 1993 to 2001.

In 2016, he announced his support for President Donald Trump.

Video above — Analysis: Twitter, Facebook moves protected by lawYouTube is suspending President Donald Trump's channel for at least one week, and potentially longer, after his channel earned a strike under the platform's policies, the company said Tuesday evening.A recent video on Trump's channel had incited violence, YouTube told CNN Business. That video has now been removed.YouTube declined to share details of the video that earned Trump the strike, but said that after the one-week timeout, it will revisit the decision.Until now, YouTube had been the only remaining major social media platform not to have suspended Trump in some fashion. Facebook has suspended Trump's account "indefinitely," while Twitter has banned Trump completely."After careful review, and in light of concerns about the ongoing potential for violence, we removed new content uploaded to the Donald J. Trump channel and issued a strike for violating our policies for inciting violence," a YouTube spokesperson said in a statement. "As a result, in accordance with our long-standing strikes system, the channel is now prevented from uploading new videos or livestreams for a minimum of seven days—which may be extended."YouTube also said it will be taking the extra step of disabling comments underneath videos on Trump's channel.Under YouTube's policies, earning a second strike will result in a two-week suspension and three strikes will result in a permanent ban.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has tapped nine of her most trusted allies in the House to argue the case for President Donald Trump’s impeachment.

The impeachment managers include the following representatives:

• Jamie Raskin
• Diana DeGette
• David Cicilline
• Joaquin Castro
• Eric Swalwell
• Ted Lieu
• Stacey Plaskett
• Madeleine Dean
• Joe Neguse

All of the Democrats are lawyers and many of them have deep experience investigating the president.

DeGette of Colorado said plan to present a serious case and “finish the job” that the House started.

When Pelosi named the managers, she said it was their “constitutional and patriotic duty” to present the case for Trump’s impeachment and removal.

“It is their constitutional and patriotic duty to present the case for the President’s impeachment and removal,” wrote Pelosi. “They will do so guided by their great love of country, determination to protect our democracy and loyalty to our oath to the Constitution. Our Managers will honor their duty to defend democracy For The People with great solemnity, prayerfulness and urgency.”

The manages face the arduous task of convincing skeptical Senate Republicans to convict Trump.

A single article of impeachment for “incitement of insurrection” was approved by the House on Wednesday, one week after a violent mob of Trump supporters invaded the Capitol. Lawmakers were counting the votes that cemented Trump’s election defeat at the time.

Wednesday’s vote made Trump the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice. Still, the case for conviction will be tough. An impeached president has never been convicted by the U.S. Senate.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence has called Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to offer his congratulations.

That's according to two people familiar with the conversation who were granted anonymity to share details of a private conversation.

One of the people familiar with the Thursday afternoon conversation described it as a “good call,” with Pence congratulating his successor and offering assistance.

The call comes less than a week before President-elect Joe Biden and Harris are set to take office, next Wednesday.

It marks the first contact between elected officials from the outgoing and incoming administrations.

TAMPA, Fla. — New evidence has been sent to the outgoing Trump administration for their consideration when deciding whether to grant a pardon to Joe Exotic — the imprisoned former zoo owner and made famous last year by Netflix docuseries "Tiger King."

People close to the reality TV star — who was convicted in a murder-for-hire plot and several violations of the endangered species act — say that his legal team has obtained audiotapes they hope will free Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage.

The case of Joe Exotic got widespread attention in early 2020 when Netflix released "Tiger King": the salacious story of how Exotic and his Oklahoma zoo went to war with Carole Baskin, the owner of a Big Cat Sanctuary in Tampa, Florida.

“Maldonado had made his threats online over a period of years,” Baskin said after Joe Exotic's arrest.

“There are a lot of crazy characters. A lot of twists and turns. And just when you think you can’t get any more strange it does,” retired U.S. Secret Service Agent Jim Rathmann said.

Rathmann teamed up with television producer Theresa McKeown to investigate Exotic's case.

“There’s so much more information that’s going to come out over time. There’s so much, it’s overwhelming,” McKeown said. “When I saw that article last night that Trump has 100 people he’s gonna pardon, I’m thinking Joe’s probably one of them. Or so I hope.”

“There are 257 pages for the pardon. That’s made it up to its way to the White House. But what they’ve gotten recently is this new evidence,” Rathmann said.

Rathmann, now a private investigator, first talked to Joe Exotic last year when the Investigation Discovery Network hired him to look into the case of Baskin's missing husband, Don Lewis.

McKeown, a former Inside Edition producer, met Joe Exotic in 2014 when he pitched a reality show.

“He was such a live wire and he was at war with PETA at the time, so none of the networks really wanted anything to do with it,” she said.

In recent months, McKeown and Rathmann have helped uncover what they say are issues with Joe Exotic's original trial that could be used in his pardon application and appeal.

Adam Walser

“You find your evidence and you let the evidence take you wherever the case is going to take you. And in this particular case keeps bringing me down the path that this murder-for-hire never happened,” Rathmann said.

Rathmann and McKeown were recently contacted by former Indiana zoo owner Tim Stark, who knows most of the people in the Tiger King.

Stark, who faces multiple criminal charges in Indiana related to the operation of his zoo, provided Rathmann and McKeown with tapes of phone conversations he believes calls into question the testimony of some witnesses.

Stark confirmed that he recorded the phone calls, the nature of the contents and that he provided them to Rathmann and McKeown.

“It’s pretty explosive, in my opinion. I’m not an attorney, but I’m looking at that going ‘Oh my God!’” McKeown said.

They say recordings were rushed to the White House as part of the pardon application. Rathmann says they will also be used by Joe Exotic’s attorneys in an upcoming appeal.

“I would have loved this information to have been out two years ago before his trial so he never would have been convicted overall. But since that isn’t what happened, it’s better late than never. And in this particular case, he has an appeal. He has oral arguments that are coming up on the 20, which is also the same day as the inauguration,” Rathmann said.

This story was originally published by Adam Wasler on WFTS in Tampa, Florida.

Seven Democratic senators on Thursday asked the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate the actions of Republican Sens. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley “to fully understand their role” in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump.

Thousands had gathered that day as Congress voted to formally certify President Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in November. Hawley and Cruz led objections in the Senate to Biden’s victory, despite the widespread recognition that the effort would fail.

In the end, Congress certified Biden’s Electoral College victory, but not before thousands marched to the Capitol at Trump’s urging, overwhelmed security and interrupted the proceedings. In the end, the violence led to five deaths, injured dozens of police officers and caused extensive damage to the Capitol.

The Democratic senators said the question for the Senate to determine is not whether Cruz and Hawley had the right to object, but whether the senators failed to put loyalty “to the highest moral principles and to country above loyalty to persons, party, or Government department.” They also said the investigation should determine whether Cruz, of Texas, and Hawley, of Missouri, engaged in “improper conduct reflecting on the Senate.”

“Until then, a cloud of uncertainty will hang over them and over this body,” the Democratic senators wrote in a letter to the leaders of the Senate Ethics Committee.

The Democratic senators said Cruz and Hawley announced their intentions to object even though they knew that claims of election fraud were baseless and had led to threats of violence.

“Their actions lend credence to the insurrectionists’ cause and set the stage for future violence. And both senators used their objections for political fundraising,” the Democratic senators said in their letter.

Cruz and Hawley have condemned the violence on Jan. 6. Cruz called it a "despicable act of terrorism.” Hawley said those who attacked police and broke the law must be prosecuted.

Cruz helped force a vote on Biden's victory in Arizona, while Hawley helped force one on Biden's victory in Pennsylvania.

“Joe Biden and the Democrats talk about unity but are brazenly trying to silence dissent," Hawley said in a prepared statement. “This latest effort is a flagrant abuse of the Senate ethics process and a flagrant attempt to exact partisan revenge."

“It is unfortunate that some congressional Democrats are disregarding President Biden’s call for unity and are instead playing political games by filing frivolous ethics complaints against their colleagues," said a Cruz spokesperson, Maria Jeffrey Reynolds.

Those Democrats requesting the investigation are Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Ron Wyden of Oregon, Tina Smith of Minnesota, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Tim Kaine of Virginia and Sherrod Brown of Ohio.

Former President Donald Trump's historic second impeachment trial begins Tuesday, forcing the Senate to decide whether to convict him of incitement of insurrection after a violent mob of his supporters laid siege to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

While Trump’s acquittal is expected, all 100 senators will first have to sit at their desks and listen to hours of graphic testimony from House Democrats about the riots, which left five people dead. The House impeached Trump on Jan. 13, one week after the violence.

A look at the basics of the upcoming impeachment trial:

How does the trial work?

The Constitution says the House has the sole power of impeachment while the Senate has the sole power to try the individual on the charges. The person being impeached — who can be the president, the vice president or any civil officer of the United States — can be convicted by two-thirds of the senators present.

The House appoints managers as prosecutors who set up on the Senate floor, along with the defendant’s lawyers, to present their case. The prosecutors and Trump's defense team will have a set amount of time to make arguments, and then senators can ask questions in writing before a final vote.

The chief justice of the United States normally presides over the trial of a president, but because Trump has left office, the presiding officer will be Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who is the ceremonial head of the Senate as the longest-serving member of the majority party.

Once the senators reach a final vote on the impeachment charge — this time there is just one, incitement of insurrection — each lawmaker will stand up and cast their vote: guilty or not guilty.

How long will the trial last?

Unclear. The Senate has to agree to the rules of the trial, and party leaders are still working out the details.

Trump's first impeachment trial, in which he was acquitted on charges that he abused power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate now-President Joe Biden, lasted almost three weeks. But this one is expected to be shorter, as the case is less complicated and the senators know many of the details already, having been in the Capitol during the insurrection.

And while the Democrats want to ensure they have enough time to make their case, they do not want to tie up the Senate for long. The Senate cannot confirm Biden's Cabinet nominees and move forward with their legislative priorities, such as COVID-19 relief, until the trial is complete.

Why try Trump when he is out of office?

Republicans and Trump’s lawyers argue that the trial is unnecessary, and even unconstitutional because Trump is no longer president and cannot be removed from office. Democrats disagree, pointing to opinions of many legal scholars and the impeachment of a former secretary of war, William Belknap, who resigned in 1876 just hours before he was impeached over a kickback scheme.

While Belknap was eventually acquitted, the Senate held a full trial. And this time, the House impeached Trump while he was still president, seven days before Biden’s inauguration.

If Trump were convicted, the Senate could take a second vote to bar him from holding office again. Democrats feel that would be an appropriate punishment after he told the angry mob of his supporters to “fight like hell” to overturn his election defeat.

Democrats also argue that there should not be a “January exception” for presidents who commit impeachable offenses just before they leave office. They say the trial is necessary not only to hold Trump properly accountable but also so they can deal with what happened and move forward.

“You cannot go forward until you have justice,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this week. “If we were not to follow up with this, we might as well remove any penalty from the Constitution of impeachment.”

How is this trial different from Trump's first trial?

Trump’s first trial was based on evidence uncovered over several months by the House about a private phone call between Trump and the president of Ukraine, as well as closed-door meetings that happened before and afterward. Democrats held a lengthy investigation and then compiled a report of their findings.

In contrast, the second trial will be based almost entirely on the visceral experience of a riot that targeted the senators themselves, in the Capitol building. The insurrectionists even breached the Senate chamber, where the trial will be held.

The fresh memories of Jan. 6 could make it easier for the House impeachment managers to make their case, but it doesn't mean the outcome will be any different. Trump was acquitted in his first trial a year ago Friday with only one Republican, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, voting to convict, and there may not be many more guilty votes this time around.

In a test vote Jan. 26, only five Senate Republicans voted against an effort to dismiss the trial — an early indication that Trump is likely to be acquitted again.

What will Trump's lawyers argue?

Beyond the constitutionality of the trial, Trump’s lawyers say that he did not incite his supporters to violence and that he did nothing wrong. “It is denied that President Trump ever endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of Government,” they wrote in a brief for the trial. “It is denied he threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coequal branch Government.”

Trump's lawyers also say he was protected by the First Amendment to “express his belief that the election results were suspect.”

There was no widespread fraud in the election, as Trump claimed falsely over several months and again to his supporters just before the insurrection. Election officials across the country, and even former Attorney General William Barr, contradicted his claims, and dozens of legal challenges to the election put forth by Trump and his allies were dismissed.

What would acquittal mean for Trump?

A second impeachment acquittal by the Senate would be a victory for Trump — and would prove he retains considerable sway over his party, despite his efforts to subvert democracy and widespread condemnation from his GOP colleagues after Jan. 6.

Still, acquittal may not be the end of attempts to hold him accountable. Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, floated a censure resolution after last month’s vote made clear that Trump was unlikely to be convicted.

While they haven’t said yet if they will push for a censure vote after the impeachment trial, Kaine said this week that “the idea is out there on the table and it may become a useful idea down the road.”

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Associated Press writers Eric Tucker and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

Twitter CEO Ned Segal reportedly said former President Donald Trump wouldn't be allowed back onto the social media platform - even if he runs again for president in 2024.

On Wednesday, during an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box," Segal said that "when you're removed from the platform, you're removed from the platform," Forbes reported.

Twitter permanently suspended Trump's Twitter account back on Jan. 8 "due to the risk of further incitement of violence."

The account was suspended two days after five people died during a riot at the U.S. Capitol back on Jan. 6.

Facebook is still mulling over whether or not they'll permanently ban the former president.

Last week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he was leaving the decision up to the company's new independent oversight body.

Prosecutors in the office of the Manhattan District Attorney are in possession of former President Donald Trump’s tax records, CNBC and CNN reported on Thursday.

Prosecutors served a subpoena against Trump’s accounting firm Monday, hours after the Supreme Court denied Trump’s request to keep his returns private.

CNN reports that the district attorney’s office is now in possession of millions of pages of tax documents spanning from January 2011 to August 2019.

The Supreme Court’s ruling on Monday ended a nearly two-year legal battle over the privacy of Trump’s taxes. Attorneys are investigating the former president and his business for alleged tax fraud, but no charges have been filed as of yet.

The documents will likely not be made public, as they are subject to grand jury secrecy rules. However, the investigation could dog Trump in his post-presidency years and could hinder his attempts to run for office again should it advance further.

In a statement released following the Supreme Court’s decision on Monday, Trump called the district attorney’s investigation a “fishing expedition.”

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says his comments suggesting people can ingest or inject disinfectant to fight COVID-19 was an attempt at sarcasm.

Trump noted Thursday that researchers were looking at the effects of disinfectants on the virus and wondered aloud if they could be injected into people, saying the virus “does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that.”

But speaking to reporters in the Oval Office Friday, Trump insisted his comments were misconstrued. “I was asking the question sarcastically to reporters like you, just to see what would happen,” Trump said.

Trump’s comments on disinfectants at Thursday’s briefing came after William Bryan, who leads the Science and Technology Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security, spoke about how researchers are testing the effect of disinfectants on virus-laden saliva and respiratory fluids on surfaces.