TV News LIES

The gold medal-winning U.S. women’s hockey team turned down Donald Trump’s invitation to his State of the Union address following his controversial comments about inviting them to the nation’s capital along with the men’s team.

A spokesperson for USA Hockey, which oversees both teams, told NBC News that the White House invited the American women to attend the president’s address but cited “timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments” as reasons for the players declining the offer.

“We are sincerely grateful for the invitation extended to our gold medal–winning U.S. Women’s Hockey Team and deeply appreciate the recognition of their extraordinary achievement...They were honored to be included and are grateful for the acknowledgment,” the spokesperson said.

The news arrives after the U.S. men’s team took home gold by defeating rival Canada by a score of 2-1 in overtime at the Winter Olympics, the exact same result that the American women achieved in their final just days prior.

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A federal judge on Monday permanently barred the release of a report by special counsel Jack Smith on his investigation into President Donald Trump’s hoarding of classified documents, a prosecution that was once seen as the most periloU.S.

District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, granted a request from the president to keep under wraps the report on an investigation alleging that Trump stored sensitive documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate after he left the White House following his first term and that he obstructed government efforts to get them back.us of the four criminal cases the Republican faced.

Smith and his team produced a two-volume report on the classified documents investigation and a separate probe into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. Both investigations produced indictments that were abandoned by Smith’s team after Trump’s November 2024 election win in light of longstanding Justice Department legal opinions that say sitting presidents cannot face federal prosecution.

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Four people were arraigned on Saturday in New Jersey for allegedly posing as immigration attorneys and officials to scam immigrants, the justice department said.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, New York, who announced the arrests on Friday, said the group pretended to run a law firm, and staged fake court proceedings, in an elaborate scheme to defraud people seeking legal help for their immigration cases.

According to prosecutors, who charged five people in total, the accused made more than $100,000, with “tens of thousands” of it laundered to other co-conspirators in Colombia.

The scheme led to confusion and devastating consequences for their “dozens” of victims, the Department of Justice said. One person missed actual court hearings because of the deception and was ordered deported by US government officials “in absentia”.

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Lawyers for imprisoned British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell are fighting the requested release of 90,000 pages related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and Maxwell, saying a law used to force the public release of millions of documents is unconstitutional.

The lawyers filed papers late Friday in Manhattan federal court to try to block the release of documents from a since-settled civil defamation lawsuit brought a decade ago by the late Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre against Maxwell. The Justice Department recently asked a judge to lift secrecy requirements on the files.

Maxwell’s attorneys said the Justice Department obtained the documents — otherwise shttps://www.huffpost.com/entry/ghislaine-maxwell-fights-release-epstein-documents_n_699a0c2fe4b050c4ef21c519?origin=home-latest-news-unitubject to secrecy orders — improperly during its criminal probe of Maxwell. They said the documents include transcripts of over 30 depositions and private information regarding financial and sexual matters related to Maxwell and others.

Some records from the year-long exchange of evidence in the lawsuit battle were already released publicly in response to a federal appeals court order.

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Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is joining a growing group of Democrats who plan to boycott President Trump’s State of the Union address next Tuesday in favor of an alternative event, according to progressive media outlet MeidasTouch.

The outlet reported that Schiff is set to speak at a counter rally on the National Mall, dubbed the “People’s State of the Union,” that it is hosting alongside liberal advocacy group MoveOn Civic Action.

The lineup of Democratic speakers also includes Sens. Ed Markey (Mass.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Chris Murphy (Conn.) and Tina Smith (Minn.), as well as at least seven House members.The rally is just one of several counterprogramming efforts Democrats are expected to engage in to protest Trump’s Feb. 24 address, his first State of the Union since returning to office.

Some Democrats have signaled they may attend one of the counter rallies in addition to the State of the Union, while others say they are skipping it entirely.

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President Donald Trump kicked reporters out of a breakfast meeting Feb. 20 with governors so the officials could speak “candidly.”

“That way we’re going to talk very candidly and take questions at the end,” Trump said. “To the media, thank you. You can leave now.”

Trump’s move came after disputes with Democratic Govs. Wes Moore of Maryland and Jared Polis of Colorado led to confusion about who could attend the meeting termed a "working breakfast" in the East Room.

Reporters shouted questions as they were led out of the room, including one about whether he was considering military action against Iran.

"I guess I can say I am considering it," Trump said.

He didn’t respond to a question about whether he had spoken to Moore about the Potomac River sewage spill.

In the days before this year’s meeting, Trump blamed Moore for one of the largest sewage spills in history. The sewage system is overseen by D.C., Maryland and Virginia officials but Trump targeted Moore.

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