Democrats Launch Investigation Into Trump’s “Princess of Darkness”

Democrats in Congress are launching a probe into one of President Trump’s fundraising chiefs, whom he calls his “princess of darkness.”Senator Elizabeth Warren, Representative Robert Garcia, and Senator Richard Blumenthal are seeking information from Meredith O’Rourke about her role in Trump’s pet projects, saying that her fundraising “reeks of potential corruption,” according to The Wall Street Journal. Warren and Garcia are the incoming chairs of the Senate Subcommittee on Investigations and the House Oversight Committee, respectively.The letter addresses donations made from corporations including Capital One, SoftBank Group, and Lockheed Martin to Trump’s projects, and how the companies got favorable treatment from the White House afterward. It’s asking for a list of every company and donor O’Rourke reached out to for money, how they responded, and how much she is paid.O’Rourke has been the main point of contact for companies donating to Trump’s White House ballroom, his presidential library, and the political committees connected to him. Trump generally refers names to her to solicit donations from. The Journal reports that she asks donors for anywhere between $5 million and $50 million, telling them that “this is very important to the president” and “the boss wants this money.”“You facilitate an operation that raises serious questions about quid pro quo politics,” the letter says to O’Rourke, asking that she respond by November 25.A spokesperson for O’Rourke and Trump dismissed the letter.“President Trump is the most successful fundraiser in political history, and he is deeply grateful to his donors, but one thing has never changed: He can’t be bought,” the spokesperson said. “Democrats’ accusations are absurd, baseless, and full of hypocrisy.”The White House has warned against any investigations into the president and his actions, claiming that such probes constitute crimes. Trump and his cronies seem to think that anything they do is above reproach. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has awarded the soldier who loudly scolded him and his entourage for disturbing the peace at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Veteran’s Day.“We love soldiers. We love standards. Well done, Specialist. Carry on Patriots,” Hegseth wrote in a post Thursday, sharing photographs of himself and several members of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, known as the Old Guard, taken during an impromptu award ceremony at the Pentagon.That included Specialist Thomas Iglesias, who reprimanded Hegseth and his retinue on Wednesday as they chatted and laughed after snapping pictures on the stairs in front of the sacred war memorial.“All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times,” yelled Iglesias, who was guarding the tomb at the time.Iglesias was awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal Thursday for carrying out his duties.But it is not clear if Iglesias was actually eligible to receive the commemoration. The Defense Department’s awards manual stipulates that only service members on joint duty assignments can be awarded the joint service medal, according to a review by Military.com. Iglesias, meanwhile, was assigned to an Army regiment, according to Arlington National Cemetery.Members of service-specific units “are not eligible for DoD Joint [personal military decorations],” according to the manual.Although exceptions are allowed (and such exceptions are at the discretion of the awarding body or, in this case, the Defense Secretary) it has not been publicly disclosed if such an exception was approved, as a citation was not mentioned in the Pentagon’s statement provided to CNN.In the aftermath of the interaction on Wednesday, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said that Iglesias “correctly and respectfully reminded everyone to maintain decorum.”First lady Melania Trump’s “exclusive senior adviser” is a movie producer who has no security clearance, no political expertise, and no actual boss in the White House. He’s also reportedly been speaking with Ukrainian and Russian officials on the first lady’s behalf.Marc Beckman, who first worked as a lifestyle consultant to the first lady and produced Amazon’s poorly received Melania documentary, has been advising Melania diplomatically for at least a year. He was specifically credited as a primary connector in the most recent humanitarian ceasefire declaration between Russia and Ukraine, although his role in that process is also unclear. He even posted a picture of himself, Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, and Ukrainian official David Arakhamia at the White House on Sunday to celebrate the ceasefire.Not even the first lady’s former staffers seem to know who Beckman is. First-term adviser Stephanie Grisham told MS NOW that she “never heard [Melania] utter his name for the whole time I was around her.” One current administration member couldn’t seem to remember Beckman’s name when asked. “Is that the guy who looks like Fabio?” he said, referring to Beckman’s shoulder-length hair. “He’s like the shadow first lady,” Grisham continued. “She does want to do meaningful things, but she lets you bring them to her in a bow. The whole thing is bizarre. I’ve thought, ‘Who the fuck is this guy?’ I remember her saying she felt like she was losing her voice because I was putting so many statements out.… She doesn’t like people speaking on her behalf yet he keeps speaking.”This is one of many instances in which the Trump administration has ignored the proper rules of engagement for politics and diplomacy, allowing private citizens with potential conflicts of interest—like Elon Musk and Jared Kushner—to have a massively outsize impact on the administration’s decisions. The Trump administration is levying legal threats at any Democrat attempting to investigate it. On Thursday, the Justice Department accused Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal of harassment for his probe into the wealthy private donors who funded President Trump’s $400 million White House vanity ballroom. U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz ordered Blumenthal to lock away any of his findings or face “significant legal consequences.”“After the election, [Senator Blumenthal] & his allies think they can intimidate Americans for their constitutionally protected associations w/ President Trump,” Reitz wrote online on Wednesday. “Congress is not a weapon to be wielded against the American people. I’m taking the first step to stop this abuse of power.”Last month, The Washington Post reported that 57 companies donated $100,000 or more to the vanity project. Some of those companies are headed by people who have already donated to Trump in other ways—and have been rewarded in return, in the form of business contracts and dropped investigations. It’s unclear how Blumenthal looking into that constitutes using Congress “against the American people,” as Reitz argues. It’s also unclear why Reitz, the U.S. attorney for Texas, is threatening a senator from Connecticut in the first place—especially given that Blumenthal’s probe is well within the confines of the Constitution. “Why is a Houston-based US Attorney threatening a Connecticut-based Senator over constitutionally-mandated oversight of DC figures? Because the DOJ is hemorrhaging staff, who don’t want to do this dirty work, and this US Attorney is a trained seal for Trump,” wrote Adam Klasfield, All Rise News editor in chief, “No other reason.”Blumenthal later responded. “This investigation into me for conducting a congressional inquiry is just the latest in a series of unlawful actions on the part of the Trump Admin attempting to intimidate Members of Congress for engaging in constitutionally protected activity,” he wrote Thursday night. “The implied threat of an investigation is baseless. As incoming Chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, I will not be intimidated.” Nevada’s incoming Democratic governor wants to negate the Electoral College.Aaron Ford said Wednesday that he thinks the state should join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an agreement where member states give their electoral votes in every presidential election to whoever wins the national popular vote.“I didn’t initially support it frankly because I hadn’t done enough research on it, but I have researched it and, looking at the Electoral College, understanding the, frankly, racist underpinnings of it in the first place leads me to believe that we need to get rid of it,” Ford told Nevada TV station KOLO regarding the compact. “Not only for that reason, but because we’ve seen several times now the person who wins the popular vote not win because of the Electoral College.”After last week’s midterm elections, Democrats have taken over control of state legislatures and governorships not just in Nevada but also Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, and Wisconsin, which haven’t agreed to the compact. If all five states agree to join the compact, their electoral votes combined with the states that have already agreed to it would be enough to effectively nullify the Electoral College.Ford’s comments give the idea more weight, especially considering that he’s one of the country’s five Black governors who won their elections last week. But the idea faces constitutional hurdles. In Article 2, Section 1, Clauses 2 and 3, the Constitution says that states can appoint electors “in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct.” But in Article 1, Section 10, Clause 3, it also prohibits interstate compacts without the consent of Congress.The current Supreme Court has six conservative justices who are more than likely to take a narrow interpretation and shoot down the compact, and require Congress and the president’s consent on any deal. That means even if enough states agree to the compact now, it could be years before it takes effect, if ever. Still, for now, Democratic-led states could set up that legal challenge.