Waste, Fraud & Abuse
House chairman drafts bill to get federal workers back in the office
House Oversight Chairman James Comer announced new legislation Thursday to force the federal government to shut down its generous pandemic-era telework policies and get workers back into their offices.
Ghost town: 10% of federal workforce is totally remote, 50% of the rest telework some days a week
Working remotely has consumed the federal bureaucracy to the point that 10% of the workforce -- some 228,000 employees -- never show up at an office, according to a new report Wednesday by the House's oversight committee.
Ex-special counsel Jack Smith issues final report, says Trump was not exonerated
Former special counsel Jack Smith says President-elect Donald Trump engaged in an "unprecedented" effort to overturn the voters' will in 2020 and would have been convicted at trial if he had not won in November.
Bullets and lobster tails: Pentagon spends nearly $80 billion in one-month spree
The Defense Department went on its biggest monthlong spending spree since the height of the war on terror, dumping nearly $80 billion in a rush to empty its accounts before the end of the fiscal year.
DOJ hands 2020 election report on Trump to Congress; Smith says team ‘stood up for the rule of law’
Special counsel Jack Smith said his team "stood up for the rule of law" as it investigated President-elect Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, writing in a much-anticipated report released Tuesday that he stands fully behind his decision to bring criminal charges he believes would have resulted in a conviction had voters not returned Trump to the White House.
Court papers say ex-NBA player Jontay Porter laid out betting scheme in a text; 6th person arrested
A sixth person was charged Monday in the federal sports betting case involving ex-NBA player Jontay Porter, and authorities disclosed a text message Porter allegedly sent explaining how to cash in on his plans to bench himself in a January 2024 game.
Prosecutor who investigated Hunter Biden defends probes, denounces president’s remarks in new report
The criminal charges against Hunter Biden "were the culmination of thorough, impartial investigations, not partisan politics," the prosecutor who led the probes said in a report released Monday that criticized President Joe Biden for having maligned the Justice Department when he pardoned his son.
DOGE challenge: Waste watchdog dares Musk, Ramaswamy to cut $800 billion lost to fraud
The federal government spends as much as $800 billion annually on fraudulent benefit payments, according to a leading expert, who said the incoming Trump administration could reduce the federal deficit without slashing departments or agencies.
Biden, Netanyahu discuss latest in effort to reach an Israel-Hamas war ceasefire
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden spoke Sunday about efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal in the Israel-Hamas war, a sign of the intensifying push to reach a deal before Donald Trump's inauguration next week.
Trump defiant as judge delivers no-jail felony sentence ahead of inauguration
A defiant President-elect Donald Trump received his no-jail sentence Friday in a surreal and historic hearing just days before his return to Washington as the leader of the free world.
Trump set to face criminal reckoning, but no jail time, on N.Y. convictions
President-elect Donald Trump will be sentenced Friday by a New York judge for the felony convictions handed down by a Manhattan jury last spring.
Judge will weigh holding Giuliani in contempt of court after jury’s $148 million defamation award
A federal judge is set to hear arguments Friday on whether to hold Rudolph W. Giuliani in contempt of court for continuing to spread lies about two Georgia election workers after they secured a $148 million defamation judgment against him.
Ex-FBI informant who fabricated bribery story about Bidens is sentenced to 6 years
A former FBI informant who fabricated a story about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter accepting bribes that became central to Republicans' impeachment effort was sentenced Wednesday to six years in prison.
Trump blames Newsom’s negligence for wildfires, pledges tougher policies
The out-of-control fires ripping across Los Angeles cap years of criticism of California Gov. Gavin Newsom's water management and wildfire mitigation policies that are set to face the wrath of the incoming Trump administration.
Road trip tumult: Energy Dept. blistered for wasting taxpayer money on electric vehicle boondoggle
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm abused American taxpayers with her 2023 publicity road trip in an electric vehicle, said an inspector general who accused her team of overselling their expenses on some travel vouchers and choosing expensive hotel rooms when cheaper ones were available.
Trump asks Supreme Court to halt New York criminal proceedings ahead of sentencing
President-elect Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to halt his criminal proceedings in New York, two days before his scheduled sentencing by New York State Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan.
Trump asks the Supreme Court to block sentencing in his hush money case in New York
President-elect Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to call off Friday's sentencing in his hush money case in New York.
N.Y. appellate judge refuses to postpone Trump’s sentencing for hush money conviction
A New York appeals court denied President-elect Donald Trump's request for a stay of his sentencing hearing later this week, a major blow to the leader-in-waiting before his inauguration.
Federal judge temporarily blocks release of Jack Smith’s report on Trump
A federal judge in Florida temporarily blocked the Department of Justice from releasing special counsel Jack Smith's final report on probes into President-elect Donald Trump.
Trump seeks last-minute relief from New York appeals court
President-elect Donald Trump petitioned a New York appeals court on Tuesday to dismiss his hush money conviction because of his status as president-in-waiting.
