National Archives asks former US presidents to check records for classified documents – live | US politics

At a press briefing with the US attorney general Merrick Garland earlier, FBI director Christopher Wray warned, amid the scandal of classified documents turning up in the possession of Donald Trump and Joe Biden, that people with access to such material should be more “conscious of the rules.”

“Obviously I can’t comment on any specific investigation, but we have had, for quite a number of years, any number of mishandling investigations,” Wray told reporters at the briefing that was chiefly called to talk about the Department of Justice seizing a website used by a ransomware outfit.

“That is, unfortunately, a regular part of our counterintelligence division, counterintelligence programs work,” Wray added. “And people need to be conscious of the rules for classified information and appropriate handling of it. Those rules are there for a reason,” Wray said.

National Archives asks former presidents to check for possession of classified documents

Trumpworld source: ‘No chance’ MTG is VP pick

Martin Pengelly

The US economy expanded at a 2.9% annual pace from October through December, ending 2022 with momentum despite the pressure of high interest rates and widespread fears of a looming recession, the Associated Press reports.

Thursday’s estimate from the Commerce Department showed that the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP)— the broadest gauge of economic output — decelerated last quarter from the 3.2% annual growth rate it had posted from July through September.

Most economists think the economy will slow further in the current quarter and slide into at least a mild recession by midyear. The housing market, which is especially vulnerable to higher loan rates, has already been badly bruised.

And consumer spending, which fuels roughly 70% of the entire economy, is likely to soften in the months ahead, along with the still-resilient job market.

The economy’s expected slowdown is an intended consequence of the Federal Reserve’s aggressive series of rate hikes. The Fed’s hikes are meant to reduce growth, cool spending and crush the worst inflation bout in four decades. Last year, the Fed raised its benchmark rate seven times. It is set to do so again next week, though this time by a smaller amount.

The resilience of the U.S. job market has been a major surprise. Last year, employers added 4.5 million jobs, second only to the 6.7 million that were added in 2021 in government records going back to 1940. And last month’s unemployment rate, 3.5%, matched a 53-year low.

But the good times for America’s workers aren’t likely to last. As higher rates make borrowing and spending increasingly expensive across the economy, many consumers will spend less and employers will likely hire less.

The Fed has been responding to an inflation rate that remains stubbornly high even though it has been gradually easing.

US president Joe Biden is due to give a speech on the economy, in Virginia this afternoon.

As well as trumpeting achievements on the economy, Biden is expected to attack Republicans – as part of a stepped up strategy by the White House to go after the GOP explicitly of late – for revving up to a seeming showdown over the federal debt limit where they may do more than bluster and actually block vital spending measures (eg on US social benefits or more weaponry to Ukraine in its effort to resist Russia’s invasion) in return for approving more debt capacity. My colleague Joan E Greve explains further on that issue.

Showbiz icon Bette Midler is not thrilled at the prospect of Donald Trump returning to mainstream social media.

Here’s former New York City mayoral candidate and progressive Maya Wiley.

There are also a mix of opinions about the American Civil Liberties Union praising last night’s decision by Meta to lift the ban on Donald Trump using its Facebook and Instagram platforms.

Here’s one member of the public:

Jameel Jaffer, executive director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and a former American Civil Liberties Union official, defended the reinstatement, saying it was the “right call.” He had previously endorsed the company’s decision to suspend Trump’s account.

Returning to reaction to the decision by Meta to allow Donald Trump back on Facebook and Instagram, our own star columnist, Berkeley professor and former US labor secretary, Robert Reich, is not impressed by Mark Zuckerberg’s social media behemoth.

“Why the hell is Zuckerberg giving Donald Trump a free pass to lie and incite violence? The last time Trump’s election lies went unchecked, he abused his massive online megaphone to incite the violent January 6th insurrection — which led to his ban in the first place,” Reich tweeted.