Category: News

An investigation by the Defense Department’s Office of Inspector General has revealed alarming information about the White House medical unit under the Trump administration.

The in-depth report highlights problems with the administration of prescription drugs, including the over-prescribing of drugs to employees who were not entitled to them and the lack of proper records, NBC reports.

The White House Medical Unit had “severe and systemic problems” with their pharmacy operations and provided health care to ineligible staffers before the Biden administration, according to a scathing inspector general report. https://t.co/AcDXSz0rpe

— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 28, 2024

Reports covering pharmacy practices between 2017 and 2019 highlighted instances where Medical Unit dispensed controlled drugs such as Ambien (a sedative) or Provigil (a stimulant), without verifying patients’ identities.

Witnesses interviewed during the investigation revealed a disturbingly lax approach to drug distribution. They even failed to complete the necessary formalities for non-controlled substances, and sometimes distributed drugs such as Provigil as gifts to departing employees!

The investigation also shed light on how the White House medical unit procured large quantities of opioids such as fentanyl and morphine.

Fentanyl is of particular concern because of its potency and its role in the opioid epidemic plaguing the United States.

According to the report, the White House medical unit’s distribution methods demonstrate a disturbing disregard for federal regulations and guidelines established by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). The report cites lack of oversight as the primary factor contributing to the mishandling of drugs.

The Inspector General’s report also revealed that thousands of people who were not eligible for care received care by proxy. This practice violated federal laws and regulations, as well as Department of Defense policies.

The Pentagon has accepted the Inspector General’s recommendations to improve administrative oversight and compliance with drug distribution policy.

The clinic is responsible for the day-to-day medical care of the President, Vice President, their families and White House staff.

The report does not place responsibility on the doctors or administrators.

Charles Littlejohn, who was accused of disclosing thousands of confidential tax records, including those of Trump, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, was sentenced to five years in prison, the maximum requested by federal prosecutors, NBC reports.

BREAKING: Former IRS contractor who leaked former President Trump’s tax records has been sentenced to 5 years in prison. https://t.co/dLG0KfJ2p6

— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 29, 2024

Last October, Littlejohn pleaded guilty to disclosing confidential financial information, including that of former President Donald Trump and thousands of wealthy Americans. Accused of accessing the IRS database, he stole private tax information, constituting a serious breach of IRS security.

From August to October 2019, Littlejohn allegedly transferred confidential data to various storage media, then providing it anonymously to several media outlets, including The New York Times.

Following the stolen data, the New York Times published several articles, highlighting that Trump had paid just $750 in federal income tax in 2016 and 2017. Another article exposed the tax avoidance tactics of billionaires such as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.

Court documents submitted as evidence indicated that Littlejohn had taken significant steps to destroy evidence in anticipation of an upcoming investigation, and these revelations would have increased the seriousness of his offense.

Littlejohn was scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes in Washington, D.C., on January 29, and the judge will ultimately impose the maximum sentence in this case.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump spoke in Laconia, New Hampshire, rather whimsically describing a sophisticated missile defense system, accompanied by his own sound effects and mimicry.

Trump keeps vowing to build something like Israel’s Iron Dome, but better and over the entire U.S. That's not easily done. https://t.co/Yj5yBfBOvG

— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 23, 2024

Addressing his supporters, Trump hailed the countries that benefit from the Iron Dome missile defense system, stressing the imperative of urgent implementation of such a system in the United States, in his view.

However, what was particularly captivating about the speech was that Trump used his usual theatricals, involving gestures and sound effects, to describe the detection and interception of a missile.

In short, after the wall, Trump is now promising a dome!

What do you think?

Billionaire Elon Musk recently visited Auschwitz, after attending a summit organized by the European Jewish Association on anti-Semitism, in Krakow. The visit follows several months of controversy over his social network X and the way anti-Semitic content was handled on its platform, according to ABC.

Elon Musk visited the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi death camp on Monday.

The trip comes as the billionaire faces criticism for subscribing to an antisemitic conspiracy theory and allowing hate messages on his social media platform, X. https://t.co/Ssfu5UkXO7

— ABC News (@ABC) January 22, 2024

Musk took part in a commemorative ceremony at the former Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau, where millions of Jews were killed during the Second World War.

Musk’s visit could offer him the opportunity to meditate on the Holocaust, coming several months after he drew strong criticism for publishing a tweet promoting an unsubstantiated anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. The theory suggested that Jewish communities harbored hostility towards white people.

The White House and several Jewish groups strongly condemned the tweet, leading to an avalanche of criticism of the billionaire. This wave of negative reactions prompted major advertisers such as Apple, Disney and IBM to suspend their ads on the X platform.

The incident reinforced many people’s doubts about Musk’s commitment to anti-Semitism, as well as the moderation policies he has instituted at X since his acquisition of Twitter (now X).

Musk backtracked, stating that his publication and statements were among the most insane things he’d shared on his platform.

But the billionaire has reacted vigorously to these accusations, which he believes to be unfounded. He claimed that he had been falsely accused of anti-Semitism, highlighting his commitment to fighting online hate.

Elon Musk went so far as to threaten legal action against the Anti-Defamation League over allegations that hate speech had proliferated since he took control of X.

It remains unclear whether Musk’s recent trip will result in a change in the way X moderates hate content.

January 27 marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, and pays tribute to the six million Jewish victims, 1.1 million of whom were cruelly killed in the Auschwitz camp in Poland.

According to NBC News, federal prosecutors have sought the maximum sentence against Charles Edward Littlejohn, a 38-year-old former IRS contractor who pleaded guilty to leaking Donald Trump’s tax returns without authorization.

He could face up to five years in prison.

Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to sentence a former IRS contractor to five years in prison for leaking the tax records of former President Trump and other wealthy Americans to the media. https://t.co/XYX8gKS2Qq

— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 17, 2024

Littlejohn admitted to disclosing confidential financial information about former US President Donald Trump, in addition to the financial information of several thousand wealthy Americans. He is accused of accessing an IRS database and stealing the private tax information of prominent figures, a notable breach of IRS security.

Between August and October 2019, Littlejohn allegedly transferred confidential data to several storage devices, then provided this information anonymously to the media, including The New York Times.

Recall that the New York Times published several articles based on this stolen data revealing, among other things, that Trump had paid just $750 in federal income tax in 2016 and 2017, while another article detailed the tax avoidance tactics of several billionaires, including Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.

Court documents indicate that Littlejohn took significant steps to destroy evidence in anticipation of an upcoming investigation, and these revelations would have increased the seriousness of his offense. Prosecutors are seeking a 5-year prison sentence, whereas a plea agreement initially recommended a maximum sentence of 14 months’ imprisonment.

Littlejohn will appear before U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes in Washington, D.C., on January 29.