All articles tagged with #grassley
Former DOJ special counsel Jack Smith has been invited to testify on Sept. 22 before the Senate Judiciary Committee, marking his second congressional appearance as Sen. Grassley scrutinizes Smith’s investigation into Trump, including access to text messages from dozens of lawmakers and toll records.
Sen. Chuck Grassley says Jack Smith obtained text messages from 44 members of Congress who exchanged messages with White House officials in the final weeks of Trump's term. The materials, part of National Archives records, have sparked GOP defenses of Smith and a plan to have him testify, while highlighting ongoing tensions over executive–legislative communications and speech-or-debate privileges.
Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley asked FBI Director Kash Patel to provide an itemized May record of his use of taxpayer resources—flights, costs, and the rationale for armored BMW purchases—while Durbin and Raskin signaled similar requests for transparency; the FBI defended its policies and said Patel reimbursed all personal travel.
Democrats on House and Senate Judiciary panels are pressing FBI Director Kash Patel for records on personal use of FBI aircraft and related travel perks, while Grassley requests details on flights and the FBI-ordered BMW vehicle purchases; Patel insists all travel expenses were reimbursed per law and policy, but Democrats cite past incidents (VIP Hawaii snorkeling, helicopter tours, jet-skiing) as evidence of potential misuse and call for an independent review, with Republicans and Democrats alike seeking accountability for how taxpayer resources are being used.
A long-running investigation into Credit Suisse’s World War II-era conduct by Neil Barofsky has uncovered additional Nazi-era ties, including undeclared accounts for the German foreign office and a Nazi arms maker, plus transfers of Jewish assets; Barofsky is set to present his findings to the Senate Judiciary Committee, with Grassley urging public access to archival materials as UBS, which bought Credit Suisse in 2023, supports the review though disputes remain over document access.
A Senate majority staff report based on more than 50,000 pages alleges UnitedHealth Group uses aggressive diagnosis capture, in-home health risk assessments, and coding guidance to inflate Medicare Advantage risk scores and in turn receive higher CMS payments. The findings describe a specialized workforce and data capabilities that adapt to CMS crackdowns, with examples like diagnoses for opioid dependence, alcohol use disorders, and dementia, and warn that the company sells its criteria to other MAOs, potentially impacting taxpayers and the integrity of the MA program. The report follows Grassley’s long history of MA oversight and calls for continued scrutiny of risk-adjustment practices.
Republicans have been promoting unsubstantiated claims about a foreign bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden, citing the existence of "audio tapes" proving Biden accepted a $5 million bribe from a Ukrainian energy company while he was vice president. However, top GOP lawmakers have acknowledged that these recordings may not exist at all and could be "just a bluff." The allegations were initially investigated and Trump's own DOJ was unable to substantiate the accusations.