Russia Says Ukraine Peace Talks With U.S. Show Progress 
Trump Signals Potential Role for Maria Corina Machado in Venezuela as U.S. Policy Tone Shifts 
Trump Criticizes NYSE Texas Expansion, Calls Dallas Exchange a Blow to New York 
Japan Government Bond Rout Deepens as Election Spending Fears Shake Markets 
European Leaders Unite in Davos as Trump’s Greenland Threat Sparks Trade Tensions 
Trump Says $2,000 Tariff Dividend Possible Without Congress Approval 
Trump Rejects Talks With Maduro Amid Election Interference Allegations 
Trump Signals Possible Harvard Deal Amid Ongoing Tensions 
Trump Administration Appeals Judge’s Order Limiting ICE Tactics in Minneapolis 
Trump Threatens 200% Tariff on French Wine Over Macron’s Refusal to Join Peace Board 
Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ Proposal Sparks Global Debate Over U.N. Role 
U.S. Plans NATO Staff Reductions, Raising Fresh Concerns Over Alliance Commitment 
Ukraine Unveils New Drone-Based Air Defence Strategy Amid Rising Russian Threats 
Trump Signs Executive Order to Limit Wall Street Investment in Single-Family Homes 
Kazakh President Tokayev Accepts Invitation to Join Trump-Proposed “Board of Peace” 
Trump Says U.S. Will Soon Target Land Routes for Drug Trafficking 
Former President Donald Trump was widely criticized for his administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US that has led to some of his officials speaking out against him. A new book suggests that Trump’s former COVID-19 task force adviser Dr. Deborah Birx hoped that Trump would lose his reelection bid in the 2020 elections.
The book, written by Biden’s top COVID-19 advisers, Andy Slavitt is titled “Preventable,” detailing the Trump administration’s failure to contain and mitigate the pandemic that has led to hundreds of thousands of Americans dead and millions infected. According to Slavitt, Dr. Birx hoped that Trump would not be elected to a second term and he recalls meeting with Dr. Birx in Minnesota last August after she briefed government officials.
Dr. Birx was replaced by Dr. Scott Atlas to lead the Trump administration’s COVID-19 task force and instead traveled all over the country to provide data to officials. Dr. Birx invited Slavitt to attend the Minnesota briefing. At the time, Slavitt writes, the outcome of the election remained uncertain, but he wanted to see if, in case of a rocky transition to a new administration, Dr. Birx would help give Biden and his team the help needed to handle the pandemic.
“At one point, after a brief pause, she looked me in the eye and said, ‘I hope the election turns out a certain way,’ I had the most important information I needed,” writes Slavitt, who stepped down from his role last week, citing the 130-day limit for special government employees.
Trump still faces a slew of legal challenges from lawsuits to criminal and civil investigations following his departure from the White House back in January. Following the recent reports revealing how Trump used the Justice Department during his presidency, former prosecutor Glenn Kirschner said that Trump must be criminally prosecuted. Kirschner cited that there was an “unabated crime wave” when the former president was still in office, among them the Ukraine investigation and the insurrection that led to his two impeachments.
“If he is not held accountable, if we don’t prosecute him, then what we are doing is we are encouraging tomorrow’s version of Donald Trump,” warned Kirschner, who served as a prosecutor for the DC US Attorney’s office for 24 years. “We have to prosecute today’s version of Donald Trump to send the message that we will not tolerate a runaway criminal president.”
