AFP USA

US President Donald Trump headed to Rome on Friday for the funeral of Pope Francis, where he will brush shoulders with an array of world leaders on the unexpected first foreign trip of his second term.Trump had a distant relationship with the late pontiff who did not hesitate to criticize him sharply on his signature policy of mass deportations of migrants.But Trump will not miss what is set to be a major diplomatic gathering on Saturday with some 50 heads of state, including 10 reigning monarchs, expected to attend. Among them may be Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in what would be the two leaders’ first time together in person since a disastrous White House meeting on February 28.Trump and Vice President JD Vance in that meeting berated Zelensky, calling him ungrateful for the billions of dollars of US military assistance since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.Trump, while calling on Russia to stop its aerial attacks on Ukraine, has also recently blamed Zelensky for the war and the continuing bloodshed.Zelensky said Friday he may miss the funeral due to military meetings after recent deadly Russian strikes on Kyiv.- Biden not on Air Force One -No meetings have been announced in Rome for Trump, who is due to stay only half a day in the Eternal City.But Trump may find discomfort around some mourners around him — chief among them his predecessor, Joe Biden.Biden is a devout Catholic and was close with Francis. He will travel independently to Rome, his office said, even though former presidents generally travel on Air Force One for funerals. Trump has relentlessly attacked Biden and torn down his legacy in his nearly 100 days in office, with Biden in turn recently speaking out against Trump’s policies.President George W. Bush took two of his predecessors, Bill Clinton and his father, on Air Force One for Pope John Paul II’s funeral in 2005.Trump’s trip to Italy comes after he rattled European allies by imposing sweeping tariffs, although he at least temporarily has backed down from the most severe measures.French President Emmanuel Macron, one leader who has managed to forge a bond with Trump, and outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will both be at the funeral, as will top EU executives Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa.Also in attendance will be Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a veteran leftist whose vanquished rival Jair Bolsonaro is an ideological soulmate of Trump.Lula has been critical of Trump but has avoided major confrontation since the Republican billionaire’s return.The funeral will also bring leaders more ideologically in tune with Trump including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and President Javier Milei of Argentina, the late pope’s home country.Trump also paid a brief visit to France after his election but before his inauguration for the reopening of Notre Dame cathedral. Macron brought him together with Zelensky on the sidelines.Trump’s first foreign trip was supposed to be to oil-rich Gulf Arab states, where he is hoping to see business opportunities and press for closer relations with Israel.He is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates from May 13.

Disgraced former Republican lawmaker George Santos, who was expelled from the US Congress for using stolen donor cash to bankroll a lavish lifestyle, was sentenced to seven years in prison Friday.Republican Santos, 36, had faced at least two years in prison and a maximum of 22 years after pleading guilty to wire fraud and identity theft for his elaborate grifting while a lawmaker.Judge Joanna Seybert in Federal District Court in Central Islip sentenced Santos to seven years and three months, a courts spokesman told AFP.In August 2024 judge Seybert ordered Santos to pay more than $370,000 in restitution which prosecutors say has gone unpaid.Well-wishers put their arms around Santos, who wore a charcoal suit and sunglasses, as he arrived at the courthouse for sentencing.Ahead of his sentencing, Santos suspended his Cameo account on which users had been able to pay to request custom videos.”I have disabled the ability to make new requests as I am unsure if I will be able to fulfill them in recent days,” he wrote on X.He has said that he has no plans to request a pardon from US President Donald Trump and is resigned to prison.Despite his guilty plea, federal prosecutors have insisted that Santos’s social media shows his claims of remorse “ring hollow.””As of this writing, despite years of actively courting media attention and capitalizing on his infamy, Santos has forfeited nothing of his ill-gotten gains and has not repaid one cent to any of the victims of his financial crimes,” prosecutors wrote.- Spectacular downfall -The downfall of the congressman from Long Island came after it was revealed he had fabricated almost his entire backstory including his education, religion and work history.Santos was elected to the US House of Representatives in 2022 and indicted the following year for stealing from campaign donors and engaging in credit card fraud, money laundering and identity theft.Santos used donor money for Botox treatments and the OnlyFans porn website, as well as luxury Italian goods and vacations to the Hamptons and Las Vegas, according to an investigation by a congressional ethics committee.He had been scheduled to go on trial on September 9 on some two dozen charges, but opted instead to enter a guilty plea to wire fraud and identity theft.Santos’s bizarre biographical fabrications included claiming to have worked for Goldman Sachs, being Jewish and having been a college volleyball star.He was ultimately doomed by the congressional probe that found overwhelming evidence of misconduct and accused him of seeking to “fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy.”Santos was expelled from the House in 2023, becoming only the third person to be ejected as a US lawmaker since the Civil War, a rebuke previously reserved for traitors and convicted criminals.In February 2024, voters in his suburban New York district picked Democrat Tom Suozzi to replace him.

After President Donald Trump’s administration revoked hundreds of student visas and threatened deportation for participants of pro-Palestinian campus protests, international students told AFP they were reconsidering their dreams of earning degrees in the United States.Trump has launched a crackdown on higher education in recent weeks, accusing universities including Columbia and Harvard of allowing anti-Semitism on their campuses.In response more than 130 international students across the United States have joined a federal lawsuit accusing the Trump administration of unlawfully canceling their visas, jeopardizing their legal status in the country.But others have been deterred from stepping foot in America in the first place.German Tariq Kandil turned down an opportunity to spend six months on exchange at the University of California, Davis, fearing he would be targeted by the US government for his social media posts criticising Trump and speaking about Palestine.”I didn’t want to have to censor myself just to be able to enter the country,” the 21-year-old told AFP. “The United States is supposed to be the country of free speech.”Kandil said he was “afraid of being arrested when entering or leaving the country and finding myself in detention awaiting deportation.”He was also worried his name would attract undue scrutiny.”Tariq Kandil isn’t a typical name when you come from Europe.”- ‘Study in fear’ -More than 1.1 million international students attended college or university in the United States during the 2023/24 academic year, a record figure, according to a report published by the State Department’s educational bureau and the Institute of International Education.Now Trump is aggressively targeting top universities where students protested over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, cutting off federal funds and directing immigration officers to deport student demonstrators, including those with green cards.Rania Kettani, a Moroccan student currently living in Abu Dhabi, joined protests against Israel’s conduct in the Gaza conflict while studying at New York University in 2023.”It is inconceivable to me that, in today’s context, doing the exact same thing could lead to deportation and cut short my studies,” Kettani told AFP.The 22-year-old had planned to apply for a master’s degree at an American university.”Seeing the number of students whose visas were revoked, I gave up,” she said.”I don’t want to live and study in fear.”- ‘A bit hostile’ -Naveen, a 26-year-old who asked to be identified with a pseudonym, is in the process of applying for a US visa after being admitted to a university there.To prepare for his studies, he has joined online forums that share the “do’s and don’ts” of being an international student in the United States.The current situation is “a bit hostile.” he told AFP.But Naveen said he believes that revoked student visas and deportations are targeting “immigrants not following the law properly and doing illegal practices.”He is hopeful the atmosphere around higher education will improve “in a year or two.” Naveen said he sees a bright future for himself in America, and wants to help the US “economy and people.”The United States could “go back to being a really happy place where people won’t feel these kinds of uncertainties or any doubts in the back of their minds,” he told AFP.

US President Donald Trump has insisted Chinese leader Xi Jinping called him despite Beijing denials of any contact between the two countries over their bitter trade dispute.In an interview conducted on April 22 with TIME Magazine and published Friday, the US president did not say when the call took place or specify what was discussed.”He’s called,” Trump said. “And I don’t think that’s a sign of weakness on his behalf.”Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman He Yadong told reporters Thursday that “I would like to emphasize that there are currently no economic and trade negotiations between China and the United States.”The world’s two biggest economies are locked in an escalating tit-for-tat trade battle triggered by Trump’s levies on Chinese goods, which have reached 145 percent on many products.Trump suggested he will announce deals with US trading partners in the next few weeks.”I would say, over the next three to four weeks, and we’re finished, by the way,” he said.”There’s a number at which they will feel comfortable,” Trump told the magazine, referring to China. “But you can’t let them make a trillion dollars on us.”The tariff blitz — which Trump says is retaliation for unfair trade practices, as well as a bid to restore US manufacturing prowess — has rattled markets and raised fears of a global recession.

President Donald Trump has defied international norms on the nascent field of deep-sea mining, signing an executive order Thursday expanding the practice for rare earth minerals in domestic and international waters.White House aides say the initiative could see US operations scoop up more than a billion metric tons of mineral-rich deep-sea nodules, and pump hundreds of billions of dollars into the American economy.But the move to disrupt ocean floor ecosystems to extract cobalt and other minerals flies in the face of environmental group concerns and the controls set by global regulators at the International Seabed Authority. Since the 1990s, the group has sought to set ground rules for the burgeoning industry’s extraction efforts in international waters. But the US never ratified the agreements that empowered the ISA’s jurisdiction and is not a member of the UN-affiliated body. Instead, the Trump administration is “relying on an obscure 1980 law that empowers the federal government to issue seabed mining permits in international waters,” the New York Times reported. ISA didn’t immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.Under the order, the secretary of commerce has 60 days to “expedite the process for reviewing and issuing seabed mineral exploration licenses and commercial recovery permits in areas beyond national jurisdiction.”- ‘Environmental disaster’ -Commercial deep-sea mining remains in its infancy, but with a global race underway for rare earth minerals — and the industry dominated by China — Washington appears set on expanding its collection capacity to benefit its defense, advanced manufacturing and energy industries.But environmental groups warn the process can cause major ecological damage.”Fast-tracking deep-sea mining is an environmental disaster in the making,” Emily Jeffers, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement.”Trump is trying to open one of Earth’s most fragile and least understood ecosystems to reckless industrial exploitation.”The boosted deep-sea mining policy is aimed in part at “strengthening partnerships with allies and industry to counter China’s growing influence over seabed mineral resources,” the White House said.The ISA is scrambling to devise a rulebook for deep-sea mining, balancing its economic potential against warnings of irreversible environmental damage.Last week the American firm Impossible Metals said it had asked US officials to “commence a leasing process” in a parcel of the Pacific Ocean surrounding far-flung US territory American Samoa.  The bid circumvents the ISA by mining within US jurisdiction, rather than international waters.Key seabed resources include polymetallic nodules, potato-sized pebbles found at depths of 13,000 to 20,000 feet (4,000 to 6,000 meters) that contain manganese, iron, cobalt, copper and nickel.A senior administration official told reporters shortly before the signing that the US could retrieve more than a billion metric tons of material, and the process could create some 100,000 jobs and generate $300 billion in domestic GDP over 10 years.Canada-based deep-sea mining frontrunner The Metals Company recently stunned industry observers with an attempt to sideline the ISA.After years of pushing the authority to adopt rules for industrial-scale mining, The Metals Company abruptly announced earlier this year it would seek US approval instead, with CEO Gerard Barron lauding Trump’s order.”By building on decades of domestic innovation and regulatory groundwork, this action reasserts America’s role in securiting critical seabed resources and ensures the US is not left behind in a strategic arena increasingly influenced by China,” Barron said in a statement.

Russia’s foreign minister said Thursday that Moscow was ready to do a deal on its war in Ukraine after Donald Trump urged Vladimir Putin to halt attacks, in a rare rebuke following the deadliest strikes on Kyiv in months.”We are ready to reach a deal, but there are still some specific points… which need to be fine-tuned, and we are busy with this,” Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with CBS News.Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff is due in Russia on Friday where he is expected to hold another round of ceasefire talks with Putin.Lavrov said the talks process was moving in the right direction, and negotiations would continue with Washington.He said the US president was “probably the only leader on Earth who recognised the need to address the root causes of this situation”, but said Trump “did not spell out the elements of the deal”. Trump, however, issued a direct appeal to Russian President Putin following missile and drone strikes on the Ukrainian capital early Thursday which left at least 12 people dead.It was the latest in a wave of Russian aerial attacks that have killed dozens of civilians, defying Trump’s push to bring about a rapid end to the bloodshed.”I am not happy with the Russian strikes,” Trump said on social media. “Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP!”Trump, who is accused of favoring Russia and has often vilified Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, was asked by reporters what concessions Moscow had offered in negotiations to end the war.”Stopping taking the whole country — pretty big concession,” he replied.Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, hoping to take the country in days, but has since been bogged down in a bloody war with huge casualties on both sides.- Crimea spat -Zelensky cut short a trip to South Africa to deal with the aftermath of the latest strikes.He questioned whether Kyiv’s allies were doing enough to force Putin to agree to a full and unconditional ceasefire.”I don’t see any strong pressure on Russia or any new sanctions packages against Russia’s aggression,” Zelensky said, highlighting that Trump had previously warned of repercussions if Moscow did not agree to pause the fighting.Trump on Wednesday had accused Zelensky of frustrating peace efforts by ruling out recognizing Russia’s claim over Crimea, a territory the US president said was “lost years ago”. Moscow annexed the peninsula in 2014.”We do everything that our partners have proposed; only what contradicts our legislation and the Constitution we cannot do,” Zelensky said in response to a question about Crimea.In contrast, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Thursday it was Moscow, not Kyiv, that needed to move forward in negotiations.”The balls are clearly in the Russian court now,” Rutte told reporters at the White House after meeting Trump.- ‘Pulled out of the rubble’ -Russia fired at least 70 missiles and 145 drones at Ukraine between late Wednesday and early Thursday, the main target being Kyiv, the Ukrainian air force said.”As of 5:30 pm (1430 GMT), the death toll in Kyiv’s Sviatoshinsky district has risen to 12,” Ukraine’s state emergency services reported, with the number of wounded rising to 90.Russia said it had targeted Ukraine’s defense industry, including plants that produced “rocket fuel and gunpowder”.Asked about the strikes, Lavrov told CBS News: “We only target military goals or civilian sites used by the military.””If this was a target used by the Ukrainian military, the Ministry of Defense, the commanders in the field have the right to attack them.”Ukraine has been battered by aerial attacks throughout Russia’s three-year invasion but strikes on Kyiv, better protected by air defenses than other cities, are less common.Zelensky said Russia used a North Korean ballistic missile in the strikes.Olena Davydiuk, a 33-year-old lawyer in Kyiv, told AFP she saw windows breaking and doors “falling out of their hinges”.”People were being pulled out of the rubble,” she added.Zelensky said that on the ground, Russian forces had been attacking Ukrainian positions on Thursday, following the Kyiv strikes.”Basically, the Russians tried to go on the offence under the cover of their massive strike,” he said on X.”While the bulk of our forces were focused on protection from missiles and drones, the Russians significantly intensified their ground attacks.”

Google parent Alphabet on Thursday reported profit of $34.5 billion in the recently ended quarter, powered by its cloud computing and artificial intelligence operations.Overall revenue at Alphabet grew 12 percent to $90.2 billion compared to the same period a year earlier, while revenue for the cloud unit grew 28 percent to $12.3 billion, according to the tech giant.Alphabet chief executive Sundar Pichai said the strong quarterly results reflect healthy growth and momentum across the business.”Underpinning this growth is our unique full stack approach to AI,” Pichai said in an earnings release.He touted the latest Gemini software as Alphabet’s most intelligent AI model and an “extraordinary foundation” for the Silicon Valley company’s innovation.Alphabet shares were up more than three percent in after-market trades that followed the release of the earnings figures.”Cloud grew rapidly with significant demand for our solutions,” Pichai said of Alphabet’s services and tools hosted at data centers.Investors have been watching closely to see whether the tech giant may be pouring too much money into artificial intelligence.”Cloud’s growth indicates that Google AI product mix continues to thrive despite heightened competition,” said Emarketer principal analyst Yory Wurmser.Google and rivals are spending billions of dollars on data centers and more for AI, while the rise of lower-cost model DeepSeek from China raises questions about how much needs to be spent.- Antitrust battles -Meanwhile the online ad business that churns out the cash Google invests in its future could be neutered due to a defeat in a US antitrust case.US government attorneys are urging a federal judge to make Google spin off its Chrome browser, arguing artificial intelligence is poised to ramp up the company’s online search dominance.The Department of Justice (DOJ) is arguing its position before District Judge Amit Mehta, who is considering “remedies” after making a landmark decision last year that Google maintained an illegal monopoly in online search.”Nothing less than the future of the internet is at stake here,” Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater said prior to the start of the hearings this week in Washington.”If Google’s conduct is not remedied, it will control much of the internet for the next decade and not just in internet search, but in new technologies like artificial intelligence.”Google countered in the case that the United States has gone way beyond the scope of the suit by recommending a spinoff of its widely used Chrome, and holding open the option to force a sale of its Android mobile operating system.The legal case focused on Google’s agreements with partners such as Apple and Samsung to distribute its search tools, noted Google president of global affairs Kent Walker.”The DOJ chose to push a radical interventionist agenda that would harm Americans and America’s global technology leadership,” Walker wrote in a blog post.In another legal battle, a different US judge ruled this month that Google wielded monopoly power in the online ad technology market in a legal blow that could rattle the tech giant’s revenue engine.The federal government and more than a dozen US states filed the antitrust suit against Google, accusing it of acting illegally to dominate major sectors of digital advertising.District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled that Google built an illegal monopoly over ad software and tools used by publishers.”Google has willfully engaged in a series of anticompetitive acts to acquire and maintain monopoly power in the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets for open-web display advertising,” Brinkema said in her ruling.Online advertising is the driving engine of Google’s fortune and pays for widely used online services like Maps, Gmail, and search offered free.Combined, the courtroom defeats have the potential to leave Google split up and its influence curbed.Google said it is appealing both rulings.

Donald Trump called Thursday on Vladimir Putin to halt attacks on Ukraine, in a rare rebuke of the Russian leader after Moscow fired missiles and drones at Kyiv in the deadliest attack on the capital in months.The US president’s direct appeal to Putin came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged his allies to put Russia under more pressure to halt its invasion.Zelensky cut short a trip to South Africa to deal with the aftermath of the strikes, the latest in a wave of Russian aerial attacks that have killed dozens of civilians.”I am not happy with the Russian strikes,” Trump said on social media. “Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP!”Trump, who is accused of favoring Russia and has often vilified Zelensky, was asked by reporters what concessions Moscow had offered in negotiations to end the war.”Stopping taking the whole country — pretty big concession,” he replied.Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, hoping to take the country in days, but has since been bogged down in a bloody war with huge casualties on both sides.Trump on Wednesday accused Zelensky of frustrating peace efforts by ruling out recognizing Russia’s claim over Crimea, a territory the US president said was “lost years ago.”In contrast, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Thursday it was Russia, not Ukraine, that needed to move forward in negotiations.”The balls are clearly in the Russian court now,” Rutte told reporters at the White House after meeting Trump.- Ceasefire deal -Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff is due in Russia this week where he is expected to hold another round of ceasefire talks with Putin.Ukraine has been battered by aerial attacks throughout Russia’s three-year invasion but strikes on Kyiv, better protected by air defenses than other cities, are less common.Zelensky said Russia used a North Korean ballistic missile in the strikes, which killed at least 12.The assault threw more doubt on US efforts to push Russia and Ukraine to agree to a ceasefire, after Trump lashed out at Zelensky this week for not being willing to accept Russian occupation of Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014.”We do everything that our partners have proposed, only what contradicts our legislation and the Constitution we cannot do,” Zelensky said in response to a question about Crimea.Zelensky also questioned whether Kyiv’s allies were themselves doing enough to force Putin to agree to a full and unconditional ceasefire.”I don’t see any strong pressure on Russia or any new sanctions packages against Russia’s aggression,” Zelensky said, highlighting that Trump had previously warned of repercussions if Moscow did not agree to pause the fighting.- ‘Pulled out of the rubble’ -Loud blasts sounded over the Ukrainian capital around 1:00 am (2200 GMT) after air raid sirens rang out across Kyiv, AFP journalists said.Russia fired at least 70 missiles and 145 drones at Ukraine between late Wednesday and early Thursday, the main target being Kyiv, the Ukrainian air force said.”As of 5:30 pm, the death toll in Kyiv’s Sviatoshinsky district has risen to 12,” Ukraine’s state emergency services reported, with the number of wounded rising to 90.Russia said it had targeted Ukraine’s defense industry, including plants that produced “rocket fuel and gunpowder.”Olena Davydiuk, a 33-year-old lawyer in Kyiv, told AFP she saw windows breaking and doors “falling out of their hinges.””People were being pulled out of the rubble,” she added.In Sviatoshinsky, west of Kyiv, an AFP journalist saw a body bag containing one of the victims set on a strip of grass.A woman sat on a small folding chair stroking the arm of another victim, the body covered in a striped blue sheet.Moscow has launched some of its deadliest aerial strikes over the last month — defying Trump’s push to bring about a rapid end to the bloodshed.A ballistic missile strike on the center of northeastern city of Sumy killed at least 35 on April 13.

Donald Trump’s online store is selling merchandise emblazoned with “Trump 2028,” the year of the next US presidential election, in which the Republican is constitutionally banned from running.The 78-year-old, who has seen his approval rating sink to new lows in recent opinion polls, has not ruled out serving a third term — even though it would require amending the Constitution. Most political experts, including his own Attorney General, say that would be tough to pull off. Yet, a social media account linked to Trump shared a photo Thursday of his son Eric sporting one of the new red caps, which is priced at $50. “Make a statement with this Made in America Trump 2028 hat,” a product description on the Trump Store website says.The shop is also selling T-shirts in navy and red, priced at $36, which read “Trump 2028 (Rewrite the Rules),” with matching beer can coolers for $18.Opinion polls have reflected American concerns over his handling of key issues during the first 100 days of his second term, including living costs and chaotic tariff policies. The 22nd Amendment of the US Constitution states that “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”Trump, who also served as president from 2017 to 2021, has insisted he is “not joking” about a third term, saying last month there are “methods” that would allow it to happen.Any serious effort to amend the founding document would send the United States into uncharted territory.Changing the US Constitution to allow a third presidential term would require a two-thirds majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.An amendment would also need ratification by at least 38 of the 50 US state legislatures, another slim possibility. Trump has amassed an impressive range of branded products to promote his political career alongside his real estate empire.They include Mother’s Day-inspired gifts such as pink pajamas and pickleball paddles with Trump logos. Also on sale are earrings and necklaces styled with the numbers 45 and 47 to represent Trump’s two presidencies. On Wednesday, Trump also offered an invitation to a private dinner to the top 220 investors in his lucrative cryptocurrency, dubbed $TRUMP, the New York Times reported.In the past, the billionaire has flogged everything from steaks to “Trump University” courses to stock in his own media company, best known for the platform Truth Social. He has also released the “God Bless the USA Bible,” priced at $59.99, in a collaboration with American country singer Lee Greenwood.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday directed the Justice Department to investigate the main fundraising platform used by Democrats, who responded with accusations that he was simply weaponizing the government against his political opponents.The Republican leader signed a memorandum instructing Attorney General Pam Bondi to probe supposed foreign and other illicit payments to platforms including ActBlue, used by Democrats to process donations to election campaigns and other causes online. The Republican said he wanted the probe to look at the use of “fundraising platforms to make ‘straw’ or ‘dummy’ contributions and to make foreign contributions to US political candidates and committees, all of which break the law.”While the order urged a broad investigation, Trump specifically cited ActBlue, a non-profit group whose platform has become a small-dollar juggernaut but which has long been the target of unsubstantiated accusations by Republicans.Top Trump advisor Elon Musk tweeted multiple times about the organization in March, accusing it — without providing evidence — of fraud and posting: “Something stinks about ActBlue.”Action against one of the main sources of income for liberal causes could hamper Democrats’ ability to compete in the midterm elections next year that will decide who controls Congress for the remainder of Trump’s second term.Straw donations — donors giving money in other people’s names — and foreign contributions to federal political candidates or political action committees are against US law.But Trump’s memo drew accusations for the third time in as many weeks that he was abusing his power for personal and political ends. Earlier this month he signed memorandums ordering criminal investigations into two officials who had defied him during his first term. One of the officials, Chris Krebs, was targeted for dismissing Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election he lost to Joe Biden was stolen from him through widespread voter fraud.- ‘Silencing grassroots donors’ -Trump was also berated by Democrats for a number of executive orders penalizing specific law firms that had taken on work to which he objected. Republican interest in ActBlue intensified during the 2020 election, amid an avalanche of personal contributions and polls showing voters were fed up with dark money and corporate influence in politics.Three House committees — judiciary, administration and oversight — released a report on April 2 claiming “extensive fraud… including from foreign sources” on ActBlue and accusing the platform of lowering its prevention efforts.The probe contained no significant new examples of wrongdoing but said almost 500 pages of internal ActBlue documents released alongside its report “demonstrate a lack of commitment to stopping fraud and paint a picture of complacency.”Some Democrats, including Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona, raced to urge donations from supporters “while we still can” as others took to social media to accuse Trump of abusing his office.”His approval rating is tanking, and he’s panicking about the midterms,” Democratic strategist Mike Nellis, a former top aide to 2024 presidential candidate Kamala Harris, posted on X.”This is about letting his billionaire buddies buy more elections while silencing grassroots donors and tearing down the Dems’ infrastructure.”Fellow Democratic strategist and consultant Sawyer Hackett said the move could be “Trump’s most authoritarian action yet.”