Graham Kates

Investigative Reporter

grahamkates@protonmail.com

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CBS News •

Trump shooter Thomas Crooks' emails reveal a student dreaming of a bright future. And contemplating a violent attack.

Thomas Matthew Crooks had a lot on his mind in January 2024. The 20-year-old who, six months later, would open fire at President Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally — striking his ear and killing an audience member — was busy polishing his applications to transfer from community college to a four-year engineering program. Crooks was gathering transcripts and asking friends to review his personal statement. He was also designing a bomb. He ordered more than two gallons of nitromethane from...
CBS News •

She advanced DEI at her university. Her son-in-law, Vice President JD Vance, wants to end it nationwide.

As universities around the country race to assess new federal policies geared toward ending programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion, known as DEI, one college administrator is in a potentially tricky position. Lakshmi Chilukuri is the provost of the University of California San Diego's Sixth College. She is also Vice President JD Vance's mother-in-law. Chilukuri helped create a pilot course on race, ethnicity and gender in biology and medicine, served on the university's biological...
CBS News •

Trump transition aide Boris Epshteyn sparking internal strife over appointments

President-elect Donald Trump's transition team is grappling with internal strife over the alleged conduct of a senior and longtime adviser, Boris Epshteyn, who has been accused by at least one Republican politician of trying to profit personally from his ability to influence Trump's Cabinet picks. Former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens submitted a sworn declaration to the transition team alleging that "Mr. Epshteyn's overall tone and behavior gave me the impression of an implicit expectation to eng...
CBS News •

The muted frenzy in the courtroom when Donald Trump was convicted of felonies in New York

At 4:36, the judge came in. "I apologize for the delay," Merchan said. "We received a note. It was signed by the jury foreperson at 4:20. It's marked as Court Exhibit Number 7." The note included an announcement, followed by a very polite request: 'We, the jury, have a verdict. We would like an extra 30 minutes to fill out the forms. Will that be possible?" Imagine the sound of dozens of people losing, and quickly catching, their breaths. Courtroom decorum demands quiet. So a muted frenzy ensued.
CBS News •

Deposition video shows Trump claiming he prevented "nuclear holocaust" as president

Combative, angry and prone to grandiose claims — newly unveiled footage of an April 2023 deposition gives a glimpse into how former President Donald Trump behaves when testifying under oath. The video, released to CBS News on Friday in response to a freedom of information request, shows Trump claiming to have averted a "nuclear holocaust" and "saving millions of lives" as president.
CBS News •

"Objection!" One word frequently echoes through the courtroom at Trump's civil fraud trial

Not long after a lawyer for New York Attorney General Letitia James began his opening statement on Oct. 2, he was interrupted. "Your Honor, objection," said Clifford Robert, who represents Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump in the civil fraud case in which they're defendants alongside their father, former President Donald Trump and their company. It was the first of nearly 600 objections voiced by the two sides during the first 25 days of trial, according to a review of transcripts. Objections ha
CBS News •

Trump PAC foots bill for private investigator in Manhattan criminal case, E. Jean Carroll trial

As Donald Trump's New York legal troubles began to mount this spring, his lawyers and political action committee sought the help of Sean Crowley, a local private eye. Save America, a PAC founded by the former president, paid $152,285.50 to Crowley's firm in April and May, according to federal campaign filings. He was paid for work related to Trump's Manhattan court cases. It is unclear what that work entailed. Crowley, a former New York police captain, declined to discuss his work when contac
CBS News •

Rudy Giuliani's former colleagues reflect on his path from law-and-order champion to RICO defendant: "A tragedy"

Waving his glasses in front of his face while recording his YouTube show on Tuesday, Rudy Giuliani taunted the prosecutor who had just charged him with racketeering. "You're screwed, Fani. Giuliani got new glasses. Ha! And he's like five times the lawyer … five times the lawyer you are? How can you? No. Well, you can't multiply by zero," Giuliani said.
CBS News •

Trump's day in court, an unusual proceeding before an unusual audience

Before either former President Donald Trump or special counsel Jack Smith had entered the courtroom Thursday, several federal judges walked in and sat in the back row of the gallery. The presence of judges sitting among the public underscored the extraordinary nature of the arraignment they were there to watch, a former president charged with federal felonies related to his efforts to overturn an election.
CBS News •

Trump indicted in Manhattan, becoming first ex-president charged with a crime

A New York grand jury investigating the circumstances surrounding a "hush money" payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016 has voted to indict Donald Trump, making him the first former president in U.S. history to face criminal charges. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office confirmed the indictment in a statement on Thursday and said it had reached out to Trump's attorney to arrange his surrender. The specific charge or charges have not yet been made public and the indictment
CBS News •

Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg saw case against Trump as potentially "charge ready" years ago

In a November 2020 interview with CBS News, Alvin Bragg, then a Democratic candidate for Manhattan district attorney, said that among the "staggering" number of cases "swirling" around then-President Donald Trump, a matter involving Trump's former "fixer," Michael Cohen, stood out. "You know, we haven't talked about Michael Cohen yet and the campaign finance part," Bragg said during the interview, in which he stressed he could not "prejudge" any case until he saw the evidence. A former New Yor
CBS News •

George Santos was questioned by U.S. Secret Service in 2017 credit card fraud probe

Campaign of Deceit: The Election of George Santos | CBS Reports When George Santos' Florida address was found in 2017 inside a rental car used by the suspect in an ATM skimming investigation, the United States Secret Service came knocking. Investigators from the agency located Santos in New York City, the future congressman's hometown, where they interviewed him as part of a probe into international credit card fraud, according to two sources familiar with the federal investigation. The Secret
CBS News •

George Santos was interviewed by police in 2017 international credit card fraud probe

In the early evening on April 27, 2017, a Chase Bank security officer in Seattle watched through an ATM's camera as a man approached and removed a card-skimming device. Moments later, police officers pounced, arresting the man, Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha, then an Orlando, Florida, resident. The case would lead to a guilty plea and Trelha's deportation back to his native Brazil. It also led an investigator — for reasons still not entirely clear — to George Santos, the future New York congressman. W
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