One of Donald Trump’s previous legal defenders says the former president is increasingly vulnerable to criminal charges in light of the revelations that have come from the House January 6 committee.

CNN recently reached out to Ty Cobb, who represented Trump during Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether the former president or his inner circle was connected to Russia’s interference during the 2016 election. The network spoke to him and several other attorneys to get their thoughts on Trump’s level of exposure after Cassidy Hutchinson’s explosive testimony Tuesday on the Trump administration’s conduct around January 6.

According to CNN’s report, Cobb says Trump is now in more legal danger than he was throughout the Mueller special counsel investigation:

Cobb, who represented Trump in the White House during Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, said this situation is much different than with Mueller. At the time of the Mueller investigation, Cobb believed Trump shouldn’t be charged with any crime – and the President wasn’t.

Nor did Cobb believe Mueller’s investigation was warranted. Now, that is not the case.

“Here there are many damning facts,” said Cobb, who pointed to Hutchinson’s testimony that Trump knew his supporters were armed on January 6, riled them up, then appeared to concur with them chanting to hang the vice president as worthy of prosecutors’ attention.

If that “isn’t insurrection, I don’t know what is,” he said Wednesday.

Even though the Secret Service is reportedly planning to dispute an explosive story Hutchinson relayed in her testimony, her revelations have generated new questions about whether Trump will be charged in connection with the storming of the U.S. Capitol. Charging a former president for his actions in office would have major legal ramifications, however, and Cobb warned it could open a can of worms that he advised against.

“Cobb, too, cautioned the type of hyper-partisan political era that charging a former President might bring — saying it could be ‘one more step in the erosion of our institutions,'” the report said. “I am not convinced prosecuting Trump is in the best interests of the country in the long term.”

Not to be too alarmist, but the economy isn’t looking super great at the moment. For starters, don’t look at your 401(k) right now. From crashing stock markets to spiking consumer prices, a recession seems to be looming. Although the news is troubling, there are steps you can take to stave off panic and protect…

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Trump-backed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake (R) used a Newsmax interview to complain about the questions she got from Fox News’ Bret Baier over accusations of hypocrisy.

Lake spokewith Newsmax’s John Bachman on Wednesday, wherein she sneered at the ground-breaking testimony former Mark Meadows aide Cassidy Hutchinson gave before the January 6 Committee. During this interview, Bachman turned the discussion toward Baier, who called Hutchinson’s revelations “jaw-dropping” and comparable to Watergate.

Bachman and Lake both scoffed at Baier’s analysis, with Lake adding “Watergate was like a parking ticket compared to what happened on November 3rd.” This follows the pattern of Republicans minimizing the storming of the U.S. Capitol while claiming Joe Biden’s election as president was the actual overthrowing of the country.

Lake continued to drag Baier for his “laughable” reactions, saying, “We saw how he treated me earlier this week. We know what he’s about. He’s pushing for the RINO candidates.” Lake was referring to her interview with Baier on Monday which got extremely tense when the Fox anchor questioned her about Richard Stephens, a drag queen and former friend of Lake’s, who has accused her of hypocrisy and anti-LGTBQ political opportunism.

“He thought it was a big gotcha moment,” Lake said. She proceeded to double down on her opposition to children being exposed to drag shows, but also continued to fume “Bret Baier thought he was gonna do an ambush on me, which he tried, but the real problem is he doesn’t want to talk about the election.”

“He wants to distract us with ridiculous stories that nobody cares about,” said Lake. “And that’s fine, if that’s how they want to operate. We’re ready for some real journalists out there to help us get to the bottom of what happened on November 3rd so that it doesn’t happen again, and we can have honest elections.”

Baier has defended his line of questioning to Lake while shrugging off Trump’s insults of his “very unfair” interview.

If she doesn’t think that if she wins the primary that Democrats are going to ask that question in debates, or that they are going to focus on that, why not have the opportunity to address it head-on? And instead what she did was attack me, attack Fox, and that prompted me to press further about the original question that I asked. That’s what I do, I ask questions that, and I’ve done it since the beginning of covering politics, is, both sides, Republicans, Democrats, what are their vulnerabilities? Are there stories out there that are potential problems? You ask in a way that allows them to address it. If she had addressed it head on, and said something specific, I would have moved on. But, you know, that’s what happens sometimes.

Watch above, via Newsmax.

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Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top aide to Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, recounted stunning conversations Tuesday she had with White House lawyer Pat Cipollone ahead of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

In testimony before the House Jan. 6 Committee on Tuesday, Hutchinson recalled efforts from within the Trump White House and by House GOP leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to keep then President Donald Trump from traveling to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

“Thank you. Let’s go back to the president’s plans to travel to the White House. We know that White House counsel Pat Cipollone was worried about the legal implications of such a trip and he agreed with the secret service that it should not happen. Did you have any conversations with Pat Cipollone about his concerns and the president going to the Capitol on January 6th?

Hutchinson then recalled a conversation she had with on Jan. 3rd with Cipollone, who she said knew Meadows “had raised the idea of going to the Capitol on Jan. 6th.”

“We had a brief private conversation where he said to me we need to make sure this doesn’t happen. This would be legally a terrible idea for us,” she continued.

“He then urged me to continue to relay that to Mr. Meadows because it’s my understanding that Mr. Cipollone thought Mr. Meadows was pushing this along with the president,” Hutchinson added.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) then asked Hutchinson to recall her conversation with Mr. Cipollone on the morning of the 6th.

“That’s right, he said something to the effect of please make sure we don’t go to the Capitol, Cassidy, keep in touch with me, we’re going to be charged with every crime imaginable if we make that movement happen,” she recounted Cipollone warning.

“Do you remember which crimes Mr. Cipollone was concerned with?” then asked Cheney.

“In the days leading up to the 6th we had conversations about potentially obstructing justice or defrauding the electoral count,” Hutchinson replied.

“Let’s hear about some of those concerns that you mentioned earlier in your interview with us,” Cheney then said, introducing a clip from Hutchinson’s previous deposition where she recapped what crimes Cipollone was concerned Trump might be charged with on Jan. 6.

Watch the full clip above via MSNBC.

Then-President Donald Trump flipped out and had a physical altercation inside the presidential limo when Secret Service refused to take him to the Capitol on January 6.

Cassidy Hutchinson, former top aide to Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and a front-row witness to the events surrounding the day, delivered bombshell after bombshell at Tuesday’s surprise hearing, including the wild scene in a presidential SUV as Trump pulled away from his “Stop the Steal” rally – still convinced he was going on to the Capitol.

In riveting testimony, Hutchinson told the committee that Trump cursed his Secret Service detail out and even physically attacked Robert Engel, the head of his security detail — at one point grabbing the wheel — when he was informed they would not take him to the Capitol:

So once the president had gotten into the vehicle with Bobby, he thought that they were going up to the Capitol. And when Bobby had relayed to him, we’re not, we don’t have the assets to do it, it’s not secure. We’re going back to the West Wing.

The president had a very strong, very angry response to that.

Tony described him as being irate. The president said something to the effect of, “I’m the F-ing president! Take me up to the Capitol now”

To which Bobby responded, “Sir, we have to go back to the West Wing.”

The president reached up towards the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel. Mr. Engels grabbed his arm, said, “Sir, you need to take your hand off the steering wheel. We’re going back to the West Wing. We’re not going to the Capitol.”

Mr. Trump then used his free hand to lunge towards Bobby Engel and Mr., when Mr. Ornato had recounted the story to me, he had motioned towards his clavicles.

Watch above via CNN.

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Republican Congressional candidate Yesli Vega is under fire on Monday after controversial comments she made during a campaign stop last month about rape and pregnancy resurfaced in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.

“The left will say, ‘what about cases of rape or incest?’ I’m a law enforcement officer…I’ve worked one case where as a result of a rape, the woman became pregnant,” Vega can be heard saying.

Vega was then asked, according to Axios, “I’ve actually heard that it’s harder for a woman to get pregnant if she’s been raped. Have you heard that?”

“Well, maybe because there’s so much going on in the body. I don’t know. I haven’t, you know, seen any studies. But if I’m processing what you’re saying, it wouldn’t surprise me,” the Virginia Republican replied.

Woof. Virginia GOP candidate Yesli Vega downplays pregnancies from rape in new audio.

“The left will say, ‘what about cases of rape or incest?’ I’m a law enforcement officer…I’ve worked one case where as a result of a rape, the woman became pregnant.” pic.twitter.com/73uYNcfURw

— Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) June 27, 2022

“Because it’s not something that’s happening organically. You’re forcing it. The individual, the male, is doing it as quickly — it’s not like, you know — and so I can see why there is truth to that. It’s unfortunate,” she continued.

Vega won the GOP primary to run as the party’s candidate in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District against incumbent Abigail Spanberger (D-VA). The district has historically been a swing district, but Joe Biden won it by 6 points in 2020.

Vega responded to Axios’ story on her comments with a statement saying, “I’m a mother of two, I’m fully aware of how women get pregnant.

Vega’s comments were quickly compared to those made by former Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin. Akin lost his Senate bid in Missouri in 2021 after he told a local radio station that “From what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare,” when asked about pregnancy resulting from rape. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down,” he said.

Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images

Socialite and former Jeffrey Epstein sidekick Ghislaine Maxwell was put on suicide watch on Friday, according to multiple reports including from CNN, Bloomberg and Reuters.

Maxwell is scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday after she was convicted in December of human trafficking and other federal charges. Epstein committed suicide while in jail in August 2019, a month after he was indicted on federal sex trafficking charges.

Maxwell lawyer Bobbi Sternheim decried her client being put on suicide watch.

“If Ms. Maxwell remains on suicide watch, is prohibited from reviewing legal materials prior to sentencing, becomes sleep deprived, and is denied sufficient time to meet with and confer with counsel, we will be formally moving on Monday for an adjournment,” wrote Sternheim to U.S. Circuit Judge Alison Nathan in a Saturday letter — as reported CNN and other publications.

Sternheim also reportedly said, having met with Maxwell, “She is not suicidal.”

The prosecution is seeking a sentence of 30 to 55 years in prison, while Maxwell’s lawyers are calling for a sentence of 4.25 to 5.25 years behind bars, according to CNN.

“In her wake, Maxwell left her victims permanently scarred with emotional and psychological injuries,” wrote the prosecution in its sentencing filing, according to multiple publications including CNN and The Wall Street Journal.

The defense, according to The Wall Street Journal, said “Maxwell shouldn’t be a scapegoat for Epstein’s crimes, and they said she has already been punished by harsh conditions while in jail awaiting trial.”

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Conservative Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan drew heavy skepticism from her fellow panelists on Meet the Press by suggesting the Republican Party could portray itself as more supportive to women in the aftermath of Roe V. Wade’s overturn.

Noonan was on the NBC show Sunday to discuss the nationwide implications for abortion rights after the Supreme Court’s ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Noonan acknowledged the public polling that most Americans supported Roe’s federal protections for the right to have an abortion, and she went on to offer her thoughts on the next steps for the GOP now that Roe’s overturn has rolled those protections back.

You know what the Republican party should do now? It should use this victory — if you see it that way — to change itself, and become a party that helps women, change its reputation, become a party that helps women and children, become responsible and supportive.

Chuck Todd responded with an audible “heh” to Noonan’s hypothetical, and the rest of the panel rejected it too — as Andrea Mitchell said “that’s not gonna happen.” The conversation moved on with Kimberly Atkins Stohr blaming the current situation on former President Donald Trump, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans for their judicial maneuvering against Roe.

Watch above, via NBC.

Chet Strange/Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump kicked off his Sunday by going after a number of the preeminent conservative thought leaders regularly seen on the Sunday morning talk shows.

In a statement to his Save America PAC, the former president — in an all-timer of a run-on sentence — blasted the likes of Peggy Noonan, George Will and others in a similar mold for, in his view, failing to grasp MAGA politics.

“I listen to all of these foolish (stupid!) people, often living in a bygone era, like the weak and frail RINO, Peggy Noonan, who did much less for Ronald Reagan than she claims, and who actually said bad things about him and his ability to speak, or Rich Lowry, who has destroyed the once wonderful and influential National Review, the pride and joy of the legendary William F. Buckley, or George Will, whose mind is decaying with hatred and envy before our very eyes, or Jonah Goldberg and Stephen Hayes, two people who are finally out of the conversation and of no relevance whatsoever,” Trump said. “Where do these people come from? They have no idea what the MAGA movement is, and even less of an understanding of America First, which is necessary, and even vital, to save our Country.”

Noonan, notably, wrote an op-ed for Thursday’s Wall Street Journal in which she argued that the Jan. 6 hearings are “sinking” Trump and Republicans are searching for his replacement.

“Both parties are rejecting their leaders, Donald Trump and Joe Biden,” Noonan wrote. “It’s a continuing tectonic shift and the story underlying every daily political story. It’s building and will only grow. Both parties are starting to scramble for what’s next, who’s next. Both are casting about.”

That piece surely helped stoke Trump’s ire at a constituency with whom he has long feuded.

“People like these are nasty, jealous, not smart, and of no use to the potential greatness of our Country,” Trump said of Noonan, Will and their ilk. “They talk, they criticize, and they complain, but they don’t have the ability or talent to get anything done. They are shortsighted ‘losers,’ and will never understand what it takes to Make America Great Again!”

Arizona Senate Republicans claimed police thwarted an “insurrection” outside the state Capitol after tear gas was deployed on pro-abortion protesters.

On Friday evening, state lawmakers were taken to the basement of the Senate building while demonstrators gathered outside and began banging on the windows. The crowd dispersed quickly after officers fired tear gas from the second story of the building, and no arrests were made.

“Law Enforcement Prevents Insurrection of State Senate While Lawmakers Conduct the People’s Work,” read a statement released by the state senators on Saturday following the incident.

“Violent pro-abortion protestors attempts of an insurrection at the Arizona State Senate were thwarted Friday night, thanks to the swift action from local and state law enforcement,” begins the press release. “While Arizona State Senate members were wrapping up passing important legislation for the session, extremist demonstrators made their way to the entrance of the Senate building and began forcibly trying to make entry by breaking windows and pushing down doors.

“We are incredibly thankful for our local law enforcement who quickly intervened during what could have been a destructive and dangerous situation for our members, staff, and public inside the Senate,” Senate President Karen Fann (R) is quoted in the statement.

The protests follow the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade this week. Abortion clinics in Arizona have paused offering services.

State Sen. Kelly Townsend (R) described Friday’s incident as a “hostage” situation in tweets and joked that she expected a January 6-style committee in response to the supposed “insurrection.”

“We are currently there being held hostage inside the Senate building due to members of the public trying to breach our security. We smell teargas and the children of one of the members are in the office sobbing with fear. I expect a J24 committee to be created immediately,” the Republican wrote.

State Sen. Warren Peterson posted a picture from inside the building, saying he felt “safe” as three senators were armed.

On Saturday, Arizona’s State House Democrats emphasized the fact that the capitol building was never breached by the protesters, and said that “thanks to right-wing media amplification” of the story, the lie that it had been more than it was would “make it around the world twice.”

Thanks to right-wing media amplification the lie that the Capitol was breached will make it around the world twice while the truth is putting on its pants. https://t.co/SH3sF1FZHD

— Arizona House Democrats (@AZHouseDems) June 25, 2022

Protests took place across the country on Friday night and into Saturday morning, including one in Iowa in which a demonstrator was injured when a person drove their truck through a protest.

Barstool Sports president Dave Portnoy absolutely torched radio and TV host Dan Bongino for trolling him over the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade.

The news that the Supreme Court has effectively overturned the landmark s Roe v. Wade decision with a 5-4 decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization appears to have ended a decade-long relationship between Portnoy and Bongino that Mr. Portnoy now describes in colorful metaphorical terms.

Portnoy spoke out against the decision Friday, saying “To me this is just pure insanity, pure insanity.”

Bongino responded in uncharitable fashion, replying to Portnoy’s complaint on Twitter by writing “>Horrifyingly uninformed and ridiculous take. Embarrassed you would put this out there.”

Horrifyingly uninformed and ridiculous take. Embarrassed you would put this out there.

— Dan Bongino (@dbongino) June 24, 2022

The pair then traded blows in a torch war that appears to have really escalated when a Kingpin GIF set Bongino off.

https://t.co/FgzxTCnpjQ pic.twitter.com/5RK2lY23az

— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) June 24, 2022

Dude didn’t respond with a Kingpin gif when I defended this tool against Business Insider. Just another grifter p#%^*y who showed his ass. https://t.co/2NuHjAGD7u

— Dan Bongino (@dbongino) June 24, 2022

Good luck against your lib tormentors bro, you’re dumber than you look.

— Dan Bongino (@dbongino) June 24, 2022

And take the 10k I sent to your fund and send it to a crisis pregnancy center. Chump.

— Dan Bongino (@dbongino) June 24, 2022

Portnoy then responded by producing a short video that he captioned unkindly.

“This was to be expected but I still get a kick out of people who have sucked my dick for a decade straight, invited me on their shows a million times and now disagree with me on RoeVsWade and suddenly Im a pussy and idiot,” Portnoy wrote.

This was to be expected but I still get a kick out of people who have sucked my dick for a decade straight, invited me on their shows a million times and now disagree with me on RoeVsWade and suddenly Im a pussy and idiot. . pic.twitter.com/UxBoOlCT3F

— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) June 25, 2022

Bongino responded:

I still get a kick out of defending people like this pu%^*y against the same lib lunatics he desperately craves the acceptance of. It’s called “principles” chump. Try it sometime. Go put your dog chain back on dipshit. https://t.co/evduVoF7n5

— Dan Bongino (@dbongino) June 25, 2022

Appears the only people doing that for you are wearing dog callers. Go get your leash chump. Bow wow.

— Dan Bongino (@dbongino) June 25, 2022

And then there was this:

Federal Crime Dan. https://t.co/LsVJVBQOFW

— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) June 25, 2022

That got ugly fast. And the day is young.

Police in Phoenix, Arizona deployed tear gas to disperse a crowd of pro-abortion demonstrators banging on the windows of the Senate building while lawmakers were in session.

Footage captured from the protest shows numerous protesters banging on windows and screaming outside the Senate building, demonstrating against the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. Officers fired tear gas into the crowd from the second story of the state Capitol building, quickly dispersing the group. No arrests were made, and no injuries were reported.

“We are currently there being held hostage inside the Senate building due to members of the public trying to breach our security. We smell teargas and the children of one of the members are in the office sobbing with fear,” state Sen. Kelly Townsend (R) tweeted.

On Saturday morning, Townsend retweeted her original post, emphasizing that she specifically said held hostage due to the protest, not by protesters.

As the demonstrations grew heated, lawmakers were brought to the basement of the building, the Associated Press reported.

Footage was captured of the tear gas being deployed.

Officers in riot gear were also filmed lining the entryway to the building. State Rep. Sarah Liguori (D) also tweeted video from the scene.

Friday was the last day of session for state senators. A bill was signed in March by Gov. Doug Ducey (R) banning abortions after 15 weeks and nearly all abortion clinics have stopped providing services in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned, AZ Central reported.

Planned Parenthood Arizona President and CEO Brittany Forteno said the legality of abortion in the state is currently unclear, leading to the pause in services.

“We are being forced by the Supreme Court and politicians in this state to deny patient care right now,” Forteno said at a Friday press conference. “As a result of our state’s legal landscape, we are pausing abortion services at Planned Parenthood clinics in Arizona.”

Arizona’s GOP released a statement after midnight on the events at the capitol, describing the protest as an “insurrection.”

Arizona Democrats on Saturday emphasized the fact that the capitol was not “breached’ and blamed “right wing amplification” for the rumor that it was.

Senator Ted Cruz believes his podcast is so influential, even Hollywood is starting to take note.

On the Thursday edition of Verdict with Ted Cruz, co-host Michael Knowles brought up the cultural victory of Pixar’s new film, Lightyear, bombing at the box office.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Pixar had originally projected a $70-$85 million dollar opening during Father’s Day weekend but to much surprise, the movie only grossed $50.6 million, domestically.

“We sort of predicted it on this show. It’s the get woke, go broke prediction,” Knowles said. “We talked last time about how people don’t wanna see toys and cartoon characters, engaging in all sorts of eccentric sexual activities and kissing and pushing the woke sexual revolutionary agenda.”

He continued, “Over the weekend Lightyear, which made a big show of having a lesbian toy kiss in it. Lightyear bombed at the box office.”

“Did you Senator, did you take the air out of the gay toys?” Knowles asked Cruz.

“That’s the question I’ve never gotten before? I will say this. I do think it’s amazing how the Verdict podcast seems to be driving Hollywood,” Cruz said.

After discussing previous comments they’ve both made on the show regarding Hollywood and kids content, Cruz said, “Leftists really lost their minds because last week we talked about, ‘Do we really need lesbian toys in cartoons’ and Leftists, like the phrase, ‘lesbian toys’ that I really think their tiny little walnut size brains broke.”

“Apparently they’re supposed to go on these cultural rampages and we’re not supposed to notice. And not only that we’re all supposed to quietly shut up and take our kids,” Cruz added.

“There were very few kids movies at the box office this past weekend. It was Father’s Day. You wanna talk about a good time to take your kids to the movies,” he continued. “I think there were a whole bunch of Americans that said, ‘You know what? I can think of something better to do than listen to Hollywood lecture my six-year-old on their views as sexuality.’ How about just have a fun, like the Toy Story films are awesome.”

Cruz added, “It speaks volumes that while Lightyear was getting his ass kicked, the kicker was Tom Cruise and (Top Gun) Maverick, a straight up patriotic, conservative, ‘We love American,’ beat the bad guys. Like the contrast is night and day and Hollywood is so knuckleheaded that they seem unable to get the message.”

Listen above via Verdict with Ted Cruz.

—

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Semafor, a new media venture from Ben Smith and Justin Smith, will be launching with a live event featuring interviews with two figures on opposite ends of the media spectrum: Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Washington Post columnist Taylor Lorenz.

The July event will be held in Washington and also feature Politico founder John F. Harris. All three will be interviewed by Ben Smith, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.

The inclusion of Carlson and Lorenz at the same event signals the broad audience the company is shooting for, but is remarkable considering the history of conflict between the Fox News host and tech reporter. Carlson has repeatedly targeted Lorenz on his prime time show, criticism she says has led to intense harassment.

It’s unlikely, however, the two will be sharing a stage. Washington Post reporter Jeremy Barr wrote on Wednesday the interviews would not be part of a panel, in tweet that was shared by Ben Smith.

I’m told this is not a panel, don’t worry pic.twitter.com/03S36xHEYx

— Jeremy Barr (@jeremymbarr) June 22, 2022

Ben Smith, the former editor of BuzzFeed News and Times columnist, and Justin Smith, formerly of Bloomberg Media, announced the new media company earlier this year and have a reported $25 million in funding, raised through individual investors.

In an interview with the Times, the Smiths said they plan on competing directly with outlets like the Washington Post and CNN. The media company will be hosting live events, as well as separating its content in each article to distinguish between opinion and straight reporting.

According to the Times interview:

News articles, minimally designed with a pale yellow background and cobalt blue headlines, will be broken down into sections to distinguish between factual information, analysis from the reporter and a range of perspectives on the news.

The company is launching with 30 journalists at the ready in London, New York, and Washington D.C.