Trump Collaborates On Song With Jan. 6 Prisoners, Ethics Panel Publishes Inquiry Into AOC

Trump And Jan. 6 Prisoners Collaborate On New Song Called ‘Justice For All’

Donald Trump and a group of individuals incarcerated for their alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 riot have collaborated on a song called “Justice for All.” It debuted Thursday at midnight on streaming services, including Apple Music and Spotify.

The track interpolates Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance into “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which is performed by a group of about 20 inmates, called the J6 Prison Choir, housed at the Washington, D.C. jail. The song ends with the inmates chanting, “USA!”

Profits are slated to benefit the families of people imprisoned for their alleged roles in the Capitol riots that left five people dead, according to a person with knowledge of the project.

A music video featuring footage of Trump performing patriotic acts during his presidency and shots of the riots, including police firing tear gas, will debut later Friday morning on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast.

Trump recorded the Pledge of Allegiance at Mar-a-Lago a couple of weeks ago, specifically for this track. The inmates, who sing the national anthem nightly, were recorded over a jailhouse phone about a month ago. The song, which runs 2 minutes and 20 seconds, was reportedly produced by a major recording artist who was not identified.

A different recording project involving the inmates had been discussed, according to a person with knowledge of the project granted anonymity so they could speak candidly about the track before it was released. But when Trump heard about the original plan, the former president asked to be directly involved. Kash Patel, who worked in the Pentagon during the Trump administration, and conservative commentator Ed Henry reportedly joined Trump in spearheading the project. Funds are slated to go to an LLC run by Henry, who will then disperse the profits. Recipients will be vetted to make sure proceeds do not benefit families of people who assaulted a police officer.

Spokespeople for Trump, Patel and Henry did not immediately respond to inquiries.“Justice for All” started to appear online earlier this week, with the track popping up in MediaBase, a service that monitors radio airplay. MediaBase lists Mailman Media as the record label. Florida business filings show a firm with that name registered to Henry. The group also has a fledgling online presence with an empty profile on Rumble. Henry has launched an online community around “Justice for All” on locals.com, a crowdfunding site for creators. The cost to join starts at $10 a month.

The cover art for “Justice for All,” depicts the inside of a jail cell, with a glimmer of the American flag visible through a window. The track’s website, j6prisonchoir.com, is not currently public.

Trump is scheduled to make a public appearance Saturday afternoon when he delivers a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in suburban Washington, D.C.

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Likely Violated Ethics Laws With Met Gala Appearance, Says House Ethics Office

The House Office of Congressional Ethics found “substantial reason to believe” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) “may have accepted impermissible gifts associated with her attendance at the Met Gala in 2021,” according to documents released on Thursday.

“Rep. Ocasio-Cortez received a series of goods and services which she did not pay for until the OCE opened this review,” according to the report, which cited her dress, makeup, hair styling and transportation. “But for the OCE opening this review, it appears that Rep. Ocasio-Cortez may not have paid for several thousands of dollars’ worth of goods and services provided to her.”

In a 5-0 vote in June, the board of the nonpartisan Office of Congressional Ethics referred the inquiry to the bipartisan House Committee on Ethics, which is continuing to investigate the matter.

Through a spokesperson, Ocasio-Cortez’s acknowledged the tardy payments but said she didn’t think they constituted a violation of House rules.

“The congresswoman finds these delays unacceptable, and she has taken several steps to ensure nothing of this nature will happen again,” said Communications Director Lauren Hitt in a statement.

“Even after OCE’s exhaustive review of the congresswoman’s personal communications, there is no record of the congresswoman refusing to pay for these expenses,” said Hitt. “To the contrary, there are several explicit, documented communications, from prior to OCE’s review, that show the congresswoman understood that she had to pay for these expenses from her own personal funds—as she ultimately did. We are confident the Ethics Committee will dismiss this matter.”

Five months after the Gala, an agency representing the hair stylist threatened to file a complaint with New York City’s Office of Labor Policy and Standards for Workers against Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign if payment was not made the following day. And the makeup artist’s representative sent a bill to Condé Nast, which had invited the congresswoman to the gala, after the campaign failed to provide it with a billing address for the invoice.

The inquiry found that designer Brother Vellies originally billed the campaign $1,300 for Ocasio-Cortez’s “Tax the Rich” dress. But the following day, after a campaign staffer spoke with a representative for Brother Vellies, a new invoice was sent. This time the dress was $300. The staffer was unable to explain to the House ethics office why the rental cost was slashed. Brother Vellies, its creative director Aurora James and its publicist did not cooperate with the inquiry. As a result, the Office of Congressional Ethics recommended that the House Ethics Committee issue subpoenas to them. Spokespeople for Brother Vellies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

According to the investigation, Ocasio-Cortez had retained counsel prior to the gala to advise her on any potential ethics implications. And, upon seeing news reports of her attendance, the House Ethics Committee’s director of advice and education contacted Ocasio-Cortez’s staff as well.

In December, the bipartisan panel disclosed that it was investigating Ocasio-Cortez but it did not provide a reason. At the time, the congresswoman’s office declined to share details about the inquiry, citing the ongoing investigation.

Watch: Your correspondent joined “Forbes Newsroom” to talk about the investigation into Ocasio-Cortez.