Politix

As soon as President Trump is no longer the U.S. President, he needs to answer for his alleged criminal activity ... according to Congressman Eric Swalwell, who has a proposal on how to make that happen.

The Democratic Representative from California says 45's day of reckoning must come -- along with his enablers -- for what he says they've done to the country, which is why he wants to create a 'Presidential Crimes Commission.'

Swalwell says ideally, this group would be made up of independent prosecutors outside Congress who would be responsible for determining if the President or senior officials broke the law during their term, and if so ... they'd go after them.

The Congressman says the goal is to make sure nobody, not even POTUS, is above the law and gets away with any offenses. As for what crimes he'd want the PCC to take a look at with Trump ... there's a laundry list, but obstructing justice and sabotaging the mail are top of mind for Swalwell.

Currently, Swalwell believes the Prez is committing another transgression by not cooperating with President-elect Joe Biden during the transition period ... something Trump's press secretary won't even talk about.

Barack Obama is ripping Donald Trump and Republicans for continuing to make baseless claims of a fraudulent election ... he says it's a very slippery slope.

The former president broke his silence on Trump's unfounded claims of voter fraud in an interview with "60 Minutes," telling Scott Pelley he's troubled by the large number of Republicans going along with Trump's claims and humoring him.

Obama says Republicans are not only trying to delegitimize president-elect Joe Biden and his incoming administration, but also democracy in general.

What's more, Obama says what Trump and the GOP are doing is putting America on "a dangerous path."

Author Kate Andersen Brower is shedding some light on the frustrations Michelle Obama felt while she was First Lady ... something the former Prez even admits took a toll on their marriage.

Brower -- who's written several books on The White House -- describes a lunch event Michelle held early in Barack's first term to help launch her Let's Move campaign ... where it didn't turn out the way she hoped.

Kate says Michelle's initiative to fight obesity in America was overshadowed because instead ... the media chose to focus on her offhand comment about her husband quitting smoking.

It was a microcosm of her tenure as First Lady, according to Brower, who says ... despite Michelle's admirable drive to make a difference in the country, she regularly took a backseat to her husband or got tied to gossipy headlines.

The author of "First Women: The Grace and Power of America's Modern First Ladies" says it was frustrating and depressing for a modern woman like Michelle ... something Barack echoes in his upcoming memoir.

As for the current White House ... Kate's an expert on what's going down right now as President Trump's on his way out and Joe Biden's on his way in. Or at least, she's an expert on what NORMALLY goes down during this transition period.

There's nothing normal about this administration though, and Brower believes the usher's office -- responsible for moving First Families -- is having to work covertly.

As we first told you ... the White House residence staff is already walking on eggshells around Trump, and Brower hints it could get a lot worse depending on how Trump and his Chief Usher handle things as Inauguration Day approaches.

Barack Obama's time in The White House was full of challenges ... not the least of which he says was his relationship with the First Lady.

The former Prez opens up about his 8 years in office in an upcoming memoir called "A Promised Land" ... and one of his most interesting anecdotes is about how the Presidency took a toll on Michelle.

Obama says he could sense an "undercurrent of tension in her, subtle but constant," despite her own achievements and growing popularity ... and their roles in America's First Family amplified all of the stress involved.

Barack says ... "It was as if, confined as we were within the walls of the White House, all her previous sources of frustration became more concentrated, more vivid, whether it was my round the clock absorption with work, or the way politics exposed our family to scrutiny and attacks, or the tendency of even friends and family members to treat her role as secondary in importance."

He adds that he became wistful many nights while he was lying next to Michelle thinking about the time before he was Prez "when everything between us felt lighter, when her smile was more constant and our love less encumbered, and my heart would suddenly tighten at the thought that those days might not return."

A Trump supporter threatened to punch a woman who flipped him the middle finger over Trump flags on his pickup truck -- a frighteningly tense confrontation that shows just how divided America remains.

Their heated exchange went down in Dunedin, FL, and the video starts with the man charging out of his truck like a bull toward the woman. He immediately threatened to knock her phone out of her hand, and begged her to touch him ... presumably, so he'd be justified in knocking her out.

The video is intense as he shouts, "Touch me. I dare you. I'll remove your f**king head." He also hurled homophobic insults at the woman, and she continued to taunt him over Trump losing. She tried to record his license plate, and he tried to back his truck over her.

The insults keep getting worse, and then an older woman with an accent shows up, and the woman recording yells, "Go back to your own country, b*tch."

Well here's a new one -- Kayleigh McEnany punted a question about President-elect Joe Biden getting access to intelligent briefings, saying it's a question for The White House ... even though that's literally HER job!!!

The WH Press Secretary's absurd moment went down Thursday morning on "Fox & Friends," when they asked her if President Trump's considering looping Biden in during the transfer of Presidential power.

McEnany says she hasn't spoken to the Prez about that topic, but ... "that would be a question more for The White House."

Puzzled? Yeah, us too. So, we asked a different White House rep what gives, and got this -- "Kayleigh appeared in her personal capacity as a private citizen. She advises the campaign on a voluntary basis."

Oooookay! Now, Kayleigh's paying gig is still Press Secretary -- for the White House -- so, she essentially said ... that would be a question for ME, but at some other time. Welcome to the Twilight Zone. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Talk about awkward situations ... Melania Trump's preparing to spread Christmas cheer at the White House while a ticked off President Trump appears to be in full Grinch mode. Good luck!

A rep for the First Lady tells TMZ ... Melania is, indeed, planning on decorating 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. again this year for Christmas, as is tradition. Might seem like a no-brainer -- First Ladies have been doing it for decades -- but the difference now is ... we know it's not one of MT's favorite things.

You'll recall, Melania was recorded in 2018 -- by her then-adviser, Stephanie Wolkoff -- trashing the White House decorating tradition. She said, "Who gives a f*** about Christmas stuff and decoration? But I need to do it, right?"

At the time, the First Lady was frustrated because the media was focusing on child separations at the border, and she apparently felt like no one would give a Fievel's ass about the decorations.

Well, cut to 2020 and there's a new hot button distraction -- her husband seems convinced they're staying put for another 4 years, despite losing the election to Joe Biden.

That begs the question ... does Melania think this will be her final Christmas bow in the White House? It'll be interesting to see her 2020 theme, as it could give some insight into how she's dealing with all this drama.

In light of all that's happened this year, maybe pass on repeating last year's white Christmas. Just a thought.

Steve Kornacki's election map coverage did more than inform America, it energized America ... to dress like Steve, and it's paying dividends for the Gap.

The MSNBC "Map Daddy" became an unexpected star during the vote-counting chaos, as he won over viewers with his energy, commitment and his wardrobe ... especially his khakis.

After several media outlets reported they were Gap brand trousers, the company's sales got a huge boost within the first 24 hours.

According to a Gap spokesperson ... the clothing retailer saw a "dramatic increase in online traffic and within a day, we saw around 90% unit sale increase online."

For those who really want the fast track to being more like Steve -- aka the "Chart Throb" -- it was further discovered he wears the "palomino brown" pair ... of which he says he has several. No one's surprised.

Joe Biden's team is already talking criminal justice reform with civil rights attorney Ben Crump ... who says he's expecting big things in the first 100 days of Biden's administration.

We got Ben Wednesday at Reagan Airport in D.C., where he told us he's been in touch with President-elect Biden's transition team and VP-elect Kamala Harris. He says some of the conversations have been about preventing tragedies -- that became hashtags in 2020 -- like the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery.

The way Crump sees it ... America can and must do better, and it's clear he's counting on Biden's administration to make it happen. He also said it would be really hard to do worse than the current administration.

Interestingly, it sounds like he has some ideas for improving the Dept. of Justice's response to cases where racial bias might be at play.

Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't like how folks who cram into a Trump rally call themselves patriots, yet don't show up in the same numbers to pay their respects to REAL heroes on Veterans Day.

Arnold poured out his emotions Wednesday after he'd paid a visit to the Los Angeles National Cemetery to honor the brave men and women whom he says he owes much of his success to, as an immigrant.

He said despite there being tens of thousands of gravesites for fallen soldiers, he only saw about 20 people around. Arnold explains ... he can't fathom how so few show out for them, but will swarm to a political event by the thousands on a promise to "make America great."

It's a not-so-subtle shot at Trump, who the Governator has made clear he despises. But, his point is well taken here ... 'cause he says it's those vets who've really made America great.

Arnold ends with a challenge to anyone watching -- saying he hopes to see them out there in droves next year, and that the country really needs to have a convo about what patriotism really means. Where's the lie?

Ice-T says the new season of 'Law & Order: SVU' is living up to its "ripped from the headlines" catchphrase, because it reflects all the police issues so hotly debated this year.

Ice came on "TMZ Live" Wednesday to talk about the premiere of the 22nd season this week, and told us much of what his character, Detective Tutuola, is going through -- not to mention Mariska Hargitay as Detective Benson -- is like looking into a mirror of America's soul.

Police-involved shootings, systemic racism and even the coronavirus pandemic ... they're all part of the new plots. So, yeah ... definitely an art imitating life type of deal, which Ice-T actually appreciates.

He says he's proud to be on a show -- since 2000, BTW -- that isn't afraid to tackle these tough topics. He gives Dick Wolf and the rest of the team major props for keeping the show relevant and up-to-date.

Ice also spoke on the state of affairs in our country as it pertains to these issues -- telling us he sees this new generation as following in the footsteps of great activists before them.

A Pennsylvania politician is fighting off accusations that he's been posing as a gay Black man online to drum up support for Donald Trump ... and boy, this story gets weird.

Dean Browning -- a former Republican commissioner in Lehigh County -- tweeted a bizarre message earlier this week that had folks thinking he screwed up and posted something he meant to throw on to an alternative account he allegedly keeps ... maybe for good reason.

The tweet read, "I'm a black gay guy and I can personally say that Obama did nothing for me, my life only changed a little bit and it was for the worse. Everything is so much better under Trump though. I feel respected - which I never do when Democrats are involved."

The reason this raised eyebrows ... Dean's white, so what gives? At first, many believed Dean was tweeting something he meant to put on what's been described as an alleged "sock puppet" account -- AKA, Dan Purdy, a Twitter account that often replies to Dean, and which identifies as a gay Black man. To some, Purdy's tweets come off as a spam account.

After realizing his tweet had gone viral -- and after taking it down -- Browning came out and denied he was posing as a gay Black man, insisting that the message he tweeted had, in fact, been sent to him from one Dan Purdy ... whom Browning claims is a real person.

Soon after that, a Black man claiming to be the real Dan Purdy stood up ... and recorded a video of himself copping to sending Dean the message and backing up the sentiment of the tweet. That video has since been deleted, but many captured it and circulated it around.

Here's the kicker ... a lot of people are saying this guy who says he's Dan Purdy looks an awful lot like singer Patti LaBelle's nephew, William Holt ... who also goes by Byl Holt. Aside from the striking resemblance, Internet sleuths also noticed Dan and Will appear to use the same avatar for different profiles on social media. So ... a few things line up.

It hasn't been confirmed this is Patti's nephew, but if it is ... what a strange twist to an already confusing situation. Just goes to show (we think) -- don't judge a tweet by its tweeter.

More than 76 million Americans are looking forward to Joe Biden moving into The White House in January ... including The White House residence staff, which, as sources tell us, is now "walking on eggshells."

Sources with connections to the WH residence tell TMZ ... many of the day-to-day workers -- including the cleaning and maintenance crews and the kitchen staff -- can't wait to see him and his administration go.

We're told these staff members have had enough of the constant commotion and media attention Trump brings to the WH because it's created a more negative and stressful environment ... trickling from the top down.

The biggest concern right now ... incurring the wrath of the President. Our sources say the staff knows, one false move and they're toast. Ya gotta keep in mind residences -- the bedrooms and staff areas -- are in pretty close quarters, all connected by one narrow hallway. It's virtually impossible for staff to avoid the First Family and vice versa ... and with the Prez so angry post-election, we're told the tension among staffers is palpable.

Many of the workers have been there for decades, so they already have a history with Biden during his time as Barack Obama's Veep.

By contrast, we're told many of those in Trump's administration present a much stiffer, cold demeanor ... which has rubbed White House regulars the wrong way. As for the President himself ... our sources say he's not rude, but also not as charming as the Presidents preceding him.

And, there's this -- along with Biden comes Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. We're told the female White House staffers feel this is a game-changer ... and her presence and representation has built a giddy sense of anticipation.

Obviously, the next couple of months could be a rocky transition period, so we're told workers are focusing on performing their duties as usual, being professional, and keeping their opinions to themselves.

A key piece of evidence the Trump campaign was counting on to prove voter fraud in the election just crumbled ... because the witness is recanting.

A USPS worker who recently claimed he'd overheard a supervisor in Erie, PA tell workers to backdate ballots that arrived after Nov. 3 is now taking it all back, saying he made up the whole thing ... this according to the Washington Post.

The guy's name is Richard Hopkins, and just last week many in the GOP, and beyond, were citing him as a whistleblower. He eventually signed an affidavit about his claim, which is at the crux of much of what Trump's camp has hoisted up as evidence of voter fraud in PA.

Welp, as of Tuesday WaPo says the guy copped to lying during a committee hearing with U.S. lawmakers. The House Oversight Committee tweeted the huge development ... noting it's unclear why he lied in the first place.

Keep in mind, Hopkins' false testimony set off a massive chain of events ... including some of the lawsuits Trump's brought forward, and Attorney General William Barr giving the Dept. of Justice the green light to probe any credible claims of voting irregularities.

All that ... for a lie.

We should note, the Erie Postmaster -- Rob Weisenbach -- flat-out denied the claim early, said Hopkins was full of it, and denied any backdating of ballots at his location whatsoever. He suggested Hopkins was disgruntled, as he'd recently been disciplined many times.

Hopkins' false tale isn't dying easily, though, because ... well it's 2020.

The far-right org Project Veritas claims to have recordings of the guy being intimidated by investigators into taking back his story. We'll see if that comes out, but for now President Trump's voting fraud smoking gun seems to be firing blanks.

The Lt. Gov. of Texas is dangling a very expensive carrot in hopes of finding proof of voter fraud ... but what he's really doing is motivating liars to come out of the woodwork.

Yes, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick made the crazy announcement Tuesday ... saying he "will pay up to $1 million to incentivize, encourage and reward people to come forward and report voter fraud." He says the cash will come from his campaign fund.

There is a catch ... Patrick says any whistleblowers would have to turn over evidence that leads to an arrest and conviction in order to get paid. Each person who does that will receive at least $25,000 -- so, Patrick is clearly planning to hook dozens of tipsters.

Remember ... Republicans have filed several affidavits and complaints in courts across the country alleging potential voter fraud and unfair elections, but so far, no court has reversed any election results or confirmed the allegations.

Make no mistake, Patrick is scoring points with President Trump, who still refuses to concede to President-elect Joe Biden. Patrick says he supports "Trump's efforts to identify voter fraud in the presidential election and his commitment to making sure that every legal vote is counted and every illegal vote is disqualified."

With $25k up for grabs, we're guessing Patrick will get plenty of people claiming to have the evidence he's seeking -- whether they actually have it or not.