White House

If you think Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney is voting for Mayor Pete Buttigieg just because they're both gay, you're dead wrong -- instead, Maloney's sticking with Beto O'Rourke.

We got Rep. Maloney Tuesday afternoon on Capitol Hill, and got his take on the Democratic mayor outta South Bend, Indiana ... who is making waves even before officially announcing he's running for Prez in 2020.

SPM showers Mayor Pete with tons of props, but shuns the notion he, or anyone else, should vote for a candidate just because they have similar backgrounds. We also asked Maloney -- who became NY's first openly gay Congressman in 2012 -- if he thinks the country is ready for a gay president, and he has strong feelings about that.

But, mostly ... the Congressman hammered home why he's throwing his support behind Beto. Point being ... just because a candidate's gay doesn't mean he'll automatically get the gay community's vote.

OG 'Queer Eye' cast member Carson Kressley seconds that emotion.

President Trump tried turning D.C. into Gotham with a little help from the music featured in one of Christopher Nolan's Batman movies ... but the bat signal was cut off quick.

DT posted a well-produced dramatic video on his Twitter feed Tuesday afternoon that hyped up his MAGA slogan and was basically fodder for his base -- but it also used one of the orchestral tunes in "The Dark Knight Rises" ... ya know, one of the epic ones.

And, of course, Trump slugged his tweet, "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

The problem ... Trump stole Hans Zimmer's music, "Why Do We Fall?" The tune belongs to the movie studio behind "The Dark Knight Rises" ... Warner Bros.

At some point early Wednesday morning, Twitter removed the video ... citing a complaint from the copyright holder, WB. A WB honcho publicly said shortly afterward the studio hadn't authorized the White House to use its Bat tune.

Carson Kressley seems to be ecstatic an openly gay man will likely run for POTUS -- but don't get it twisted ... that ain't gonna be the deciding factor for him in the voting booth.

We got the OG 'Queer Eye' cast member leaving LAX Tuesday and asked him about Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who's been leading South Bend, IN since 2012 and who's picking up major momentum in the quest to take on Trump.

Our question ... will gay people vote for the guy just because he's gay?

Carson says he certainly hopes not. He says Pete checks all the boxes for him on his merit and experience, and that should be the standard for supporting any candidate.

That said ... Carson says he gets why some gay people might automatically be Team Pete. It's a huge deal to have someone repping the LGBTQ community at this level.

Rep. Ilhan Omar isn't retreating after receiving a death threat from a Donald Trump supporter or even continued attacks from the Prez himself ... who, by the way, she's praying for.

We got the Minnesota congresswoman at Reagan National Airport Monday after a tumultuous weekend, during which a man was criminally charged for threatening to kill her, and the President himself put her on blast again at an event in front of Jewish Americans.

Our photog asked how she's holding up, and Rep. Omar seems to be keeping it together ... telling us she sees more importance in showing up to work than ever.

She also drops an interesting tidbit about how she's dealing with Trump's renewed accusations of anti-Semitism. Rep. Omar's appealing to a higher power -- something she alluded to on Twitter ... but hits home here with us.

As we reported ... Rep. Omar has come under fire these past few months for comments that many people labeled as anti-Semitic. The increased scrutiny has required extra security at events she's attended lately.

Democratic Presidential hopeful Andrew Yang wants to soften the perception he's taking a hard stance against circumcisions, and as we learned ... it's no laughing matter to him.

We got the NY entrepreneur Wednesday afternoon in Times Square and asked him to clear up his position on circumcision. If you haven't heard ... Yang made headlines last month when he said he opposed the practice.

Andrew says everyone who is on his jock needs to cut him a break. The candidate told us people have twisted his words, because his official position simply isn't that cut and dry. He cleared things up with our photog, and made it known ... he meant no offense to his Jewish homies.

One last tip: Watch all the way to the end, you'll get a glimpse of the candidate's sense of humor. Then again, maybe our guy's just not that funny.

Joe Biden is promising to change his ways in the wake of allegations he's gotten way too close for the comfort of at least 2 women.

The former Veep -- and expected Presidential candidate for 2020 -- is addressing the handsy allegations head-on ... saying it's just who he is, or at least who he HAS been. Biden added, in a video posted Wednesday, he'll get himself in check going forward and be mindful of people's personal space.

Joe says he's always thought of politics as a way to connect to people ... and that he took that to heart quite literally, with handshakes, hugs, shoulder squeezes and other forms of embrace.

He doesn't mention kissing women's heads, though, as Lucy Flores claims he did to her back in 2014. Another woman accused him of pulling her in by the neck to rub noses at a fundraiser in 2009.

In his kinda-mea culpa vid, Biden acknowledges the boundaries of personal bubbles have been reset, and says he'll change too.

His video response couldn't have been better timed, as President Trump and the GOP lean into lampooning Biden for his touchy-feely tendencies.

Sen. Marco Rubio says the allegations against Joe Biden -- ahead of his anticipated presidential run -- are nothing new in D.C., and he's suggesting the whole thing is Dirty Politics 101.

We got the Florida senator at Reagan National Airport and got his take on the 2 women who've claimed Biden inappropriately touched them years ago. Rubio says he's not surprised at all it's coming out now because it's perfect timing.

Rubio feels someone's been sitting on this information for a while, and it's only being weaponized now to hurt the former Veep, ahead of his expected 2020 run for Prez.

Watch the clip ... it's going too far to say Republican Rubio is defending Democrat Biden -- but, at the very least, he empathizes with him. Remember, Rubio's been down the Presidential campaign trial, and he thinks anyone running for office should expect the same kinda treatment Biden's getting.

For the record, no one's accusing Biden of sexual misconduct ... it's more about invading personal space and inappropriate touching.

He's been very touchy-feely with lots of folks over the course of his career -- and a lot of it's been caught on camera. He's said his public displays of affection never carried any intent to harm, and he never thought he'd acted inappropriately.

Linda McMahon is stepping down from her position in President Trump's cabinet ... but she won't be far from POTUS for long.

Trump announced the former WWE CEO is resigning as the head of the Small Business Administration at Mar-a-Lago on Friday .... saying "She has been one of our all-time favorites."

"I knew she was good, but I didn't know she was that good."

Although McMahon is stepping down, she's not leavin' Trump -- she's putting her focus on his reelection.

"She'll be leaving, she's going to go and help us with a very, very important year-and-a-half that we have coming up," Trump told reporters.

McMahon is an original member of Trump's cabinet -- she was confirmed back in February 2017.

We spoke with WWE legend Kurt Angle prior to McMahon taking the job ... and he said she's a "genius," adding, "If you doubt Linda McMahon, you'd have to be literally crazy."

No word on who will be Linda's replacement ... but Trump says she'll be part of the process.

President Trump heard the outrage loud and clear, 'cause he just announced that he will NOT seek to cut nearly $18 MILLION in funding from the Special Olympics.

Trump's Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos proposed cutting nearly every cent of funding to the organization earlier this week ... and people were PISSED.

TMZ Sports even spoke to WWE legend and Special Olympics ambassador -- Big Show -- who called the idea "bulls**t."

Now, Trump is putting an end to all that talk ... telling reporters at the White House that he's given the order to fund the organization -- like was originally planned.

“The Special Olympics will be funded," Trump said ... "I just authorized the funding of the Special Olympics. I have overridden my people.”

No "hamberders" or chicken sandwiches were served on silver platters ... but Washington Capitals star Nicklas Backstrom says the team's visit to Trump's White House was still awesome!

Backstrom -- along with several Caps teammates -- hit up 1600 Penn on Monday to celebrate their 2018 Stanley Cup victory. We spotted the guys out near the team practice facility after the visit.

And, since Trump has made it a "thing" to serve his championship guests smorgasbords of fast food ... we asked Backstrom if POTUS rolled out the silver platters for the Caps ... the same way Trump did for the football players at Clemson and North Dakota State.

Remember, the college guys LOVED the food -- with Tigers star QB Trevor Lawrence telling TMZ Sports the meal was a huge hit!

Unfortunately for the hockey players, Trump's tradition ended on Monday -- no chicken, no pizza, no berders -- but Backstrom says it didn't stop the visit from being great!!

"It was nice of him to invite us," the center tells us ... adding "It was just nice to be there. We were happy about it."

We also asked Nik if there was any drama in the locker room with Braden Holtby and other players who decided to skip the trip altogether ... but Backstrom says "everything's good."

Rep. Rashida Tlaib says President Trump is NOT off the hook in Robert Mueller's Russian collusion investigation ... because she clearly doesn't trust the man who summarized it.

We got the Democrat Congresswoman at Reagan National and raised the issue ... isn't it a good thing for the country if the Prez didn't collude with Putin and Co.? The Congresswoman recoiled and made it clear ... she's not convinced Trump's clean, given all we know is what his hired gun, Attorney General William Barr, said in his letter.

Barr did quote Mueller's conclusion on the issue of collusion ... "[T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities."

The unconvinced Tlaib says the only way this "dark cloud" can be lifted is for the report to be released in full, without a cushion from a Trump ally.

Cory Booker says the future is very, VERY bright for him and Rosario Dawson ... and it'll be downright blinding if she joins him in The White House.

We got the Jersey Senator and presidential hopeful leaving NBC in NYC Friday, and when we ask him if his girlfriend will join him at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave in D.C. if he's elected Prez -- even if they're unmarried -- Cory goes into all-out dote mode.

It's hard to keep up with all the adjectives Booker drops to lovingly describe Dawson, but the bottom line -- he believes she'd be an amazing First Lady ... and the first of her kind.

We broke the story ... Rosario confirmed last week she and Cory are dating and in love, gushing about her man just as much as he does her. She didn't say much about becoming First Lady, but clearly ... the Senator can talk enough for the both of them about that.

Rudy Giuliani is coming out swinging for President Trump over his recent attacks on late Senator John McCain ... telling us Trump's furious over McCain's role in distributing the salacious Steele dossier.

We got Rudy at Reagan National in D.C. Wednesday, and our photog asked about Trump bashing McCain 7 months after his death. The President's personal attorney strongly defends his boss, and tells us why Trump's still pissed at McCain.

As you know ... Trump's been blasting McCain all week, even taking credit for the Republican's moving Washington funeral and complaining about not receiving a "thank you."

Trump's latest round of attacks allege that McCain turned over the dossier to the FBI and the media before the 2016 election. Rudy says that's what's further driving a wedge between Trump and McCain.

'Breakfast Club' host Angela Yee isn't shying away from having President Trump on the hip-hop radio show -- in fact, she's already got her questions lined up.

Angela expanded on the interview she, DJ Envy and Charlamagne Tha God did with FOX News this week, where they were asked if they'd be open to having DT come on the show. She doubled down with us, saying sure ... but they're not gonna reach out.

Seeing how the Prez's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, entertained the idea further by encouraging an appearance, Angela gave us a taste of what she and the team might ask.

Hint ... they're tough questions the Prez has been able to duck and dodge in a press conference setting, but would be incredibly difficult to evade in a radio setting. And, they're valid questions too -- ranging from his Central Park Five history to Obama himself.

But, because Trump has a history of censoring the media -- or at least trying to -- it doesn't sound like Angela is holding her breath for a possible face-to-face.

Donald Trump is showing some serious insecurity over the border wall, because he wants an affirmation from his die-hard supporters before he puts pen to paper and vetoes the legislation rejecting his border wall emergency proclamation.

The President blasted out a poll to his email subscribers shortly after the Senate voted Thursday 59-41 to put the kibosh on Trump's declaration of national emergency, asking their opinion on whether he exercises his first veto as Prez.

If he can't get support from the people who say he can do no wrong, well ...

And, check out how he loads the vote -- "Friend, President Trump will not let this National Security and Humanitarian Nightmare continue. Liberals in the Senate just voted against a National Emergency."

Looks like there are at least 12 Republicans who aren't on board -- the Republican Senators who joined Democrats in defying Trump ... something not mentioned in the email.

POTUS already made his intentions clear when he tweeted "VETO!" right after the Senate motion passed, so the poll is not just ridiculous ... it's superfluous.

He'll get his way this time, 'cause there aren't enough votes in Congress to override a veto.

Stay tuned.

12:27 PM PT -- A sketch artist caught Manafort in court Wednesday.

10:00 AM PT -- Manafort just got hit with 16 NEW charges in an NYC indictment tied to a mortgage fraud scheme. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. says Manafort will now face 16 felonies for alleged residential mortgage fraud, conspiracy and falsifying business records ... to name just a few.

What's that thing about raining and pouring? It's a monsoon for Manafort.

Paul Manafort is nearly doubling his time behind bars -- another judge just sentenced him to an extra 43 months .... nearly 4 more years in the pen.

President Trump's former campaign manager went through his second sentencing Wednesday in D.C., where a judge presided over the criminal case Robert Mueller's office prosecuted. Manafort got an additional 43 months in prison ... on top of the tax and bank fraud sentence he got last week.

You'll recall ... Manafort got 47 months in that matter. This additional time will bring his full prison sentence to 7 1/2 years.

This second case includes 2 conspiracy charges. Federal prosecutors accused Manafort of witness tampering and obstruction of justice after he was released on bail ... saying he urged 2 witnesses to commit perjury in his defense.

That got him sent back to the slammer, where he's been ever since last June. For the record ... Manafort pled guilty to the 2 conspiracy charges.

Manafort apologized for his crimes during Wednesday's sentencing -- he read a statement from his wheelchair, and begged the judge to "let my wife and I be together." He reminded the judge that he is about to turn 70, and his wife is 66.

Manafort actually got sentenced to 73 months, but the judge allowed 30 of them to be served concurrently with the 47 months for fraud.