Month: July 2023

In a new indictment filed by special counsel on Thursday, former President Donald Trump faces accusations that he and aides asked a staffer to delete camera footage at his Mar-a-Lago Florida estate in an effort to obstruct the classified documents investigations. The allegations in the updated grand jury indictment not only added new charges against Trump, it adds another defendant to the case.

The third defendant, maintenance official Carlos De Oliveira, was added to the court docket on Thursday in case against Trump and his aide Walt Nauta in connection with the handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. The charges against De Oliveira were not immediately revealed Thursday. According to the indictment, Trump said to his lawyer: “I don’t want anybody looking, I don’t want anybody looking through my boxes, I really don’t. What happens if we just don’t respond at all of don’t play ball with them? Wouldn’t it be better if we just told them we don’t have anything here?”

Trump and valet Walt Nauta were charged last month by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith in a 38-count indictment with conspiring to hide classified documents at Mar-a-Lago from government investigators who were demanding them back. The records were taken by Trump to the Palm Beach complex after he left the White House in January 2021. Trump and Nauta have pleaded not guilty to the charges they face; a trial has been set for May 2024.

A Trump spokesperson dismissed the new charges as “nothing more than a continued desperate and flailing attempt” by the Biden administration “to harass President Trump and those around him” and to influence the 2024 presidential race.

Editorial credit: Bill Perry / Shutterstock.com

Anheuser-Busch InBev, the company that owns Budweiser, is laying off about 350 corporate employees as the company deals with slumping sales of Bud Light in light of a continued conservative boycott after partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

In a statement, Anheuser-Busch said it is eliminating close to 2% of workers “across every corporate function,” representing about 380 of AB InBev’s roughly 19,000 employees. The company didn’t give a timeline for when the layoffs will begin. Said Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whiteworth: “While we never take these decisions lightly, we want to ensure that our organization continues to be set for future long-term success. These corporate structure changes will enable our teams to focus on what we do best — brewing great beer for everyone.”

In April, the company designed a marketing campaign with social media star and trans rights activist Dylan Mulvaney. The promotion with Mulvaney entailed an Instagram post by the social media influencer, in which she revealed a commemorative Bud Light can with her face on it, celebrating her “365 days of girlhood” series on her transition. The post sparked an outcry from some conservatives, who called for a boycott of the popular beer.

As a result of the backlash, Bud Light lost its longtime ranking in May as the nation’s best-selling beer.  In the month ending July 15, Bud Light’s U.S. sales were down 26.5%, while Modelo’s were up 13.5%. Bud Light held a 6.8% share of the U.S. beer market in that period, while Modelo held an 8.7% share. AB InBev sold $71.5 million worth of Bud Light during the week ending July 16, compared with Modelo Especial which generated $90.3 million in sales that same week.

The company said the layoffs will target about 2% of its corporate staff and wouldn’t affect workers in the breweries, employees such as truck drivers or salespeople in the field, or warehouse staff.

Editorial credit: Steve Cukrov / Shutterstock.com