05-02-b-Politics Highlights Nominees

Garland speech on DOJ impartiality met with skepticism – washingtonexaminer.com
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Attorney General Merrick Garland praised his employees on Thursday for their impartiality in the wake of his Justice Department pursuing some of the most politically fraught prosecutions in history.

Garland spoke about DOJ “norms” more than a dozen times during his remarks, which he delivered to the department’s workforce during an annual conference of U.S. attorneys in Washington, D.C.

“Our norms are a promise that we will not allow this department to be used as a political weapon, and our norms are a promise that we will not allow this nation to become a country where law enforcement is treated as an apparatus of politics,” Garland said.

That comment, in particular, was met with resounding applause in the room. But elsewhere, critics took issue with Garland’s emphasis on impartiality and his rejection of politically motivated prosecutions.

FBI And CISA Addresses Claims Of Hacked Voter Information – The Cyber Express
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have highlighted a growing concern about the spread of false claims related to voting. The announcement, titled “Just So You Know: False Claims of Hacked Voter Information Likely Intended to Sow Distrust of U.S. Elections,” aims to educate the public on how disinformation tactics are being used to manipulate perceptions and undermine trust in the U.S. electoral process.

The announcement comes amid increasing concerns over cybersecurity and the integrity of elections, particularly with the 2024 election cycle approaching. Both the FBI and CISA have observed a troubling trend where foreign actors and cybercriminals propagate misleading information about alleged breaches in U.S. voter registration databases. These claims often exaggerate or fabricate details about voter information hacking to discredit the electoral system and erode public trust.

Johnson pulls stopgap spending bill – Axios
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Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) ditched a planned vote Wednesday on his six-month stopgap funding bill that included a crackdown on non-citizen voting.

Why it matters: It’s the latest setback for Johnson, who was facing opposition from fellow Republicans as well nearly all Democrats and raises pressure on GOP leaders to find an alternative path for avoiding a shutdown in less than three weeks.

  • “No vote today because we’re in the consensus-building business,” Johnson told reporters Wednesday.
  • That likely puts off a House vote on a stopgap bill until next week at the earliest.
  • At least eight GOP lawmakers publicly came out against the bill, despite pressure from former President Trump to back it, leaving Johnson short of the votes he would need to pass it out of the chamber.

Republicans push for clean stopgap as leaders regroup on shutdown plan – The Hill
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A growing number of House Republicans say they know how the current government funding drama ends: with a clean continuing resolution (CR) that kicks the shutdown deadline to after Election Day.

The question is how Congress arrives at that conclusion.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) scrapped plans for the House to vote on his conservative funding bill Wednesday when it became clear it didn’t have the GOP votes to pass, catapulting the conference back to square one with less than a month until the shutdown deadline.

Some Republicans are pushing Johnson to make another attempt at clearing a conservative funding bill, arguing that a successful effort could help strengthen the party’s hand in forthcoming bipartisan negotiations.

Muddying the waters, former President Trump is urging Republicans to vote against any short-term funding bill that does not secure “absolute assurances on Election Security.”

U.S. House speaker withdraws spending bill that would require ID to register to vote • Virginia Mercury
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WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson pulled a six-month stopgap spending bill from heading to the floor for a vote Wednesday, scuttling efforts by the GOP to show solidarity behind their plan, which included a provision requiring ID to register to vote in federal elections.

The spending bill, released by House Republicans last week in the heat of a presidential campaign in which immigration is a central focus, had no chance of becoming law amid opposition from Democrats, a cool response from many GOP senators and a veto threat from the Biden administration.

A number of House GOP lawmakers had also come out against the legislation.

Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, told reporters that lawmakers plan to work through the weekend to find a path forward on the stopgap spending bill and language that would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote.

DeKalb GOP sues Georgia Secretary of State, claiming poor election security – Atlantic City Circle
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The DeKalb County Republican Party has filed a lawsuit against Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger alleging that the encryption keys for the software used in the state’s Dominion Voting System are not stored securely.

The DeKalb GOP wants the Secretary of State’s Office to properly store the encryption keys and “immediately bring the Dominion systems used in Georgia elections into compliance with Georgia law.” The lawsuit alleges that the state’s Dominion system software has been in an “illegal and insecure state since at least 2020,” and that the Secretary of State’s Office has known this since March, 2024.

The DeKalb GOP also wants the Secretary of State’s office to make the Dominion system logs, cast-vote records and ballot images available to itself and the public for inspection within 24 hours of polls closing on Nov. 5.

The lawsuit, filed Aug. 30 in Fulton County Superior Court, was announced by the DeKalb  Republican Party on X on Monday. A hearing has been scheduled for Sept. 30.

Trump’s D.C. trial may not begin until 2026 or later, legal experts say – The Washington Post
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Donald Trump’s trial in Washington on charges of federal election obstruction may not begin until 2026 or later because of complex legal and factual issues that may ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court, according to legal experts.

Even that schedule is largely dependent on a particular outcome in the presidential election two months from now; if Vice President Kamala Harris defeats Trump, the cases against him are likely to proceed. But if Trump wins the election, he is expected to push his Justice Department to dismiss or at least shelve the charges against him.

At a hearing last week, the trial judge in the D.C. case signaled she planned to try to resolve key and complicated questions about presidential immunity in a matter of months. At the same time, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan cautioned it would be “an exercise in futility” to set a new trial date, given the likely appeals.

2 of 10 criminal charges dropped against former President Trump in Georgia election case – khou.com
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The judge said this is because the charges fell under federal jurisdiction, not Georgia state law.

Trump’s Gag Order Appeal Thrown Out by NY Court of Appeals – PJ Media– pjmedia.com
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New York’s highest court rejected former President Trump’s appeal to remove the gag order by the Democrat judge overseeing his so-called hush money case.

On Sept. 12, the New York Court of Appeals, upheld the decision by a lower court to keep his gag order in place last month, after he was was convicted by a Manhattan jury.

The court dismissed Trump’s appeal on the grounds “that no substantial constitutional question is directly involved,” which continues to bar him from talking about prosecutors, court staff, and others involved in the case until after his sentencing.

2nd Circuit rejects Donald Trump’s request to halt postconviction proceedings in hush money case – ABC News
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A federal appeals court has rejected Donald Trump’s request to halt postconviction proceedings in his hush money criminal case, leaving a key ruling and the former president’s sentencing on track for after the November election

NEW YORK — A federal appeals court has rejected Donald Trump’s request to halt postconviction proceedings in his hush money criminal case, leaving a key ruling and the former president’s sentencing on track for after the November election.

A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan cited the postponement last week of Trump’s sentencing from Sept. 18 to Nov. 26 in denying his motion for an emergency stay.

The sentencing delay, which Trump had sought, removed the urgency required for the appeals court to consider pausing proceedings.

Fani Willis Will Defy Subpoena to Testify before Georgia State Senate Hearing, Committee Chair Warns– slaynews.com
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to defy a subpoena from the Georgia State Senate for her testimony during a Friday hearing.

The Senate Special Committee on Investigations subpoenaed Willis to compel her testimony related to the committee’s investigation into allegations she misused taxpayer funds.

The committee’s chairman, Republican state Sen. Bill Cowsert, is warning that Willis will not show up to the hearing.

Cowsert said after Willis refused to testify voluntarily, the committee issued a subpoena.

Judge in Trump Non-Disclosure and Records Case Sued for Hiding His Disclosures and Records – PJ Media– pjmedia.com
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…Let us consider Judge Merchan’s patterns.

  • He’s a Democrat
  • He gave money to the Democrats’ “Stop Donald Trump and his Right Wing Legacy” fund
  • His grown daughter is the president of a Democrat political operation that helps Trump’s legislative enemies such as impeacher and Russian Collusion hoaxer, Adam Schiff
  • His daughter’s political operation used Daddy’s Trump trial to fundraise for her political customers 
  • Kamala Harris hired daddy’s daughter’s political shop to help with her presidential campaign
  • He was selected by insiders at the DA’s office, not a random selection, to preside over the trial because he’d overseen, others say mishandled, Trump cases before
  • “He actually should be the last person selected, given the potential conflict,” said  Christopher Brennan, a former Manhattan assistant district attorney about Merchan’s selection
  • He ignored how the DA stacked charges against Trump, an ethics breach
  • He ignored how the alleged illegal misdemeanor acts were dead issues because the statute of limitations had run
  • He waved away concerns that the alleged ersatz felony charge bootstrapped to these misdemeanors and reanimated them into a live issue was neither spelled out to the jury nor the defendant, in violation of his rights
  • He gagged the defendant in a complete reversal of courtroom protocol. Gag orders are to protect defendants not hurt them
  • Several ethics complaints have been filed against Merchan
  • On undercover video, DOJ’s SDNY spokesman called this Trump case, “a perversion of justice,” “a travesty of justice,” “a mockery of justice,” and “nonsense.” He can’t be the only one who thinks this.

Jack Smith’s Anti-Trump Jan 6 Trial Postponed Beyond Election Day– slaynews.com
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Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 lawfare trial against President Donald Trump, originally scheduled before the 2024 presidential election, has officially been postponed.

The trial has been delayed by Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan, a Barack Obama appointee.

Facing charges stemming from Smith’s “investigation” into the events surrounding the protests at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, Trump will not be tried until after the election.

During a Thursday morning status hearing at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Judge Chutkan reached a decision impacting the timing of Trump’s trial.

Judge rules voting machine company’s defamation suit against Newsmax can go to trial– thehill.com
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A voting machine company’s defamation lawsuit against Newsmax appears to be headed toward trial following a judge in Delaware’s ruling on Thursday.

The Florida-based company, Smartmatic, accused Newsmax and other conservative media outlets of airing defamatory statements that implied the company rigged the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Newsmax argued it was reporting on newsworthy allegations made by former President Trump and his allies, though the company previously issued a clarification saying, “it has not reported true certain claims made about these companies.”

Both Newsmax and Smartmatic asked Superior Court Judge Eric Davis to rule in their favor without the case going to trial. Davis granted partial summary judgment but said a jury will decide key issues. The trial is scheduled to start Sept. 30, The Associated Press reported.

Spokesman For Manhattan US Attorney’s Office Caught on Tape Ripping DA Bragg Over Trump Prosecution; Calls Case ‘Nonsense’– amgreatness.com
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The top Department of Justice spokesman for the Southern District of New York was caught on a hidden camera lambasting Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s prosecution of former President Donald Trump, calling the case “nonsense” and accusing Democrats of being “out to get” the Republican presidential nominee.

Nicholas Biase, chief spokesman for the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office, was secretly recorded in July and August dishing about Bragg and his “hush-money” case against Trump by an undercover journalist for conservative commentator Steven Crowder’s “Mug Club.”

Crowder released the shocking footage on Thursday, saying at the onset that Biase was “not the bad guy here,” but an “unwitting whistleblower.”

“Honestly, I think the case is nonsense,” Biase said on July 31 to the unidentified female journalist during what appeared to be a date at a crowded bar.

NY Judge Delays Trump Sentencing Until After The Election– thefederalist.com
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The Biden donor judge overseeing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s criminal prosecution and a New York jury’s coached conviction of former President Donald Trump this week delayed Trump’s sentencing hearing until after the 2024 election.

Judge Juan Merchan, the acting justice of the New York State Supreme Court, announced Friday that he will postpone his decision on how long Trump should be jailed until November 26, exactly three weeks after Election Day 2024. Trump faces up to 136 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of 34 counts of bookkeeping fraud.

Bragg initially indicted Trump on claims that he violated the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) when his former attorney Michael Cohen paid pornographic actress Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged affair.

Nondisclosure deals like Trump’s are perfectly legal and don’t meet the threshold for criminal charges beyond a misdemeanor. Bragg, who campaigned on vengeance against the Republican, however, ignored the FEC and Department of Justice’s decision not to charge Trump over the payment and pursued a felony prosecution.

Cornel West disqualified from Georgia’s ballot, judge rules – 11 Alive
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The decision means votes for West won’t be counted in Georgia, although his name will remain on ballots because the judge said it’s too late to remove it.

ATLANTA — A Georgia state court judge on Wednesday disqualified independent presidential candidate Cornel West from running for president in the state, ruling that West’s electors didn’t file the proper paperwork.

For now at least, the decision means votes for West won’t be counted in Georgia, although his name will remain on ballots because the judge said it’s too late to remove it.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas A. Cox ruled it was too late to order new ballots printed, with military and overseas ballots scheduled to be mailed starting Tuesday. Instead, Cox ordered the state to post notices in polling places warning West had been disqualified and votes for him would be void, a common remedy in Georgia for late election changes.

It’s OK To ‘Help’ Mentally Incapacitated Relatives With Ballots– thefederalist.com
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The New York Times encouraged a reader last week to “help” a 97-year-old woman with advanced memory loss — who is “becoming nearly impossible to communicate with” — to complete her ballot.

“When the situation is hazy, my inclination would be to err on the side of helping someone to vote, because voting is such a central form of civic participation,” wrote the Times’ “Ethicist” Columnist Kwame Anthony Appiah.

A reader wrote the Times, saying the grandmother has “advanced” Alzheimer’s and hearing loss. The reader wanted to know if it would be “unethical” to help the elderly woman vote in November, likely having the grandma do “the mechanics of voting” while family members “advise her.”

The reader claimed to have helped the grandmother fill out her absentee ballot in 2020.

Former Top FBI Official Spills the Beans on Biden-Harris DOJ, Says Mar-a-Lago Raid ‘Just Didn’t Smell Right’ – westernjournal.com

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Excerpt from www.westernjournal.com

A former top FBI official has revealed that he worried the FBI’s 2022 raid on Mar-a-Lago would backfire.

In August 2022, the FBI swooped in on the residence of former President Donald Trump as part of its investigation into whether Trump improperly;y kept classified documents in his possession after leaving the White House.

“I was worried about it increasing distrust in us,” Steve D’Antuono, the head of the Washington Field Office of the FBI at the time, said, according to NBC.

“We all thought this posed a risk to us both professionally and personally. I can’t impress upon you the pressure,” the retired FBI official said.

D’Antuono said expressing his reservations during a high-stakes meeting on the raid led to him being scolded.

Chutkan Laughs Off Supreme Court Immunity Ruling In D.C. Trump Trial – The Federalist

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The federal judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial in Washington, D.C., scoffed at the Supreme Court’s decision this summer that recognized presidential immunity for official acts in office.

On Thursday, attorneys representing the ex-president objected to continued proceedings they argued run afoul of the high court’s ruling in July. In that decision a concurring opinion from Justice Clarence Thomas questioned the legitimacy of Jack Smith’s appointment as special counsel.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed Trump’s classified documents case brought by Smith in Florida after the former president’s attorneys called the special counsel’s appointment illegal. D.C. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, however, said in Thursday’s hearing that Cannon’s argument for dismissal was not “particularly persuasive,” according to Politico reporter Kyle Cheney.

The New York Times reported that Chutkan “chuckle[d]” and slightly rolled her eyes in the courtroom Thursday when Trump’s attorneys argued the Supreme Court was “crystal clear” in rulings on immunity. Trump’s legal team had previously petitioned to remove the Obama-appointed judge from the case over her prejudicial statements against the former president and his supporters, particularly in rulings related to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Chutkan, however, denied requests to recuse herself from the case and allow the prosecution to proceed outside of the nation’s capital.

Trump Pleads Not Guilty In Revised Election Fraud Case – BERNAMA

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Former US president Donald Trump is continuing to plead not guilty following the publication of a revised indictment in the election fraud case against him, according to a court document filed by his lawyers on Tuesday, the German news agency (dpa) reported.

The document states that Trump waived his right to be present in court at the next hearing related to the case. He has authorised his lawyers to plead not guilty on his behalf.

The Republican and several others are accused of trying to reverse the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

Trump’s Legal Team Requests Dismissal of Jack Smith’s Jan 6 Case – slaynews.com

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Excerpt from slaynews.com

President Donald Trump’s attorney and Special Counsel Jack Smith have jointly filed for a status update in light of presidential immunity in the Jan. 6 case.

Smith filed a superseding indictment last week that narrowed and adjusted charges to avoid the new ruling’s pitfalls, ABC News reported.

In an attempt to salvage his case against Trump, Smith made necessary changes to his indictment that would circumvent presidential immunity.

Meanwhile, Trump’s legal team has humiliated Smith by asking that the charges be dismissed entirely.

The conflict arose following a Supreme Court decision that granted presidential immunity to much of Trump’s conduct during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

How the court will proceed is still unknown, but Trump and Smith filed Friday to clarify that.

Trump’s attorneys have requested that any further legal proceedings happen after the November election.

Judge rejects Trump bid to make NY case federal – The Week

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.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected Donald Trump’s long-shot motion to move his New York criminal case to federal court. Trump was convicted on 34 fraud counts in May for paying hush money to a porn actress.

Hellerstein’s decision is a blow to Trump’s “persistent efforts to escape the consequences” of the Manhattan jury’s verdict, The New York Times said. The New York prosecution is the only one of four felony cases Trump has not successfully delayed or halted.

Trump’s lawyers spar with judge in Washington election interference case – aljazeera.com

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Excerpt from www.aljazeera.com

A tense hearing has unfolded in one of former United States President Donald Trump’s four criminal cases, as his defence team questioned the legitimacy of the proceedings.

Thursday’s hearing took place before US District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington, DC, where Trump faces four felony counts for attempting to overturn the 2020 US presidential election.

Trump himself was not present at the proceedings. But from the outset, defence lawyer John Lauro cast doubt on the validity of the charges and the timing of the case.

“We may be dealing with an illegitimate indictment from the get-go,” Lauro told the court.

Judge: U.S. can lay out Trump election interference evidence this month – The Washington Post

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A federal judge called Thursday for prosecutors and defense attorneys to file significant legal briefs in Donald Trump’s 2020 election subversion case before voters head to the ballot box in November, rejecting the former president’s request to move at a slower pace.

After a testy one-hour hearing in federal court in D.C., U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan granted a proposal by special counsel Jack Smith’s office to make its case about the limits of Trump’s immunity by Sept. 26, with other filings due in the weeks that follow.

Her scheduling order offers the first glimpse into how the case will proceed after the Supreme Court ruled that presidents cannot be prosecuted for their official conduct, upending the Trump prosecution and forcing the special counsel to seek a superseding indictment.

Trump asks federal appeals court for stay in hush money case sentencing – WHIO

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Excerpt from news.google.com

A day after former President Donald Trump asked a federal appeals court for a stay that would delay the sentencing in his New York hush money case, the Manhattan district attorney’s office on Thursday asked the court to reject Trump’s request.

Trump’s longshot attempt to delay his Sept. 18 sentencing came a day after District Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied Trump’s bid to move his criminal case to federal court.

In a 28-page filing late Wednesday, Trump’s attorneys asked the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to stay Judge Hellerstein’s order — a move that would delay Trump’s criminal case, including his sentencing, from moving forward.

“Absent the requested stay, President Trump and the American people will suffer irreparable harm,” defense attorneys Emil Bove and Todd Blanche wrote.

Appeals court seems skeptical of Trump’s bid to overturn sexual abuse verdict in E. Jean Carroll case  – POLITICO

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Excerpt from trendingpoliticsnews.com

The FBI on Wednesday raised the homes of at least two senior aides to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, according to a report from Politico.

FBI agents conducted searches of the homes of First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks III early Wednesday morning. Investigators also seized electronic devices belong to each official.

Agents also searched the home of Timothy Pearson, a former high-ranking official in the New York Police Department who now advises Mayor Adams on public safety.

FBI Raids Homes Of Two Top Aides To NYC Mayor Eric Adams – trendingpoliticsnews.com

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Excerpt from trendingpoliticsnews.com

The FBI on Wednesday raised the homes of at least two senior aides to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, according to a report from Politico.

FBI agents conducted searches of the homes of First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks III early Wednesday morning. Investigators also seized electronic devices belong to each official.

Agents also searched the home of Timothy Pearson, a former high-ranking official in the New York Police Department who now advises Mayor Adams on public safety.

DA Fani Willis Brought ‘Ex-Lover’ Nathan Wade to Scene of Daughter’s Arrest – legalinsurrection.com

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Excerpt from legalinsurrection.com

Fulton County DA Fani Willis arrived at the scene of her daughter’s arrest with former special prosecutor Nathan Wade.

Wait. I thought their love affair ended.

Willis is the DA in charge of the Georgia case against Donald Trump for alleged election interference.

Willis came under fire for her relationship with then-special prosecutor Wade. They claimed the fling didn’t start until after she appointed him to the position and it ended.

The judge said Willis or Wade had to leave the case. Wade chose to step down.

Nonviolent ‘J6 Granny’ Slapped With Bitter Sentence – PJ Media– pjmedia.com
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On January 6th, 2021, personal friend, grandmother and engaged civil servant in her hometown of Santa Ynez, California Karen Jones was essentially, if you’ll excuse what has become a cliché, a tourist — a nonviolent, by the admission of the court, American visiting the Capitol she helps pay for via taxes.

New rules for ballot drop boxes in Ohio puts restrictions on who can use them – BG Independent News
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The latest attempt to prevent voter fraud in Ohio will make it more difficult for voters to use ballot drop boxes and make more work for election workers across the state.

On Wednesday morning, the Wood County Board of Elections discussed the impact of Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s recent directive that only those people dropping off their own ballots may use the drop box.

That means people dropping off ballots for family members must come into the board of elections during business hours and fill out paperwork attesting to their relationship to the voter. They cannot use the drop off box.

Nearly four million Ohioans voted last November, with approximately 25% voting absentee, according to state data.

So the state directive could mean a lot more work for election workers across the state.

14 pro-Trump electors linked to efforts to reverse his 2020 loss are back for 2024 -wyso.org
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Fourteen presidential electors linked to efforts to reverse former President Donald Trump’s 2020 defeat are currently back on their states’ Republican slates of representatives to the Electoral College for the 2024 election.

Four years ago, what have been known as “fake electors” gathered in seven mainly swing states where Trump lost the popular vote to sign certificates that became part of a scheme by the former president and his allies to try to overturn the election results.

This year’s return of some of these Republicans as potential electors — confirmed in recent weeks through party filings to state election officials — raises questions about what they will do if Trump loses in their states again. The GOP nominee, who is facing four felony counts related to leading conspiracies to reverse the 2020 results and disenfranchise millions of voters, has refused to commit to unconditionally accepting the results of the upcoming 2024 election while continuing to repeat the lie that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him.

The returning Republican electors are:

  • Michigan: Amy Facchinello, Hank Choate, John Haggard, Marian Sheridan, Meshawn Maddock, Timothy King
  • Nevada: Jesse Law, Michael McDonald
  • New Mexico: Deborah Maestas
  • Pennsylvania: Andy Reilly, Ash Khare, Bernadette Comfort, Bill Bachenberg, Patricia Poprick

‘Woke’ DA sued by his own office for allegedly protecting ethics chief charged with felonies– www.foxnews.com
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The union representing hundreds of Los Angeles prosecutors is once again suing their boss, District Attorney George Gascon, this time for withholding information on a close ally in alleged violation of the California Public Records Act (CPRA).

The Association of Deputy District Attorneys (ADDA) sought information about Diana Teran, a top Gascon aide who is facing felony charges, in May and received an incomplete response, according to a 200-page court filing unveiled Thursday. Prosecutors sought her emails and information about whether she remained on the county payroll after her indictment. They also wanted to know if county taxpayers were on the hook for her criminal defense.

The lawsuit seeks to force Gascon’s office to disclose the requested records, to declare the DA in violation of the CPRA and to pay the ADDA’s attorney fees for the lawsuit and the denied requests.

Republicans challenge North Carolina decision that lets students show university’s mobile ID – ABC News
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RALEIGH, N.C. — The Republican Party sued North Carolina’s elections board on Thursday to block students and employees at the state’s flagship public university from offering a digital identification as a way to comply with a relatively new photo voter ID law.

The Republican National Committee and North Carolina filed the lawsuit in Wake County Superior Court three weeks after the Democratic majority on the State Board of Elections approved the “Mobile UNC One Card” generated by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a qualifying ID.

The law says qualifying IDs must meet several photo and security requirements to be approved by the board. The UNC-Chapel Hill digital ID, which is voluntary for students and staff and available on Apple phones, marks the qualification of the first such ID posted from someone’s smartphone.

2020 election deniers ordered to pay $1 million in Pennsylvania voting machine dispute  – WSIL TV

House Democrats ask Trump if he illegally accepted $10 million from Egypt  – The Washington Post

Judge mulls sentencing delay in Trump hush money trial as Putin trolls Harris over her laugh: Live updates  – The Independent

Alaska Supreme Court keeps federal prisoner on ballot for U.S. House race after appeal denied  – Alaska’s News Source

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has issued search warrants targeting a number of Democrat activists in Bexar County, the state’s fourth-highest populated county, which includes the major city of San Antonio. The searches involve alleged ballot box voter tampering.

Paxton stated, “We are completely committed to protecting the security of the ballot box and the integrity of every legal vote. This means ensuring accountability for anyone committing election crimes.”

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Excerpt from news.google.com

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s (R) office executed search warrants in one of the state’s largest urban counties — and biggest Democratic strongholds — where it alleges vote tampering.

On Tuesday, the attorney general’s office searched offices in Bexar County, the state’s fourth most populous county and the home of San Antonio.

The office said the searches followed a two-year investigation and that “secure elections are the cornerstone of our republic.”

The searches came amid a broader push by Paxton to prosecute election fraud — a campaign that in 2023 spent $2.3 million to prosecute just four cases, according to the Houston Chronicle.

“We are completely committed to protecting the security of the ballot box and the integrity of every legal vote. This means ensuring accountability for anyone committing election crimes,” Paxton said in a statement.

The office said the case was referred by state District Attorney Audrey Louis, a conservative Republican whose district abuts Bexar.

Louis made that referral in 2022, after a unanimous 2021 ruling by the Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA). Appellate court judges found that Paxton could not unilaterally investigate election crimes and required him to only prosecute such cases in conjunction with a local DA — a ruling that drove Paxton to urge supporters to flood the court with calls.

15 states have come together to sue the Biden administration over its intentions to provide free healthcare to illegal aliens, specifically so-called “Dreamers.” The complaint claimed, “Aliens granted deferred action under DACA are not included in the definition of such qualified aliens… DACA recipients are, by definition, unlawfully present in the United States.”

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Excerpt from trendingpoliticsnews.com

A partnership of 15 states, led by Kansas, has filed a lawsuit to block the federal government from providing taxpayer-funded healthcare through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to illegal immigrants. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, joined by attorneys general from 14 other states, filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota, Western Division. The lawsuit targets the U.S. government and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as defendants.

The core of the lawsuit is a recent CMS rule that expands the definition of individuals “lawfully present” in the U.S. to include recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The change would make DACA recipients eligible for ACA benefits, a move the coalition of states argued is both illegal and financially burdensome.

The complaint argued that DACA recipients, who are unlawfully present in the U.S. by definition, should not be eligible for federal public benefits under the ACA. The states assert that this CMS rule violates the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), which restricts eligibility for federal benefits to certain qualified aliens. The lawsuit contends that DACA recipients do not fall within this category.

“Aliens granted deferred action under DACA are not included in the definition of such qualified aliens,” the complaint states. It further argued that “DACA recipients are, by definition, unlawfully present in the United States.”

 

In a gesture that seems as meaningful as yelling at clouds, the House Judiciary Committee released its report on the investigation into whether President Joe Biden should face impeachment charges or not. The committee found Biden has used his office to sell influence to foreign powers for millions of dollars.

The report claimed, “Our impeachment inquiry shows conclusively that Joe Biden abused his public office for the private financial benefit of the Biden family and Biden business associates.”

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Excerpt from thepostmillennial.com

The House Judiciary Committe has concluded that President Joe Biden has committed “impeachable offenses” and that he “abused his public office for the private financial benefit of the Biden family and Biden business associates.” Other actions were also revealed in the report, which is part of their ongoing impeachment inquiry.

In a post on Monday, the committee stated, “Our impeachment inquiry shows conclusively that Joe Biden abused his public office for the private financial benefit of the Biden family and Biden business associates. The facts speak for themselves, and Democrats can no longer stretch the truth to cover for President Biden.

The findings from the near 300-page inquiry report concludes that Biden committed “impeachable offenses.” Some of the actions touched on in the report include that the president sought to “monetize Joe Biden’s office of public trust to enrich the Biden family” from 2014 to the present, “afforded special treatment to President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden” during his prosecution, as well as “obstructed the Committees’ impeachment inquiry by withholding key documents and witnesses.”

Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN) is the latest victim of the DNC-CCP’s lawfare assault on the GOP, finding his home raided by the DOJ one day after winning his GOP primary. Ogles is a self-described MAGAs supporter.

As the DOJ adds to its political victims, U.S. District Judge,  and top DNC-CCP lawfare assassin, Tanya Chutkan, is pushing forward with her lawfare assault on Donald Trump, rejecting Trump’s dismissal appeal in the wake of the SCOTUS ruling that renders much, if not all, of her charges moot, a sentiment shared even by MSNBC’s own legal expert.

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Excerpt from www.washingtonexaminer.com

Alvin Bragg’s office faces lawsuit over records related to Trump prosecution

A lawsuit was filed Tuesday against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg‘s office, alleging the elected Democrat illegally withheld records related to the felony hush money case against former President Donald Trump.

The complaint, filed by the conservative group America First Legal, was prompted by Bragg’s repeated denials of AFL’s Freedom of Information Law requests, which sought communications between Bragg’s office, the Biden administration, and other parties potentially involved in what AFL described as the “partisan persecution” of Trump, the Republican presidential nominee.

“There should be nothing to hide,” AFL Vice President Daniel Epstein said in a statement. “If improper ex parte communications influenced what is supposed to be nonpartisan prosecutorial conduct, all Americans are at risk.”

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Excerpt from www.thegatewaypundit.com

FBI Raids MAGA Rep. Andy Ogles Over Campaign Donations Days After He Defeated RINO in GOP Primary

Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), a staunch supporter of the MAGA movement, was targeted by federal authorities just days after securing a hard-fought victory in the Republican primary against a RINO challenger.

The raid, reported by local outlet WTVF on Tuesday.

Ogles, who represents a significant portion of Nashville, has been under scrutiny for his campaign’s financial practices. The timing of the raid, coming so soon after his primary win on August 1, has raised eyebrows and sparked allegations of political persecution.

Many conservatives see this as yet another example of the weaponization of federal agencies against those who dare to challenge the establishment.

According to Daily Mail, Ogles admitted to making ‘mistakes’ on his campaign finance disclosures earlier this year. He filed numerous amended reports in May, acknowledging that he had not personally loaned his campaign $320,000 as previously claimed. Other amendments led to further retractions of statements made to the Federal Election Commission.

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Excerpt from conservativeroof.com

Judge Chutkan Rejects Trump’s Motion to Dismiss Election Case, Schedules Status Conference

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has set a status conference for mid-August in the case involving classified documents against former President Donald Trump. She also rejected his legal team’s request to dismiss the indictment.

The status conference, scheduled for August 13 at a federal courthouse in Washington, D.C., will cover procedural issues and outline the next steps in the case, according to an order signed by Judge Chutkan on August 3.

Chutkan has directed both the prosecution and defense to file a joint status report by August 9. This report should update the court on the case’s progress and may include details on any agreements or disagreements between the parties, as well as completed tasks and upcoming deadlines.

In the same order, Chutkan granted a temporary delay on the deadlines for briefing on special counsel Jack Smith’s motion to restrict the evidence and arguments that Trump’s legal team can present during the trial, especially those deemed irrelevant or prejudicial by prosecutors.

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Excerpt from trendingpoliticsnews.com

MSNBC Legal Expert Gives The Left Bad News About Trump’s DC Case

On Monday, legal expert Joyce Vance delivered her distinct opinion on the likelihood of former President Donald Trump’s impending trial in Washington, D.C. taking place before this November’s election. According to Vance, there is “absolutely no chance” of the trial proceeding in that timeframe, setting the stage for more political drama as Trump faces four felony charges related to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

The scheduled March trial date was previously postponed by District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan while Trump’s appeal regarding presidential immunity was still under consideration. The maneuver effectively delayed any possibility of a trial before the election, a scenario that has significant implications for Trump and the 2024 election.

“So there’s absolutely no chance this one is getting to trial,” Vance started. “That’s because the way the Supreme Court structured this decision, Judge Chutkan will make her rulings and if she permits any of the charges to go forward, any of the allegations in the indictment to remain in place, indicates that the government can use any of this evidence despite Trump’s claims that it’s all now cloaked in presidential immunity, there will be a round two appeal.”

“The way immunity works and the Supreme Court makes this clear. The whole point of having immunity is you shouldn’t have to stand trial for charges that you have immunity from. So Trump will inevitably take objection to anything that she permits to move forward. You know, I look back longingly on our days when we all assumed presidents like anyone else in the country could be prosecuted for criminal conduct.”

 

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Excerpt from Crossroads Today

Arizona AG drops election subversion charges against former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis in exchange for testimony

Former Donald Trump 2020 campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in the Arizona election subversion case, the state’s attorney general announced Monday, and charges against her will be dropped.

Ellis is expected to cooperate with prosecutors and testify against other defendants in the criminal case as part of her deal. She was originally charged with multiple felony counts in Arizona related to her alleged role in the effort to put forward fake slates of electors as part of a broader conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election results on Trump’s behalf.

Last year, Ellis pleaded guilty in the Georgia election case and was sentenced to five years of probation and $5,000 in restitution. Ellis was charged alongside several Trump allies, including his former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Rudy Giuliani in both Arizona and Georgia. Meadows and Giuliani have pleaded not guilty in both cases.

“If I knew then what I know now, I would have declined to represent Donald Trump in these post-election challenges. I look back on this experience with deep remorse,” Ellis said in a statement after her guilty plea in Georgia.

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Excerpt from news.google.com

US supreme court won’t stop Trump sentencing from going ahead

The US supreme court has declined to halt Donald Trump’s upcoming sentencing for his conviction in state court in New York on felony charges involving hush money paid to an adult film star, Stormy Daniels, and a related gag order until after the 5 November election.

The decision by the justices came in response to a lawsuit by the state of Missouri claiming that the case against Trump infringed on the right of voters under the US constitution to hear from the Republican presidential nominee as he seeks to regain the White House, Reuters reports.

Trump is set to be sentenced on 18 September in Manhattan. He was found guilty in May of all 34 counts of falsifying business records in a criminal hush-money scheme to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.

 

In a bold move from a President who is rumored not to be President at all, the Biden administration released plans to “reform” the Supreme Court by creating “binding ethics rules” that could lead to easier removal of justices, term limits, which could conveniently target the two oldest justices, both of whom happen to be reliable conservative justices.

The “reform” also includes the elimination of Presidential immunity, making sitting Presidents vulnerable to the lawfare assaults of their rival, raising the cost of losing elections logarithmically. The Speaker of the House said Biden’s reforms are “dead on arrival,” to wit Biden responded, “that’s what he – he is – dead on arrival.”

As public confidence in US Supreme Court sinks, Biden unveils plan for changes

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Excerpt from www.stltoday.com

President Joe Biden is unveiling a long-awaited proposal for changes at the U.S. Supreme Court, calling on Congress to establish term limits and an ethics code for the court’s nine justices. He also is pressing lawmakers to ratify a constitutional amendment that would limit presidential immunity.

The White House on Monday detailed the contours of Biden’s court proposal, one that appears to have little chance of being approved by a closely divided Congress with just 99 days to go before Election Day.

Still, Democrats hope it will help to focus voters as they consider their choices in a tight election. The likely Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, has sought to frame her race against Republican former President Donald Trump as “a choice between freedom and chaos.”

The White House is looking to tap into the growing outrage among Democrats about the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, issuing opinions that overturned landmark decisions on abortion rights and federal regulatory powers that stood for decades.

Biden’s Radical Plan To “Reform” The Supreme Court – Which Has Kamala’s Full-Throated Endorsement – Indicate A Party Totally In Thrall To Far-Left Extremists

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Excerpt from www.thegatewaypundit.com

On Monday, the Biden-Harris regime rolled out perhaps its most extreme policy yet – a fundamental transformation of the nation’s highest court that seeks to neuter it root and branch of political independence, converting it into yet another cog that would irremediably carry out the marching orders of the Democratic Party’s leftmost flank.

Biden’s radical plan, which he claimed would help “strengthen the guardrails of democracy,” is anything but small-d democratic: it amounts to a power-grab by the Executive Branch, intended to eradicate separation of powers, and guarantee the Supreme Court marches to the increasingly totalitarian dictates of the regnant political order…

Among the radical reforms proposed, which come straight from Karl Marx and Saul Alinsky’s playbooks, include a dramatic “restructuring” that would end presidential immunity, full stop, allowing the Biden regime to carry out its weaponized lawfare against President Trump and his loyal supporters unencumbered by checks and balances.

Moreover, Biden and Harris have endorsed “term limits” for Supreme Court justices

and, perhaps most insidiously of all, want to hold the justices to “binding ethics rules” – which would presumably allow tyrannical presidents to switch out a rogue justice who ruled antithetically to their desired policy, such as on abortion or election integrity.

Biden, Harris Endorse Supreme Court ‘Reform’ Bill That Would Push Out Conservative Justices

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Excerpt from freebeacon.com

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday endorsed a bill that limits Supreme Court justices to 18-year terms and allows presidents to add a new justice every two years—effectively allowing the Biden administration to push out the Court’s conservative majority.

“I support a system in which the president would appoint a justice every two years to spend 18 years in active service on the Supreme Court,” Biden wrote in a Washington Post op-ed, endorsing the Supreme Court Biennial Appointments and Term Limits Act. Harris, the new presumptive Democratic nominee, also supported the legislation in a Monday statement.

The bill would effectively enable the executive branch to shift the Court from its 6-3 conservative majority to a 5-4 progressive majority by replacing Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Clarence Thomas with new appointees, the Dispatch‘s John McCormack reported. Thomas has served for 32 years, while Roberts hit the 18-year mark last September.

The bill, introduced by Senate Democrats in October, states that a replaced justice would take “senior status” and sit out of appellate jurisdiction cases but “retain the authority to hear original jurisdiction cases and to exercise all other powers of the office.” If passed, the legislation would, according to Biden, “reduce the chance that any single presidency radically alters the makeup of the Court for generations to come” and help “restore the public’s faith in the Supreme Court.”

Biden Says Speaker Mike Johnson Is ‘Dead on Arrival’ After GOP Leader Vows to Kill SCOTUS Reform

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Excerpt from www.westernjournal.com

Lame duck President Joe Biden lashed out at House Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday after Johnson indicated Biden’s plan to change the rules for appointing Supreme Court justices has no chance of passing the House.

As noted in a video posted to X after Biden arrived in Austin, Texas, a reporter called out, “Mr. President, House Speaker Johnson says your Supreme Court reform is ‘dead on arrival.’ What is your reaction, sir?”

After being told a second time that Johnson made the comment, Biden said, “I think that’s what he is, adding moments later, “That he is — dead on arrival,” according to the White House official transcript.

 

Despite being the now-official Democrat Party Presidential nominee, Kamala Harris received no new powers from President Joe Biden, who allegedly issued orders delegating Presidential authority on several assigned duties to various members of his cabinet. Some of the members include Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

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Excerpt from www.pravda.com.ua

US President Joe Biden has delegated his authority over the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians Act to the heads of the US Departments of Treasury and State.

Source: White House memorandum

Details: The memorandum says that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have been given the authority “vested in the president” by a number of provisions of the law.

This refers to the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians Act.

In particular, it concerns the possibility of seizing frozen Russian assets in favour of Ukraine.

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Excerpt from unn.ua

Joe Biden has delegated the authority to support Ukraine to the US Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of State. This was reported by the White House, according to UNN.

U.S. President Joe Biden has officially delegated some of his authority under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

According to the memorandum, the Minister of Finance will now be responsible for the financial aspects of the implementation of aid to Ukraine, while the Secretary of State will deal with diplomatic and strategic issues.

According to Biden, this authority will apply to any future legislation of a similar nature.

The Minister of Finance has been instructed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

Kamala Harris is still actively raising money for Minnesota Freedom Fund, an organization that bails out violent criminals, especially ones burning down cities and looting stores in the name of “racial” and/or “LGBTQ+” JUSTICE!  Harris’ tweet from June 1, 2020, declared “If you’re able to, chip in now to the @MNFreedomFund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota.”

The fund’s own director at the time, identified as Lewin, revealed the principles of the fund, saying “I often don’t even look at a charge when I bail someone out. I will see it after I pay the bill because it is not the point. The point is the system we are fighting.”

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Excerpt from freebeacon.com

Minnesota Freedom Fund posted bail for rapists and other violent criminals

Vice President Kamala Harris is actively raising money for a bail fund that busts violent criminals from jail as her nascent presidential campaign signals her candidacy will lean heavily on her roots as a tough-on-crime former prosecutor.

Harris urged her followers to donate to the Minnesota Freedom Fund in June 2020 as Black Lives Matter rioters wreaked havoc in Minneapolis in the days following George Floyd’s death. Harris’s fundraising efforts helped the fund raise more than $41 million in 2020, but the group only used a small fraction of that bounty—$210,000—to bail rioters out of jail. The remaining funds helped post bail for violent criminals such as Christopher Boswell, a twice-convicted rapist who was freed from jail in 2020 pending kidnapping and sexual assault charges after the Minnesota Freedom Fund paid $350,000 for his release.

“The last time we were down there, the clerk said, ‘we hate it when you bail out these sex offenders, that is what they said,’” former Minnesota Freedom Fund interim executive director Greg Lewin told Fox9 in August 2020.

The Minnesota Freedom Fund continues to reap dividends from Harris’s fundraising efforts well into 2024. The vice president’s fundraising page for the group, which contains a photo of a triumphant Harris before a crowd of supporters alongside her 2020 campaign logo, is active and accepted a contribution from this reporter on Monday morning.

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Excerpt from www.washingtonpost.com

Special counsel Jack Smith formally filed notice on Wednesday that he will appeal a Florida judge’s decision to dismiss Donald Trump’s 40-count indictment for allegedly mishandling classified documents and obstructing government efforts to retrieve them.

The appeal, laying out Smith’s argument for why the case should not be dismissed, is expected to land in the coming weeks in the Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit — an appeals court in Atlanta whose jurisdiction covers Florida.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has ruled that the appointment of special council Jack Smith by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland was unconstitutional, calling the cases cited by Jack Smith’s office to back up his claim irrelevant to the constitutional issues at hand. This means that the classified documents charges against Trump are necessarily thrown out.

Cannon concluded, “The Framers gave Congress a pivotal role in the appointment of principal and inferior officers. That role cannot be usurped by the Executive Branch or diffused elsewhere — whether in this case or in another case, whether in times of heightened national need or not.”

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Excerpt from abcnews.go.com

WASHINGTON — The federal judge presiding over the classified documents case of former President Donald Trump in Florida dismissed the prosecution on Monday, siding with defense lawyers who said the special counsel who filed the charges was illegally appointed.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon brings a stunning and abrupt conclusion to a criminal case that at the time it was filed was widely regarded as the most perilous of all the legal threats that the Republican former president confronted. Trump faced dozens of felony counts accusing him of illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and obstructing FBI efforts to get them back.

Defense lawyers filed multiple challenges to the case, including a legally technical one that asserted that special counsel Jack Smith had been illegally appointed under the Constitution’s Appointments Clause, which governs the appointment of certain government positions, and that his office was improperly funded by the Justice Department.