September 16, 2024
WI Attorney General’s Fraudulent ‘Fake Electors’ Case Exposed– thefederalist.com
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When Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul held a state capitol-steps press conference in early June to announce “forgery” charges against two former attorneys and an aide to former President Donald Trump for an alleged crime that took place nearly four years ago, it felt like the fix was in.
New unsealed documents in Dane County Circuit Court suggest the real forgery is Kaul’s politically weaponized investigation into Trump allies involved in the 2020 alternative electors contingency plan — what Kaul and corporate media have falsely billed as a “fake electors scheme.”
The filing, first reported on Thursday by Wisconsin conservative talk show host Vicki McKenna and conservative activist Eric O’Keefe, sheds light on another dark prosecution that looks a lot like Wisconsin’s infamous John Doe investigation. That leftist prosecutor-led star chamber of more than a decade ago was declared a “perfect storm of wrongs” by the state’s supreme court and used as a national blueprint for the left’s penchant for weaponized justice.
While Kaul’s early June press conference — covered by news outlets across the country — was orchestrated for maximum exposure, his move to seal the subpoenas and silence the defendants was designed to keep the full story in the dark. More than three months after the attorney general’s office sought and received the secret subpoenas, the key documents have finally been unsealed. The raised curtain exposes a prosecutor going against his own justice department to pursue a political prosecution.
IRS Whistleblowers File Defamation Lawsuit Against Hunter Biden’s Lawyer › American Greatness– amgreatness.com
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On Friday, two whistleblowers from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) filed a lawsuit against Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, for defamation.
As reported by the Daily Caller, the lawsuit was fired by whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, who first came forward with claims that the Biden-Harris Administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) was giving preferential treatment to the president’s son during the investigation into his tax crimes.
In the new lawsuit, the whistleblowers allege that Lowell caused “incredible and malicious harm” by making numerous defamatory statements. The plaintiffs are seeking a total of $20 million in damages, with $10 million for each of them.
“It is particularly ironic and damaging that a well-known attorney like Lowell — in his words, ‘one of the country’s foremost white collar defense and trial lawyers’ that is ‘widely viewed as counsel of choice for individuals facing government investigations and potential indictments’— has chosen to falsely accuse these special agents of criminal behavior,” the lawsuit states.
“Lowell’s stature and credibility in the legal community have amplified the harm caused by his defamatory statements,” the complaint continues. “Lowell’s malicious and false allegations, including accusations that Shapley and Ziegler ‘committed felonies’ and ‘violated the law,’ were published to third parties, including the media, and have severely harmed their professional and personal reputations.”
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.
Hours after Trump’s lawyers submitted their petition, Hellerstein said they hadn’t met the legal bar to take the case out of state court. Nothing in the Supreme Court’s July ruling that Trump has broad immunity for official acts as president “affects my previous conclusion that the hush money payments were private, unofficial acts, outside the bounds of executive authority,” Hellerstein wrote. He also said Trump’s allegations of “bias, conflicts of interest and appearances of impropriety” in the state trial must be adjudicated in state court.
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.
After SCOTUS ruling, special counsel suggests ‘comprehensive’ briefing on allegations in Trump’s election fraud case – WUSA9.com
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
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Biden administration hits Russia with sanctions over efforts to manipulate U.S. opinion ahead of the election – NBC News
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The Departments of Justice, State and Treasury announced Wednesday a joint effort to target with sanctions and criminal charges what the Biden administration says are Russian government-sponsored attempts to manipulate U.S. public opinion ahead of the November election.
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced charges against two employees of the Russian-backed media network RT accused of conspiring to commit money laundering and violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act in an indictment unsealed Wednesday in the Southern District of New York.
“The American people are entitled to know when a foreign power is attempting to exploit our country’s free exchange of ideas in order to send around its own propaganda,” Garland said.
Russia’s election influence efforts show sophistication, officials say – The Washington Post
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Excerpt:
The Russian government’s covert efforts to sway the 2024 presidential election are more advanced than in recent years, and the most active foreign threat this political season, U.S. intelligence officials said Friday.
Russia’s activities “are more sophisticated than in prior election cycles,” said a senior official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) in a briefing with reporters, noting the use of “authentic U.S. voices” to “launder” Russian government propaganda and spread socially divisive narratives through major social media, as well as on sham websites that pose as legitimate American media organizations.
Moscow is targeting U.S. swing states in particular, the official said, and using artificial intelligence to more quickly and convincingly create fake content to shape the outcome in favor of former president Donald Trump.
YouTube Axes Tenet Media’s Channel Without Due Process– thefederalist.com
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The widely used video platform YouTube removed Tenet Media and related channels from its services on Thursday after the Justice Department accused the company of partaking in a secret Russian influence operation.
The revelation comes days after the Biden Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the seizure of nearly three dozen internet domains it alleged were used in “Russian government-directed foreign malign influence campaigns colloquially referred to as ‘Doppelganger,’ in violation of U.S. money laundering and criminal trademark laws.” According to Fox News, the unsealed indictment alleged a pair of Russian state media staffers had been covertly funding a Tennessee-based, American content creation company identified in reports as Tenet Media” and other shell companies with the goal of spreading what the DOJ classified as “Russian government propaganda.”
The indictment contended that Tenet Media “published nearly 2,000 videos to social media platforms such as X and YouTube, and failed to inform viewers it was financed by the Kremlin,” the report reads.
Right-wing influencers such as Dave Rubin, Tim Pool, and Benny Johnson are among those affiliated with the company. Many of these figures have since denied knowledge of the company’s alleged ties to Russia and proclaimed to be “victims” of Moscow’s purported influence operation.
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Excerpt from CNN
DOJ alleges Russia funded US media company linked to right-wing social media stars
The unnamed Tennessee-based company that the Justice Department alleges was being funded by Russian operatives working as part of a Kremlin-orchestrated influence operation targeting the 2024 US election is Tenet Media, which is linked to right-wing commentators with millions of subscribers on YouTube and other social media platforms, according to a US official briefed on the matter.
The indictment unsealed in New York’s Southern District accused two employees of RT, the Kremlin’s media arm, of funneling nearly $10 million to an unidentified company, described only as “Company 1” in court documents.
CNN has independently confirmed that “Company 1” is Tenet Media, which is a platform for independent content creators. It is self-described as a “network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues,” according to its website, which matches language contained in the newly unsealed indictment.
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Excerpt from Real WV
Feds say Russia laundered $10M through unwitting social media influencers, including a WV man
…On Wednesday, the United States Department of Justice issued a federal indictment which charges Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva with a scheme. The indictment says they created, in the words of their own editor, “an ‘entire empire of covert projects’ designed to shape public opinion in ‘Western audiences.’”
Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva work for RT, the indictment says. “RT, formerly known as ‘Russia Today,’ is a state-controlled media outlet funded and directed by the Government of Russia.” …
Who were the influencers? Tenet Media began in late 2023 with influencers Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, David Rubin, and Lauren Southern. The indictment indicates at least one of them was being paid $400,000 per month plus a $100,000 signing bonus by Tenet Media (via funding from RT). Federal officials do not believe the right-wing American social media influencers knew they were being paid through a front company by Russian agents.
“The company never disclosed to the influencers or to their millions of followers its ties to RT and the Russian government,” says Attorney General Merrick Garland.
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Excerpt from The Washington Post
YouTube takes down right-wing channels linked to DOJ Russia indictments
YouTube took down several right-wing politics channels that had been linked with allegations from the Justice Department that Russian government employees were paying right-wing influencers in the United States to produce content.
The Google-owned video site “terminated” Tenet Media and four other channels run by right-wing media entrepreneur Lauren Chen as part of the company’s “ongoing efforts to combat coordinated influence operations,” a YouTube spokesperson said in an emailed statement Thursday.
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Excerpt from www.rt.com
US targeting ‘legitimate journalism’ with RT sanctions – Scott Ritter
Former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter has announced that the latest US sanctions imposed on RT mean he will be forced to end his work as a contributor to the Russian media outlet. Ritter insisted that his cooperation with RT has been nothing but “legitimate journalism.”
A former US Marine Corps major who also served as a UN weapons inspector in Iraq during the 1990s, Ritter came into the spotlight in 2003 when he opposed the US military operation against the Middle Eastern country. He argued that Saddam Hussein’s government did not possess weapons of mass destruction, despite Washington’s claims.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, Ritter stressed that the content of his contributions for RT and several other sanctioned media outlets “has been factually correct and analytically sound, and always of my own creation.”
While condemning Washington’s decision as running counter to “constitutional norms and values,” Ritter noted that he is “fully committed to obeying US law, and as such will be terminating all contractual relationships with both RT and Sputnik effective immediately.”
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Excerpt from BBC
Right-wing US influencers say they were victims of alleged Russian plot
Conservative US influencers say if the allegations are proven, they were deceived by Russian media executives following the release of an indictment charging Moscow with interfering in the 2024 US election.
The indictment accuses state broadcaster RT, formerly Russia Today, of paying a Tennessee firm $10m (£7.6m) to “create and distribute content to US audiences with hidden Russian government messaging”.
US media outlets identified the firm as Tenet Media, which describes itself as “network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues”.
Tenet Media, which was not directly named in the indictment, was founded in 2022 by conservative Canadian YouTuber Lauren Chen and her husband Liam Donovan. Tenet has not commented publicly on the allegations and did not respond to a request for comment.
The network employs several well-known right-wing US influencers – such as Tim Pool, David Rubin and Benny Johnson – who say they are “victims” of the alleged plot if it is proven.
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Excerpt fromThe Philadelphia Inquirer
Feds in Philly disrupt Russian-backed propaganda effort aimed at influencing U.S. presidential vote
Federal authorities in Philadelphia announced on Wednesday the dismantling of a wide-ranging, Russian-backed misinformation network targeting voters in Pennsylvania and five other swing states ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
The network — known colloquially as “Doppelganger” and which prosecutors said was run by a top aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin — sought to dupe Americans in key demographics into believing Kremlin-produced propaganda it spread online had been produced by legitimate American news outlets.
The campaign also sought to enlist the aid of unwitting influencers in America and other countries to spread disinformation, sow social media discord, and advance the campaign of former President Donald Trump, whom the program’s backers viewed as more supportive of Russian interests.
Justice Dept. charges two Russian media operatives in alleged scheme – The Washington Post
Right-Wing Influencers Deny Knowledge of Russian Funding – Rolling Stone
