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  1. #651
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    • The loser Donald Trump explains why he can't find so many of the former secretaries NY AG Letitia James wants to hear from


    A defense lawyer has explained why so many of Donald Trump's former executive assistants can't be located: they won't return his phone calls.

    New York Attorney General Letitia James demanded that Trump make his former secretaries available as she winds up her 3-year investigation of the former president's real estate and golf resort empire.

    She wants them to swear out affidavits explaining the process they used to organize and preserve Trump's personal business records, scant few of which have been produced for the AG's probe.

    "It is striking that counsel could not locate any of Mr. Trump's 12 former executive assistants," AG Special Counsel Andrew Amer had said in court papers on May 23.

    But most of the 12 missing former executive assistants had not responded to voicemails or failed to call back as promised, explained the latest filing in Trump's battle against James' document subpoeana.

    The filing gave this accounting for the 12 AWOL assistants:

    Three couldn't be located because they had not left forwarding numbers, the filing said, and a fourth had apparently changed their phone number.

    Six more had left forwarding numbers, but didn't return the lawyers' phone calls to those numbers, the filing said.

    Another former executive assistant's phone was out of service, and yet another was reached, promised to call back, but did not.

    That accounts for 11 of the dozen; the 12th was found in the week since the AG's office complained, and swore an affidavit stating "I have no formal document retention policy" that is now appended to the court record.

    One additional executive assistant swore out affidavits earlier this month — longtime staffer Rhona Graff, who worked at the the Trump Organization headquarters at Trump Tower in Manhattan, the filing said.

    The Manhattan judge presiding over the James-versus-Trump subpoeana battles, New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, has warned that failing to comply could trigger a retroactive, $10,000-a-day contempt-of-court fine, costing the former president more than a quarter-million dollars in additional fines.

    The court-ordered fine, for failing to fully comply with the AG's subpoena for his personal business documents, had been capped at $110,000 — and the contempt order lifted — but only conditionally.

    they won't return his phone calls
    Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

  2. #652
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    American Freedom Tour responds after call to keep MPD away from event

    Former President Donald Trump’s American Freedom Tour makes a stop at the Landers Center in Southaven, Mississippi on June 18.

    As of Thursday, June 2, no local law enforcement agency had been asked to provide security for the event, at least not yet.

    Memphis City Councilman Martavius Jones doesn’t want Memphis Police to give the former president an escort to the arena, which is a 15 to 20 minute drive south of the airport in Memphis, Tennessee.

    Councilman Jones told Action News 5 his reasons are financial, not political.

    “He’s notorious for not paying,” said Jones, “When you talk about these rallies, there are huge expenses that various jurisdictions have to pay, and these expenditures are not being reimbursed by the Trump campaign or Trump organization.”

    The Center for Public Integrity reported in 2020 that Trump owed nearly $2 million to 14 different police agencies and local governments for protection provided at his rallies.

    The City of El Paso told KXAN-TV last month it’s still waiting to be repaid more than half a million dollars for a 2019 event.

    Councilman Jones and Councilman JB Smiley Jr, a democratic candidate for Tennessee governor, plan to introduce a resolution to the full council next week, that asks the Memphis Police Department not to provide any manpower or resources for Trump’s appearance.

    “He’s no longer the president. He has a Secret Service detail, I think that’s sufficient,” said Smiley.

    Larry Ward, a spokesperson for the American Freedom Tour, said the councilmen’s proposal is “mean-spirited, partisan, preposterous and penurious.”

    “Perhaps,” said Ward, “the Memphis City Council should consult with the good members of the Memphis Police Department about withholding security for President Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the United States. I am not sure they would agree with the proposal, as protecting presidents is and has always been an unambiguous national security priority.”

    Action News 5 checked with MPD. Public Information Officer Major Karen Rudolph said, “If we are asked to assist any federal partner regarding the safety of a group or individual, we will assist.”

    MPD also said it had not been contacted by the American Freedom Tour.

    Lt. Dallas Wolfe, the PIO for the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, told us “SCSO has protocols to be utilized if asked to assist by other law enforcement agencies. Operational details are confidential and we would not release details about security plans.”

    According to Tish Clark with the DeSoto County Sherriff’s Department, “Nothing specific has been set up yet. The Secret Service will contact us and Southaven Police to put a plan in place.”

    Clark went on to say “DCSD provides inside security for all events that occur at Lander’s Center because it is a county taxpayer owned building. This event will be no different.”

    And a statement from the Landers Center read “Secret Service is in charge of security, as they were for his 2018 visit.”

    When asked if the American Freedom Tour paid in advance or had outstanding bills, Landers Center Executive Director Todd Mastry replied “The American Freedom Tour is in compliance with the contract.”

    Action News 5 also reached out to the U.S. Secret Service. As a former president, Donald Trump receives Secret Service protection for the remainder of his life.

    “Due to the need to maintain operational security,” Special Agent Steve Kopek said, “the U.S. Secret Service does not comment on the means, methods or resources used to conduct our protective operations.”

    Action News 5 also contacted the Southaven Police Department to see if SPD has been asked to help provide security for the event. SPD did not reply to our request for comment.

  3. #653
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    six months in jail


    • Fourth Trump Golf Course Appears To Be Violating Law By Using Presidential Seal


    The presidential seal has turned up as a marker at a fourth Trump golf course, a possible violation of federal law.

    On April 21, an Instagram user posted a photo of the seal at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. The picture shows a circular, blue-and-silver marker set in closely cropped grass, and an accompanying caption reads: “45th President 45 yards from hole on 18.”

    It is against the law to use the presidential seal in a way that could convey the impression of government approval or sponsorship of private-sector businesses. The West Palm Beach golf club is the fourth Trump property to feature the seal in possible violation of the statute, following a trend set at courses in the Bronx, New Jersey and Jupiter, Florida.

    Violations of the law can result in prison sentences of up to six months, although prosecutors have never prioritized charging people who misuse the seal.

    Trump’s West Palm Beach club is the former president’s go-to course when residing at nearby Mar-a-Lago.

    In 2018, a podcast named “Trump, Inc.” from ProPublica and WNYC, uncovered a batch of markers similar to the ones that have appeared recently at Trump properties. At the time, the Trump Organization blamed the incident on diehard supporters and quickly got rid of the markers. “The plaques were presented to the club by a small group of members, who are incredible fans of the president, in honor of Presidents’ Day weekend,” the business said in a 2018 statement to the podcast. “They were temporary and have since been removed.”

    But then they started popping up again. The owner of Eagle Sign and Design, a Kentucky-based company that manufactured the original markers, did not respond to requests for comment. Representatives of the Trump Organization also did not respond to inquiries.

  4. #654
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    Government expands investigation into Trump's social network deal

    Federal securities regulators have expanded their investigation into the planned merger between a blank check acquisition company and former President Trump's social media business, known as Truth Social, according to a Monday morning filing with the SEC.

    Why it matters: Truth Social's financial prospects are heavily reliant on investment tied to the merger, which may never come to pass.

    Backstory: The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating communications between the blank check company, called Digital World Acquisition Corp., and Trump. Of particular interest would be if the two sides negotiated prior to DWAC going public, which would have been illegal.

    What's new: DWAC previously disclosed that it was under investigation, but on Monday said that regulators are seeking "additional documents and information."


    • This includes communications regarding DWAC's due diligence of companies other than Trump's, if it occurred, relationships between DWAC and other entities (including its IPO underwriter E.F. Hutton), certain forward-looking statements and "certain elements of the transaction history for equity."


    State of play: Truth Social launched this past spring as a re-skinned Twitter, with Trump beginning to use it as a communication tool last month. He currently has 3.25 million followers on the platform.

  5. #655
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    I think trump is in a world of shit....the Jan 6th committee has proven he was told repeatedly he lost the election and that his legal challenges were crap, but still used the lie of wanting to raise money to stop the steal to grift for donations that weren't used for the purpose he said the funds would be used for.

    250 million was raised.....most of that went directly to trump.
    "I was a good student. I comprehend very well, OK, better than I think almost anybody," - President Trump comparing his legal knowledge to a Federal judge.

  6. #656
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    ^ Were his actions illegal, though?

  7. #657
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    Quote Originally Posted by panama hat View Post
    ^ Were his actions illegal, though?
    That's why they're having an investigation. To find out.

  8. #658
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    Supreme Court dismisses GOP effort to defend Trump immigration rule in court

    The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed an effort by Republican attorneys general to mount a legal defense of a Trump-era immigration restriction that the Biden administration has since rescinded and declined to defend in court.

    The case was procedural in nature, but at its heart was former President Trump’s “public charge rule,” a 2019 measure that had imposed new restrictions on poorer immigrants to the U.S., until the Biden administration ended the policy last year.

    The justices’ move Wednesday to dismiss the case leaves intact a lower appeals court ruling that rebuffed Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s (R) bid to step into the shoes of the Trump administration in hopes of reviving the public charge rule through a legal victory.

    The court’s dismissal was somewhat unusual, since the justices heard argument in the case earlier this term. Chief Justice John Roberts, in an opinion concurring with the court’s move, said the case ultimately raised too many legal questions that were beyond the scope of the issue the court had agreed to hear.

    “It has become clear that this mare’s nest could stand in the way of our reaching the question presented on which we granted certiorari, or at the very least, complicate our resolution of that question,” wrote Roberts, who was joined by conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch.

    Trump’s public charge rule sparked a number of legal challenges across the country that were in various stages of litigation when President Biden took the White House after campaigning on a pledge to roll back Trump’s hard-line immigration stance. Each of the five federal courts that addressed Trump’s policy either found it unlawful or in likely violation of the law.

    The Trump-era rule directed federal immigration authorities to deny U.S. entry and green card requests of immigrants who were likely to become reliant on government assistance. It also broadened the criteria for determining the likelihood that an immigrant would become dependent on taxpayer-funded aid, otherwise known as a “public charge.”

    Under the policy, an immigrant would be considered a public charge if they receive at least one public benefit for more than 12 months within any three-year period. These benefits include Medicaid, food stamps, welfare or public housing vouchers. The Trump administration rule also examined the likelihood of an immigrant using such benefits in the future.

    Supporters of Trump’s rule, which updated an existing Clinton-era regulation, characterized it as a commonsense way to ensure that U.S.-bound immigrants are self-sufficient, and to prevent welfare programs from being overburdened. Led by Arizona, the Republican attorneys general contended that the rule stands to save states $1 billion a year.

    Biden’s Department of Homeland Security rapidly rescinded the rule in March 2021, forgoing the usual public comment period that often precedes the unwinding of major regulations and citing the negative court treatment of the program as its reason for ending it so swiftly.

    Biden’s administration also abandoned the legal defense of the program that had been advanced by Trump’s Department of Justice, effectively allowing the legal preservation effort to die.

    In response, Republican attorneys general sought to defend the measure in court by essentially taking up the now defunct legal position held by Trump’s Department of Justice. The Biden administration opposed the move, and the Supreme Court’s dismissal on Wednesday lets stand the lower court rulings that rebuffed the Republican states’ request to intervene.

  9. #659
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Topper View Post
    I think trump is in a world of shit....
    I think it understands


    _________


    • The loser Trump Says He'll Look 'Very Seriously' At Pardoning Jan. 6 Defendants If Reelected


    Donald Trump said Friday that he would look “very, very seriously” at pardoning his supporters who were charged in last year’s violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol if he’s elected president again.

    Trump complained at a speech in Nashville, Tennessee, that people who were arrested after storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, were “having their lives totally destroyed and being treated worse than terrorists and murderers.”

    He added: “If I become president someday, if I decide to do it, I will be looking at them very, very seriously for pardons. Very, very seriously. They’ve been treated very unfairly.”

    Trump hasn’t yet declared he’s running for the presidency.

    He also falsely claimed that “most” of those arrested for the events of Jan. 6 were charged with nothing more than “parading through the Capitol.”

    There is no such “parading” charge. The defendants have in fact been charged with assault — including causing serious bodily injury to police officers — as well as destruction of property, theft, conspiracy, seditious conspiracy and trespassing, among other offenses, according to the Department of Justice.

    More than 840 people have been arrested. Rioters at the Capitol caused nearly $3 million in losses, including property damage, and some 140 police officers were injured in the violence.

    Trump’s comments follow three televised hearings by the House select committee investigating the insurrection. The committee has revealed how Trump and his allies threatened to topple the democratic system — and how near former Vice President Mike Pence came to an angry mob that called for his hanging because he had refused Trump’s orders to reject the 2020 election results.

    Staunch Trump supporter Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said earlier this year that a prior call by Trump to pardon the insurrectionists was “inappropriate,” leading Trump to angrily attack Graham as a “RINO” (Republican in name only). “Lindsey Graham doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about,” Trump said.

    The former president reiterated his position in his Nashville speech that Pence should have followed his orders and upended the election to keep Trump in the Oval Office.

    “I never called Mike Pence a wimp,” he said, denying testimony at the hearing. “I never called him a wimp. Mike Pence had a chance to be great … I say it sadly, because I like him, but Mike did not have the courage to act.”

  10. #660
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    Deborah Birx, former President Trump's coronavirus response coordinator, told a congressional hearing Thursday people were communicating "dangerous ideas" on the pandemic with him "on a daily basis."

    Driving the news: In her first testimony before a House panel about her time in the Trump administration, Birx said there was "continued communication of underplaying the seriousness of this pandemic" that led to inaction early on across government agencies, which "created a false sense of security in America."

    What she's saying: "It wasn't just the president — many of our leaders, were using words like 'we could contain,' and you cannot contain a virus that cannot be seen," Birx told the House select subcommittee on the coronavirus crisis."And it wasn't being seen because we weren't testing."


    • Birx noted "there were individuals communicating with the White House" who "believed that if you infected enough people that you would have herd immunity," despite there being no evidence of this and, "in fact, there was evidence to the contrary."


    The big picture: The committee released hundreds of pages of documents that included a transcript of interviews with Birx last October in which she stated that unnamed Trump officials would demand she change COVID-19 reports for governors' offices.


    • If the changes weren't made, "the governors' reports would not have gone out," Birx said. She added that changes would be made about 25% of the time.
    • "It was my job to refute them and that's where we got to the 25/75," she said of the ratio rate of fighting against weakening the guidance.


    Meanwhile, the House panel released an email from Scott Atlas, a senior fellow at the conservative Hoover Institution who joined the Trump administration in July 2020, stating in March of that year that the virus "would cause about 10,000 deaths."


    • Atlas wrote "the panic needs to be stopped, both about the need for lockdown and even the need for urgent testing."


    For the record: More than 1 million deaths from COVID-19 have been recorded in the U.S. since the pandemic began.

    The bottom line: Birx testified that such comments by Atlas contradicting advice from her and other pandemic experts including NIAID director Anthony Fauci "destroyed any cohesion in the response."


    • "When you no longer agree on what is actually happening in the country and what needs to be done … then you lose the ability to execute in the maximum efficient and effective way," Birx said.


    The other side: Representatives for Trump and Atlas could not immediately be reached for comment, but the former president said in a statement last year that Birx "was a very negative voice who didn’t have the right answers."


    • Atlas wasn't involved in the hearing, but previously played down his pandemic response role during an interview with committee staffers earlier this year, saying "Dr. Birx was responsible for the policies that were implemented previously and also during my time there and also after I left," per AP.



  11. #661
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    Subpoenas issued to directors of SPAC taking Trump's Truth Social network public

    A federal grand jury in New York has issued subpoenas to each board director of the blank check company that has agreed to take public Donald Trump's social media startup, Truth Social.

    Why it matters: This is in addition to previously disclosed investigations into the blank-check company by both the SEC and Justice Department, thus intensifying questions about Truth Social's financial future.

    Details: Digital World Acquisition Corp. on Monday disclosed the subpoenas, adding that some of the information requested was about communications with a Miami-based investment firm called Rocket One Capital.


    • It also said Bruce Garelick, chief strategy officer at Rocket One, is resigning from Digital World Acquisition's board of directors.


    By the numbers: Trump currently has 3.37 million followers on Truth Social, a far cry from the 88.7 million followers he had on Twitter before being banned in early 2021. It's worth noting, however, that Truth Social remains unavailable for Android users.

    What they're saying: Trump Media Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, this morning issued the following statement:

    "TMTG is focused on reclaiming the American people's right to free expression. Every day, our team works tirelessly to sustain Truth Social's rapid growth, onboard new users, and add new features. We encourage — and will cooperate with — oversight that supports the SEC's important mission of protecting retail investors."

    The bottom line: There have been some attempts to frame these investigations in political terms, but they appear to be more about apolitical securities law. Namely, that blank check companies can't court potential targets prior to their own IPOs — which is something Digital World Acquisition is speculated to have done.


  12. #662
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    Federal securities regulators and a federal grand jury in New York have subpoenaed former President Trump's social media company as part of their investigations into its pending deal to go public via a blank-check company called Digital World Acquisition Corp., according to a Friday disclosure.

    The big picture: Certain current and former members of Trump Media & Technology Group were also subpoenaed, but no specific individual names were disclosed.

    Why it matters: The investigation continues to expand and could delay or prevent TMTG from going public.

    Subpoenas previously were issued for members of the blank-check company.

    At issue is whether or not Digital World Acquisition held merger talks with Trump Media prior to its own IPO, which would have violated securities law.

    Trump Media operates the Truth Social app, led by former Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.). It also has ambitions to expand into video and other media.

    ___________


    • Put a Fork in Donald Trump—the Ex-President Is Done


    Mark it on your calendars. This was the week the meteoric political career of Donald Trump did what meteors often do and collided with planet Earth, leaving a large, ugly mark on the landscape.

    The fact that Trump may soon announce his candidacy for the presidency in the days ahead is itself more of a sign of his political collapse than it is of any strength he may have. The first time he ran for president, he did it because he thought it would boost his brand. This time he is likely to do it because he thinks it may make him more difficult to prosecute. And because he can use it to mount one last big attempt to fleece his supporters.

    Everywhere you looked this week there were stories that were the debris thrown into the air when Trump re-entered the atmosphere and, like all other space junk, turned into a bright orange fireball heading for oblivion. There were the revelations of White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson to the Jan. 6 committee and the reactions to her shocking, credible stories of a demented president who actively wanted to lead an armed insurrection against the U.S. governments. There were the actions of the Trump Supreme Court, which may itself be seen over the next few decades as the place the cratering president left his ugliest, most lasting mark. There was also the sight of Trump’s successor in Europe undoing the damage the 45th president sought to inflict on NATO and redoubling the Western alliance’s commitment to containing the threat posed by Trump’s benefactor, Vladimir Putin. There was even a reminder left hanging in the air of the sleazoid past of America’s worst president with the sentencing of Ghislaine Maxwell for her participation in sex trafficking on behalf of the late Trump pal and party buddy Jeffrey Epstein.

    You could not turn on a cable news show without seeing footage of the swirling remnants of Trump’s disastrous presidency, twisted character, and warped values.

    The testimony of Hutchinson, poised and courageous as she was, was damning for both Trump and for his former White House colleagues. It revealed with new clarity and shattering details their involvement in a seditious conspiracy against a government they had been entrusted to lead. It also showed their cowardice in not publicly standing up to Trump or revealing what they knew to the Congress, as the former aide to Mark Meadows was doing.

    Her testimony hit Washington and the U.S. political scene, also as large meteors can do, with the force of several atomic bombs. Even dyed-in-the-wool members of Team Trump began to abandon ship. They called it “damning,” “difficult to dismiss,” and “insane shit.” The Wall Street Journal ran an op-ed saying Trump should not run in 2024. The right-leaning Washington Examiner ran an editorial headlined “Trump proven unfit for power again.” Trump’s former attorney Ty Cobb said, “If this isn’t an insurrection I don’t know what is.” Former Trump Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney wrote, “Things could get very dark for the former president” after Hutchinson’s testimony.

    Speaking at one of the sacred sites of the Republican right, the Ronald Reagan Library in California, Jan. 6 committee vice chair Liz Cheney (R-WY) got enthusiastic support from the crowd during a searing speech following this week’s hearing when she said, “It’s undeniable—the Republican Party cannot be both loyal to Donald Trump and loyal to the Constitution.”

    Even before the blockbuster testimony of Hutchinson, Trump was starting to suffer politically. One New Hampshire poll showed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a dead heat with Trump among GOP voters. National polls also show Trump’s lead over DeSantis shrinking. Not that Sunshine Fascist DeSantis represents a big improvement, as the implementation of his signature “Don’t Say Gay” legislation is demonstrating. In one Florida school district, it is reported, teachers were warned “not to wear rainbow articles of clothing, to remove pictures of their same-sex spouses from their desks and to remove LGBTQ safe space stickers from classroom doors.”)

    Further, the impact of the decisions of the Supreme Court majority that was engineered by Trump with the aid of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and a large false testimony about Roe v. Wade from the justices Trump added as well as the Jan. 6 committee also had considerable political ramifications. Democrats showed substantial recent gains in generic ballots. So thanks to both the former president and his handiwork on the high court, Republicans look more vulnerable, and to the degree to which he is seen as no longer having the magic touch of helping the party, that could be the final nail in the coffin for Trump.

    While some on the right sought to challenge Hutchinson’s testimony, they did not do so on the record and they did not challenge any of her core assertions—including that Trump knew the crowd on Jan. 6 was armed and that he wanted to lead the crowd in its assault on Capitol Hill. She stood by her assertions. Further, many in the legal community saw the testimony as a turning point in making the criminal case against Trump. In so doing, they raise the specter of future prosecution and even conviction of Trump and those around him, which suggests that as bad as his political position looks today, it is only likely to get worse.

    That is precisely why Trump may announce his campaign soon. That, and of course, the ability to raise more money from supporters. The fact that he has a track record of not actually using the money he raises for the purposes he claims and that nonetheless his donors keep on giving seem like reason enough to do so given the irresistible allure scams hold for Trump. That these scams also might place him in legal jeopardy have not deterred him in the past… but may, again, contribute in the future to his lasting political demise.

    With more hearings on tap in July from the extremely effective Jan. 6 committee, a major case against Trump seemingly gaining steam in Fulton County, Georgia, the Justice Department taking the phones of a top lawyer and going after the Department of Justice patsy Trump sought to install as acting attorney general to help advance his coup scheme, it is fair to conclude that as bad as this week was for Trump, when the dust settles, he and we will find matters have only gotten worse for him, that, as of this week, he has once and for all plummeted to Earth and that finally and forever more, all the former president’s Fox friends and all of his men will not be able to put the brief shimmering political career of Donald Trump back together again. https://www.thedailybeast.com/put-a-...-done?ref=home

  13. #663
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    Just as I feared, it's becoming a Landreth spamfest. Take it back to TC landreth.

  14. #664
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cujo View Post
    Just as I feared, it's becoming a Landreth spamfest. Take it back to TC landreth.
    When you're a mod, cujo, when you're a mod.
    Until then red him or STFU

  15. #665
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    Donald Trump : Former POTUS-slow220705-gif

  16. #666
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    Georgia grand jury investigating Trump wants testimony from Giuliani, Graham and others

    The Georgia prosecutor examining former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the state's 2020 election results is seeking to compel several Trump allies, including Rudy Giuliani and Sen. Lindsey Graham, to testify before the special grand jury investigating the scheme.

    Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis petitioned the judge overseeing the panel to issue certificates determining Giuliani, Graham and others are material witnesses to the investigation, the first step in asking courts in other states to compel the witnesses to appear in Georgia. Conservative attorney John Eastman and pundit Jacki Deason were also identified as material witnesses, as well as Trump attorneys Cleta Mitchell, Kenneth Chesebro and Jenna Ellis.

    The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported the move to compel the witnesses' testimony. The certificates state the witnesses would be required to testify as early as July 12.

    Requests seeking comment from Giuliani and a Graham spokesman were not immediately returned on Tuesday.

    The certificate naming Giuliani as a material witness noted his appearance at a hearing before the Georgia state senate in December 2020. Serving as Trump's personal attorney, Giuliani presented allegations of voter fraud that were quickly debunked, yet he continued to repeat them publicly, the certificate said.

    "There is evidence that the Witness's appearance and testimony at the hearing was part of a multi-state, coordinated plan by the Trump Campaign to influence the results of the November 2020 election in Georgia and elsewhere," the certificate said.

    The document for Graham's testimony states that he spoke to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger shortly after the election. Graham "questioned Secretary Raffensperger and his staff about reexamining certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome" for Trump, the certificate states.

    Graham has acknowledged the phone calls in the past and dismissed any allegations of wrongdoing, telling "Face the Nation" in January that he "asked about how the system worked when it came to mail-in voting, balloting."

    President Biden won Georgia in 2020 by a narrow margin, and Republican election officials in the state have repeatedly stated and testified that allegations of widespread voter fraud are baseless.

    Trump pressured Raffensperger and other officials to "find" enough votes so he would win, according to a recording of a phone call between Trump and Raffensperger that CBS News obtained last year. During the call on Jan. 2, 2021, the president told Raffensperger, "All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state."

    The special grand jury was empaneled in January at the request of Willis, the district attorney. The investigation includes the call between Raffensperger and Trump, and the secretary of state was called to testify before the grand jury in June. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has also agreed to deliver a sworn recorded statement to the grand jury on July 25.

    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-g...indsey-graham/

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    I wonder who's going to be indicted first, one of trump's lawyers or Mark Meadows.

  18. #668
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    ^I’m thinking it might be the loser trump himself. But Meadows would be a good start until they’re able to gather all the evidence needed to convict trump.




    A Georgia district attorney on Wednesday said she will not rule out subpoenaing former President Donald Trump as part of her grand jury investigation into whether he criminally interfered in the 2020 election in that state.

    “Anything’s possible,” Fulton County DA Fani Willis told NBC News. Willis added that she is “absolutely” not ruling out a Trump subpoena.

    She also said she expects the grand jury in Atlanta to issue additional subpoenas to more Trump associates.

    The grand jury on Tuesday subpoenaed Trump’s former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, six other attorneys who worked with the Trump campaign to overturn Georgia’s election results as well as Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

    Graham’s lawyers on Wednesday said he would fight the subpoena for his testimony, saying it was all about “politics.” Prosecutors want to question Graham about calls he had with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on the heels of the November 2020 election, which President Joe Biden won.

    When asked about Graham’s response, Willis scoffed. “What do I have to gain from these politics?” she said. “It’s some inaccurate ... estimation. It’s someone that doesn’t understand the seriousness of what we’re doing.”

    She also wouldn’t rule out subpoenaing Trump’s family or former White House officials. “We’ll just have to see where the investigation leads us,” she said.

    “I think that people thought that we came into this as some kind of game,” Willis told NBC. “This is not a game at all. What I am doing is very serious. It’s very important work. And we’re going to do our due diligence and making sure that we look at all aspects of the case.”

    Willis wouldn’t elaborate on why she wants to question Giuliani and Graham, saying, “I’m not going to get into the details of the investigation, but this is what I will tell you: Election interference is a very important subject.”

    “And what is important is that the grand jurors hear from anyone that may have impacted this election,” she said.

    Willis opened the criminal probe last year after revelations that Trump called Raffensperger on Jan. 2, 2021, and asked him to “find” him enough votes to overturn Biden’s win.

    “All I want to do is this: I just want to find 11,780 votes,” Trump told Raffensperger in that call.

    That conversation occurred four days before the U.S. Congress began meeting to certify that Biden had won the Electoral College vote, which reflected the results in Georgia and several other swing states where the Trump campaign was challenging the outcome.

  19. #669
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    The IRS conducted purportedly random, intensive audits of two former top FBI officials who drew the ire of former President Trump, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.

    The Times published letters received by former FBI Director James Comey and Andrew McCabe, his deputy who became acting director after Trump fired Comey, indicating the IRS was conducting National Research Program audits of their 2017 and 2019 tax returns, respectively.

    “We must examine randomly-selected tax returns to better understand tax compliance and improve the fairness of the tax system,” both letters state.

    Trump has repeatedly criticized both men for their roles in investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election both during and after their time at the bureau.

    The Times reported that the odds of being selected for the specific audit were tiny, with the IRS having targeted about 1 in every 30,600 tax returns for the intensive scrutiny in 2017.

    “Maybe it’s a coincidence or maybe somebody misused the IRS to get at a political enemy,” Comey told the Times. “Given the role Trump wants to continue to play in our country, we should know the answer to that question.”

    Comey received a $347 refund after the audit, while McCabe, who echoed similar concerns about his audit, owed a small amount of money, according to the Times.

    “The revenue agent I dealt with was professional and responsive,” McCabe told the Times. “Nevertheless, I have significant questions about how or why I was selected for this.”

    Trump appointee Charles Rettig ran the IRS during both audits.

    The IRS in a statement to The Hill denied the audits were politically motivated but said allegations of wrongdoing are “routinely” referred to the Treasury Department’s inspector general for tax administration for further review.

    “Federal privacy laws preclude us from discussing specific taxpayer situations,” the IRS said.

    “Audits are handled by career civil servants, and the IRS has strong safeguards in place to protect the exam process — and against politically motivated audits,” the statement continued. “It’s ludicrous and untrue to suggest that senior IRS officials somehow targeted specific individuals for National Research Program audits.”

    A Trump spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.

    Both Comey and McCabe repeatedly came under fire from Trump during his presidency.

    Comey’s decision to reopen an investigation into then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s private email server two weeks before the 2016 election was seen by many Democrats as a factor in her eventual loss.

    But Trump fired Comey nearly four months into his term as president. At the time, Trump cited recommendations to dismiss Comey from then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions and then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

    But in the years since, Trump has offered varying explanations for why he removed the former FBI director and has at times acknowledged that the Russia investigation played a role.

    Comey’s firing in May 2017 led to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller to probe potential links between the Trump campaign and Russia as well as possible obstruction of justice.

    Sessions fired McCabe just a day before he was scheduled to retire amid allegations he lied about leaking information about Clinton’s private email server. McCabe filed a lawsuit in 2019 claiming his firing was politically motivated.

    ____________




    The Manhattan judge who is presiding over the New York attorney general's investigation into the Trump Organization on Tuesday found longtime Donald Trump appraisers Cushman & Wakefield in contempt of court and ordered they pay a $10,000-a-day fine — their penalty for "cavalierly" blowing a deadline for turning over documents last week.

    The judge, New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, set the identical daily fine when Trump himself failed to fully comply with subpoenas for documents in the investigation. Trump has had to forfeit a $110,000 check, his cumulative fine, to the AG's office before his contempt order was lifted.

    In Cushman's case, the fine will begin to accumulate on July 7, the judge wrote in an order that pointedly criticized the company for having "only itself to blame if it chose to treat the looming deadlines cavalierly."

    The subpoeana for the yet-filed documents had been filed back in September, and after repeated failed court challenges by Cushman, had come due on Wednesday.

    On Friday, lawyers for the AG asked Engoron to respond to the missed deadline — and to Cushman's request for a two-week extention — with an "enforcement" action instead.

    The documents that Cushman has yet to turn over must comply with these two requests, according to the subpoena: the first is for, "All documents and communications concerning any work performed for Donald J. Trump or the Trump Organization." The second request is for "All documents and communications concerning any work performed concerning property or assets owned by Donald J. Trump or the Trump Organization."

    In asking for more time, Cushman had complained that it was behind in parsing out the relevant communications from a database of 72 million pages of emails from current and former employees.

    "This Court finds that Cushman & Wakefield's willful non-compliance with Court-ordered deadlines warrants imposing sanctions to coerce compliance," the judge wrote.

    "Accordingly, this Court hereby finds Cushman & Wakefield, Inc., to be in contempt of Court and orders that, commencing July 7, 2022, Cushman & Wakefield shall be fined the sum of $10,000, to be paid to [the Office of the Attorney General], for every day that it fails to fully comply with OAG's subpoeanas.

    A rep for Cushman said the contempt order "demonstrates a failure to understand the extreme lengths Cushman has gone to in order to comply with the Court's order."

    Hundreds of thousands of pages and over 650 appraisals have been turned over since February, the rep added.

    "Cushman disagrees with any suggestion that the firm has not exercised diligence and good faith in complying with the Court's order, and we will be appealing this decision," he said.

  20. #670
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    The new documentary on former president Trump, his inner circle and his family is slated to debut this weekend on Discovery’s streaming service.

    The filmmaker behind the series, Alex Holder, recently testified to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

    All three episodes of “Unprecedented” will air on Sunday, July 10, and feature never-before-seen footage and interviews with Trump and members of his family.

    Holder, in public statements issued through his attorney, has said the Trump family had no control over what would be contained in the documentary.

    During a trailer of the series published recently, Trump is seen on camera telling Holder, “I think I treat people well, unless they don’t treat me well, in which case you go to war.”

  21. #671
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    Former President Trump and his son were among six board members removed from the board of Trump’s social media company weeks before it was hit with federal subpoenas, according to state records.

    Florida state business records showed Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and the four others were removed as board members of the Trump Media and Technology Group on June 8, based on a filing with the state’s Division of Corporations. Roughly three weeks later, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a grand jury in Manhattan subpoenaed the company.

    The news was first reported by The Herald-Tribune.

    Other board members removed include Wes Moss, Kashyap Patel, Andrew Northwall and Scott Glabe, according to the filing.

    A spokesperson for the Trump Media and Technology Group denied that Trump is no longer a board member in a statement posted on Truth Social, the social media app associated with Trump’s media company.

    “Contrary to an ‘exclusive’ fake news story filed by a reporter who is incapable of understanding state business records, Donald Trump remains on the board of Trump Media and Technology Group. In fact, the reporter acknowledges that Trump’s title is ‘chairman,’ but apparently has no clue what a chairman presides over. Hopefully this helps clarify things,” the post states.

    The statement does not acknowledge why the filing calls for Trump and others to be removed. A spokesperson for the company did not immediately respond to additional questions from The Hill.

    Both federal subpoenas appear focused on the merger between Trump’s media company and the special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, called Digital World Acquisitions Corp., based on regulatory filings.

    The company was launched, along with Truth Social, after Trump left office and was suspended from mainstream platforms like Twitter and Facebook after the companies found he violated their policies with tweets about the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

    Truth Social brands itself as pro-free speech with limited content moderation and caters to a right-wing audience. But it has failed to gain significant traction since launching.

    ______________




    A federal court on Tuesday reinstated endangered species protections that were loosened under the Trump administration.

    Judge Jon Tigar, an Obama appointee, vacated the rules in question.

    Under the Trump rules the Fish and Wildlife Service no longer provided the same protections to species that are considered threatened — those that are likely to become endangered — as they do for species that are endangered.

    The rules also would have allowed for the consideration of economic impacts in deciding whether to protect a species. Conservationists additionally raised concerns that the rules could limit the consideration of climate change.

    The Trump administration’s changes faced significant resistance from environmentalists, who brought the lawsuit.

    “The whole point of the Endangered Species Act is to give protections to species that are on the brink of extinction,” Kristen Boyles, an attorney at Earthjustice, told The Hill.

    “The Trump rules that have today been repealed did nothing to help species and in fact did affirmative harm to how species are protected in this country,” Boyles added. “By the court ruling today, we go back to the regulatory interpretation that had been in place for over 40 years.”

    The Trump administration said at the time it finalized the changes that it was “easing the regulatory burden on the American public.”

    Last year, the Biden administration had asked the court to order a second look at the Trump rules, but did not ask the court to nix the changed rules in the meantime.

    It said that getting rid of the Trump rules while it reassesses them “would cause confusion … by abruptly altering the applicable regulatory framework and creating uncertainty about which standards to apply.”

    Nevertheless, in the case, Tigar argued that since the Biden administration has indicated that it would reevaluate the regulations, it “seems doubtful” that getting rid of them entirely would add to the confusion.

    Interior Department spokesperson Tyler Cherry said that the department was “reviewing the decision” when asked for comment.

  22. #672
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    Former President Trump says he has made a decision about running for the White House again in 2024.

    The “big decision,” he told New York magazine in an interview published Thursday, is whether to announce before or after November’s midterm elections.

    “Well, in my own mind, I’ve already made that decision, so nothing factors in anymore. In my own mind, I’ve already made that decision,” he said.

    He added, “Do I go before or after? That will be my big decision.”

    Trump said announcing before the midterms could come with an advantage, dissuading other potential candidates from launching their own campaigns.

    “Let people know. I think a lot of people would not even run if I did that because, if you look at the polls, they don’t even register. Most of these people,” he said. “And I think that you would actually have a backlash against them if they ran. People want me to run.”

    He also said wasn’t worried about other potential 2024 GOP candidates and that he didn’t consider Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is widely considered the top Republican contender should Trump not run, a rival.

    Multiple sources told The Hill earlier this month that Trump and his allies have discussed making an announcement about his campaign status as early as this summer, and multiple news outlets reported that Trump was considering launching his campaign this month, possibly around the Fourth of July.

    But some advisers pushed against an earlier announcement, with one source telling The Hill there is no rush because Trump remains popular and influential in the Republican Party.

    One person knowledgeable about the discussions told New York magazine that Trump was prepared to announce his run on July 4, but allies like Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) were opposed to the idea because it would cause him to take responsibility for the midterm elections in November.

    In his interview, Trump denied considering a July 4 announcement.

    “I never said I was going to. That was just fake news. Somebody said that I was going to,” he said. “I don’t think it was any of our people.”

    A Republican strategist told The Hill that Trump announcing sooner would be beneficial for the former president but harmful for the party because it would support Democrats’ arguments tying the party to Trump.

    Trump may also be motivated to make his announcement on the earlier side to reinforce his argument that the work of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection is politically motivated.

    The committee has held a series of public hearings over the past month and is expected to release a final report on its findings later this year.

    Some committee members have discussed the possibility of recommending charges against Trump for his actions leading up to and during the riot.

    The Washington Post reported on Thursday that two advisers said Trump is looking at announcing in September, and one source said there is a 70 percent chance Trump announces before the midterms.

    The Post reported that Trump has begun meeting with top donors to discuss the 2024 election, and his team has instructed others to have an online infrastructure ready if he announces soon.

    The RealClearPolitics polling average shows Trump well ahead of his potential GOP challengers, averaging 53 percent of the vote, followed by DeSantis with 20.5 percent.

  23. #673
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    ^ And the train wreck starts . . .

  24. #674
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    If I understood this correctly, all he said is that he made a decision in his own mind , and we all know well tethered in reality that mind is, but he does not say what that decision is. IMO this is simply another attempt to keep himself relevant and string those stupid enough to still support him along.
    The sooner you fall behind, the more time you have to catch up.

  25. #675
    Guest Member S Landreth's Avatar
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    ^Damage control. These January 6th hearings have hurt his support (recent NYT poll)/image and it needs to draw some attention away from those hearings. And maybe that donate button on the truth social website hasn’t been clicked on enough.

    New York AG delays Trump deposition after Ivana Trump's death

    The deposition of former President Trump and two of his children has been delayed, the office of New York's attorney general said Friday, citing the death of Ivana Trump.

    Driving the news: "In light of the passing of Ivana Trump yesterday, we received a request from counsel for Donald Trump and his children to adjourn all three depositions, which we have agreed to," a spokesperson for New York Attorney General Letitia James said.


    • "This is a temporary delay and the depositions will be rescheduled as soon as possible. There is no other information about dates or otherwise to provide at this time."


    The big picture: New York Attorney General Letitia James requested a deposition from Trump and two of his eldest children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, as part of an ongoing civil investigation into potential fraud at the Trump Organization.


    • The questioning was set to begin on Friday.
    • Ivana Trump, Donald Trump's ex-wife and the mother of his three oldest children, died on Thursday, the former president announced. She was 73.
    • "She was a wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman, who led a great and inspirational life," Trump said of his former wife.

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