Thread: Donald Trump : Former POTUS

Originally Posted by S Landreth

call him out and reject his racist hate — will they do it?"

Why would racists call out a racist for being . . . racist?

^

[McConnell] and [GOP] should call him out and reject his racist hate — will they do it?"

I don’t believe McConnell is a racist. But he does know his place and will not push it. Not giving the time of day to trump might be better.

“Mitch McConnell is killing the Republican Partyi through weakness and cowardice. He obviously has a political death wish for himself and Republican Party, but President Trump and the America First champions in Congress will save the Republican Party and our nation,” Budowich said in an email to NBC News.

I think everyone understands the death spiral started when trump was elected and with that, I do hope the Dems will be able convince the remaining 31% to cross over.

63% of Asian American voters across the country voted for Biden. A minority of the group voted for Trump, at 31%

Originally Posted by S Landreth

I don’t believe McConnell is a racist.

I was speaking broadly of the right wing neos . . . whether not McConnel is remans to be seen but his policies certainly don't place him in the league of minority-lover.

• Trump critical of "U.S. Jews" in social media post

Former President Donald Trump wrote that "U.S. Jews have to get their act together" on his social media platform Truth Social Sunday morning, saying "no President has done more for Israel than I have."

"U.S. Jews have to get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel - Before it is too late!" Trump wrote.

Trump, whose daughter, Ivanka, converted to Judaism, has long touted his 2017 decision to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner's work attempting to negotiate peace in the Middle East.

A 2020 AJC survey of American Jewish Opinion found that 75% of American Jews planned to vote for President Biden. Trump has long been frustrated by lack of support among the Jewish community in the U.S., saying in 2021 that "the Jewish people in the United States either don't like Israel or don't care about Israel."

In the post early Sunday, Trump wrote that "Wonderful Evangelicals are far more appreciative of this than the people of the Jewish faith, especially those living in the U.S. Those living in Israel...are a different story."

It's not clear what prompted Trump's post.

Trump's post on Sunday has already drawn significant backlash. Alexander Vindman, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel — and former director for European affairs for the National Security Council — wrote on Twitter that "Trump is executing the fascist playbook to turn his mob on Jews."

The Jewish Democratic Council of America described his comments in a tweet as "more unabashed antisemitism from GOP leader Donald Trump."

"His threat to Jewish Americans and his continued use of the antisemitic dual loyalty trope fuels hatred against Jews," they continued.

Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO, responded to Trump's comments on Twitter, stating, "We don't need the former president, who curries favor with extremists and antisemites, to lecture us about the US-Israel relationship."

"This 'Jewsplaining' is insulting and disgusting," he added.

Trump's comments fall on the last day of Sukkot, one of three Jewish pilgrimage festivals, and the eve of Simchat Torah, a holiday that marks the ending of the annual cycle of Torah readings, and the beginning of the new cycle.

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• A co-founder of the firm behind Truth Social says Trump retaliated against another exec who refused to gift some of his shares to Melania

A co-founder of Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Truth Social, said former President Donald Trump pushed another executive to give some of his shares to Melania Trump and retaliated when the request was declined, according to a Washington Post report.

Will Wilkerson, who filed a whistleblower complaint about the company to the SEC in August, made the allegation in a story published by the outlet on Saturday. The Post, which obtained materials submitted with Wilkerson's complaint, detailed accusations of infighting and potentially illegal activity at the company.

Trump had been given a 90% stake in the company when it was founded, according to the SEC complaint. But Wilkerson told the Post he was with fellow co-founder Andy Litinsky in October 2021 when the latter received a call from Trump. At the time, the company had recently reached a merger deal that would catapult the value of its stock. Wilkerson said the former president asked Litinsky to give some of his shares to Melania Trump.

Wilkerson told the Post that Litinsky demurred and explained the gift would result in a tax bill he would be unable to pay: "Trump didn't care. He said, 'Do whatever you need to do.'

Litinsky, a former contestant on "The Apprentice," was removed from the company's board five months later in what Wilkerson believed was retaliation. According to a March email obtained by the Post, Litinsky also believed he had been retaliated against.

"President Trump over the past 2 months has repeatedly demanded that I give my TMTG equity to Melania Trump," Litinsky wrote, according to a screenshot of the email published by the Post. "As I have informed him several times, I have earned that equity, and also 'gifting' equity to Melania Trump would be a taxable event of which I can't afford to pay the taxes."

Litinsky also said Trump had threatened to "blow up the company" if his demands weren't met, adding he believed Trump was now "retaliating" against him and that he'd be seeking legal counsel, according to the screenshot of the email.

A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Litinsky did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment sent via his consulting and production company, ZideLitinsky Media.

In a statement provided to Insider, a representative for Trump Media & Technology Group blasted the Post's reporting and touted Truth Social's successes.

"As Chairman of TMTG, President Trump hired Devin Nunes as CEO to create a culture of compliance and build a world-class team to lead Truth Social," the statement said, noting the platform has launched on the Apple and Google app stores, attracted millions of users, and "executed multiple feature updates."

"Ignoring these achievements, the Washington Post published a story rife with knowingly false and defamatory statements and other concocted psychodramas," the statement continued. The statement did not comment directly on specific allegations.

Wilkerson, who was serving as senior vice president of operations, said he was fired on Thursday after talking to the Post, the outlet reported. Lawyers for Wilkerson did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment but told the Post he is cooperating with the SEC and New York prosecutors investigating Trump Media.

Originally Posted by S Landreth

"the Jewish people in the United States either don't like Israel or don't care about Israel.

Or..... they just don't like trump.

Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai

Or..... they just don't like trump.

Oi Gewalt . . . because he's a meschuggener.

Haven't the evangelicals always been more extreme in their Israel support than the jews of the US ?

(know that you can't lump either into one)

Trump is the past, DeSantis is the future

• Trump's the loser as GOP falters

Former President Trump is facing waves of blame after key Republican candidates lost in midterms.

The big picture: There was no red wave. As of this morning, control of the Senate is undetermined, but appears to be leaning toward Democrats. The House is headed for a very narrow GOP majority, but is also uncalled.

Why it matters: Regardless of the reality with GOP primary voters, Republican elites — and other anti-Trump Republicans — sense blood in the water. There's an increased likelihood of a larger, more boisterous primary field competing against Trump in 2024.

• The chances Trump can clear the field are vastly diminished.

What happened: Many of former President Trump's handpicked candidates were defeated or struggled in otherwise winnable races — a lineup of underachievers.

• In Pennsylvania, Mehmet Oz lost his Senate race to Democrat John Fetterman by 2+ points. In Michigan, Tudor Dixon lost her challenge to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) by 8 points.
• Trump-backed candidates who are trailing: Herschel Walker for the Senate, in Georgia ... and Blake Masters for the Senate, in Arizona.
• On top of all that, Trump stoked a massive distraction by promoting speculation about his own 2024 campaign in the midterms' final hours.

The intrigue: Trump's planned rally at Mar-a-Lago next Tuesday, where he's expected to announce a 2024 presidential campaign, now won't come after a GOP landslide.

• Instead, it will follow an election where Democrats have a solid chance to hold or even expand their hold on the Senate — and where Republicans fell way short of their expectations for a sizable red wave.

Between the lines: Trump constrained his party's coalition in states where he showed up. In Pennsylvania, Senate victor John Fetterman won independents with 57% of the vote, Hispanics with 67% of the vote and women with 57% of the vote, according to exit polling.

• In Georgia, where the Senate race is too close to call, Trump-championed Herschel Walker won only 8% of the Black vote, 42% of independents and 39% of Hispanics, exit polls show. His numbers in all three categories lagged Gov. Brian Kemp (R), who won re-election.

By contrast, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' resounding re-election was one of the few bright spots for Republicans.

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• 'Furious' Trump is pinning the blame on Melania for his decision to back Dr. Oz

Still more reports are coming in about former President Donald Trump's angry reactions to seeing some of his hand-picked candidates face defeat during Tuesday's midterm elections.

The New York Times' Maggie Haberman chimed in on Twitter with her own dispatch that claimed the twice-impeached former president is now even blaming former first lady Melania Trump for some of his own poor endorsements.

"Trump is indeed furious this morning, particularly about Mehmet Oz, and is blaming everyone who advised him to back Oz -- including his wife, describing it as not her best decision, according to people close to him," Haberman writes.

Haberman also reports that the losses of Trump-backed candidates such as Oz and Don Bolduc may impact his decision to announce his third presidential campaign next week.

"There are people pushing Trump to reschedule his announcement next week, and several Rs have texted asking whether he will, but it’s risky and would be acknowledging he’s wounded by yesterday, something that some of his advisers insist is not the case," she writes.

Trump started teasing his third presidential campaign earlier this week, and he also issued a warning against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis against pursuing the presidency in 2024.

"I really believe he could hurt himself badly," Trump said of a potential DeSantis White House run. "I think he would be making a mistake, I think the base would not like it — I don’t think it would be good for the party."

https://www.rawstory.com/maggie-habe...mp-2658622778/

fer fcuks sake lambert

next tuesday jebus will return and proclaim that drumpf is the love child of elvis and JFK and will immediately ascend the throne of gold to take his rightful place as savior of the USA and the world

^ not everyone thinks so

Paul Ryan blames disappointing GOP election results on 'Trump hangover'

Former House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said Republicans should have "done better" in Tuesday's midterm elections, calling former President Trump a "drag on our ticket" that contributed to the party's disappointing results.

Trump snubs Twitter after Musk announces reactivation of his account

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Trump Media partner DWAC delays Truth Social merger

Trump Media deal partner says shareholders approve delay of merger with Truth Social parent

The blank check company that plans to take Trump Media and Technology Group and its Truth Social platform public said Tuesday that shareholders voted to delay a deadline for its merger with the former president’s firm by several months.

Shares of Digital World Acquisition Corp. closed more than 5% higher following a brief shareholder meeting announcing the delay. DWAC faced liquidation next month if it couldn’t get a deadline extension, although the merger faces additional legal and financial obstacles. The Securities and Exchange Commission is probing the Trump Media-DWAC deal, as are federal criminal investigators.

The company, which hasn’t generated any revenue and already has $1 billion in financing already at risk, had delayed the meeting multiple times over recent months as it worked to garner support from shareholders. DWAC needed 65% of its shareholders to approve an extension of the deadline to merge with Trump Media until September 2023. In a securities filing Monday, DWAC said there was “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue as a “going concern.”

DWAC has previously failed to get the necessary votes from its large swath of retail investors. The meeting was adjourned numerous times. DWAC CEO Patrick Orlando initiated a built-in extension with a $2.8 million contribution from his company Arc Global Investments II.

“It’s a really arduous process when you have as many stockholders as we did,” Orlando said during an interview with IPO Edge on Tuesday immediately prior to the shareholder meeting.

Orlando has been working to drum up votes on Trump Media’s Truth Social platform, and even urged Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes and its chairman, former President Donald Trump, to help publicize the effort.

The stakes of the vote were particularly high for some of the former president’s supporters, who shared on Truth Social and Reddit that they’ve invested thousands of dollars in DWAC in a nod of support for the platform.

If a merger were to take place, it would give hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to Trump Media. It has already faced a series of legal and financial obstacles. The deal has been the subject of a criminal probe and its delay has resulted in the loss of over $100 million in investment.

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Trump Media & Technology Group, also known as T Media Tech LLC

Value

The Midas Touch Gold's price today is US$0.00008738, with a 24-hour trading volume of $73,186. TMTG is +34.64% in the last 24 hours. It is currently -47.48% from its 7-day all-time high of $0.0001664, and 34.94% from its 7-day all-time low of $0.00006476. TMTG has a circulating supply of 8.91 B TMTG.

• Donald Trump dined with white nationalist, Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes

Former President Donald Trump hosted white nationalist and antisemite Nick Fuentes at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach on Tuesday night, according to multiple people familiar with the event.

Fuentes, who frequently posts racist content in addition to Holocaust revisionism, was brought as a guest of rapper Kanye West, who now goes by Ye.

In a post to his social media site, Trump confirmed the gathering.

“This past week, Kanye West called me to have dinner at Mar-a-Lago,” he wrote. “Shortly thereafter, he unexpectedly showed up with three of his friends, whom I knew nothing about. We had dinner on Tuesday evening with many members present on the back patio. The dinner was quick and uneventful. They then left for the airport.”

However eventful, the dinner reflects a remarkable moment in an extremely early 2024 campaign cycle: the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination breaking bread with a man who frequently posts racist content and Holocaust revisionism, brought there by a rapper who is launching his own presidential campaign under the shadow of his own antisemitic remarks.

“If it was any other party, breaking bread with Nick Fuentes would be instantly disqualifying for Trump,” said Democratic National Committee spokesperson Ammar Moussa. “The most extreme views have found a home in today’s MAGA Republican party.”

In a statement, the White House said, “Bigotry, hate, and antisemitism have absolutely no place in America - including at Mar-A-Lago. Holocaust denial is repugnant and dangerous, and it must be forcefully condemned.”

It underscores how few guardrails currently exist within the former president’s political operation, with few aides there to screen guests or advise against and manage such gatherings.

Indeed, after POLITICO first reported the sighting of Fuentes at Trump’s club, people in Trump’s orbit denied the former president met with Fuentes at all. Only later was it revealed that he not only met with Fuentes but dined with him.

Karen Giorno, a former Trump strategist who is also now working for West’s 2024 campaign, confirmed to POLITICO that she was also at the dinner with Trump, West and Fuentes.

• Colorado judge rules Trump ‘engaged in an insurrection’ — but can still run for president

A Colorado judge has turned away a challenge looking to disqualify former President Donald Trump from running for president under an interpretation of the 14th Amendment that argued he engaged in an insurrection against the United States on Jan. 6, 2021.

The ruling came in a case brought by progressive activists who sued the state, arguing that Trump was barred from returning to the office. A handful of courts in other states turned away similar challenges.

The case in Colorado was brought by the liberal government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. CREW argued that Trump is ineligible to run because of a clause in the 14th Amendment, which reads that those who took an oath to defend the Constitution and then have “engaged in an insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof” are ineligible to serve.

CREW said the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 disqualified Trump under a reading of the Civil War-era amendment.

The judge found that Trump did engage in an insurrection on January 6, 2021 “through incitement, and that the First Amendment does not protect Trump’s speech.” But she also found that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment doesn’t apply to Trump.

https://www.courts.state.co.us/userf...al%20Order.pdf

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Trump fraud trial: Judge denies Trump's request for mistrial

• Judge limits testimony about 'trophy properties'

The defense's real estate expert Steven Laposa resumed his testimony this morning by testifying about Donald Trump's "trophy properties."

Under questioning from the defense, Laposa explained that certain unique and iconic properties could be classified as trophy properties, which are generally purchased by a smaller pool of real estate investors. Trump's lawyers have claimed that the former president's assets include multiple trophy properties that were undervalued in his financial statements.

When Laposa attempted to describe how trophy properties are generally valued differently compared to normal buildings, state attorney Louis Solomon objected to the line of questioning, calling it a "waste of time."

Judge Arthur Engoron sustained the objection.

• Defense expert appears to contradict his own findings

The cross examination of the defense's real estate expert, which was expected to last at least two hours, ended abruptly after he appeared to contradict his own findings in the expert report he had compiled.

Steven Laposa testified yesterday that he believed the attorney general's report was "flawed" because it was based on the market value of Trump's assets, rather than their investment value, which could be much higher.

Minutes into his cross-examination, state attorney Louis Solomon requested that Laposa read the second sentence of the notes section of Donald Trump's statement of financial condition.

"Assets are stated at their estimated current values," the note said, referring to the properties' market value.

"First time I've seen this," Laposa responded after reading the note, which supported the attorney general's contention that the valuations were indeed based on market values.

"You wrote a report accusing the attorney general of bias" by using market values, Solomon lectured Laposa, prompting a sustained objection from the defense.

Solomon's cross-examination of Laposa concluded after the exchange.

• Defense expert questions insurance company's due diligence

The due diligence conducted by the Trump Organization's insurance company amounted to nothing more than "airballs and witchcraft," according to the defense's underwriting expert Gary Giulietti.

Giulietti's testimony appeared to cast doubt on the extent to which the Zurich Insurance Group scrutinized Trump's financial documents that are at the center of the case.

In a deposition that was played earlier in court, Zurich insurance underwriter Claudia Mouradian said she relied on assurances that the Trump Organization's $6 billion in assets were supported by appraisals.

"They should have asked if they wanted it," Giulietti testified, adding that Zurich's approach of relying on media reports about Trump's net worth was "inconsistent" with industry standards.

Giulietti acknowledged that he had an ongoing business relationship with Trump, including making $1.2 million in commissions from the company in 2022. A personal friend of Trump, Giulietti confidently defended his business record on the stand.

"You're sort of insulting me aren't you?" he said after state attorney Andrew Amer, on cross-examination, questioned his qualifications as an expert witness. "There's no one like me in the industry."

He later said he was sorry for his response.

"I would like to apologize to the counsel. Not my style," he told Amer.

• Judge denies Trump's request for mistrial

Judge Arthur Engoron denied Donald Trump's request for a mistrial, describing the defendants' arguments as "nonsensical," "disingenuous," and "utterly without merit."

Engoron rejected the motion without hearing any arguments from the New York Attorney General, who earlier this week requested that an extended briefing be scheduled.

"I cannot sign a proposed order to show cause that is utterly without merit, and upon which subsequent briefing would therefore be futile," Engoron wrote in his ruling.

Across a four-page order, Engoron sharply disagreed with the allegations from the defendants that he was engaging in "co-judging" with his law clerk.

"As I have made clear over the course of this trial, my rulings are mine, and mine alone. There is absolutely no 'co-judging' at play," Engoron said.

Addressing his principal law clerk's political donations, which the judge said she has largely made in order to purchase tickets to functions while pursuing elected judicial office, Engoron called out the defendants for failing to acknowledge the "applicable unambiguous ethical guidelines" that permit such donations. He similarly dismissed the idea that his clerk attending events sponsored by political organizations implies that she supports any position taken by those groups.

"Such arguments are nonsensical; and in any event, they are a red herring, as my Principal Law Clerk does not make rulings or issue orders -- I do," Engoron said in his ruling.

Court was subsequently adjourned for the day.

• Reps. Elise Stefanik and Mike Turner call for Michael Cohen to be investigated for 'perjury’

Rep. Elise Stefanik, the House GOP conference chair, and House Intelligence Chair Mike Turner are calling for a criminal investigation into whether former Donald Trump attorney Michael Cohen committed perjury in testimony before Congress.

In their complaint, sent to Attorney General Merrick Garland, the two say there is “compelling evidence” that Cohen “appears to have committed perjury and knowingly made false statements while testifying under oath during his deposition before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (“Committee”) on February 28, 2019.” They go on to request that the Department of Justice investigate whether his testimony warrants another charge for making a false statement.

“The Biden Justice Department must take off its partisan blinders and investigate disgraced fraudster and disbarred attorney Michael Cohen, a felon previously convicted for lying to Congress, who just admitted to lying again to Congress,” Stefanik said in a statement.

In 2019, Cohen, who worked for Trump for decades, was asked by the committee about the personal financial statements of then-president Trump and whether or not Trump directed both him or Allen Weisselberg — then-Trump Organization chief financial officer — to “inflate the numbers for his personal statement.”

Cohen responded: “Not that I recall, no.”

But when Cohen was asked about his 2019 testimony when he was called as a star witness in the civil fraud trial in New York against Trump last month, he stated that he had lied under oath during his appearance before the committee. Cohen later clarified during the trial that while Trump never specifically asked him to alter their financial statements, it was understood he was speaking in code.

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• Trump hits New York AG for ‘smirking all day long’ amid fraud trial

Former President Trump lashed out at New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) on Tuesday for “smirking all day long” from across the courtroom as his legal team mounts its defense in the civil fraud case targeting his business empire.

“Racist A.G. Letitia James is smirking all day long from her seat in Court,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.

“You have a (Trump Hating!) Attorney General who’s seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages when not a single penny was lost by these banks, and that’s part of this (Unconstitutional!) Law,” he said, adding, “You can see from the reaction of A.G. James, every morning from that seat, that she is enjoying this, enjoying it a bit too much.”

During the trial, Trump has reportedly appeared visibly irked at James, who rested her case Wednesday. Trump has long attacked James for what he has described as unfairly targeting him for politically motivated purposes.

Very surprising that he hasn't said anything disparaging about the Carter family yet. Lillian Carter was pure class, unlike the orange one.

^He (?) didn’t say anything out of line

Donald Trump's Tribute to Rosalynn Carter Raises Eyebrows

Donald Trump's tribute to Rosalynn Carter has prompted some to question whether he wrote it.

"Melania and I join all Americans in mourning the loss of Rosalynn Carter," he wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.

"She was a devoted First Lady, a great humanitarian, a champion of mental health, and a beloved wife to her husband for 77 years, President Carter.

She "earned the admiration and gratitude of our entire nation," Trump added.

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• ‘A careful scalpel’: Appeals court signals it will cut back on Trump’s federal gag order

A federal appeals court panel appeared poised to significantly narrow a gag order imposed against Donald Trump by the judge presiding over his Washington, D.C. criminal trial.

The three-judge D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel raised concerns that the order — which bars Trump from targeting witnesses, prosecutors and courthouse staff in the criminal case related to his effort to subvert the 2020 election — created murky restrictions that stifled the former president’s right to push back against his detractors, particularly in the heat of a presidential campaign.

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• Georgia prosecutors seek to revoke bond for Trump co-defendant Harrison Floyd

Fulton County prosecutors in former President Donald Trump's Georgia election interference case are seeking to revoke the bond of one of his co-defendants over allegations he engaged in "a pattern of intimidation" toward other co-defendants and witnesses, in violation of the conditions of his release.

The judge overseeing the case is set to hear arguments Tuesday regarding the conduct of Harrison Floyd, one of 18 defendants who over the summer pleaded not guilty, along with Trump, to all charges in a sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia.

I'm getting sorta fed up with the vicious attacks against the Dons character. Especially, since most is projection.

Trump fraud trial: Trump continues to assail judge, clerk

• With no gag order, Trump continues to assail judge, clerk

With his limited gag order temporarily lifted on Thursday, Trump is continuing to rail against his civil fraud trial on social media, calling for the prosecution of New York Attorney General Letitia James, Judge Arthur Engoron, and Engoron's law clerk.

• James says Trump's expert witnesses are 'friends and golf buddies'

"Several of these experts are longtime friends and golf buddies of Donald Trump. One had donated millions of dollars to Donald Trump's campaign and his son even got married at Mar-a-Lago," she said.

• Defense's case running ahead of schedule

The defense’s case will likely conclude one week ahead of schedule, according to defense attorney Clifford Robert.

Based on the remaining witnesses, the defense team is now planning to rest its case by Dec. 8.

• Insurer backed Trump to guard relationship with broker, expert says

Defense witness David Miller, an expert in insurance underwriting, testified that the Zurich insurance company worked with the Trump Organization largely to protect its relationship with their broker, AON Risk Solutions.

"The relationship with AON was very important, and keeping business intact was very important," Miller said about Zurich, which he said made a "business decision" to insure the Trump Organization's properties.

The testimony appears to be a move to weaken the New York attorney general's allegation that the Trump Organization used their inflated financial statements to get progressively favorable surety terms.

Judge Arthur Engoron was skeptical to qualify Miller as an expert before he relented to the defense's request.

"I don't see why you're an expert in what was just said," Engoron said after Miller spent 20 minutes listing his professional experience.

Both Engoron and state attorney Andrew Amer, who called the testimony a "waste of time," criticized Miller's ability to testify about the decisions made by Zurich and AON.

• Defense expert gave inconsistent testimony, state attorney claims

State attorney Andrew Amer began his cross-examination of defense expert David Miller by highlighting that his testimony appeared to contradict Miller's own expert report.

During his direct examination, Miller was asked if he has ever seen any insurance underwriters rely on media outlets when reviewing their surety programs.

"Prior to this, no," Miller responded, referencing how underwriters at Zurich cited articles from Forbes and USA Today in their 2021 annual review of Trump's policies.

• Co-defendant Jeffrey McConney returns to stand

Forty-five days after he began his testimony as the third witness in the state's case, former Trump Organization controller and co-defendant Jeffrey McConney has returned to the witness stand for the defense.

When he testified last month, McConney -- who was the primary person responsible for the valuations in Trump's statement of financial statements between 2011 and 2017 -- struggled to recall specific details about the preparation of the financial documents, though he acknowledged he took direction from Eric Trump about the value of a Westchester golf course.

This afternoon, after asking some preliminary questions about McConney's biography, defense attorney Jesus Suarez began asking McConney pointed questions about Mazars USA accountant Donald Bender, another witness in the state's case.

"Whatever he asked for, we would do," McConney said about Bender's role in the process of compiling Trump's financial statement.

• Controller denies keeping documents from outside accountants

Longtime Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney, a defendant in the attorney general's case, denied withholding any documents from the company's outside accountants -- appearing to contradict testimony from Mazars USA accountant Donald Bender.

"We provided him everything he needed," McConney said, adding that Bender could request any document he wanted from the Trump Organization.

McConney, testifying for the defense, added that Bender also could directly communicate with individuals in the Trump Organization to directly ask questions during the process of organizing Trump's financial statements that are at the center of the case.

"Bender would come in and talk to anyone he wanted," McConney said.

When Bender testified last month during the state's case, he said that he directly asked McConney if the company had more appraisals, to which McConney responded, "That's all we have."

"They were not giving us all the documents that we needed, potentially, to compile the compilation," Bender testified.

Asked about the allegation on the witness stand, McConney denied he withheld anything from Bender.

"Did you ever hide anything from Donald Bender?" defense attorney Jesus Suarez asked.

"No," McConney responded.

• Controller testifies he relied on outside accountants

With an overwhelming number of entities to track in addition to numerous other responsibilities, the Trump Organization's longtime controller Jeffrey McConney said he relied on outside accountants to put together Trump's statements of financial condition.

While the statement took up a portion of his time between July and October each year, McConney testified that he otherwise spent "very little time" on the financial statements that underpin the attorney general's case.

The descriptions of each entity in the statements, and the disclaimers, largely remained the same year after year, according to McConney.

"A lot of this was Gerald Rosenblum's writing," he said about the section describing Trump Tower, referring to a former outside accountant.

"Whose words are those?" defense attorney Jesus Suarez said about a disclaimer that said that the value of "Donald J. Trump's worldwide reputation" was not considered in the statement.

"Mazars," McConney responded.

• McConney says he corrected inflated value of Ivanka's apartment

The Trump Organization's longtime controller testified that he overvalued Ivanka Trump's apartment in her father's statement of financial condition before correcting the mistake after it was flagged.

New York Attorney General Letitia James alleges that a penthouse apartment rented by Ivanka Trump was valued in Donald Trump's financial statement at $45 million in 2014 and 2015, despite the apartment's rental agreement including an option to purchase the apartment for $14 million.

From 2016 onward, the value of the penthouse in Trump's statements dropped back down the actual buyout price of $14 million, "per rental agreement."

Asked about the change during his testimony today, McConney acknowledged the correction, claiming he did not know about the provision in the rental agreement.

McConney said that once outside accountant Donald Bender of Mazars USA flagged the issue, he promptly made the change in Trump's financial statement.

McConney concluded his testimony for the day and is set to return to the witness stand Tuesday morning.

• Petitioners appeal Trump ballot ruling to Colorado Supreme Court

A group of Colorado voters is appealing a legal ruling from a Denver District Judge, who said former President Donald Trump was eligible to be on the state's 2024 presidential ballot, to the Colorado Supreme Court.

Attorneys representing the voters filed the appeal with the state Supreme Court on Monday night and asked for expedited consideration, due to the Jan. 5 deadline, when ballots must certified for Colorado's March 5 presidential primary election.

District Court Judge Sarah B. Wallace said in her ruling last week that she found that Trump did in fact "engage in insurrection" on Jan. 6, 2021 and rejected his attorneys' arguments that he was simply engaging in free speech. Normally, that would be enough to disqualify him under Section 3, but she said she couldn't do so for a presidential candidate.

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• Georgia judge denies bid to revoke Trump co-defendant Harrison Floyd's bond over social media posts

A judge on Tuesday ordered the bond conditions of Harrison Floyd, one of former President Donald Trump’s co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case, to be modified because of social media posts that prosecutors from the Fulton County district attorney’s office said were “intentional and flagrant violations” of the conditions of his release.

Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said the posts may have been a "technical violation" of Floyd's bond, but "not every violation compels revocation." He said that the current bond order doesn't address the "nuances" of social media and that he didn't see Floyd's posts as witness intimidation. “I read these as, seeing these more, that someone is wanting to defend his case in a very public way,” McAfee said.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had argued that Floyd should be locked up immediately for his social media posts about witnesses in the case, including former elections worker Ruby Freeman, and made it clear to the judge she was disappointed in the ruling.

“Obviously, we’re very concerned about the safety of Miss Ruby Freeman. She has clearly endured enough. And this conduct is not just chilling to her" but "chilling to other people who would want to serve in her capacity,” Willis said.

McAfee signed off on a temporary modified bond order after the hearing with more explicit restrictions on Floyd's posts until the two sides can agree on more specific language.

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Extra

• Taylor found guilty on all 52 counts of voter fraud

With verdicts for 52 charges marked in a thick packet before him, Chief U.S. District Judge Leonard Strand could have announced the verdict for each charge one by one.

Instead, he shortened the suspense, telling those gathered in the courtroom to hear the verdict in Kim Taylor's voter fraud trial that he'd summarize the jury's decision.

It didn't take long.

After roughly six hours of deliberations, the jury on Tuesday found Taylor, the wife of Republican Woodbury County Supervisor Jeremy Taylor, guilty on all 52 charges: 26 counts of providing false information in registering and voting, three counts of fraudulent registration and 23 counts of fraudulent voting.

During the 2020 primary and general elections, Taylor, a Vietnam native, approached numerous Vietnamese voters with limited English comprehension and filled out and signed election forms and ballots on behalf of them and their English-speaking children.

It was all part of a scheme, government prosecutors said throughout the six-day trial, to stuff the ballot box for her husband, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for a U.S. House seat in the 2020 primary before winning election to the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors that fall.

• Colorado Supreme Court Agrees to Take Up Trump 14th Amendment Case

A state judge ruled last week that the former president had engaged in insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, but allowed him to remain on the ballot.

The Colorado Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to take up an appeal of a state judge’s ruling allowing former President Donald J. Trump to remain on the state’s primary ballot, in a nationwide battle over his eligibility to run for president again.

Plaintiffs, citing Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, argued that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment disqualifies anyone who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the Constitution after having taken an oath to support it.

Judge Sarah B. Wallace ruled that Mr. Trump had engaged in insurrection with his actions before and during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. But she allowed Mr. Trump to remain on the ballot anyway on the narrow grounds that the disqualification clause of the 14th Amendment did not apply to the president of the United States.

A spokesman for Mr. Trump, Steven Cheung, said in a statement after Judge Wallace’s ruling last week that it was “another nail in the coffin of the un-American ballot challenges.”

The plaintiffs filed their appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court on Monday evening, and the court agreed to hear the case on an accelerated timetable. Mr. Trump’s lawyers must file a brief in the case by next Monday, and oral arguments are scheduled to begin on Dec. 6.

Jena Griswold, the Colorado secretary of state and a Democrat, has previously said she would follow whatever ruling was in place on Jan. 5, 2024, the state’s deadline for certifying candidates on the ballot for the March 5 primary.

Mario Nicolais, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said that the fast pace of the court schedule indicated that “the Supreme Court has taken this with the seriousness that it requires,” adding that “we are confident that we will come away from the Colorado Supreme Court with a victory and that he will be barred from being on the ballot.”

Democracy Alerts - Colorado Supreme Court To Hear 14th Amendment Appeal Seeking To Disqualify Trump - Democracy Docket

Liberals are realising that Trump will probably win. And they are terrified

The bad orange man cops a full Godwin in three NYT paragraphs!

ROGER KIMBALL
22 November 2023 • 3:15pm
Roger Kimball
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Iguess this means that they’re worried. By “this” I mean unhinged anti-Trump expostulations like “Trump’s Dire Words Raise New Fears About His Authoritarian Bent” in Monday’s New York Times.

As readers of that former paper of record know well, The New York Times has always had a low opinion of Donald Trump.

By itself, that does not distinguish the Times from the vast majority of legacy media properties in the United States – or, come to that, in the United Kingdom.

Trump is just too crass, too naff, for words. Really, the man is impossible. It was a sort of demonic miracle that he was elected in 2016. The Dems made the unforgivable mistake of running the one candidate more unpopular than the reality TV star become populist rabble-rouser.

Now he is at it again. And not only is Trump running for President for the third time: he also is trouncing all the competition. As I write, polls have Trump up over his closest rival to be Republican candidate, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, by more than 50 points (some say nearly 60 points). They have him up over Joe Biden in the general election by anywhere from 2 to 9 points. Sure, it’s early days still but the trend towards Trump is unambiguous.

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“Please Make It Stop” might have been the headline for that story in the Times. The two authors, Michael C Bender and Michael Gold, do their best to maintain a patina of respectability. It’s all “Mr Trump” this and “experts say” that. But in the end, they can’t help themselves. They are clearly terrified that that the bad orange man will win in 2024. He is surging everywhere. It doesn’t seem to matter how often he is indicted, how many judges impose gag orders on him or say that he incited an “insurrection” on January 6, 2021: he just keeps pushing ahead of his rivals.

If this story had sound effects, the primary noise would be what the Gospel According to Matthew called “fletus et stridor dentium”: wailing and gnashing of teeth. Remember Godwin’s law? That’s the contention, named for the writer Mike Godwin, that the longer an internet conversation continues, the greater the chances are that someone will be compared to Adolf Hitler or the Nazis. The Times writers go full Godwin right at the beginning of their desperate handwringing. “During a Veterans Day speech,” they wail, “Mr. Trump used language that echoed authoritarian leaders who rose to power in Germany and Italy in the 1930s . . .”

Wham: three short paragraphs and Donald Trump is already being compared to Hitler and Mussolini. Then come the “experts” to provide cover. We’re not just wacko name callers here. We’re The New York Times. Trump warned that:

“The threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous and grave than the threat from within.”

Lincoln actually took a similar line when he noted in his Lyceum Address of 1838 that “If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.” But you are not allowed to mention Lincoln and Trump in the same sentence, except to trash Trump, so the Times calls on “experts” to do the dirty work. This “turn inward,” they write, “has sounded new alarms among experts on autocracy who have long worried about Mr. Trump’s praise for foreign dictators and disdain for democratic ideals. They said the former president’s increasingly intensive focus on perceived internal enemies was a hallmark of dangerous totalitarian leaders.”

Well, if “experts” say it, who are we to disagree?

Later on in the piece, Messrs Bender and Gold allow that “Some experts on authoritarianism said that while Mr Trump’s recent language has begun to more closely resemble that used by leaders like Hitler or Benito Mussolini, he does not quite mirror fascist leaders of the past.” Well, praise the Lord.

What they are really worried about, it transpires, is that Trump, should he be elected again, might use the Justice Department “to take vengeance on his political rivals, plotting a vast expansion of presidential power and installing ideologically aligned lawyers in key positions to bless his contentious actions.”

The hysteria broadcast by the Times was more contagious than any Chinese retrovirus. Joe Scarborough and Lady Macb—I mean, Mika Brzezinski caught a terminal case and exhibitied all the most grotesque symptoms live on national television.

“He’s not a normal candidate,” whimpered Morning Joe, “he’s running to end American democracy as we know it.”

I wonder if Joe needs to have his meds adjusted. “Joe Biden” he said, is “the candidate who supports American democracy” while “Trump supports a new form of authoritarian government. It’s really that simple.”

Is it, Joe? Back in the 1960s there was a popular American television show called The Twilight Zone. It had a catchy, eldritch theme. If you listen closely, I fancy you can hear it behind Joe’s breathless agitation.

“In a second term,” he cried out, “Trump will imprison, he will execute whoever he is allowed to imprison, execute, drive from the country. Just look at his past. It’s not really hard to read.”

This was just before welcoming Al Sharpton to the show to offer his expert opinion on the former and – let’s face it – likely future president. I think that chaps like Joe Scarborough, Al Sharpton, and those writers for The New York Times have good reason to worry about Donald’s Trump’s return to the White House.

Not that he would do to them what they, together with the weaponized Department of Justice, have been doing to Trump these past seven years. No, if you follow Joe Scarborough’s advice and “look at his past,” you will see a man who transformed the country for the better during his time in office. We had a Southern border. We became a net exporter of energy. A raft of Constitutionalists became federal judges and Supreme Court Justices. We saw rising wages, especially at the lower end of the scale, and the lowest unemployment in decades – the lowest minority unemployment on record. There were no new wars, nor was there ISIS. Peace was breaking out in the Middle East. And on and on.

But Morning Joe is right to worry. Trump has said that he would be the “retribution” for the thousands of people caught up in the Biden administration’s messes. There would be no executions, Joe, but there would be plenty of payback. For many of us, however, that would be a consummation devoutly to be wished. It can’t come soon enough.

the telegraph

Originally Posted by taxexile

Liberals are realising that Trump will probably win. And they are terrified

the telegraph

Every day, more drama. America will become a laughingstock again, under another trump administration.

Trump tops Biden in polls despite mountain of baggage

Former President Trump is facing 91 felony counts in four criminal cases. He was impeached twice and left office under ignominious circumstances after his supporters violently stormed the Capitol, egged on by his claims of a stolen election. Many of his former top advisers have turned into ardent critics.

And yet, several polls released in the past few weeks, including one on Sunday by NBC News, show him leading President Biden in battleground states and nationally in a hypothetical rematch in 2024.

Why not a comedian, he's a big fucking joke after all.

Comedian Roseanne Barr has nominated herself to be in the running as Donald Trump's vice president if he were to win the Republican nomination.