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    Billionaire Makes Massive Political Contribution To Trump

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    Image via Pixabay free images

    One of the largest single disclosed gifts ever…

    A reclusive billionaire from a storied American family with a legacy dating back to the Gilded Age has made one of the largest political contributions in the history of American politics.

    Timothy Mellon, heir to the Mellon banking fortune, made a $50 million contribution to the pro-Trump super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc.

    At the end of April, the organization had only $34.5 million.

    In a memo following Mellon’s donation, the PAC announced it had reserved $100 million in advertising through Labor Day.

    The New York Times continues:

    Mr. Mellon is now the first donor to give $100 million in disclosed federal contributions in this year’s election. He was already the single largest contributor to super PACs supporting both Mr. Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running as an independent. Mr. Mellon has previously given $25 million to both.

    Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

    Democrats have sought to portray Mr. Kennedy as a spoiler supported by Republicans, in part by emphasizing Mr. Mellon’s dual contributions and seemingly split loyalties. The pro-Kennedy super PAC has distributed quotations from the hard-to-reach Mr. Mellon, and for a blurb that appears on the cover of Mr. Mellon’s upcoming book, Mr. Kennedy called the billionaire a “maverick entrepreneur.”

    It is not clear what Mr. Mellon’s mega-donation means for his support of Mr. Kennedy going forward. He has so far toggled between giving to support both candidates. His most recent donation to Mr. Kennedy’s super PAC was a $5 million contribution in April.

    But Mr. Mellon’s $50 million gift will significantly help pro-Trump forces narrow the financial advantage that President Biden and his allies have enjoyed so far. Miriam Adelson, the casino billionaire and widow of Sheldon G. Adelson, who died in 2021, has also made plans to fund a pro-Trump super PAC with at least as much money as the $90 million that her family gave in the 2020 campaign, although much of the cash has yet to arrive.

    Mellon’s contributions follow Donald Trump‘s conviction in a hush money trial.

    Critics argue that the case is politically motivated and based on an overly broad interpretation of campaign finance laws. They add that such payments are common among public figures seeking to avoid public scrutiny.

    The Mellon family‘s wealth started when an Irish immigrant named Thomas Mellon founded T. Mellon & Sons’ Bank in Pittsburgh in 1869. His sons, Andrew W. Mellon and Richard B. Mellon, later grew the bank into a strong financial institution. This bank eventually became Mellon Financial Corporation, one of the largest banking institutions in the United States.

    During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Andrew Mellon played a crucial role in financing and supporting key industries such as aluminum, oil, and steel, contributing to the growth of major corporations, such as Gulf Oil, and Union Steel. As secretary of the Treasury from 1921 to 1932, his influence shaped the economic policies of the 1920s, known as the Mellon Plan, which contributed to the economic boom of the decade.

    National Photo Company Collection, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    In 2007, Mellon Financial Corporation merged with The Bank of New York to form BNY Mellon, one of the world’s largest asset management and securities services companies, preserving their 150-year legacy in banking and finance.

    Article Published With The Permission of American Liberty News

    Judge Judy Labels Trump Hush Money Case ‘Nonsense’

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    admin
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    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    A waste of time and taxpayer dollars…

    “Judge Judy” Sheindlin called Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s (D) hush money case against former President Trump “nonsense” in a recent interview.

    “You gotta twist yourself into a pretzel to figure out what the crime was. [Bragg] doesn’t like him — New York City didn’t like him for a while,” Sheindlin said of Trump in a “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?” interview streaming Friday on Max.

    “I would be happier, as someone who owns property in Manhattan, if the district attorney of New York County would take care of criminals who were making it impossible for citizens to walk in the streets and use the subway, to use his efforts to keep those people off the street, than to spend $5 million or $10 million of taxpayers’ money trying Donald Trump on this nonsense,” the longtime TV judge told Wallace.

    Watch:

    “I, as a taxpayer in this country, resent using the system for your own personal self-aggrandizement,” the “Judy Justice” personality said of Bragg.

    OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

    Asked by the CNN anchor what she thought of Trump, the 81-year-old former Manhattan Family Court judge replied, “I think he was a good businessman, a real estate guy. And he was certainly terrific on ‘The Apprentice.’”

    The celebrity judge’s comments come as the Manhattan DA seeks an extension of the restraining order against former President Donald Trump. (RELATED: Manhattan DA Seeks Extended Gag Order Against Trump Amid Death Threats To Bragg)

    They argue that Trump’s public statements have increased tensions and led to threats against Bragg and his team before Trump’s July 11 sentencing.

    The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records as part of a hush-money scheme to prevent porn star Stormy Daniels from speaking out about her alleged extramarital affair before the 2016 presidential election.

    Before Trump, no sitting or former president ever faced criminal charges. This is the lowest level felony in New York, any potential sentence will more than likely be served after the 2024 election.

    As The New York Times reports:

    The order, issued before Mr. Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial began in mid-April, bars him from attacking witnesses, jurors, court staff and relatives of the judge who presided over the trial, Juan M. Merchan.

    Mr. Trump’s lawyers have sought to have the order lifted since Mr. Trump’s conviction in late May. But in a 19-page filing on Friday, prosecutors argued that while Justice Merchan no longer needed to enforce the portion of the gag order relating to trial witnesses, he should keep in place the provisions protecting jurors, prosecutors, court staff and their families.

    Article Published With The Permission of American Liberty News

    Trump Files To Overturn Latest Conviction After SCOTUS Ruling

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

    On Monday, former President Donald Trump moved to overturn his criminal conviction in the Manhattan hush-money case after the Supreme Court ruled presidents have immunity for “official acts” committed while in office.

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged the former president in May with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts in the Manhattan case.  

    Lawyers for Trump had filed a motion to dismiss the verdict hours after the Supreme Court’s ruling. 

    Duncan Lock, Dflock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    The motion came on the same day that the district attorney’s office sent sentencing recommendations to Judge Juan M. Merchan – who presided over the Manhattan trial – though it remains unclear whether that will be seen by the public, per reporting from The New York Times.  
    Judge Merchan has received a letter from Trump’s lawyers, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to Fox News Digital. 

    The letter asks for permission to file a motion to vacate the jury’s Manhattan verdict, asks for a delay of the July 11 sentencing, and cites the high court’s decision in arguing that evidence was included at trial that should not have been admitted. 

    To file a motion in New York, defendants must first request permission from the judge in the case. 

    On Tuesday, Manhattan prosecutors agreed with Donald J. Trump’s request to postpone his criminal sentencing so that the judge overseeing the case could weigh whether a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling might impact his conviction, according to The New York Times.

    On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that a former president has absolute immunity for his core constitutional powers.

    Former presidents are also entitled to at least a presumption of immunity for their official acts. There is no immunity, the court holds, for unofficial acts.

    The Supreme Court returned the case to the trial court to determine what is left of special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment against the former President.

    I AM DONALD TRUMP, AND I’M BEING SENTENCED ON JULY 11TH! IF YOU REMEMBER ONE THING, REMEMBER THIS: I’M THE ONLY THING STANDING IN THE WAY OF THE COMPLETE AND TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF AMERICA BY THE BIDEN REGIME. WILL YOU PLEASE DONATE ONE MORE TIME BEFORE DOOMSDAY?

    Trump Returns To Twitter – Now X

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    Photo via Pixabay images

    Former President Donald Trump’s official X account is back…for now.

    The first ad, posted at 2:54 am, included a voiceover from Ronald Reagan and was captioned, “Are you better off now than you were when I was president? Our economy is shattered. Our border has been erased. We’re a nation in decline. Make the American Dream AFFORDABLE again. Make America SAFE again. Make America GREAT Again!”

    Another ad was published at 3:00 am and read, “They want to silence me because I will never let them silence you. They’re not coming after me, they’re coming after you. I just happen to be standing in their way and I’m never moving. We will Make America Great Again!”

    Musk and Trump will talk live on X at 8 pm ET and Musk has already addressed the technical issues that have plagued past events – including the glitchy of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) presidential campaign last spring.

    “Am going to do some system scaling tests tonight & tomorrow in advance of the conversation,” Musk wrote on X ahead of the event.

    Trump had been banned from Twitter, which Musk bought for a staggering $44 billion and renamed X, after the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.

    Trump has only posted once since Musk restored his Twitter account, @realDonaldTrump, as the former president reserves his social media usage for Truth Social, which he owns. In August of 2023, Trump post his Fulton Country jail mugshot with a link soliciting donations.

    Family of Isaac Hayes Sues Trump Over Playing Hit Song

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    Gage Skidmore Flickr

    The family of late soul singer Isaac Hayes is suing former President Donald Trump for using the icon’s music at his rallies, Isaac Hayes III announced last week.

     The filing accused the former president and the Republican Nation Committee of “willfully and brazenly” engaging in 134 counts of copyright infringement.

    A letter to Trump and his campaign from the Georgia-based law firm Walker & Associates reads:

    Our firm has been retained by the family and Isaac Hayes Enterprises, who own the copyright to the musical composition and recording “Hold On (I’m Coming)” (the “Song”). It has come to our attention that you or the campaign have authorized the illegal public performance of the Song on multiple occasions during various rallies for your political campaign without authorization from the copyright holder, despite being asked repeatedly not to engage in such illegal use by our client.

    Upon information and belief, you, your campaign, and/or the RNC and other parties have willfully and brazenly engaged in copyright infringement in violation of several provisions of Title 17 U.S.C., including § 501, of the Copyright Act of 1976, as amended, over one hundred times. We have attached for your convenience a non-exhaustive list attached hereto as Exhibit A. As we prepared this letter, there was an additional use in Montana just two nights ago, even with your office apparently aware that you had no permission. We and the family hereby demand that you cease the continual infringement of our copyright and stop all unauthorized use of the Song.

    The suit further demands Trump pay $3 million, stop using the song, and to remove any campaign multimedia of the song being played at rallies. Hayes’ estate also demanded Trump issue a statement acknowledging he played the song without permission.

    Trump Scores Support From Another Billionaire

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Trump is scoring big…

    Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood said she would vote for former President Trump over President Biden in the November presidential election.

    Wood took part in an interview with ‘Meet Kevin’ financial analyst and YouTuber Kevin Paffrath, during which she was asked the popular question, “Trump or Biden?”

    Wood told the host she has three children with whom she has discussed the upcoming election and its consequences.

    “As I’ve said to them, ‘Look, I am going to vote for the person who’s going to do the best job for our economy,’” Wood told Paffrath. “I am a voter when it comes to economics, and on that basis, Trump.”

    She further explained that Laffer Associates founder and chairman Art Laffer “describes the first three years of the Trump presidency as the best in U.S. economic history, not the last one because of COVID, and I would agree.”

    Watch:

    The informal endorsement comes on the heels of several billionaires sending money and support toward Trump’s presidential campaign. (RELATED: Billionaire Makes Massive Political Contribution To Trump)

    Timothy Mellon, heir to the Mellon banking fortune, made a $50 million contribution to the pro-Trump super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc.

    In a memo following Mellon’s donation, the PAC announced it had reserved $100 million in advertising through Labor Day.

    The New York Times continues:

    Mr. Mellon is now the first donor to give $100 million in disclosed federal contributions in this year’s election. He was already the single largest contributor to super PACs supporting both Mr. Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running as an independent. Mr. Mellon has previously given $25 million to both.

    Billionaire Stephen Schwarzman, the CEO and co-founder of Blackstone, announced last month he will back Trump in the 2024 race after he previously called for the Republican Party to turn to a “new generation of leaders.”

    Obama Claims New Yorkers ‘Don’t Take Trump Seriously’

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    During a podcast interview, former President Barack Obama swiped at Donald Trump claiming the former President is not taken “seriously” in the city he called home for years, New York City.

    Obama appeared alongside Bill Clinton and President Biden in the newest episode of the “SmartLess” podcast. 

    Obama was asked on the “SmartLess” podcast by co-host Jason Bateman whether he was surprised how quickly the “protection and passion for democracy was diluted” in recent years. Obama responded by noting the trend began during former President Clinton’s time in the White House before accelerating during his presidency.

    “I have been surprised that there haven’t been guardrails inside the Republican Party. Trump didn’t surprise me,” he said, before taking aim at Trump.

    “I mean, he comes from New York. There’s nobody in New York who does business with him or lend him money. He’s not considered a serious guy here,” Obama added.

    Obama went on to explain how he thought more Republicans would say some of Trump’s behavior went too far.

    “But, so I was surprised he was elected, but I wasn’t surprised in terms of his behavior. I did expect, and I suspect Bill and Joe, you’d agree with this, that there would be some folks in the Republican Party who would say, no, you can’t go that far. You can’t start praising Putin and saying that his intelligence is better than the US intelligence agencies,” he said.

    Trump is currently on trial in New York for falsifying business records to make alleged hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels.

    Watergate Prosecutor Says ‘Trump Is Toast’ In Fraud Trial 

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    Slowking4, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

    Former Watergate prosecutor Nick Ackerman said former President Trump is “toast” in his New York civil fraud case.

    New York Attorney General Letitia James’ case accuses Trump, his two adult sons, the Trump Organization, and top executives of falsely inflating the values of Trump’s real estate properties and other assets in order to get tax benefits and better loan terms.

    James seeks around $250 million in damages, and she wants to bar Trump and his co-defendants from running another business in New York.

    According to The Hill, Ackerman argued people are not only focused on the former president’s testimony but also his deposition with James’s lawyers last summer, where he invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 400 times.

    “Now what does it mean to take the Fifth Amendment? It means that you are refusing to answer a question, because a truthful answer would tend to be incriminating,” Ackerman said. “Then what did Donald Trump do last week? He went into court and said, ‘Oh, I didn’t do anything fraudulent, I wasn’t involved in a fraud.’ Which is just the opposite what in effect he was saying when he took the Fifth Amendment in his deposition.”

    “So you’ve got contradictory testimony,” Ackerman continued. “You can use his assertion of the Fifth Amendment against him to basically find that he’s lying, that he’s manipulating the system when he goes in, refuses to answer questions, answers the questions in a half-baked manner.”

    Earlier this week when Trump took the stand he fiercely defended his business practices and condemned those involved in the case as politically motivated “Trump haters.”

    “I just don’t see how this judge at the end of the day is not going to find that, with respect to Donald Trump … ‘Liar, liar, pants on fire,’” Ackerman said.

    Ackerman said that in his more than 40 years of civil law experience, he has never seen anyone “do such a stupid move as to suddenly start testifying” after they’ve taken the Fifth Amendment.

    Trump Media Investor Convicted Of Insider Trading

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    Arrest image via Pixabay

    On Thursday, a Manhattan grand jury found financier Bruce Garelick guilty of insider trading charges in a scheme that involved the merger of former President Donald J. Trump’s social media company with a publicly traded shell company.

    Federal prosecutors had charged Garelick with five counts of securities fraud and conspiracy. 

    Authorities claimed Garelick shared confidential information with his boss and at least one other person that Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, was close to announcing a merger with Digital World Acquisition Group, the shell company.

    Mr. Garelick, 54, a former hedge fund manager, had been a board member of Digital World. 

    The New York Times has more:

    The information helped two brothers — Michael Shvartsman and Gerald Shvartsman — make nearly $23 million in illegal trading profits by buying Digital World securities in advance of the announcement, which sent the stock soaring. Mr. Garelick, who worked for Michael Shvartsman at a small Miami-based venture capital firm called Rocket One, made about $50,000 by trading off what authorities said was nonpublic information.

    Last month, the Shvartsman brothers decided to forgo a trial and pleaded guilty to securities fraud charges. In their plea agreements, prosecutors have recommended a sentence of roughly four to five years for Michael Shvartsman; and three to four years for his younger brother.

    Digital World raised about $300 million from investors in its initial public offering in September 2021. A little over a month later, the SPAC announced a deal to merge with Trump Media. After a long delay, the merger was completed in March and Trump Media became a publicly traded company. Mr. Trump’s nearly 70 percent stake in the firm is worth about $6 billion.

    In a closing argument, Daniel Nessim, a federal prosecutor, described Mr. Garelick as a “sophisticated professional” who “cheated” and used inside information to benefit himself and his boss, Michael Shvartsman.

    Garelick could face at least 25 years in prison.

    This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

    RNC Chair Lara Trump Releases New Single

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    Image via gage Skidmore Flickr

    The Trump family is full of talents.

    On Thursday night, RNC chair Lara Trump released her second single and teased the release of several more songs coming soon.

    According to Mediaite, Trump—who made headlines with her 2023 cover of Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down”—spontaneously dropped yet another single, “Anything is Possible,” at midnight on Thursday evening.

    “A little something I had fun with over the winter,” wrote Trump in a social media post announcing the song. “And a few more too that I’ll save for a future date, special for my YUGE fans in the liberal media [winky face emoji].”

    In the uplifting single about faith, which is currently available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music, Trump sings, “I’ve had my ups and downs, cried when no one’s around. Still I gotta put my game face on, even when I’m not feeling strong. No matter how it seems, I wouldn’t trade a thing, ’cause all of it makes me who I am.”

    She continues in the chorus, “Don’t think, just jump, you can’t give up. Know that anything is possible. Have faith, believe, just trust, you’ll see, anything is possible.”

    It is unclear whether Trump currently has an album in the works or whether she has just produced a collection of singles.

    Earlier this month, Trump was elected to serve as co-chair of the Republican National Committee following Ronna McDaniel’s exit.

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