Trump is facing criticism after a photo emerged of him with the infamous Philadelphia mon boss, Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino.
Trump posed for the photo obtained by The Philadelphia Inquirer with Merlino earlier this month at Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach. The two, along with an unidentified third man, flash Trump’s customary “thumbs-up” hand signs and smiles while wearing golfing attire.
The photo is likely to renew concerns that Trump still lacks the sort of protective political infrastructure that would prevent a candidate for president from taking a picture with a convicted mobster whose last stint in federal prison ended in mid-2020.https://t.co/ngigx6rW8Y
“President Trump takes countless photos with people. That does not mean he knows every single person he comes in contact with,” said a Trump spokesperson after The Inquirer shared a copy of the photo with his campaign.
Merlino was convicted in 2001 in a racketeering case and served a decade in federal prison and is known for connections to mob with operations in Philadelphia and Atlantic City. After his release, he relocated to Boca Raton, Florida before being arrested again in 2018 on a gambling-related charge.
Trump has recently come under fire for his contact with controversial public figures like Kanye West and Nick Fuentes.
Last year Trump hosted a dinner while the rapper also known as Ye was in the middle of his anti-Semitic, pro-Nazi meltdown. West was also accompanied by Nick Fuentes, one of the most infamous white nationalists and Holocaust deniers in the country. Trump has asserted that he was unaware Fuentes would be attending the dinner.
On Friday, anti-Trump Republican Larry Hogan announced he’s running to fill Maryland’s empty Senate seat.
The Maryland Republican’s decision to run for outgoing Sen. Ben Cardin’s (D-Md.) seat was unexpected given that he’d previously hinted at launching a White House campaign to take on Donald Trump.
I am running for the United States Senate – not to serve one party – but to stand up to both parties, fight for Maryland, and fix our nation's broken politics. It’s what I did as Maryland’s governor, and it’s exactly how I'll serve Maryland in the Senate. Let’s get back to work. pic.twitter.com/d0TuZchAtN
According to The Hill, Hogan is likely to be the heavy favorite on the Republican side while Democrats are likely to choose between Rep. David Trone (D-Md.) and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D).
The decision came after intense lobbying from the National Republican Senatorial Committee and its Chair Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.). Hogan had also spoken to Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) in recent months.
A Pennsylvania judge sided with Donald Trump on Monday, finding that statements Trump made regarding the 2020 election while still in office are protected by presidential immunity.
Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Erdos said Trump’s immunity covered a tweet he issued and comments he made remotely from the White House during a Pennsylvania state Senate committee hearing in November 2020.
James Savage, a Pennsylvania voting machine supervisor in the 2020 election, filed lawsuits alleging Trump, Rudy Giuliani, two poll watchers and others conspired to defame him.
“Other legal proceedings may examine the propriety of his statements and actions while he was the President and whether, as the plaintiffs in this and other cases contend, it was this conduct which served as the actual threat to our democracy,” Erdos ruled. “But this case is not the proper place to do so. Here, Trump is entitled to Presidential immunity.”
“Here, then-President Trump’s Gettysburg remarks and his tweet were public,” Erdos wrote. “Moreover, the topic of these statements—claims from third parties and the President himself about irregularities in the Presidential election which on their face called into question the integrity of the election and whether now-President Joseph Biden had been duly elected—was undoubtedly a matter of great public concern.”
Trump praised the Monday ruling.
“We are pleased with the Court’s decision to honor the long-standing principle of Presidential Immunity,” Trump legal spokeswoman Alina Habba said in a statement.
“Today, the Court made it clear that it is well within the President’s discretion to address the integrity of our election without fear of liability,” Habba continued. “We expect that the rest of Mr. Savage’s claims will similarly be disposed of as they are without merit.”
KENTUCKY AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Air Force Two taxies into the Kentucky Air National Guard Base in Louisville, Ky., on Feb 11, 2011. The base frequently supports visits by the president and vice president when they travel to Louisville. Vice President Joe Biden was in town to speak at the University of Louisville. (U.S. Air Force by Maj. Dale Greer)
On Saturday, President Donald Trump attended the dignified transfer of six American service members killed so far by Iran in Operation Epic Fury.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt first announced the news during her Wednesday press briefing
“President Trump intends to attend the dignified transfer of these American heroes to stand in grief alongside their families,” she said during the White House press briefing.
Four of the six have been identified: Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa. All four died Saturday in Kuwait from an Iranian drone attack.
The service members, who were killed in a make-shift office space at a civilian port in Kuwait, will be transported to the United States at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, described the site as a “secure facility fortified with 6-foot walls,” in a Tuesday post on social platform X.
This “reporting” from CBS is not true.
A Tactical Operations Center is not a “makeshift office space.” The secure facility was fortified with 6-foot walls.
Here are the facts: 1. We have the most extensive Air Defense umbrella in the world over the Middle East right now and… https://t.co/KrkEztaI1P
President Joe Biden hugs his family during the 59th Presidential Inauguration ceremony in Washington, Jan. 20, 2021. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took the oath of office on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol. (DOD Photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Carlos M. Vazquez II)
Hunter Biden’s wealthy attorney pal Kevin Morris — long dubbed his “sugar brother” — has been ordered to cough up $50,000 to a former Trump aide after a legal saga that dragged on for years and fizzled out.
A California Superior Court judge ruled that Morris must pay Garrett Ziegler and his nonprofit Marco Polo to cover legal costs, closing the book on a bizarre dispute tied to the infamous Hunter Biden laptop.
The case centered on a 2022 phone call in which Morris believed he was speaking to a Democratic strategist about the laptop. But things took a strange turn when he later received an image of a squid alongside the message “NOTHING IS BEYOND OUR REACH” and the name “Marco Polo” — tipping him off that something was off.
Morris accused Ziegler of being behind the call and slapped him with a laundry list of claims, including harassment, impersonation, and emotional distress. But the case unraveled when Morris couldn’t prove Ziegler was actually on the other end of the line.
Ziegler’s attorney, Jennifer Holliday, told Fox News the outcome hardly makes up for the drawn-out fight.
“It’s not really how I envisioned it would play out, and I don’t think that’s how the Constitution envisions that something like this would play out — which is why we filed a petition with the Supreme Court of the United States to review,” Holliday told Fox News Digital.
“I certainly hope that they will take a really hard look at what happened here because this is not a situation that should have ever happened,” she added.
Holliday is now urging the Supreme Court to take a closer look at California’s anti-SLAPP law — meant to protect free speech — arguing it actually dragged out what she sees as a flimsy case.
Not everyone is buying the high court push. A source familiar with Morris’ side dismissed the ruling as procedural and said the odds of the Supreme Court stepping in are slim, noting Ziegler’s team had originally sought as much as $300,000.
Meanwhile, Holliday pointed to what she says was a glaring hole in Morris’ claims: zero proof.
“There was no phone number that was ever presented to the court, to the Court of Appeal, to me, in discovery, anywhere,” Holliday said.
Ziegler didn’t hold back either, blasting Morris as an enabler of the president’s son.
“Morris is the one responsible for all the bull—- that Hunter pulled over the last couple years,” Ziegler said, referring to the millions Morris reportedly loaned Hunter Biden — including covering rent, buying his artwork, and even funding access to a private jet.
Morris has reportedly shelled out around $6.5 million to support Hunter Biden’s lifestyle and legal troubles.
The Hollywood lawyer has also dipped into politics, donating $29,900 to former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s failed gubernatorial bid — a campaign that collapsed amid sexual assault allegations.
Swalwell, a vocal defender of Hunter Biden on Capitol Hill, reportedly met with Morris multiple times during congressional probes into the Biden family’s business dealings.
Now, with the case finally over, Ziegler’s team is ready to press forward if Morris doesn’t pay up — already securing a debtor’s exam request to force compliance within 30 days.
Ted Eytan from Washington, DC, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
ANALYSIS – Two Proud Boys leaders have been sentenced to more than a decade each in jail after being convicted of the rarely used ‘seditious conspiracy’ charge for storming the Capitol.
They tried to overturn President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss, which they considered fraudulent.
These sentences are much less than the three decades of jail time proposed by prosecutors but still very long prison terms for a few hours of rioting.
And yes, I understand that the rioting was at the U.S. Capitol and that the certification of the Electoral College vote was in process. I also understand these two guys and the two others convicted on this same charge were intimately involved in organizing what became violent chaos that day.
I was there, at the Capitol, as an observer with a TV camera crew. And I denounced the violence the next day. It was outrageous.
I believe any violent rioter who attacked police or media, or anyone else, on Jan. 6 should be put in jail – as should all the BLM rioters who earlier caused $2 billion in damages throughout the country and injured 2,000 cops months earlier.
But a decade or two behind bars for ‘conspiracy’?
Biggs and Rehl are the first Proud Boys convicted of the Civil War-era seditious conspiracy charge to be sentenced for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.
The sentences kicked off a series of hearings scheduled for this week and next, where punishment will be meted out against the former chairman of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio (who was not in D.C. on Jan. 6 but was unbelievably arrested earlier for burning a BLM banner!), and two other members of the group.
All were convicted of seditious conspiracy and other crimes at a landmark conspiracy trial this spring. But was what they did really as bad as the Biden Justice Department tries to portray?
Seditious conspiracy is a broad statute that concerns attempts to overthrow the government, levy war against it or prevent, hinder or delay the execution of any law. It also can be applied in cases where suspects seize any government property and carries up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Partly because seditious conspiracy allegations carry so much political weight, prosecutors have generally been hesitant to bring such charges in the past. “Seditious conspiracy charges are rarely used in American jurisprudence,” said Jeffrey Ian Ross, a criminologist and expert on political crime at the University of Baltimore. Prosecutors can be wary of issuing such charges, even in cases that may fall under its broad statute, he added.
In the only similar case in the 20th century, federal prosecutors secured a seditious conspiracy conviction against Puerto Rican nationalists who stormed the Capitol building in 1954.
These four armed Puerto Rican independence militants entered the House floor and fired dozens of bullets around the chamber, wounding five legislators.
The four shooters and co-conspirators were convicted of seditious conspiracy and spent over two decades in jail until Jimmy Carter commuted their sentence in 1979.
In that case, however, the perpetrators had firearms and used them to try to kill Congressmen. That’s a pretty big difference.
The last successfully prosecuted seditious conspiracy was in the mid-1990s, when authorities charged Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman and nine Islamist co-conspirators for plotting to bomb the United Nations, the FBI building, and several other landmarks around New York City.
Again, this was very serious and involved planning mass murder and terrorism.
There is little or no evidence that any Jan. 6 rioters planned any offensive violence.
To date, of those charged in relation to Jan. 6, former Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes holds the record with an 18-year sentence, after he was convicted of seditious conspiracy earlier this year.
Even Rhodes, who is not believed to have actually stormed the building, is alleged to have plotted to bring weapons to the area and coordinate militia movements.
In the weeks before the insurrection, Rhodes allegedly purchased tens of thousands of dollars worth of weapons and began communicating to other Oath Keepers in an encrypted group chat. “We aren’t getting through this without a civil war,” he messaged days after the presidential election. One Oath Keeper admitted as part of a plea deal last year that he brought an M4 rifle to a Comfort Inn hotel near the Capitol, while Rhodes and others allegedly discussed “quick reaction force” teams that could move into Washington DC with firearms. Once inside the Capitol, prosecutors state in their indictment that one group of Oath Keepers moved in a military “stack” formation and went in search of the speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.
And at first glance, this does seem serious.
But Rhodes claims that despite earlier texts about possible ‘civil war,’ Oath Keepers who entered the Capitol went “totally off mission” and that he was only there to prevent his militia members from getting into trouble.
He has also stated that the armed ‘reaction force’ in Virginia was there to respond if armed leftist antifa thugs attacked pro-Trump protestors.
In the largest manhunt in FBI history, more than 1,100 people have been arrested on charges related to the Capitol assault. Of those, 597 defendants have had their cases adjudicated and received sentences. About 366 of them have been given jail time.
The vast majority of these Jan. 6 defendants, though, accepted plea deals for minor, nonviolent offenses such as trespassing or obstructing an official function. Many of them still got jail sentences totally out of proportion to their alleged crimes.
And these four got the worst of it.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Great America News Desk. It was first published in American Liberty News.
First Lady Michelle Obama and Ellen DeGeneres participate in a water balloon game with Stephan Curry during a taping of The Ellen DeGeneres Show in Burbank, California, Sept. 12, 2016. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
Ellen DeGeneres has reportedly left the United States following Donald Trump‘s decisive reelection. Alongside her wife, actress Portia de Rossi, DeGeneres has relocated to the rural Cotswolds region in southwestern England, where the celebrity couple plans to settle permanently.
Reports indicate that the pair has already begun the process of parting ways with their California properties. According to sources cited by The Wrap on Wednesday, their Montecito mansion had been “pocket-listed” for sale, or will be officially listed soon. Just one day later, Fox Newsconfirmed their multimillion-dollar estate had already sold:
The DeGeneres source told the outlet that Trump’s re-election had inspired the couple’s decision to jump ship. DeGeneres announced her support for Vice President Kamala Harris in September by reposting Taylor Swift’s Instagram endorsement. She simply added, “This childless cat lady couldn’t agree more,” a direct dig at Vice President-elect JD Vance.
Representatives for DeGeneres and Rossi did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
JUST IN: Ellen DeGeneres has moved to Great Britain and says she is "never coming back" to the United States after Trump's election win.
DeGeneres' Montecito mansion "has been pocket-listed or will be listed soon."
While the decision to leave the U.S. appears to stem primarily from dissatisfaction with the election results, some close to the couple have suggested that DeGeneres’ departure may also be tied to the ongoing fallout from her professional controversies.
In 2022, allegations of a toxic workplace culture on The Ellen DeGeneres Show surfaced, including alleged sexual misconduct. These accusations significantly damaged her reputation and marked the end of her 19-year daytime television career.
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DeGeneres has since expressed frustration about what she described as being “pushed out of show business” in a Netflix stand-up special.
Following an internal investigation by Warner Bros. into DeGeneres’s talk show, she issued a written apology to her staff while seemingly absolving herself of any responsibility.
“On day one of our show, I told everyone in our first meeting that The Ellen DeGeneres Show would be a place of happiness—no one would ever raise their voice, and everyone would be treated with respect. Obviously, something changed, and I am disappointed to learn that this has not been the case.”
“I could not have the success I’ve had without all of your contributions. My name is on the show and everything we do and I take responsibility for that. Alongside Warner Bros., we immediately began an internal investigation and we are taking steps, together, to correct the issues. As we’ve grown exponentially, I’ve not been able to stay on top of everything and relied on others to do their jobs as they knew I’d want them done. Clearly some didn’t. That will now change and I’m committed to ensuring this does not happen again,” she continued.
Warner Bros. announced following their findings, there would be staffing changes. “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” aired its final episode in 2022, but by then, DeGeneres’ reputation had been permanently impacted.
DeGeneres’ reported move follows empty threats from other A-listers, including Cher, Sharon Stone and Barbra Streisand, who had threatened to leave the U.S. if Trump were victorious once again. Speaking with The Guardian in 2023, Cher said she “almost got an ulcer the last time” Trump nearly regained power. “If he gets in, who knows? This time I will leave [the country].”
Article Published With The Permission of American Liberty News
President Trump’s former campaign manager Brad Parscale has registered as a foreign agent for Israel.
Parscale was hired to create digital campaigns combating antisemitism and targeting young Americans in a contract worth $6 million.
Parscale signed a Foreign Agents Registration Act form this month, informing the Department of Justice that he and his business Clock Tower X LLC were now representing Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs “to develop and execute a nationwide campaign in the United States to combat antisemitism.”
In another registration form, Parscale also disclosed his partnership with Germany’s HAVAS Media Network as part of the arrangement.
Asked whether the agency was “supervised by a foreign government, foreign political party, or other foreign principal,” Parscale ticked the box “Yes,” explaining that the agency was being “supervised” by the “State of Israel.”
According to Parscale’s contract, his company is hired to create content where at least 80 percent “is tailored to Gen Z audiences across platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, podcasts, and other relevant digital and broadcast outlets.”
The contract also states that “Agency shall provide strategic communications, planning, and media services in support of Client’s engagement by the State of Israel to develop and execute a nationwide campaign in the United States to combat antisemitism.”
Parscale will also reportedly work to influence AI models such as ChatGPT.
Parscale served as the Trump campaign’s digital media director in 2016, before going on to become Trump’s campaign manager in 2020.
Antisemitism has risen dramatically in the U.S. amid two years of Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, triggered by the U.S.-designated terrorist group’s attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The Anti-Defamation League recorded 9,354 antisemitic incidents across the U.S. in 2024, the highest number on record since the ADL began tracking incidents 46 years ago.
The ADL said that for the first time in the history of the audit, a majority (58 percent) of all incidents contained elements related to Israel or Zionism.
On Tuesday, the New York judge presiding over Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial will deliver a ruling over the recently imposed gag order.
Ahead of Judge Merchan’s ruling, Trump blasted the controversial gag order in a Truth Social post.
“HIGHLY CONFLICTED, TO PUT IT MILDLY, JUDGE JUAN MERCHAN, HAS TAKEN AWAY MY CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH,” Trump wrote on Truth Social shortly after arguments over the gag order concluded. “EVERYBODY IS ALLOWED TO TALK AND LIE ABOUT ME, BUT I AM NOT ALLOWED TO DEFEND MYSELF. THIS IS A KANGAROO COURT, AND THE JUDGE SHOULD RECUSE HIMSELF!”
Prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office claim Trump has so far violated the order barring him from attacking witnesses, prosecutors, court staff, and the judge’s family 10 times. They are asking the judge to fine Trump $1,000 for each violation.
Trump is being charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records to make alleged hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels.
The purported violations were mainly posted to Trump’s Truth Social, where he has made comments about potential witnesses in recent days. The gag order does not prevent Trump from attacking the judge or Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D).
One post, made on April 10, thanked an ex-lawyer to porn actress Stormy Daniels for “revealing the truth about two sleazebags who have, with their lies and misrepresentations, cost our Country dearly.”
The “sleazebags” in question were Daniels and Trump’s ex-fixer and personal attorney, Michael Cohen — both expected to be prominent witnesses in the district attorney’s case.
Another post maligns Cohen as a “disgraced attorney and felon…prosecuted for lying” and suggested that an ex-Manhattan prosecutor who once oversaw the investigation into Trump, Mark Pomerantz, should be “prosecuted for his terrible acts in and out of the D.A.’s office.”
Trump has appealed the gag order, arguing it is an unconstitutional violation of his First Amendment rights, but it remains in effect as of now.
