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    Report: Special Counsel Jack Smith To Resign

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    5
    Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

    Goodbye and good riddance…

    Special counsel Jack Smith will finish up his work and resign from his position before President-elect Trump is sworn in.

    Smith is aiming to bring to an end his cases against Trump and step down before the presidential inauguration as a way to get ahead of the Republican’s promise to fire him “within two seconds.” 

    Trump has pointed to a Supreme Court immunity ruling from this summer that broadened the criteria for official presidential conduct ineligible for prosecution even after a president is no longer in office.

    Smith has been evaluating how to wind down both the 2020 election interference case and the separate classified documents case before Trump takes office, Fox News reported last week. 

    Longstanding Justice Department policy says sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted while in office.

    Smith on Friday filed a motion to vacate all deadlines in the 2020 election interference case against Trump in Washington, D.C., a widely expected move, but one that stops short of dropping the case against him completely. 

    Smith is required under DOJ regulations to submit a report of his findings and an explanation of the charges the prosecutor considered and ultimately filed – even though neither case made it to trial. 

    However, it’s not clear whether Attorney General Merrick Garland would make that report public before the end of President Biden’s term or defer to the incoming Trump administration, according to the Times. 

    Sources close to the matter told the Times that Smith has no intention of dragging his feet, and has informed career prosecutors and FBI agents on his team not directly involved in preparing the report that they can plan their exits in the coming weeks. 

    SCOTUS Responds To Mark Meadows’ Bid To Move Election Subversion Case To Federal Court

    By
    Patrick Houck
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    5
    Duncan Lock, Dflock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    In a significant setback for former Trump administration Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, the Supreme Court has denied his request to transfer his election subversion case from Georgia state court to federal court. Tuesday’s ruling means Meadows will face charges in Fulton County, where the case was brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Since presidential pardons apply only to federal offenses, Meadows is now ineligible for a potential pardon, should one ever be considered.

    As The Hill reports:

    Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) charged Meadows, President-elect Trump and more than a dozen others over accusations they unlawfully attempted to overturn President Biden’s 2020 victory in Georgia.

    Refusing to hear Meadows’s bid to move courts marks a win for Willis, who has attempted to keep the defendants together for a singular trial in state court.

    Trump’s election as president Tuesday has complicated that goal, however. His attorneys are expected to argue the Constitution prohibits Trump’s charges from moving forward while he is in the White House.

    It remains unclear how any pause would impact the Trump allies charged alongside him. The trial proceedings already are on indefinite pause amid an appeal by some defendants seeking to remove Willis over her once-romantic relationship with a top prosecutor on the case who has since stepped aside.

    What Does This Mean for Meadows?

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

    With this decision, Meadows has exhausted his options for moving the case to federal court. The implications are significant:

    -Ineligibility for Presidential Pardon: Since his case remains in state court, a federal pardon would not apply.

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    -Focus on State Jurisdiction: The case will proceed under Georgia’s judicial system, potentially influencing how other co-defendants approach their defense strategies.

    What’s Next in the Georgia Election Case?

    Meadows isn’t alone in seeking relief from the legal proceedings. Other co-defendants, also charged with alleged election interference, are challenging District Attorney Willis’ authority in the case. A critical hearing is scheduled for Dec. 5 in the Georgia Court of Appeals, where arguments will be heard regarding the removal of Willis as the lead prosecutor.

    Trump’s victory will likely put the Georgia election interference case against him on hold, at least until he leaves office. However, attorneys for his co-defendants told Law360 that this is unlikely to apply to their clients.

    Key Points to Watch:

    -Outcome of Dec. 5 Hearing: If Willis is removed, it could reshape the prosecutorial strategy and impact case proceedings for Meadows and others.

    -Potential Legal Precedents: The rulings in this case could set important precedents for how state-level cases involving federal officials are handled in the future.

    Article Published With The Permission of American Liberty News.

    Democrat Senator Throws Support Behind Trump Secretary Of State Pick

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0

    Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman (D) announced on Tuesday he plans to vote to confirm President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for Secretary of State.

    Trump has tapped Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) to be the next Secretary of State.

    “Unsurprisingly, the other team’s pick will have political differences than my own,” Fetterman wrote in a post on X. “That being said, my colleague @SenMarcoRubio is a strong choice and I look forward to voting for his confirmation.”

    Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) has called Rubio “an outstanding choice.”

    “Senator Rubio has a proven record of promoting freedom, defending American interests on the global stage, and standing firm against threats from the CCP. His leadership will be invaluable in advancing our nation’s values and priorities abroad,” Steube said in a tweet.

    Rep. Carlos Giménez (R-Fla.) said in a statement that, “President Trump has made a truly historic and brilliant choice in selecting Senator Marco Rubio as our nation’s Secretary of State.”

    Rubio has served in the Senate since 2011.

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

    Report: Elon Musk to Run ‘Unregulated Entity’ Tasked With Reorganizing Government

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    5

    Elon Musk is reportedly poised to become “the most powerful civilian ever” in American history, according to a new report by Axios.

    The report by Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen at Axios highlighted Musk’s status as Trump’s “most influential backer” who “now sits at the pinnacle of power in business, government influence and global information (and misinformation) flow.”

    Musk’s immense wealth connected to his support for the winning presidential candidate means that his “power” is now “unmatched,” VandeHei and Allen wrote, because of his “information control” over “the most powerful information platform for America’s ruling party.”

    “X makes Fox News seem like a quaint little pamphlet in size, scope and right-wing tilt,” they continued, with “[v]irtually every powerful voice in the Trump media ecosystem congregates on X — where their reality, whether tethered to facts or fiction, are set. X will be the prosecutor, defender, jury and judge of Trump governance.”

    And Musk’s influence on the second Trump White House won’t just be from the outside in, the Axios report noted:

    Musk is helping staff the top ranks of the incoming White House and will run an unregulated entity to recommend ways to cut and reorganize government. Name another American figure with this kind of political juice.

    Report: Tom Cotton Removes Name From Cabinet Consideration

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    A surprising move…

    As President-elect Donald Trump begins to start forming his administration one high-profile name will be notably absent: Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton.

    Cotton had been widely seen as a front-runner for a top cabinet position in the next Trump administration, but a source close to the senator told Fox News on Thursday that he asked that his name be pulled from consideration

    Cotton has two boys under the age of 10 and wants to remain close to them and not upend their lives.  He also feels “confident” about securing the No. 3 position in the new GOP Senate majority, the Republican Conference chair when the election is held next week.

    The source said Trump understands Cotton’s decision and knows “he is with him all the way in the Senate.”

    It’s unclear who Trump will select to serve in his new administration but some familiar faces are expected to return.

    Ben Carson is being weighed to return once again as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and Betsy DeVos could return as Secretary of Education. Mike Pompeo too could return as Defense Secretary.

    New faces include North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who could serve as Secretary of the Interior or Energy Secretary. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is in the running for Secretary of State, while Robert F. Kennedy Jr., could serve as Secretary of Agriculture or Health and Human Services.

    Pennsylvania Supreme Court Weighs In On Mail-In Voter Debate

    By
    Patrick Houck
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    1

    In a pivotal decision on Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that voters whose mail-in ballots were rejected due to errors—including missing signatures, incorrect dates or absence of a required secrecy envelope—can still cast their vote on Election Day. The 4-3 decision ensures that these individuals are allowed to submit provisional ballots at their local polling places, provided no additional disqualifying issues arise.

    The ruling originated from a case in Butler County, where two voters were denied the opportunity to vote provisionally after their mail-in ballots were rejected during the April primary for missing secrecy envelopes. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Pennsylvania and the Public Interest Law Center represented the voters, arguing that the county had misinterpreted the state’s Election Code.

    Per Spotlight PA:

    Justice Christine Donohue, writing for the majority, noted that the Republican litigants argued that in order to maintain election integrity, provisional ballots should not be counted, but said the majority was “at a loss to identify what honest voting principle is violated by recognizing the validity of one ballot cast by one voter.”

    “If appellants presume that the general assembly intended to disqualify the provisional ballot of a voter who failed to effectively vote by mail in order to punish that voter, we caution that such a construction is not reconcilable with the right of franchise,” she wrote.

    The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and the Public Interest Law Center, which brought the case on behalf of two voters, celebrated the ruling as a victory.

    “Today’s decision affirms that if you make a paperwork mistake that will keep your mail ballot from counting, you have the right to vote by provisional ballot at your polling place on Election Day,” said Ben Geffen, senior attorney at the Public Interest Law Center. “This reinforces the right to vote in Pennsylvania.”

    This decision holds broad implications for voters across Pennsylvania, offering a contentious solution for those facing similar issues in future elections. However, there was notable dissent, including from Justice P. Kevin Brobson, who contended that the state’s Election Code explicitly prohibits counting such provisional ballots.

    The ruling comes as Pennsylvania takes center stage in the 2024 election. Polls suggest a highly competitive race, with the latest RealClearPolitics average showing former President Donald Trump holding a slight 0.6-point lead over Vice President Kamala Harris.

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    Report: House Task Force Releases Scathing Assassination Disclosure

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

    Americans still want answers…

    On Monday, the House Task Force investigating the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania released its initial findings.

    Lack of adequate planning, a narrow field of vision for local snipers, the absence of a unified command post and fragmented communication were among the main findings in the 53-page report that examined how 20-year-old shooter Matthew Crooks was able to climb atop a building with a line of sight to Trump and fire at him. 

    “Although the findings in this report are preliminary, the information obtained during the first phase of the Task Force’s investigation clearly shows a lack of planning and coordination between the Secret Service and its law enforcement partners before the rally,” the report said.

    U.S. Secret Service (USSS) personnel at the event “did not give clear guidance” to state and local authorities about how to manage security outside of their hard perimeter, nor was there a central meeting between USSS and the law enforcement agencies supporting them the morning of the rally – two findings presented as key failures in the 51-page report.

    The House Task Force investigating the attempts on Trump’s life is expected to release its final report by Dec. 13.

    Read the interim report in its entirety:

    5d5fdc40-house-task-force-trump-interim-reportDownload

    Crooks’s bullet came within inches of killing the former president and injured his ear. Shots also killed one rally attendee and seriously wounded two others. 

    The latest report also detailed information about Crooks’ autopsy report and the chain of events that led to release of the remains to the Crooks’s family. The Butler County Coroner’s office released the remains after the FBI concurred that no additional evidence was necessary, the report said. 

    The autopsy report found that Crooks died from one gunshot wound to the head, found negative results for alcohol or drugs of abuse, but was positive for antimony, selenium, and lead. Heightened levels of lead could have been due to time spent at the shooting range, the Allegheny County Chief Medical Examiner said.

    The House force is made up of a bipartisan group of lawmakers and has also been assigned to investigate the September apparent assassination attempt on Trump in at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida. 

    “The Task Force will continue to rigorously investigate the July 13 assassination attempt in the coming months,” the report said, adding that it is “in the process of conducting more than 20 transcribed interviews of federal officials and others who may have knowledge relevant to the events of July 13.” 

    This is a breaking news story. Click refresh for the latest updates.

    President Trump is the only one who stood up for working families, and the DC elite want him destroyed. Kamala is raising over $1 Billion to crush his campaign. Will you chip in $3 before the day ends? — JD Vance

    Supreme Court Responds To Michael Cohen Appeal

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    Duncan Lock, Dflock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    The Supreme Court will not get involved.

    On Monday, the Supreme Court declined to revive Michael Cohen’s lawsuit seeking damages for retaliation during his prison sentence.

    Cohen’s lawsuit comes after the former Trump “fixer” began serving his sentence for federal election finance crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Due to health reasons that would be exacerbated by the virus, Cohen’s prison term was furloughed, and he was temporarily sent to home confinement. 

    Officials later ordered him back to prison after he raised issue with a release condition asking him to waive his ability to criticize then-President Trump

    A federal judge ruled to release Cohen again and said the former president’s ex-fixer suffered unconstitutional retaliation for wanting to critique Trump on social media and in a book. However, the judge later dismissed Cohen’s claim for damages over the incident. 

    The Hill reports:

    “As it stands, this case represents the principle that presidents and their subordinates can lock away critics of the executive without consequence,” Cohen wrote in his request for the justices to hear his case.  

    Trump attorney Alina Habba said in the former president’s brief to the court that Cohen’s complaint is “entirely devoid of merit.” She also added a question over whether Cohen’s claim is barred by presidential immunity, which the justices declined to weigh. 

    Cohen testified as a star witness in the Manhattan district attorney’s criminal case against his former boss, which ended in a conviction in May, and took the stand in an earlier civil fraud trial against Trump and his business.  

    In a previous interview with The Hill, Cohen said his appeal to the justices was about deterrence. His experience, he said, was “merely a practice run” for the sweeping retribution Trump has vowed in a potential second term. 

    “Donald has opened up a Pandora’s box for future Trump 2.0s acting in the same autocratic manner,” Cohen said. “This writ of certiorari will be part of the process that would prevent any other U.S. citizen ever from being imprisoned because they refused to waive their First Amendment right or because they express criticism.”  

    The type of relief Cohen sought against Trump, various officials involved and the federal government itself for violating his constitutional rights is known as a Bivens claim. Over the past 44 years, the Supreme Court has turned away a dozen such lawsuits – making the ex-fixer’s request an uphill fight. 

    This is a breaking news story. Click refresh for the latest updates.

    President Trump is the only one who stood up for working families, and the DC elite want him destroyed. Kamala is raising over $1 Billion to crush his campaign. Will you chip in $3 before the day ends? — JD Vance

    Supreme Court Rejects Challenge To Special Counsel’s Access To Trump Twitter Data

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    4
    Duncan Lock, Dflock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    On Monday, the Supreme Court declined to take up a challenge by social platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to court rulings that forced the platform to turn over data on former President Trump’s account to special counsel Jack Smith. 

    Early last year, Smith obtained a secret warrant for Trump’s account on X, where Trump posted constantly during his White House term, as part of prosecutors’ federal election interference investigation.

    X was prohibited from informing the former president about the warrant. It only became public last summer, after Trump was charged with four felonies in the case. He pleaded not guilty. 

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    The company challenged the order, arguing the records were potentially covered by executive privilege and not being able to tell Trump violated the First Amendment. Court filings show X at one point was fined $350,000 for not timely turning over Trump’s data.

    X brought its fight to the Supreme Court, hoping to prevent the process from happening again, insisting most similar challenges never reach the high court and the case was a “rare opportunity” to review the issue. 

    “If the Court does not grant this petition, it could be decades (if ever) before it gets another clean vehicle to resolve the important and recurring questions presented,” X wrote in its petition. 

    The Supreme Court declined to take up X’s appeal in a brief, unsigned order.

    “If review of the underlying legal issues were ever warranted, the Court should await a live case in which the issues are concretely presented,” prosecutors wrote in court filings. 

    © Great America News Desk 2022