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    Former Trump Organization CFO Sentenced To Prison

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    2
    Image via Pixabay

    Former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg has been sentenced to five months in prison for perjury stemming from former President Trump’s civil fraud case.  

    Weisselberg pleaded guilty to two counts of felony perjury last month as part of a plea deal with the Manhattan district attorney’s office. 

    The charges stemmed from a 2020 deposition with the New York attorney general’s office as it built its civil fraud case against the Trump Organization.

    The Hill has more:

    In his July 17, 2020, deposition with the attorney general’s office, state lawyers questioned Weisselberg over the size of Trump’s Manhattan triplex apartment in Trump Tower. The property was listed on the former president’s financial statements as 30,000 square feet in size but is actually less than 11,000 square feet.  

    Weisselberg told state lawyers he “didn’t find out about the error” in the triplex’s listed size until Forbes reported it and that he was never present when Trump described the size of the property. He has now admitted that both remarks were untrue. 

    The inquiry into Weisselberg’s perjury was spurred by his October testimony in the civil fraud trial, in which he was also a defendant. Without pleading guilty to a specific charge, he admitted as part of his plea deal that he falsely testified he “never focused” on the triplex throughout the course of his work for the Trump Organization. 

    Prosecutors with the district attorney’s office said in charging documents that the Trump Tower triplex’s size was “material” to the attorney general’s investigation. 

    The civil fraud trial ended earlier this year with a New York judge ruling that Trump and top executives, including Weisselberg, conspired to alter the former president’s net worth for tax and insurance benefits.  

    Weisselberg was ordered to pay more than $1.1 million, plus interest, and barred for three years from serving in top leadership positions in any New York corporation or business entity. He was also barred for life from serving “in the financial control function” of any New York business. 

    Trump was ordered to pay $454 million, plus interest, and faced similar business-related penalties.

    Weisselberg’s 5-month sentence marks his second stint in prison after the former CFO pleaded guilty in 2022 to evading nearly $2 million in taxes. He was sentenced to five months at the Rikers Island jail for tax evasion.

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

    Trump Sues Former Attorney Michael Cohen

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Former President Donald Trump is suing his ex-lawyer Michael Cohen for more than $500 million, alleging a breach of his attorney-client relationship, unjust enrichment, and more.

    Fox News reports:

    “This is an action arising from [Cohen’s] multiple breaches of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, conversion and breaches of contract by virtue of [Cohen’s] past service as [Trump’s] employee and attorney,” the lawsuit states.

    The lawsuit alleges Cohen breached his attorney-client relationship by “spreading falsehoods” about Trump that were “likely to be embarrassing or detrimental, and partook in other misconduct,” while also breaching contractual terms of a confidentiality agreement he signed as a condition of employment with Trump.

    The lawsuit alleges Cohen spread falsehoods about Trump “with malicious intent and to wholly self-serving ends.” 

    It claims Cohen has recently, “increased the frequency and hostility of the illicit acts” and “appears to have become emboldened and repeatedly continues to make wrongful and false statements” about Trump through various platforms.

    “Such continuous and escalating improper conduct by [Cohen] has reached a proverbial crescendo and has left [Trump] with no alternative but to seek legal redress through this action,” the lawsuit states, adding that Trump has “suffered vast reputational harm as a direct result of [Cohen’s] breaches.”

    Trump’s lawsuit comes after the former president was arraigned on 34 counts of falsifying business records in Manhattan Criminal Court last week.

    Earlier this month a New York grand jury voted to indict former President Donald Trump for his alleged role in a hush money bribe to adult film star Stormy Daniels amid the 2016 presidential election in DA Alvin Bragg’s yearslong investigation into the real estate mogul.

    Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted out of charging Trump related to the Daniels payment in 2019. The Federal Election Commission also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021.

    This story is breaking news. Click refresh for the latest developments.

    Harris Campaign’s Endorsement By Fake Police Group Raises Astroturf Concerns

    By
    Patrick Houck
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    3

    As Vice President Kamala Harris continues her campaign, avoiding direct interviews and carefully selecting debate settings, questions about the authenticity of her support base are growing. The latest example is the endorsement from a group called “Police Leaders for Community Safety,” which Harris’s campaign and media outlets touted as a “stunning endorsement” from a group that typically backs Trump.

    However, scrutiny reveals that the group is far from a major law enforcement organization. USA Today notes that “Police Leaders for Community Safety” was only formed in 2024, describes itself as representing “dozens of police officials,” and is led by Sue Riseling, a former chief of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department. The group is primarily composed of former law enforcement members, many of whom lean left politically.

    The newspaper explained that “as the group has only been around since June, this marks the first endorsement for Police Leaders for Community Safety, with the group throwing their support for Harris.”

    The group’s announcement to Fox News, however, failed to share that information:

    The organization – which says it is led by a diverse group of prominent police professionals who have been at the helm of numerous major national law enforcement leadership groups – highlights that its mission is to champion “policies to make communities and the people in them safer, improve and evolve policing, and safeguard the rule of law.”

    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    “This endorsement reflects Vice President Harris’ track record and unwavering commitment to public safety and the rule of law,” Sue Riseling, chair of Police Leaders for Community Safety, said.

    Police Leaders for Community Safety board member David Mahoney, a former Dane County, Wisconsin, sheriff and past president of the National Sheriffs’ Association, said that Harris “spent her prosecutorial career protecting people, supporting victims and holding accountable those who have harmed others and betrayed the public trust. As a lawmaker, she has fought hard for the critical law enforcement-backed policies needed to fight crime and protect the public.”

    Critics have accused the Harris campaign of astroturfing, creating a façade of grassroots support by highlighting endorsements from groups with little influence in the law enforcement community. This comes in stark contrast to Donald Trump’s endorsement from the National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the nation’s oldest and most influential law enforcement organization, which has supported Trump in the last three elections.

    FOP President Patrick Yoes emphasized the importance of public safety and border security, stating that Trump’s policies align with the values of law enforcement officers across the country.

    READ NEXT: Top MAGA Republican Burned At Campaign Event, Returns To The Trail

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    Report: Trump To Appeal E. Jean Carroll Loss

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    Gage Skidmore Flickr

    On Friday, former President Donald Trump’s legal team is expected to file to appeal the $5 million verdict in E. Jean Carroll’s case at a federal appeals court.

    Trump is expected to attend the hearing at the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City. 

    Carroll alleged that Trump raped her at the Bergdorf Goodman department store across from Trump Tower in Manhattan sometime in 1996. She was seeking $12 million. 

    A federal jury in New York City decided last year that Trump was not liable for rape but was liable for sexual abuse and defamation. The former president was ordered to pay $5 million in that trial. 

    Carroll also hit Trump with a separate defamation suit, claiming his responses to her accusations caused harm to her reputation. 

    Trump and his legal team insist that Carroll’s allegations are fabricated, with the former president’s initial reaction including an accusation that Carroll was motivated by wanting to sell copies of her book. 

    Earlier this year a New York jury found that Carroll was injured as a result of statements Trump made while in the White House in 2019. 

    The jury ruled that Trump’s statements were made to harm Carroll and awarded her $65 million in punitive damages. In total, with the reputational repair program, the jury said Carroll should be paid $83.3 million. 

    Trump attorneys on Friday are expected to argue that the jury’s verdict should be tossed because evidence was allowed at trial that should have been excluded, and that other evidence was excluded that should have been permitted. 

    The court is highly unlikely to rule on the matter before the November presidential election. 

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

    Judge Delays Fox News Trial As Settlement Speculation Builds

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    1
    The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    Is the highly anticipated Fox News trial finished before it even started?

    Hours before the trial was set to begin, a Delaware judge announced late Sunday he would delay the beginning of Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit against Fox News by 24 hours.

    “The Court has decided to continue the start of the trial, including jury selection, until Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at 9:00 a.m.,” Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said in a statement.

    A trial in the case had been slated to start Monday morning. Numerous high-profile Fox News officials including Chairman Rupert Murdoch, CEO Suzanne Scott, Tucker Carlson, and Maria Bartiromo are scheduled to take the stand.

    Dominion Voting Systems filed a $1.6 billion lawsuit in 2021 following the presidential election. The company argues Fox News’ airing of claims of voter fraud propagated by former President Donald Trump and his allies defamed the company and caused irreparable damage to its credibility.

    Fox has fiercely defended itself on First Amendment grounds and has argued the network was covering the allegations being made by the then-President because they were newsworthy.

    “This case is and always has been about the First Amendment protections of the media’s absolute right to cover the news,” Fox said in a recent statement about the case. “Fox will continue to fiercely advocate for the rights of free speech and a free press as we move into the next phase of these proceedings.” 

    While it remains unclear what exactly triggered the delay in proceedings CNN senior analyst Elie Honig predicted that extra time would allow for a potential settlement.

    On CNN This Morning, Honig called this “the most likely scenario” for the Dominion trial before adding, “there’s something about being on the eve of trial that can really sober up both parties.”

    “Look at it from Fox’s point of view: they’re looking at the likelihood — if there’s a trial — of having all of their, or many of their, most prominent anchors have to take the stand, testify and get cross-examined,” Honig said. “You can understand why they would be hit by reality at the last moment, say, ‘We need to avoid this.’”

    “Keep in mind, the judge here has already made a finding — as a matter of law — that Fox’s statements about the 2020 election and about Dominion were false. So that is on the record,” Honig said. “The only question at trial was going to be is there actual malice? Did Fox know, or were they reckless about the falsity?”

    However, Honig conceded “you never really know” what the jury could decide if the trial ultimately happens.

    In an early morning Truth Social post, Donald Trump called on the network to to “admit” the 2020 election was effectively stolen from him.

    IF FOX WOULD FINALLY ADMIT THAT THERE WAS LARGE SCALE CHEATING & IRREGULARITIES IN THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, WHICH WOULD BE A GOOD THING FOR THEM, & FOR AMERICA, THE CASE AGAINST THEM, WHICH SHOULD NOT HAVE EXISTED AT ALL, WOULD BE GREATLY WEAKENED. BACK UP THOSE PATRIOTS AT FOX INSTEAD OF THROWING THEM UNDER THE BUS – & THEY ARE RIGHT! THERE IS SOOO MUCH PROOF, LIKE MASS BALLOT STUFFING CAUGHT ON GOVERNMENT CAMERAS, FBI COLLUDING WITH TWITTER & FACEBOOK, STATE LEGISLATURES NOT USED, etc.

    Trump Officially Locks Up GOP Nomination

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    1
    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    It’s finally official…

    On Tuesday evening, Donald Trump secured the GOP nomination after winning the GOP primary in Washington state.

    “It’s your favorite president speaking to you on a really great day of victory,” Trump said in a video posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, by his campaign. “One week ago, we had something called Super Tuesday and it was indeed super, because we won at numbers at nobody has ever seen before, records in virtually every state.”

    “And tonight, likewise, but this one got us over the top,” he continued. “The Republican National Committee has just declared us the official nominee.”

    After the race was called, Trump said in a post on Truth Social that “It is my great honor to be representing the Republican Party” on the top of the ticket in November.

    “Our Party is UNITED and STRONG, and fully understands that we are running against the Worst, Most Incompetent, Corrupt, and Destructive President in the History of the United States,” the former president wrote.

    “But fear not, we will not fail, we will take back our once great Country, put AMERICA FIRST, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN – GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE,” he added. “November 5th will go down as the most important day in the history of our Country! GOD BLESS AMERICA.”

    President Joe Biden also secured the Democrat nomination the same day, officially teeing up a rematch of the 2020 election.

    “Voters now have a choice to make about the future of this country,” Biden said.

    Report: Manhattan DA Signals Openness To Delaying Trump Criminal Sentencing

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    1

    This could be big…

    The Manhattan district attorney’s office said it would not oppose delaying former President Trump’s sentencing, a significant step forward for Trump who has sought to delay sentencing until after the 2024 presidential election.

    In a two-page letter responding to Trump’s delay request that became public Monday, prosecutors said some of his other arguments had no merit, and “there are strong reasons” why Trump should not be permitted to appeal an unfavorable immunity ruling prior to sentencing.  

    “Nonetheless, given the defense’s newly-stated position, we defer to the Court on whether an adjournment is warranted to allow for orderly appellate litigation of that question, or to reduce the risk of a disruptive stay from an appellate court pending consideration of that question,” state lawyer Matthew Colangelo wrote in the filing.  

    Prosecutors also noted that “significant public safety and logistical steps” by numerous agencies are necessary when Trump appears in court, raising concern that such steps would be taken ahead of his sentencing and then “disturbed” by the former president’s appeals. 

    manhattan-da-response-to-trump-sentencing-delay-requestDownload

    Prosecutors’ letter went on to flatly reject Trump’s other arguments. Howeverm their lack of objection to delaying Trump’s sentencing raises a strong possibility that it will be pushed deeper into the campaign season or even past November’s election. 

    In May, Trump was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with a hush money deal his ex-fixer made with a porn actor who said she had an affair with Trump, which he has denied. It marked the first criminal conviction of any former president.  

    Kim Godwin Steps Down As ABC News President

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    1
    Committee to Protect Journalists, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

    There’s a shakeup in broadcast journalism…

    Over the weekend, ABC News president Kim Godwin announced she is stepping down from her role.

    “I have decided to retire from broadcast journalism,” she said in a lengthy statement to company staff. “Anyone who’s passionate about what we do knows there’s no other business like it, so this was not an easy or quick decision. But after considerable reflection, I’m certain it’s the right one for me as I look to the future and prioritize what’s most important for me and my family.”

    Disney Networks president Debra OConnell said in a statement, “Dana and I would like to take this opportunity to express our deepest gratitude to Kim for her service as president of ABC News. Kim has navigated this team through consequential times in our world, and she did so with respect for the brand and profession – and for that and more, we thank her.”

    Godwin’s decision to retire comes after she struggled to navigate the waters at the network with the news division “suffering from a cutthroat and toxic culture,” the report said.

    She reportedly angered people with her leadership style which included making “swift moves” and creating an inner circle that “alienated staffers.”

    Former President Donald Trump responded to the news in a post on social media.

    “Happy to report that Kim Godwin, Head of ABC, has resigned,” he said. “Could it be the unfair reporting on EVERYTHING TRUMP? In any event, GOOD RIDDANCE! Hopefully somebody else will be able to control George Slopadopolous and the rest of the Fake News Thugs over at ABC? Best wishes Kim!”

    Multiple State Capitols Evacuated Due To Mass Email Threat

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    1

    At least four state capitols were shut down and evacuated Wednesday following a mass email sent to several secretaries of state.

    The sender claimed to have placed explosives inside “your state capitol.”

    In recent days, California’s secretary of state said former President Donald Trump was eligible to run for public office, but Maine’s top election official disqualified him under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

    Similar efforts are underway in other states.

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

    This story was republished with permission from American Liberty News.

    Federal Judge Dismisses Challenge To Keep Trump Off Rhode Island Ballot

    By
    admin
    -
    2
    Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

    A Rhode Island judge has thrown out a lawsuit challenging Donald Trump’s right to be on that state’s presidential ballot.

    The suit was brought by John Anthony Castro, supposedly a Republican presidential candidate, who sought to disqualify Trump from holding office under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

    Per The Washington Times:

    John Castro, a long-shot presidential candidate, had filed cases arguing that Mr. Trump is prevented from running for president due to the Constitution’s insurrection clause, which essentially says anyone who led a rebellion can’t serve in federal office.

    But on Monday, Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr., an Obama appointee, dismissed Mr. Castro’s case in Rhode Island. The Supreme Court previously refused to hear a challenge from Mr. Castro out of Florida.

    …

    It’s the latest victory for Mr. Trump. Liberal advocacy groups have appealed lower court rulings in Colorado and Michigan that would keep Mr. Trump on the primary ballot next year, asserting that the Constitution’s clause on insurrection forbids him from being reelected following the 2021 Capitol attack.

    Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a left-leaning watchdog group, filed an appeal on behalf of a group of voters with the Colorado Supreme Court, after a trial judge rejected their claim that Mr. Trump can’t be on the state’s primary ballot. The state’s Supreme Court is expected to hear the case on Dec. 6.

    Responding to the news, a spokesman for the GOP front-runner celebrated the dismissal: “President Trump believes the American voters, not the courts, should decide who wins next year’s elections and we urge a swift dismissal of all such remaining bogus ballot challenges.”

    This article was published with permission from American Liberty News.

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