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Former Trump Adviser, Peter Navarro, To Report To Prison Next Week

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The walls are closing in…

Former Trump Administration adviser Peter Navarro is scheduled to report to a Miami prison on March 19 to begin serving a four-month sentence for refusing to comply with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.

Navarro, 74, was convicted last year on two counts of contempt of Congress.

The Hill has more:

His lawyers wrote in a Sunday court filing that a federal appeals court should temporarily put his sentence on hold while he appeals his conviction. If that effort fails, he could become the first key Trump adviser to serve jail time over efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, who oversaw Navarro’s trial, declined to allow the Trump ally to stay out of prison while the appellate process plays out.

Navarro’s counsel had argued that the question of executive privilege, which Navarro claimed Trump invoked over any testimony to the House Jan. 6 panel, rises to that threshold.

Navarro told the judge during his sentencing he had an “honest belief” that executive privilege had been invoked by Trump. His lawyers wrote court filings that the judge’s decision “hamstrung” Navarro’s defense by leaving open the question of whether a president can direct his subordinates not to testify before Congress. 

After his conviction, Navarro asserted his case could reach the Supreme Court due to the questions it raises about executive privilege for high-ranking White House staff. 

Ex-White House adviser Steve Bannon was also convicted on two counts of contempt of Congress last year and sentenced to four months in prison, but a different judge said he could remain free pending appeal.

Report: Biden’s Chief of Staff Notified of Hatch Act Violation

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President Joe Biden walks with Chief of Staff Ron Klain along the Colonnade of the White House, Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021, to the White House Situation Room. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)

President Joe Biden’s chief of staff, Ron Klain was notified he violated the Hatch Act in May but the Office of Special Counsel (OSC).

According to The Daily Wire, the OSC responded to the violation in a letter to America First Legal Foundation’s vice president and general counsel, Gene Hamilton, who filed the complaint in June.

“Although OSC has concluded that Mr. Klain violated the Hatch Act, as explained below, we have decided not to pursue disciplinary action and instead issued him a warning letter,” Ana Galindo-Marrone, chief of the Hatch Act Unit at the OSC, wrote.

“OSC confirmed that Mr. Klain retweeted a May 22, 2022 message from Strike PAC (@StrikePAC) from his official Twitter account (@WHCOS). The tweet read, ‘Operation Fly Formula delivers 70,000 pounds of infant formula for American mothers and their infants. Thank you @POTUS.’ The tweet also read, ‘Get your Democrats Deliver merch today!’ and included a link to Strike PAC’s online store and an image of the group’s ‘Democrats Deliver’ t-shirt,” she wrote.

Strike PAC is a partisan political group that supports the Democratic Party. In the letter, Galindo-Marrone also noted that Klain promptly removed the tweet from his account after being notified of the violation.

“Although OSC has concluded that Mr. Klain violated the Hatch Act, we understand that he promptly removed the retweet upon being notified of this complaint,” the letter read.

“Accordingly, we have decided not to pursue disciplinary action and will close this matter. Mr. Klain has been warned that if in the future he engages in activity prohibited by the Hatch Act while employed in a covered position, OSC would consider such activity to be a willful and knowing violation of the law that could result in disciplinary action,” the letter concluded.

“Using your White House Twitter account to advocate for a PAC is ILLEGAL,” said Hamilton in response to the OSC’s decision while also noting Klain previously criticized President Trump’s administration in 2018 over alleged Hatch Act violations.

 “Using your WH title in a press release advocating the President’s reelection is ILLEGAL,” Kalin tweeted at the time, suggesting he is versed in the Hatch Act.

Trump Says ‘Fire Sale’ Of Properties Will Be Necessary To Make $464 Million Bond

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Donald Trump admitted on Tuesday that he’ll have to take extraordinary measures to make his bond on the New York Attorney General’s office civil fraud case.

Sources tell Fox Business that Trump’s billionaire friends are reluctant to throw him a financial lifeline, potentially forcing him to sell his properties at “fire sale” prices.

The Hill reports on the former president’s latest social media tirade:

Trump blasted New York Judge Arthur Engoron, who ruled against the former president in the fraud case, in a Truth Social post objecting to having to post the bond.

“I would be forced to mortgage or sell Great Assets, perhaps at Fire Sale prices, and if and when I win the Appeal, they would be gone. Does that make sense? WITCH HUNT. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!” Trump added.

Trump’s warning comes a day after his legal team informed the court that the former president was unable to secure the full $464 million bond due next week.

They cited difficulties finding a Treasury Department-approved surety company willing to underwrite a bond at such a high level. And they noted many of the approved companies have internal policies against issuing bonds of more than $100 million.

New York Attorney General Letitia James said that if Trump fails or refuses to pay the $354.8 million fine, plus roughly $100 million in interest, she will seize his assets – including his properties.

Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham proposed a list of properties former President Trump would be most disappointed to have seized if he cannot pay the damages in his civil fraud case.

“I think if it were to happen, 40 Wall Street is probably the one that he would … I mean, he would hate it,” Grisham told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Monday. “But I think if she tried to seize Mar-a-Lago or Bedminster or Trump Tower even — I mean, those are his babies.”

“You’ve got the Sterling golf course in Virginia. Any of the properties with golf courses, I think, would absolutely devastate him,” Grisham, who worked under the Trump administration, added. “It will be interesting to see what [New York Attorney General Letitia James] goes for.”

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

Florida Lawmakers Want to Clear Path for 2024 DeSantis White House Bid

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Top Florida Republicans are prepared to clear a path for Governor Ron DeSantis to make a run for the White House.

Currently, Florida law would require DeSantis to resign in order to run for president but legislators have signaled a serious interest in amending the law in the near future.

“Any officer who qualifies for federal public office must resign from the office he or she presently holds if the terms, or any part thereof, run concurrently with each other,” the states the law.

DeSantis was re-elected as governor on November 8 with a victory margin of nearly 20 percentage points.

Incoming Florida House Speaker Paul Renner (R) called the suggestion of changing the “resign to run” law a “good idea” on Tuesday after being elected to lead the state’s lower chamber.

New Senate President Kathleen Passidomo (R) also told reporters she supported the update.

“If Speaker Renner thinks it’s a good idea, I think it’s a good idea,” she told reporters.

Passidomo addressed reporters and said she does not feel a Florida governor with presidential aspirations should be forced to resign.

“If an individual who is Florida governor is running for president, I think he should be allowed to do it,” she said in regard to amending state law to allow DeSantis to keep his office in Tallahassee while running for president – should he choose to do so. “I really do. That’s a big honor and a privilege, so it is a good idea.”

So far DeSantis has remained committed to winning his gubernatorial re-election and has sought to tamp down 2024 White House speculation. However, the Florida Governor has been widely regarded among Republicans as the most formidable contender to take on Donald Trump who recently announced his own bid for the presidency.

According to The Daily Wire, some legal experts have questioned how the law could apply to DeSantis. Jon Mills, a constitutional law professor at the University of Florida, said in October it could depend on how far DeSantis got in a White House bid.

“The statute in text does say federal,’’ he said. “The question is when? What does ‘qualification’ mean, in terms of running for president? Does it mean you are the final nominee or is it when you qualify for the first primary state?”

But Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections Julie Marcus wrote on her website that the law would not apply to a DeSantis effort to trade Tallahassee for Washington.

“The “resign-to-run” law prohibits an officer from qualifying as a candidate for another state, district, county or municipal public office if the terms or any part overlap with each other unless the officer submits a resignation from the office the person presently holds,” she wrote. “Therefore, the “resign-to-run” law would not preclude a sitting state, district, county, or municipal officer from qualifying as a candidate for federal office without resigning from the office the person presently holds as long as the officer is not also seeking to qualify for re-election to his or her present office.”

Poll Shows Concerning News For Trump’s Lead

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

A new poll suggests Republican voters are increasingly concerned about Donald Trump’s multiple indictments as the candidate competes for the party’s nomination for president.

A new NBC poll shows that nearly half of GOP voters surveyed are skeptical over whether Trump should continue to lead the Republican Party

A new NBC poll shows a majority of Republican voters would vote for Trump in the Republican primary, with 51% listing him as their top choice. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came in second with 22% of the votes and former Vice President Mike Pence was third with 7%. 

These new numbers come in comparison to how the candidates fared with GOP voters in April, shortly after Trump was indicted in New York in connection to hush-money payments made in 2016. About 46% of Republican voters supported Trump then and 31% said they were backing DeSantis. 

After pleading not guilty to 37 federal charges related to his handling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in June, a combined total of 77% of GOP primary voters said the federal charges gave them either minor concerns (14%) or no real concerns (63%). About 64% of Republican voters also said the various indictments and investigations Trump faces are politically motivated.

However, in a hypothetical Trump-Biden battle, President Biden came out on top with a near majority of the vote (49%). Trump received 45% support. However, a total of 68% of those surveyed stated Biden’s mental and physical health was a major/moderate concern for them.

Family Nanny Shares Presidential Candidate’s Disturbing Text Messages

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Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. finds himself embroiled in controversy today as accusations of sexual assault from 1998 have come to light. According to a revealing exposé in Vanity Fair, Kennedy is accused of groping his family’s nanny, Eliza Cooney.

The Allegations and Kennedy’s Response

Cooney, who worked as the Kennedy family’s weekend nanny in the 1990s, claims the incident occurred when she was 23 years old. At the time, RFK Jr. was 45 and married with five children. Cooney, who told her story to Vanity Fair earlier this month, passionately claims that Kennedy assaulted her, leading to a wave of outrage and calls for accountability.

Kennedy’s response has been far from ideal. In an unsolicited text message reported by The Washington Post, he issued a non-apology to Cooney. Kennedy claimed he couldn’t recall if he committed the assault but expressed regret if he did anything to make her uncomfortable. “I never intended you any harm. If I hurt you, it was inadvertent. I feel badly for doing so,” he wrote. Cooney called the message “disingenuous and arrogant.”

“I’m not sure how somebody has a true apology for something that they don’t admit to recalling. I did not get a sense of remorse,” she told the Post.

Potential for More Accusers?

When questioned about the possibility of other women coming forward, Kennedy’s response was vague and unsettling: “I don’t know, we’ll see what happens.”

Polls show Kennedy at around 9% nationally. Independent candidates often struggle to secure a significant number of electoral votes, but RFK Jr.’s high profile could siphon votes from both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, potentially altering the dynamics of the race.

Key Takeaways:

  • Independent candidate RFK Jr. accused of groping nanny in 1998.
  • Issued a nonapology, expressing regret without clear admission.
  • Potential for more accusers remains uncertain.
  • Polls show Kennedy at 9% nationally.

This article originally appeared on American Liberty News. Republished with permission.

READ NEXT: Intelligence Officials Expose Foreign Election Interference Plot

Report: Chris Licht Out At CNN

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CNN Headquarters via Wikimedia Commons

Embattled CNN boss Chris Licht is leaving his post following an exposé published by The Atlantic that revealed widespread dissent within the ranks.

The New York Times reports:

Mr. Licht’s 13-month run at CNN was marked by one controversy after another, culminating in his exit earlier this week. He got off to a bumpy start even before he had officially started when he oversaw the shuttering of the pricey CNN+ streaming service at the request of its network’s new owners, who were skeptical about a stand-alone digital product. The cuts resulted in scores of layoffs.

Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company, did not respond to a request for comment.

Mr. Licht’s departure represents a dramatic fall not long after he departed as an executive producer of Stephen Colbert’s top-rated late night show and vowed to bring a middle-of-the-road balance to CNN’s journalism. When Mr. Licht took the job, he told friends it was a “calling.”

Puck earlier reported that Mr. Licht was leaving CNN.

Licht hoped to appease CNN’s right-wing critics through the town hall. However, both sides remained dissatisfied with the outcome. Trump’s strongest supporters were upset with host Kaitlan Collins for fact-checking his false claims of election fraud in battleground states. Meanwhile, the network staff and on-air talent were disappointed that the former president received a major platform.

The decision by Licht comes less than a month after the network’s town hall with former President Donald Trump.

Earlier this week, CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy spoke out against Licht’s inability to keep the faith of the employees of the network after an avalanche of bad press.

“There are a wide range of emotions coursing through the halls of CNN. Some staffers are frustrated. Others are angry. Many are sad about the awful state of affairs that has taken hold of an organization they love,” Darcy wrote in his Reliable Sources media newsletter late Monday. “There is one near-universal sentiment, however, that has been communicated to me: Licht has lost the room.”

Puck News’ Dylan Byers reports “Warner Bros. Discovery will announce that Licht will be stepping down as chairman and CEO of CNN” within the next 48 hours.

Byers first reported that Licht had been tapped to lead the cable news network 16 months ago.

Former Trump Organization CFO Released From Jail

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Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg has been released from prison.

According to reports from CNBC, he was promised a sentence of five months in jail to be served on Rikers Island and five years’ probation in exchange for his testimony and agreed to repay nearly $2 million in taxes owed.

He was sentenced to five months behind bars but was eligible for release after 100 days with time off for good behavior.

Weisselberg pleaded guilty in August to all 15 charges: one count of grand larceny in the second degree; three counts of criminal tax fraud in the third degree; one count of scheme to defraud in the first degree; one count of conspiracy in the fourth degree; one count of criminal tax fraud in the fourth degree; four counts of offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree; and four counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. (RELATED: Longtime Trump Org CFO Heads to Rikers Island)

Weisselberg, while no longer the company’s chief financial officer, remained employed with Trump’s family real estate firm and expected to make more than $1 million last year in salary and bonuses, according to his testimony.

In December, a Manhattan jury found two Trump Organization companies, the Trump Corp. and Trump Payroll Corp., guilty of criminal tax fraud.

DeSantis Responds to Abrupt Trump Attacks

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is finally responding to the surprise attack from former President Donald Trump last week, calling it “noise.”

DeSantis was asked by a reporter what he thinks about Trump’s “big announcement” tonight and his thoughts about Trump repeatedly attacking him. (RELATED: Trump Goes Nuclear on Gov. Ron DeSantis, Glenn Youngkin)

“Well, you know, one of the things I’ve learned in this job is when you’re doing, when you’re leading, when you’re getting things done, you take incoming fire, that’s just the nature of it,” DeSantis said. “I roll out of bed in the morning, I’ve got corporate media outlets that have a spasm, just the fact that I’m getting up in the morning, and it’s constantly attacking, and this is just what’s happened.”

“I don’t think any governor got attacked more particularly by corporate media than me over my four-year term,” DeSantis continued. “And yet, I think what you learn is all that’s just noise. And really what matters is: Are you leading? Are you getting in front of issues? Are you delivering results for people? And are you standing up for folks? And if you do that, then none of that stuff matters. And that’s what we’ve done.”

“We focused on results and leadership. And, you know, at the end of the day, I would just tell people to go check out the scoreboard from last Tuesday night,” DeSantis continued. “The fact of the matter is, it was the greatest Republican victory in the history of the state of Florida.”

Trump also targeted Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin in a shocking message. Both Republican governors have been floated as potential contenders for the Republican presidential nomination.

Trump is expected to announce his 2024 presidential campaign in a Nov. 15th announcement from Mar-a-Lago.

However, while DeSantis has decided to move past Trump’s comments the former president seems to be doubling down. In a Tuesday afternoon Truth Social message Trump targeted DeSantis again by pointing out a 2018 gubernatorial ad in which the Florida governor praises him.

In a tongue-in-cheek ad, seemingly no longer available on his YouTube page, DeSantis was shown building a toy wall and reading a book about Trump to his children, brandishing himself as a “pit bull Trump defender.” 

“Hopefully TODAY will turn out to be one of the most important days in the history of our Country,” Trump teased in another Truth Social post.

Trump Calls On Fed Governor To Resign

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

President Trump called Wednesday for the resignation of Federal Reserve board of governors member Lisa Cook following allegations by the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) that she committed mortgage fraud.

FHFA Director William Pulte wrote Wednesday morning on X that Cook had designated two of her houses as her primary residences.

“Lisa D. Cook, committed mortgage fraud by designating her out-of-state condo as her primary residence, just two weeks after taking a loan on her Michigan home where she also declared it as her primary residence,” he said.

Trump called for Cook to step down shortly thereafter.

“Cook must resign, now!!!” he wrote on his own social media website, Truth Social.

Pulte said his agency sent a criminal referral to the Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding the allegations against Cook.

“I believe the DOJ will open a criminal investigation into her alleged mortgage fraud,” he said.

Trump accused Fed Chair Jerome Powell of fraud earlier this summer over an ongoing renovation project at Fed headquarters in Washington.

Following a report in July that Trump had discussed attempting to fire Powell with congressional Republicans, he later said it was “highly unlikely” that he would do so after the stock market dipped on his initial comments, “unless he has to leave for fraud.”