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    Federal Appeals Court Delays Deposition of Ex-Manhattan Prosecutor in Trump Probe

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    4
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    A federal appeals court has delayed the congressional deposition of Mark Pomerantz, a former senior prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney’s criminal investigation of former President Donald Trump.

    House Republicans are seeking to question Pomerantz as part of their probe into Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg‘s (D) prosecution of Trump. Earlier this month Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records as part of a yearslong investigation into alleged hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.

    According to reports from The Hill, the pause will last until a three-judge panel on the 2nd Circuit can hear a motion from Pomerantz and Bragg to pause the lower court ruling while their appeal proceeds.

    “This order reflects no judgment regarding the merits of the parties’ respective positions,” the appeals court wrote in its order.

    The court has put in place a quick schedule to consider the motion. Written briefs will be submitted through Saturday afternoon, and the court further directed the clerk to schedule the motion’s consideration for the first available three-judge panel.

    U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil, a Trump appointee, on Wednesday rejected Bragg’s bid to quash Pomerantz’s subpoena.

    “In our federalist system, elected state and federal actors sometimes engage in political dogfights …The Court does not endorse either side’s agenda. The sole question before the Court at this time is whether Bragg has a legal basis to quash a congressional subpoena that was issued with a valid legislative purpose. He does not,” Vyskocil wrote.

    Last week, Bragg last week filed a lawsuit against House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio.) to block Pomerantz’s subpoena and Jordan’s other attempts at getting information from prosecutors. 

    Pomerantz served as a top prosecutor on the district attorney’s Trump case, which began under Bragg’s predecessor.

    Report: Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Donates $1M To Trump Inaugural Fund

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    © European Union, 2024, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly contributed $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural fund.

    The move comes as Zuckerberg has sought to strengthen his relationship with Trump over the years as the Republican emphasized his plan to focus on business and the economy upon returning to the White House.

    Zuckerberg’s efforts to strengthen ties with the Republican leader included a November dinner with Trump on the patio of his private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., that focused on general relationship-building.

    Zuckerberg’s team told the inaugural fund before the dinner that Meta planned to donate, one of the people told the Wall Street Journal.

    Federal campaign finance reports show Zuckerberg has supported congressional candidates in both parties over the years and has largely stayed out of presidential races.

    Neither Zuckerberg nor Meta donated to Trump’s inaugural fund in 2017 or to President Biden’s fund in 2021, according to public records. Both of those funds drew in $1 million in donations from fewer than a dozen major corporations, including many of the same companies.

    The Zuckerberg-Trump relationship has shifted back and forth over the years. In January 2017, FWD.us, a lobbying group founded by Zuckerberg and other tech leaders supporting immigration reform, contributed $5,000 to Trump’s transition, according to public records. Weeks later, Zuckerberg criticized Trump’s executive orders around immigration, writing in a Facebook post: “Like many of you, I’m concerned about the impact of the recent executive orders signed by President Trump.”

    After Trump supporters invaded the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Facebook suspended Trump from posting, as did several other social-media platforms. Following that, Trump issued a statement saying: “Next time I’m in the White House there will be no more dinners, at his request, with Mark Zuckerberg and his wife. It will be all business!”

    After Trump’s election victory in November, Zuckerberg congratulated Trump in a social-media post and said he was looking forward to working with the president-elect.

    Hunter Biden’s Attorney Files Ethics Complaint Against Marjorie Taylor Greene

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    10
    Marjorie Taylor Greene -Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, via Wikimedia Commons

    Hunter Biden’s legal team filed an ethics complaint against Republican firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene on Friday after the Congresswoman displayed lewd images of the President’s son during a House Oversight and Accountability Committee earlier in the week.

    On Wednesday, a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing featured testimony from two IRS whistleblowers who allege that prosecutors slow-walked the investigation into Hunter Biden.

    During her time to question the witnesses, the Georgia Congresswoman held up posters that showed graphic sexual photos from the laptop hard drive that allegedly belonged to Hunter Biden. The faces of other individuals involved in the sex acts were censored with black boxes, but Biden’s face was left visible.

    In a letter to the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), Biden’s attorney Abbe David Lowell slammed Greene’s actions.

    “Now more than ever, the House has a duty to make loud and clear that it does not endorse, condone, or agree with her outrageous, undignified conduct and brazen violations of the standards of official conduct that do not reflect creditably on the House of Representatives,” Lowell wrote.

    The OCE is a non-partisan, independent entity previously established by the House that reviews allegations of misconduct involving lawmakers, officers, and House staffers and, if warranted, refers matters to the Ethics Committee.

    Trump Proposes Punishment For ABC After Debate

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Trump wants answers…

    Former President Trump is suggesting ABC News be punished for what he is calling a “hostile performance” by the network’s debate moderators on Tuesday evening.

    “ABC took a big hit last night,” Trump said Wednesday morning during an appearance on “Fox and Friends.”

    “I mean, to be honest, they’re a news organization. They have to be licensed to do it. They ought to take away their license for the way they did that.”

    Watch:

    The Federal Communications Commission does not license major broadcast networks such as ABC, but does license some local stations.

    After Tuesday’s debate, which pundits on both sides say went unexpectedly poorly for Trump, the former president argued the event was “three on one,” and has not accepted Harris’s challenge to meet for a second event.

    CNN Begins Mass Layoffs Ahead of Holidays

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    CNN Headquarters via Wikimedia Commons

    Is this CNN’s idea of spreading Christmas cheer?

    The left-of-center news network has been undergoing major changes since CEO Chris Licht took the reigns, eager to undo the damage inflicted on the network and its audience by disgraced CNN President Jeff Zucker. To close out a difficult year for CNN, now Licht says hundreds of employees will be laid off as part of his budget cute strategy.

    CNN’s senior media reporter, Oliver Darcy, shared a companywide letter from Licht on Wednesday.

    Licht announced that the first round of layoffs will impact the network’s paid contributors, and the network’s remaining staff would be informed of these changes tomorrow.

    Read the letter below:

    To my CNN colleagues,

    Our people are the heart and soul of this organization. It is incredibly hard to say goodbye to any one member of the CNN team, much less many. I recently described this process as a gut punch, because I know that is how it feels for all of us.

    Today we will notify a limited number of individuals, largely some of our paid contributors, as part of a recalibrated reporting strategy. Tomorrow, we will notify impacted employees, and tomorrow afternoon I will follow up with more details on these changes.

    It will be a difficult time for everyone. If your job has been impacted, you will learn more through an in-person meeting or via Zoom, depending on your location. In those meetings, you will receive information specific to you about notice period or any severance that would apply, and your anticipated last day. I want to be clear that everyone who is bonus eligible will still receive their 2022 bonuses, which are determined by company performance.

    I know these changes affect both our departing colleagues and those who remain, and we have resources designed to support you. I will include a link to those resources in my follow-up email tomorrow.

    Let’s take care of each other this week.

    Chris

    Since taking over at CNN, Licht has been vocal about his goal to reorient the network and remove much of its hyper-partisan slant.

    “Reliable Sources host Brian Stelter was among those up first on the chopping bloc while primetime host Don Lemon was recently demoted to a morning talk show.

    Woke Banks Under Fire from Congress for Helping FBI Illicitly Spy on Gun Owners

    By
    Donny Ferguson
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    3
    Image via Pixabay images

    Amid reports that Wall Street banks have been illicitly spying on customers and reporting gun buyers to the FBI, despite no probable cause or court-issued warrants.

    In response, Congressman Rep. Alex X. Mooney (R-WV) has introduced H.R. 3021, The Protecting the Second Amendment in Financial Services Act to “expressly prohibit financial institutions and credit card companies from using a merchant category code that separately categorizes gun and ammunition transactions.”

    The revelation and legislation come as the FBI finds itself under fire for widespread civil rights abuses and its role in making false claims about President Donald Trump in an apparent attempt to remove a legally-elected president.

    Under the latest-revealed scheme, purchases made at gun dealers were flagged with a secret code and referred to the FBI for recording and possible investigation, despite the fact the purchases were legal and no criminal activity suspected.

    Some believe the scheme was an effort to get around federal laws prohibiting the federal government from assembling its own national registry of gun owners by having banks record the data – after audits of the Justice Department revealed officials had been illicitly retaining records of gun sales reported to the federal government’s National Instant Check System.

    “Leftist activists have been clear that they intend to use merchant category codes to further surveil the constitutional firearm purchases of law-abiding citizens,” said Mooney. 

    “The only rationale to implement a new merchant category code is to appease anti-Second Amendment activists. I am unwavering in my support of the Second Amendment, and I am proud to introduce this common-sense legislation to protect it,” said Mooney.

    “Merchant category codes (MCCs) are four-digit codes that enable payment processors and banks to categorize, monitor, and collect data on various types of transactions,” a statement from Mooney explains.

    “On September 9, 2022, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) approved a Merchant Category Code (MCC) for firearm retailers. Amalgamated Bank, a left-wing U.S. bank, led the charge in pressuring the ISO to adopt the new MCC. The ISO rejected Amalgamated Bank’s initial July 2021 application for the new MCC but approved it on the second application for reasons that remain unclear,” the statement reads.

    “Amalgamated Bank and progressive Members of Congress have been open that they intend to use this new MCC to track and report lawful firearm transactions to law enforcement under the guise of ‘suspicious activity’. In other words, this MCC is the Left’s attempt to create a backdoor gun registry to further curtail the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans.

    While American Express, Mastercard, Visa, and Discover have announced a temporary pause in the implementation of this new MCC, there has been no formal request to withdraw the MCC. Legislation is needed to ensure this is never implemented,” the statement concludes.

    This legislation is endorsed by the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America.

    “GOA thanks Rep. Mooney for leading the fight to protect American gun owners from the anti-gun actions of the International Standards Organization. The U.S. government cannot sit idly by while a foreign entity pressures banks, payment card networks, and other American corporations to infringe on the Constitutional rights of the American people. This legislation empowers U.S. financial institutions to stand up to this foreign influence by categorically rejecting this anti-gun ‘merchant code,’” said Aidan Johnston, GOA’s Director of Federal Affairs

    Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.

    Trump Tries to Walk Back Call to Change Constitution 

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Donald Trump is setting the record straight after “fake news” reported on the former president’s TRUTH Social posts from the weekend where he indicated a wish to “terminate” the U.S. Constitution.

    On Monday, Trump followed up on the media fiasco on TRUTH blaming the media for intentionally twisting his message.

    “The Fake News is actually trying to convince the American People that I said I wanted to “terminate” the Constitution. This is simply more DISINFORMATION & LIES, just like RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA, and all of their other HOAXES & SCAMS. What I said was that when there is “MASSIVE & WIDESPREAD FRAUD & DECEPTION,” as has been irrefutably proven in the 2020 Presidential Election, steps must be immediately taken to RIGHT THE WRONG. Only FOOLS would disagree with that and accept STOLEN ELECTIONS. MAGA!” Trump wrote on Monday.

    The former president’s original post was in reaction to revelations about Twitter’s handling of the Hunter Biden laptop story.

    “So, with the revelation of MASSIVE & WIDESPREAD FRAUD & DECEPTION in working closely with Big Tech Companies, the DNC, & the Democrat Party, do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION? A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution. Our great “Founders” did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!” Trump posted over the weekend.

    Trump’s startling rhetoric triggered immediate responses from Republicans who strongly rebuked his messaging.

    Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski called Trump’s suggestion an “affront to our Republic.”

    “Donald Trump believes we should terminate ‘all rules, regulations and articles, even those found in the Constitution’ to overturn the 2020 election,” Outgoing Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) wrote on Twitter. “That was his view on 1/6 and remains his view today. No honest person can now deny that Trump is an enemy of the Constitution.”

    “With the former President calling to throw aside the constitution, not a single conservative can legitimately support him, and not a single supporter can be called a conservative. This is insane. Trump hates the constitution,” Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) tweeted.

    Illegal Immigrant Suspect Charged In Boulder Terror Attack

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    3
    Police image via Pixabay free images

    Suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman is now facing murder, assault and other charges following what the FBI called a “targeted terror attack” in Boulder, Colorado, over the weekend. 

    The violence Sunday against a pro-Israel group advocating for Hamas to release Israeli hostages left eight people, ages 52 to 88, with injuries, including one in critical condition, according to the FBI. Police responded to the area after receiving reports of a man with a weapon setting people on fire. 

    Soliman was charged with murder in the first degree – deliberation with intent; murder in the first degree – extreme indifference; crimes against at-risk adults/elderly; 1st degree assault – non-family; 1st degree assault – heat of passion; criminal attempt to commit class one and class two felonies; and use of explosives or incendiary devices during felony.

    The suspect in the firebombing attack targeting a pro-Israel demonstration in Colorado is believed to be an illegal alien from Egpyt who overstayed his visa after it expired.

    Several people were injured Sunday afternoon at a Boulder, Colorado, rally in support of the Israelis taken hostage by Hamas terrorists after a man set people on fire while yelling “free Palestine” and “end zionist.” Police arrived at the scene and found that victims had “injuries consistent with burns and other injuries.”

    The FBI said that six people were taken to the hospital with injuries, and that a witness said the suspect in the attack “used a makeshift flame thrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd.”

    As of Monday morning, there have been no fatalities confirmed by either the FBI or Boulder Police Department. Soliman was booked into the Boulder County Jail on Sunday evening and remains held on a $10 million bond. 

    Authorities are now investigating the firebombing attack against the pro-Israel demonstration as an act of ideologically motivated terrorism.

    “We are investigating this incident as an act of terror, and targeted violence. All of the necessary assets will be dedicated to this investigation,” FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said in a statement online. “If you have any investigative tips please contact the FBI. And if you aided or abetted this attack, we will find you. You cannot hide.”

    “This act of terror is being investigated as an act of ideologically motivated violence based on the early information, the evidence, and witness accounts,” Bongino added in a subsequent post.

    Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard added that her agency is investigating the case.

    “National Counterterrorism Center is working with the FBI and local law enforcement on the ground investigating the targeted terror attack against a weekly meeting of Jewish community members who had just gathered in Boulder, CO to raise awareness of the hostages kidnapped during Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7.”

    White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller slammed the Biden administration in a post calling for “suicidal migration” to be reversed after Soliman’s visa status was revealed.

    Former White House Physician Gives Trump Bullet Update, Corrects FBI Director

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    1

    A former White House doctor released a letter Friday stating that former President Trump is “rapidly recovering” following the July 13 shooting at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

    Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) who took issue with testimony made earlier this week by FBI Director Christopher Wray, said “I want to reassure the American people and the rest of the world, that President Trump is doing extremely well.”

    Jackson, who is Trump’s former physician, said, “I have continued to monitor his health and well-being, along with his primary care physician, since the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, on the evening of July 13th.

    “The would-be assassin fired multiple rounds from a relatively close distance using a high-powered rifle, with one bullet striking the former President, and now the Republican Nominee for President, in his right ear,” Jackson continued.

    “During the Congressional Hearing two days ago, FBI Director Christopher Wray suggested that it could be a bullet, shrapnel, or glass. There is absolutely no evidence that it was anything other than a bullet,” he added. “Congress should correct the record as confirmed by both the hospital and myself. Director Wray is wrong and inappropriate to suggest anything else.”

    “As a former White House Physician for 14 years, who served during three presidential administrations, and served as the appointed physician for both President Obama and President Trump, I fully understand the global significance of this attempt on the life of the former President and the current Republican Nominee for President,” Jackson added.

    “As such, I want to reassure the American people and the rest of the world, that President Trump is doing extremely well,” Jackson concluded. “He is rapidly recovering from the gunshot wound to his right ear. I will continue to be available to assist President Trump and his personal physician in any way they see fit and will provide updates as necessary and with the permission of President Trump.”

    In an interview Thursday on FOX Business’ “Kudlow,” Jackson said it was “absolutely ridiculous” for Wray to suggest that Trump might not have been struck by a bullet.

    “This degrades any level of credibility that this man may have had – after years of weaponizing the FBI and the DOJ against the president,” Jackson said. “It was absolutely a bullet, I examined it. There was a track of a bullet.”

    In an interview Thursday on FOX Business’ “Kudlow,” Jackson said it was “absolutely ridiculous” for Wray to suggest that Trump might not have been struck by a bullet.

    “This degrades any level of credibility that this man may have had – after years of weaponizing the FBI and the DOJ against the president,” Jackson said. “It was absolutely a bullet, I examined it. There was a track of a bullet.”

    Hawaii Narrowly Advances Bill To Boot Trump From Ballot

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Donald Trump could be facing trouble in Hawaii.

    On Wednesday, the Hawaii State Senate Judiciary Committee approved Senate Bill 2392 by a single vote, moving the bill to the full floor, HawaiiNewsNow reported. The proposal would place the decision to potentially disqualify Trump under the chief elections officer.

    Advocates for the bill claimed Trump’s involvement in the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, amounted to an insurrection that should bar him from running for the presidency.

    Despite the bill clearing the procedural hurdle, the bill’s critics have been more outspoken than its supporters. According to HawaiiNewsNow, the bill drew over 300 complaints or negative testimonies, with only about 20 favoring it.

    “This is tyrannical, to say the least,” said Jamie Detwiler, a resident who testified ahead of the vote, per the report. “He has not been convicted nor has he been charged with insurrection (cheers) there is no evidence of committing insurrection so please don’t waste our time on this poorly written piece of legislation.”

    According to Fox News, Hawaii does not have a legal process to exempt candidates from the ballot or disqualify them from appearing, the bill would establish that process.

    A description of the bill says it “specifies that election ballots issued by the chief election officer or county clerk shall exclude any candidate who is disqualified by a constitutional or statutory provision.”

    It also “provides for a process for challenging an inclusion or exclusion of a candidate from a ballot. Includes a candidate’s disqualification as grounds for an election contest complaint. Specifies that electors of presidential and vice presidential candidates shall not be individuals who are disqualified by a constitutional or statutory provision. Prohibits electors from voting for any presidential or vice presidential nominee who has been disqualified pursuant to Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.”

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

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