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Mike Lindell Ordered to Pay $5 Million Over Debunked 2020 Election Data

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Mike Lindell via Gage Skidmore Flickr

My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell has been ordered to pay $5 million to a software developer who debunked the Trump ally’s data around the election.

Lindell, who promised to pay the $5 million award to anyone who could debunk his data that purportedly proved election fraud, was ordered to pay the sum by a private arbitrator, who ruled that Robert Zeidman, a software expert, successfully disproved Lindell’s claims, in a decision first reported by CNN.

The arbitrator cited Lindell’s repeated claims to have data that he said was captured during the 2020 election and proved that China interfered in the contest. Lindell repeatedly made the false claims in public appearances and on TV.

Lindell then launched the “Prove Mike Wrong Challenge,” offering $5 million to anyone who could prove that the data was not valid. Zeidman entered the contest, submitting a report that concluded the data did not include information from the 2020 election. When Lindell’s team said Zeidman did not win the contest, he filed the arbitration.

“Based on the foregoing analysis, Mr. Zeidman performed under the contract,” the ruling said. “He proved the data Lindell LLC provided, and represented reflected information from the November 2020 election, unequivocally did not reflect November 2020 election data. Failure to pay Mr. Zeidman the $5 million prized was a breach of the contract, entitling him to recover.”

The arbitrator ruled that the money must be paid within 30 days of the decision.

Lindell blasted the arbitration decision.

“It was a horrible decision, and it is all going to end up in court,” he told The Hill.

Trump Files Another Defamation Suit Against The New York Times

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Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

President Donald Trump filed a new $15 billion defamation suit against The New York Times on Thursday, following the dismissal of a similar lawsuit last month.

In the suit, Trump accuses the Times of printing false and defamatory statements about his business career that damaged his professional reputation. The suit also names multiple reporters for the Times and Penguin Random House, which published a book on Trump’s business career. 

Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

“The statements in question wrongly defame and disparage President Trump’s hard-earned professional reputation, which he painstakingly built for decades as a private citizen before becoming President of the United States, including as a successful businessman and as star of the most successful reality television show of all-time— The Apprentice,” the suit said. 

It was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Two articles published by the Times in September 2024, and the book “Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success,” are the subject of the suit. The reporters named as defendants include Susanne Craig, Russ Buettner, and Peter Baker. 

The suit listed several claims it said were defamatory, including an allegation that Trump received millions of dollars from his father through “fraudulent tax evasion schemes.” Another claim was that Trump’s father gave him “taxable gifts masquerading as loans, a likely tax fraud that went unnoticed.” 

The suit said that these kinds of statements hurt Trump’s business ventures, including his social media company, Truth Social. 

“Statements falsely casting aspersions on President Trump’s reputation as a businessman or the Trump Organization’s legitimacy therefore cause direct and easily foreseeable harm to these businesses’ value, revenue, and profitability,” the suit said. 

Last month, Trump filed a similar lawsuit targeting the Times and multiple reporters he said made defamatory statements to maliciously interfere in the outcome of the 2024 election. That suit was tossed out by Judge Steven Merryday, who said it was improper. 

Jim Jordan Launches First Investigation as Judiciary chair

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Jim Jordan via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Jim Jordan’s (R-Ohio) first investigation as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee will examine President Biden’s “mishandling” of classified documents and the Justice Department’s investigation.

“We are conducting oversight of the Justice Department’s actions with respect to former Vice President Biden’s mishandling of classified documents, including the apparently unauthorized possession of classified material at a Washington, D.C., private office and in the garage of his Wilmington, Delaware, residence,” Jordan and Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., wrote in a letter sent Friday to Garland.

“On January 12, 2023, you appointed Robert Hur as Special Counsel to investigate these matters,” they wrote. “The circumstances of this appointment raise fundamental oversight questions that the Committee routinely examines. We expect your complete cooperation with our inquiry.”

“It is unclear when the Department first came to learn about the existence of these documents, and whether it actively concealed this information from the public on the eve of the 2022 elections,” Jordan wrote. “It is also unclear what interactions, if any, the Department had with President Biden or his representatives about his mishandling of classified material. The Department’s actions here appear to depart from how it acted in similar circumstances.”

“In fact, on August 8, 2022, despite the publicly available evidence of President Trump’s voluntary cooperation, you personally approved the decision to seek a warrant for excessive and unprecedented access to his private residence. On August 15, 2022, Committee Republicans wrote to you and FBI Director Christopher Wray requesting documents and information related to the FBI’s raid of President Trump’s residence,” the letter said.

Rep. Jordan’s investigation comes one day after Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to examine the matter, former U.S. attorney Robert Hur. The DOJ escalated the matter to a special counsel investigation from a mere review after a second stash of classified documents was found inside the garage of Biden’s Delaware home. The first batch of documents were found inside the D.C., offices of the Penn Biden Center think tank.

Classified Documents Judge Rules On Motion To Dismiss Trump Trial

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Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

The federal judge presiding over Donald Trump’s classified documents trial has denied his motion to dismiss the federal case.

According to reports, Trump’s legal team had sought to throw out more than a half dozen of the 41 counts in the indictment, which accused the former commander in chief of illegally hoarding classified documents from his presidency and conspiring with others to conceal sensitive files from the federal government. 

Fox News has more:

The defendants had challenged counts related to obstruction and false statements, but U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon issued an order Monday saying that “the identified deficiencies, even if generating some arguable confusion, are either permitted by law, raise evidentiary challenges not appropriate for disposition at this juncture, and/or do not require dismissal even if technically deficient, so long as the jury is instructed appropriately and presented with adequate verdict forms as to each Defendants’ alleged conduct.”

Cannon did, however, agree to strike down a paragraph from the indictment that defense lawyers argued was prejudicial information that was not essential to the underlying charges.

At another turn she seemed to criticize Smith for using what is known as a “speaking indictment” where prosecutors lay out their charges in great detail, essentially telling the story of their case through court documents.

“The Court also notes the risks that can flow from a prosecutor’s decision to include in a charging document an extensive narrative account of his or her view of the facts, especially in cases of significant public interest,” Cannon wrote.

The decision from Cannon clears from her desk one of the many numerous pretrial motions from Trump seeking to toss the case.

Cannon has pointed to those motions in indefinitely punting the trial date.

Trump is facing charges on 41 counts in connection with the case, the majority of which are Espionage Act charges targeting the retention of classified records after he left the White House. He is also facing obstruction of justice charges related to his failure to return the records after a subpoena

Judge Imposes Rules Ahead Of Michael Cohen Testimony

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IowaPolitics.com, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Judge Juan Merchan on Friday directed Manhattan prosecutors to inform Michael Cohen to stop speaking publicly about the case as his testimony approaches.

Cohen is expected to testify Monday and has been billed as a key witness for the district attorney’s office. He made the $130,000 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who claimed she had an affair with Trump, which he denies. 

The Hill reports:

Trump’s lawyers have repeatedly criticized Cohen’s public attacks on Trump, given that the former president’s ability to respond is limited under the terms of his gag order.


Todd Blanche, Trump’s attorney, asked that Cohen be prohibited from talking “in the same way President Trump is” restricted.

“I will direct the People to communicate to Mr. Cohen that the judge is asking him to refrain from any more statements about this case,” Merchan said from the bench.


He told prosecutors moments later, “that comes from the bench, and you are communicating that on behalf of the bench.”

The former president’s ex-fixer previously said he would refrain from attacks on Trump, but defense attorneys said Friday that he posted a TikTok on Wednesday night wearing a tee-shirt that showed Trump in an orange jumpsuit and behind bars.

MAGA Congresswomen Clash Over Biden Impeachment Move

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

Tensions between MAGA Congresswomen Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Lauren Boebert (Colo.) have reached a fever pitch.

Greene called Boebert a “little bitch” amid GOP frustration at the Colorado Republican’s move to try and force a vote on impeaching President Biden.

On Wednesday, Boebert approached Greene over statements she made earlier in the day for critiquing her move to force an impeachment vote. Greene then accused Boebert of copying her own articles of impeachment against President Biden, which Greene had previously asked her to co-sponsor. (RELATED: GOP Congresswoman Moves To Force Biden Impeachment Vote)

At one point, Greene called Boebert a “little bitch” according to reports from left-leaning publication The Daily Beast.

Greene confirmed the exchange, later telling reporters that the Daily Beast’s story — including the name-calling — was “surprisingly accurate.”

Greene expanded on her frustration with Boebert while speaking to reporters at the Capitol.

“I have defended her when she’s been attacked. She and I have virtually the same voting record. We’re both members of the House Freedom Caucus. We should be natural allies,” Greene said. “But for some reason, she has a great skill and talent for making most people here not like her. And so, it’s her issue.”

Greene said she supported Boebert’s impeachment articles because she also wants to impeach Biden, but she critiqued her approach. Boebert’s move to force a vote caught many of her colleagues by surprise.

“She didn’t talk to anyone about it. She didn’t come to the conference [meeting]. She didn’t address it with anybody. She copied my articles of impeachment, refused to cosponsor mine,” Greene said.

Arizona Candidate, RNC File Election Lawsuit

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Missvain, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Arizona Republicans have filed a lawsuit after widespread voting issues impacted Election Day and prolonged results for more than a week.

Arizona Republican attorney general nominee Abraham Hamadeh in conjunction with the Republican National Committee (RNC) filed suit against many election officials Tuesday. 

The lawsuit targets Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D) alongside the recorders and boards of supervisors for all counties in the state.

According to Fox News, the lawsuit also stated the Republicans are not alleging “fraud, manipulation or other intentional wrongdoing,” and added that the alleged mismanagement did not directly affect the outcome of the election.

“The voters of Arizona demand answers and deserve transparency about the gross incompetence and mismanagement of the General Election by certain election officials,” Hamadeh said. “Pervasive errors by our election officials resulted in the disenfranchisement of countless Arizonans who had their voices silenced.” 

According to Maricopa County election officials, at least 60 voting locations experienced issues with their ballot-on-demand printers. The assistant attorney general is demanding an in-depth report addressing those issues, as well as the “check-out” procedures at each polling location and each location’s official ballot report.

Hamadeh and the RNC allege that Arizona officials also wrongly disqualified provisional ballots and mis-marked early voters in the system.

Over the weekend, Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Wright sent a letter to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office demanding explanations for the numerous election problems before the results can be certified next week.

“The Elections Integrity Unit of the Arizona Attorney General’s Office has received hundreds of complaints since Election Day pertaining to issues related to the administration of the 2022 General Election in Maricopa County,” Wright wrote. “These complaints go beyond pure speculation, but include first-hand witness accounts that raise concerns regarding Maricopa’s lawful compliance with Arizona election law.”

Judge Dismisses Trump Lawsuit Against Hillary Clinton

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Hillary Clinton via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Former president Donald Trump’s lawsuit against Hillary Clinton has been dismissed by a federal judge in Florida.

Trump filed the lawsuit in March accusing Clinton and more than two dozen others of “a malicious conspiracy to disseminate patently false and injurious information about Donald J. Trump and his campaign, all in the hopes of destroying his life, his political career and rigging the 2016 Presidential Election in favor of Hillary Clinton.” 

Bloomberg reports:

The suit was amended in June to include new details from Special Counsel John Durham’s failed prosecution of longtime Democratic lawyer Michael Sussmann, who was accused of lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation while providing a Trump-Russia tip just before the 2016 election.

“At its core, the problem with plaintiff’s amended complaint is that plaintiff is not attempting to seek redress for any legal harm; instead, he is seeking to flaunt a two-hundred-page political manifesto outlining his grievances against those that have opposed him, and this court is not the appropriate forum,” US District Judge Donald Middlebrooks, appointed to the bench by Bill Clinton, said in a 65-page order dated Thursday. 

The ruling by Middlebrooks, who in April rejected Trump’s request that he disqualify himself from the case, takes several shots at the lawsuit, noting that the theory of the case was “difficult to summarize in a concise and cohesive manner. It was certainly not presented that way.” He said many of the “characterizations of events are implausible because they lack any specific allegations which might provide factual support for the conclusions reached.” 

Trump is currently ensnared in multiple legal battles in the Sunshine State. On Thursday, the Department of Justice filed a notice of appeal regarding a Florida judge’s motion to appoint a special master to review materials seized during the FBI’s raid of Mar-a-Lago.

Trump Reveals ‘Dying Wish’ If He’s Assassinated

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Trump wants the world to know…

Former president and current Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump revealed his dying wish after surviving a recent assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Alongside a clip of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump wrote the following on Truth Social.

If they do “assassinate President Trump,” which is always a possibility, I hope that America obliterates Iran, wipes it off the face of the Earth — If that does not happen, American Leaders will be considered “gutless” cowards!

Following the assassination attempt by 20-year-old Matthew Thomas Crooks, CNN reported that “US authorities obtained intelligence from a human source in recent weeks on a plot by Iran to try to assassinate Donald Trump, a development that led to the Secret Service increasing security around the former president.”

“NSC [National Security Council] directly contacted USSS [United States Secret Service at a senior level to be absolutely sure they continued to track the latest reporting. USSS shared this information with the detail lead, and the Trump campaign was made aware of an evolving threat. In response to the increased threat, Secret Service surged resources and assets for the protection of former President Trump. All of this was in advance of Saturday,” a national security official told CNN.

The former president not only withdrew from the so-called Iran nuclear deal, but ordered the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, the terrorist general who served as the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ infamous Quds Force.

Judge Rules Fox News Can Pursue Counterclaim Against Smartmatic

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Looking east towards 6th Avenue along north (48th Street) side of Fox News building on a snowy afternoon. [Photo Credit: Jim.henderson, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons]

But it can’t avoid Smartmatic’s $2.7 billion lawsuit…

A New York Supreme Court judge has ruled that Smartmatic’s defamation lawsuit against Fox News Channel can proceed.

However, he also denied the voting system company’s motion to dismiss Fox News’ counterclaim its suit is anti-free speech. He reasoned, in part, that the network has yet to be found liable for defamation.

The Hollywood Reporter has more on the order advancing claims from both sides:

“There remained a triable issue of fact for trial in that action as to whether defendants acted with actual malice, which is an element that plaintiffs need to prove here as well,” the order stated.

But in a win for Smartmatic, New York Supreme Justice David Cohen refused to dismiss its suit against Fox. He found that the company “sufficiently alleged” that the network’s employees “played an affirmative role in the publication of the defamation at issue.”

The decision sounds the death knell for Fox’s attempts to toss the case. Judge Cohen’s 61-page ruling states that Smartmatic has “substantial basis” to pursue its claim “that, at a minimum, Fox News turned a blind eye to a litany of outrageous claims about [Smartmatic], unprecedented in the history of American elections, so inherently improbable that it evinced a reckless disregard for the truth.”

The Reporter continues:

Despite a $788 million settlement to resolve a similar suit brought by Dominion Voting Systems, Fox continues to face mounting legal troubles over broadcasting far-right conspiracy theories that the 2020 election was stolen with the help of voting technology companies. Last year, Fox Corp.’s board of directors was sued for allegedly adopting a business model centered on chasing profits by intentionally broadcasting falsehoods and disregarding the risk of exposing itself to defamation claims.

The dispute centers on allegations that Fox, in an attempt to boost ratings, capitalized on the popularity of former President Donald Trump by fabricating a narrative that Smartmatic caused him to unfairly lose the election.

A trial over the network’s 2020 election coverage isn’t expected until 2025.