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Trump Says He Has $100M In Legal Fees Amid Cascade of Court Battles

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Former President Trump said in Iowa that he has more than $100 million in combined legal fees as he faces an onslaught of court battles.

In a speech to supporters in Sioux City, Iowa, Trump claimed he lost billions of dollars going into politics and lamented the cost of his legal fees. 

Trump claimed he turned down multiple opportunities to make money during his presidency because, he said, it would be a conflict of interest, and “I have too much respect for the office.”

“It’s cost me a couple of billion dollars to be a politician. Everyone else makes, they make [money]. I said, ‘No, we can’t do that.’ I could have made a fortune. The countries are coming [and saying,] ‘We’d like to build a job and we’d like to have you involved.’ Billions. I say, I tell my kids, ‘Sorry, kids, we can’t do it. I’m president.’ I respected the office,” Trump said.

“And of course, then they made it much worse with legal fees. I have $100 million worth of legal fees,” Trump said. “And they’re doing good. At least I have good lawyers, because you can spend $100 million and have lousy lawyers too. It happens.”

The four criminal cases against Trump include two federal cases brought by special counsel Jack Smith, who charged Trump with 37 felony counts.

Former White House Attorney Predicts Trump Will Face Jail Time Over Gag Order

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Former White House lawyer Ty Cobb believes former President Trump will likely face jail time over the reinstated gag order in the federal election interference case.

On Sunday, Judge Tanya Chutkan reimposed the gag order barring Trump from disparaging court staff or witnesses in the case. Trump was fined over $10,000 in his New York business fraud case earlier this month. (RELATED: Trump Fined In Civil Fraud Trial)

“Well, the New York judge fined him $10,000,” Cobb said in a CNN interview Monday, referring to Trump’s second fine. “That’s in a civil case. That’s not as consequential as Judge Chutkan’s case.” 

“I think she’ll come in with a much heavier penalty, and ultimately, I think he’ll spend a night or a weekend in jail,” he said.

Judge Tanya Chutkan is overseeing the case that alleges the former president conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The case is scheduled to go to trial in March.

“As the court has explained, the First Amendment rights of participants in criminal proceedings must yield, when necessary, to the orderly administration of justice — a principle reflected in Supreme Court precedent,” Chutkan wrote in the partial gag order.

Cobb, who worked under the Trump administration, said a brief stint in jail is a likely outcome.

“I think it’ll take that to stop him,” he said.

Trump has vowed to appeal the order, but Chutkan said Sunday that it will still be in effect pending that appeal. (RELATED: Judge Reimposes Gag Order In Federal Election Interference Case)

“This order, according to many legal scholars, is unthinkable! It illegally and unconstitutionally takes away my First Amendment Right of Free Speech, in the middle of my campaign for President, where I am leading against BOTH Parties in the Polls,” he wrote on Truth Social overnight Monday.

“Few can believe this is happening, but I will appeal. How can they tell the leading candidate that he, and only he, is seriously restricted from campaigning in a free and open manner?” he added. “It will not stand!”

Judge Reimposes Gag Order In Federal Election Interference Case

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Gage Skidmore Flickr

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has reimposed former President Donald Trump’s suspended gag order in his federal election interference case.

Special Counsel Jack Smith requested the reinstatement of the partial gag order on Trump to protect “certain trial participants from intimidation, harassment, and threats.”

Smith’s request came after Trump fired off a verbal attack on his former Chief Staff Mark Meadows, on Tuesday, after ABC News reported Meadows agreed to testify against Trump in exchange for immunity.

Judge Chutkan initially imposed a “narrow” gag order barring the former president from targeting witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and their families.

During the ruling, Chutkan said Trump’s status as a candidate for president did not give him authority to level a “smear campaign” against those involved in the case, saying that “First Amendment protections yield to the administration of justice and to the protection of witnesses.”

In the initial gag order, Chutkan declined to grant an order with the breadth requested by the Justice Department, declining to limit any speech attacking her or the District of Columbia, saying the court would use the jury selection process to ensure it does not pick jurors swayed by Trump’s repeated criticisms of the city’s current state.

On Sunday, Trump vowed to appeal the controversial order in a series of posts to his Truth Social account.

“This order, according to many legal scholars, is unthinkable! It illegally and unconstitutionally takes away my First Amendment Right of Free Speech, in the middle of my campaign for President, where I am leading against BOTH Parties in the Polls,” he wrote on Truth Social.

“Few can believe this is happening, but I will appeal. How can they tell the leading candidate that he, and only he, is seriously restricted from campaigning in a free and open manner? It will not stand!” he added.

In a separate post late Sunday on Truth Social, the former president questioned the timing of the cases brought against him by the Justice Department, claiming that the decision to file them during the presidential campaign season was to hurt his election bid.

“Why didn’t Crooked Joe Biden tell his Injustice Department to file the lawsuits and Indictments against me 3 years ago, instead of right in the middle of my campaign for President? You’re setting a BAD precedent for yourself, Joe. The same can happen to you,” he wrote.

“These Third World Biden Indictments, which should never have been filed, would have been tried and over with  years ago. My SleazeBag Opponent shouldn’t be able to do this during my campaign, OR BEFORE THE ELECTION!” Trump added.

Judge Rules Ivanka Trump Must Testify In Fraud Trial

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Ivanka Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

New York Judge Arthur Engoron ruled Friday that Donald Trump’s eldest daughter Ivanka must testify in the ongoing civil fraud trial.

Ivanka Trump was once a party in the lawsuit, but a New York appeals court in June dismissed her from the case, ruling that the claims against her were barred by the state’s statute of limitations.

Ivanka Trump’s lawyers in court documents argued that the New York attorney general’s office does not have the jurisdiction to force the former president’s daughter to testify, suggesting the office is attempting to “force her back into this case” despite her dismissal from it.

The Hill reports:

“Ms. Trump is not a party in this action. Nor is Ms. Trump a New York resident,” they wrote. “It is black-letter law that, given those two facts, Ms. Trump is beyond the jurisdiction of this Court.”

Trump’s legal team also claimed in court filings that the attorney general is seeking to “continue to harass and burden President Trump’s daughter long after the First Department mandated she be dismissed from the case.”

Engoron rebuffed those arguments in court Friday, suggesting that her ties to New York have hardly been severed.

“Ms. Trump has clearly availed herself of the privilege of doing business in New York,” Engoron said Friday, according to the Associated Press.

New York Attorney General Letitia James’ case accuses Trump, his two adult sons, the Trump Organization, and top executives of falsely inflating the values of Trump’s real estate properties and other assets in order to get tax benefits and better loan terms.

James seeks around $250 million in damages, and she wants to bar Trump and his co-defendants from running another business in New York.

GOP Presidential Candidate Drops Out, Makes Key Endorsement

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Larry Elder ,Sgt. Jacob Harrer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Conservative talk show host Larry Elder has suspended his presidential campaign and is throwing his support behind former President Donald Trump.

In a statement Thursday evening, Elder expressed gratitude for his supporters and said he was honored by their enthusiasm and grassroots support. He further explained that after assessing his campaign and the state of the race, he had made the “difficult decision” to suspend his campaign.

“Throughout my campaign, I have been steadfast in my belief that the biggest issues facing our nation are the crisis of fatherlessness, the dangerous lie that America is systemically racist, the need for an amendment to the constitution to set federal spending to a fixed percentage of the GDP — otherwise government gets bigger whether Republicans or Democrats are in charge, and the need to remove the Soros-backed DAs across the country who refuse to enforce the law,” he said in a statement.

“The breakdown of the family structure and the absence of positive father figures in the lives of many children have far-reaching consequences for our society, including the crime wave we are currently seeing in America today,” he continued. “I hope that my campaign has helped shine a light on these critical issues and sparked important conversations about how we can solve them.”

In August, Elder made waves after he threatened to sue the Republican National Committee (RNC) for not including him in the first GOP debate. While the RNC determined Elder had failed to meet the required threshold for number of individual donors and polling, he accused them of purposely silencing him.

“I said from the beginning that it appeared the rules of the game were rigged, little did we know just how rigged it is. For some reason, the establishment leaders at the RNC are afraid of having my voice on the debate stage,” he said in an X post at the time.

In his Thursday statement, Elder encourages Republicans to support Trump for president.

“Now that I am exiting the race, I am proud to announce my endorsement of Donald Trump for President of the United States. His leadership has been instrumental in advancing conservative, America-first principles and policies that have benefited our great nation,” Elder said. “We must unite behind Donald Trump to beat Joe Biden and fight back against Biden’s unprecedented election interference and the left’s destruction of America.

“I want to thank my supporters, volunteers, and donors who invested their time, energy, and resources in this campaign. From Iowa to New Hampshire to Nevada and beyond, I am grateful for the opportunity to have met so many incredible Americans who share our values.”

Report: Fulton County DA has Discussed Plea Deals More Trump Co-defendants

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Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

New reports indicate Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has discussed potential plea deals with at least six other co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case.

The new reports from CNN show Willis’ office is clearly trying to have as many defendants flip on Trump as possible.

CNN reports:

Pro-Trump lawyer Robert Cheeley is among those who have been offered a plea deal in the Georgia case but, according to his lawyer, turned it down.

“To say that we are currently in discussions with the DA’s office would be an inaccurate representation of what is going on. They made us an offer some time ago and we declined it,” Cheeley’s attorney Richard Rice said.

Former Coffee County, Georgia, elections supervisor Misty Hampton and former Trump campaign official Mike Roman have also been in contact with the DA’s office about a possible deal, multiple sources said.

CNN has confirmed that three other defendants have also discussed a potential plea deal with Fulton County prosecutors but agreed not to name them after sources expressed concerns about speaking about the case at this phase.

So far, four defendants in the case have accepted plea deals.

Earlier this week, Mark Meadows became the latest co-defendant to agree to testify against Trump in exchange for immunity.

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

Judge Rules On Trump’s Requests for Immediate Verdict in Fraud Trial

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Gage Skidmore Flickr

On Wednesday, former President Trump’s legal team asked for an immediate and direct verdict in the Trump Organization civil trial following testimony from ex-attorney Michael Cohen. 

The request came after Cohen admitted during testimony that the former president did not ask him to inflate his finances on a personal financial statement.

During a second day on the stand, Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and “fixer,” was asked directly whether Trump asked him to inflate his finances on personal financial statements.

“Trump didn’t ask you to inflate the numbers on his personal statement, correct?” Trump attorney Clifford Roberts asked.

“Correct,” Cohen replied.

After Cohen’s response, Roberts spoke with the former president and fellow defense attorneys and told Judge Arthur Engoron he had no further questions.

Roberts then asked for an immediate, direct verdict in the trial in light of Cohen’s testimony.

Judge Engoron immediately said: “denied.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James’ case accuses Trump, his two adult sons, the Trump Organization, and top executives of falsely inflating the values of Trump’s real estate properties and other assets in order to get tax benefits and better loan terms.

James seeks around $250 million in damages, and she wants to bar Trump and his co-defendants from running another business in New York.

Trump responded to the Judge’s ruling in a series of Truth Social posts Wednesday evening.

“The New York State Attorney Generals case against me is DEAD, but the Radical Left Judge REFUSES to end it. He just can’t let it go,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, repeating his frequent attack on the judge in the case.

“Letitia James should focus on Violent Crime, which is out of control. So unfair. I don’t even get a Jury Trial. A blight on the New York State Judicial System,” he continued. “Businesses are watching all over the world, and never coming in, only moving out. The Governor should get involved.”

He added, “Election Interference by my Political Opponent!”

Trump Fined In Civil Fraud Trial

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Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

Former President Trump was fined $10,000 for violating the gag order in his $250 million New York business fraud trial.

Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to the witness stand and questioned him about comments he made outside of the courtroom.

The surprise calling of Trump to the witness stand came amid the second day of testimony from Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney and fixer, who faced a barrage of attacks about his credibility as a witness.

CNBC has more:

Trump doubled down Wednesday during a mid-morning break, saying Cohen “went to jail for lying” and branding him “a totally discredited witness.”

Trump, who stared down Cohen in court on Tuesday, repeatedly attacked his former lawyer in between the proceedings. He called Cohen a “proven liar,” a “felon” and a “disgrace” outside the courtroom.

He launched more attacks on social media, writing Tuesday evening that Cohen “was a complete and total disaster” in the trial.

“Lie after lie, and getting caught each time,” claimed Trump.

New York Attorney General Letitia James’ civil case accuses Trump, his two adult sons, the Trump Organization and top executives of falsely inflating the values of Trump’s real estate properties and other assets in order to get tax benefits and better loan terms.

James seeks around $250 million in damages, and she wants to bar Trump and his co-defendants from running another business in New Yo

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

Trump Files Series Of Motions In D.C. Election Interference Case

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Gage Skidmore Flickr

Former President Trump attempted to distance himself from the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol in a series of late-night legal motions.

Former President Trump’s legal team is asking a judge to toss his prosecution in his federal election interference case.

The Daily Beast reports that in one motion, Trump filed to dismiss his federal 2020 election subversion case, citing First Amendment rights surrounding Trump’s belief the election as stolen and claiming the indictment, “taken as true, violates this core principle.”

“The fact that the indictment alleges that the speech at issue was supposedly, according to the prosecution, ‘false’ makes no difference,” the defense wrote. “Under the First Amendment, each individual American participating in a free marketplace of ideas — not the federal Government — decides for him or herself what is true and false on great disputed social and political questions.”

“President Trump’s opinion on the subject was just that — an opinion formed based on his view of the available information. Virtually every American, including the cited public officials, had similar access to much of this same information, including a mountain of publicly reported facts and opinions, which were the subject of wall-to-wall media coverage throughout the post-election period and beyond,” they wrote.

“Each official thus had every opportunity to form his or her own conclusions, just like President Trump.”

The second motion seeks dismissal on statutory grounds, arguing, “The prosecution does not explain how President Trump violated these statutes, beyond simply saying he has while regurgitating the statutory language.”

The third motion asks Judge Chutkan to remove “repeated references to the actions of independent actors at the Capitol on January 6, 2021” from his indictment, claiming Trump was not charged “with responsibility for the actions at the Capitol” and therefore the “allegations related to these actions are not relevant and are prejudicial and inflammatory.”

“Because the Government has not charged President Trump with responsibility for the actions at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, allegations related to these actions are not relevant and are prejudicial and inflammatory. Therefore, the Court should strike these allegations from the Indictment,” his attorneys wrote in a motion to strike “inflammatory allegations” from Trump’s indictment. 

The fourth saw Trump request dismissal “on the basis of selective and vindictive prosecution.”

“These demands place an unacceptable burden on President Trump to foreshadow a possible formal defense,” they wrote.

Jenna Ellis Takes Plea Deal In Georgia Election Case

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis became the fourth defendant to plead guilty in the Georgia election interference case on Tuesday.

According to reports from ABC News, Ellis is pleading guilty to one count of aiding and abetting false statements and writings.

Recently, defendants Kenneth Chesebro, Sidney Powell, and Scott Hall took plea deals in exchange for agreeing to testify against other defendants.

Ellis, who described herself as part of an “elite strike force team” of attorneys combating unfounded claims of election fraud, pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting false statements and writings.

“If I knew then what I know now, I would have declined to represent Donald Trump in these post election challenges,” a tearful Ellis told the judge.

“How do you plead to aiding and abetting false statements and writings,” Fulton County prosecutor Daysha Young asked.

“Guilty,” Ellis responded.

She was sentenced to five years of probation, 100 hours of community service and ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution and write a letter of apology to Georgia citizens.

In August, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis indicted former President Trump and 18 others for trying to overturn his 2020 defeat in Georgia.