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    Report: Georgia DA Planning to Indict Trump Next Month

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is reportedly planning to indict former President Trump next month on racketeering charges.

    Left-leaning publication The Guardian’s Hugo Lowell cited two sources close to the matter in an exclusive report detailing the possibility of racketeering charges, which would be based on “influencing witnesses and computer trespass.

    “The racketeering statute in Georgia requires prosecutors to show the existence of an ‘enterprise’ – and a pattern of racketeering activity that is predicated on at least two ‘qualifying’ crimes,” Lowell explains.

    The report added that while the “specific evidence was not clear” the “charge regarding influencing witnesses could include Trump’s conversations with Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger.” Trump was recorded asking Raffensperger to “find” 11,780 votes, his losing margin in the state, in order to be declared the victor. Lowell also details the potential computer trespass charges:

    For the computer trespass charge, where prosecutors would have to show that defendants used a computer or network without authority to interfere with a program or data, that would include the breach of voting machines in Coffee county, the two people said.

    The breach of voting machines involved a group of Trump operatives – paid by the then Trump lawyer Sidney Powell – accessing the voting machines at the county’s election office and copying sensitive voting system data.

    The report notes that the copied data was then “uploaded to a password-protected site from where election deniers could download the materials as part of a misguided effort to prove the 2020 election had been rigged.”

    Judge Sets Date For Highly Anticipated Classified Docs Trial

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    3
    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Judge Aileen Cannon has set a date for the highly anticipated classified documents trial for former President Donald Trump.

    Judge Cannon has set a May 2024 date for the trial into Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents taken from the White House.

    Despite Judge Cannon’s decision to deny Trump’s legal team’s request to indefinitely delay the matter, she disagreed with Special Counsel Jack Smith’s requested trial date of December this year.

    “By conservative estimates, the amount of discovery in this case is voluminous and likely to increase in the normal course as trial approaches. And, while the Government has taken steps to organize and filter the extensive discovery, no one disagrees that Defendants need adequate time to review and evaluate it on their own accord,” Cannon wrote.

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

    Trump Aide Expected to Testify To Grand Jury Investigating Jan. 6

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    12
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    A former White House aide to President Trump is planning to testify before the grand jury investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and the then-president’s alleged efforts to overturn the election.

    Former Trump aide Will Russell, who was reportedly with Trump on Jan 6., is expected to appear Thursday before the grand jury in Washington. Russell was subpoenaed by the grand jury last year.

    According to The Hill, Russell served in the White House as a special assistant to the former president and the deputy director of presidential advance operations and also continued working with Trump after he left office.

    Earlier this week, Trump revealed that special counsel Jack Smith informed him that he was a target of the investigation looking into the efforts to overturn the 2020 election, a signal that Trump’s third indictment is imminent.

    The grand jury is expected to meet Thursday, which is also the deadline for Trump to appear before the grand jury, which he is not expected to do.

    Other White House aides including Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Hope Hicks have also reportedly met with the grand jury.

    DeSantis Defends Trump After Latest Criminal Indictment News

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0

    Republicans have rushed to defend former president Donald Trump after news of his latest indictment.

    Presidential candidate and Trump rival Ron DeSantis said during an interview on Tuesday that if elected President of the United States, he will clear the ranks at the FBI and Department of Justice.

    DeSantis made the remarks during an interview on CNN with host Jake Tapper when asked about the former president saying that he has received a letter informing him that he is the target in an investigation into his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

    “If Jack Smith has evidence of criminality, should Donald Trump be held accountable?” Tapper asked.

    “So, here’s the problem. This country is going down the road of criminalizing political differences,” DeSantis responded. “I think that’s wrong. Alvin Bragg stretched the statute in Manhattan to be able to try to target Donald Trump. Most people, even people on the Left, acknowledge if that wasn’t Trump, that case would not have likely been brought against a normal civilian.”

    “And so you have a situation where the Department of Justice, FBI had been weaponized against people they don’t like, and the number one example that happened to be against Donald Trump with the Russia collusion,” he said. “That was not a legitimate investigation; that was being done to try to drive Trump out of office. And so what I’ve said, as president, my job is to restore a single standard of justice to end weaponization of these agencies.”

    “We’re going to have a new FBI director on day one; we’re going to have big changes at the Department of Justice,” he added. “Americans across the political spectrum need to have confidence that what is going on is based on the rule of law, not based on what political tribe you’re in.”

    Georgia Supreme Court Rejects Trump’s Effort To Halt Election Probe

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    The Georgia Supreme Court unanimously shut down former President Trump’s attempt to stop a potential indictment for tampering with the results of the 2020 presidential election in that state.

    In a five-page decision issued Monday afternoon, all nine justices of the Georgia Supreme Court said Trump’s lawyers had failed to make a persuasive case for shutting down the inquiry led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. She has signaled that indictments are possible in the election-related probe in the next few weeks as a grand jury convenes to consider possible charges.

    The Georgia court said there was no reason to permit that in these circumstances.

    “He makes no showing that he has been prevented fair access to the ordinary channels,” the high court wrote in an opinion not attributed to any specific justice. “He is asking this Court to step in and itself decide the motions currently pending in the superior court. This is not the sort of relief that this Court affords, at least absent extraordinary circumstances that Petitioner has not shown are present here.”

    Willis’ probe reportedly focuses on pressure Trump and his allies put on Georgia officials the weeks after the 2020 election to try to reverse Trump’s loss to Joe Biden in the Peach State. A key piece of evidence in the probe is an audio recording of a call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger urging him to “find 11,780 votes,” which would have pushed Trump across the threshold to claim victory.

    Various election officials and national GOP figures have testified during the special grand jury probe.

    Trump’s attorneys also filed a petition in March with Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, asking that Willis’ probe be halted. However, McBurney has yet to rule on that motion. 

    Trump Notified He Is Target In Justice Department’s J6 Investigation

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    4
    Elvert Barnes, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

    On Tuesday former President Trump confirmed that he is a target of the Justice Department’s Jan. 6 investigation focusing on his efforts to stay in power after losing the 2020 election. 

    Trump said in a post on Truth Social he received the “target letter” Sunday evening.

    “Deranged Jack Smith, the prosecutor with Joe Biden’s DOJ, sent a letter (again it was Sunday night!) stating that I am a TARGET of the January 6th Grand Jury investigation, and giving me a very short 4 days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an arrest and indictment.”

    Attorney Merrick Garland previously said he planned to pursue anyone who “unlawfully interfered with the transfer of power” but had yet to bring any formal charges against the former president.

    Recently, Prosecutors have called a number of Trump allies before the grand jury, including Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and former aide Hope Hicks. Prosecutors reportedly asked questions about whether the former president was aware he had lost the election, as demonstrating intent is key for some charges. 

    It’s unclear what specific charges Trump could face if prosecutors decide to move ahead.

    An indictment would mark the third time this year Trump has been charged.

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

    White House Contender Releases Short List of SCOTUS Candidates

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    Duncan Lock, Dflock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    On Monday, White House candidate Vivek Ramaswamy announced a list of candidates he would nominate to the Supreme Court if he were elected.

    “President Biden’s focus on judicial appointments appeared to be on diversity of race & gender. While I drew from diverse experiences — current and former federal judges, a former Solicitor General, two U.S. Senators — my sole criterion was to select candidates with an unwavering commitment to an originalist understanding of the U.S. Constitution, who also understand the unique threats to liberty in the 21st century (including lurking state action),” Ramaswamy said in a statement. 

    The list, first reported by Axios, includes multiple federal appeals court judges, like Judge James Ho, a member of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals who Trump suggested as a potential nominee to the Supreme Court prior to the 2020 presidential election.

    Ramaswamy’s list also includes three other federal appeals court judges: Judge Lawrence VanDyke, Judge Lisa Branch, and Judge Thomas Hardiman.

    The list is rounded out with three non-judges, including Senators Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), both of whom also appeared at times on Trump’s Supreme Court shortlists.

    Ramaswamy also included Paul Clement, a veteran Supreme Court advocate who served as U.S. solicitor general under the second Bush administration. 

    DeSantis Reveals A Republican Under Consideration to Become His Running Mate

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    8

    Republican White House contender Ron DeSantis says he is eyeing Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds as his potential pick for vice president.

    DeSantis made the remarks after he touted the popular Iowa governor on Friday at a forum with Tucker Carlson. (RELATED: Tucker Carlson to Host GOP Presidential Forum – Without Trump)

    “Governor, you have spent a lot of time with Governor Reynolds, you defended her after President Trump’s recent statements,” a reporter said to DeSantis at an event on Saturday. “Would you consider her as a potential vice presidential pick in this campaign?”

    “Of course,” DeSantis responded. “I mean, she’s one of the top public servants in America, I thought the attacks on her were totally, totally out of hand, and totally unnecessary.”

    “We should be thanking good Republican office holders,” he continued. “You know, we kind of joke about the Iowa-Florida [competition], sometimes they do things before us, sometimes we do. But honestly, I want them to do better than us because it’s healthy. When Republicans are doing well, I like that, I don’t get jealous of that, I want to see them do well.”

    “And so they’ve done a great job and I think she’s been a model public servant and anybody who’s a Republican that’s trying to denigrate her I think is way off base on that,” he concluded.

    Chris Christie Says He’d Fight Trump

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    13
    Maryland GovPics, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    A fight for the ages…

    Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said he would fight former President Trump and said if the two former allies were facing off in a match, “I’d kick his ass.”

    “Come on. The guy’s 78 years old. I’d kick his ass,” Christie told Piers Morgan in an interview that aired Thursday, when asked who would win in a head-to-head fight. 

    “Look, I’ll fight Donald Trump anywhere he wants, in any arena he wants – whether it’s on the debate stage or in the Octagon,” Christie later added.

    The fighting match rhetoric comes as some high-profile figures have claimed on social media and elsewhere that they were prepared to fight their chief rivals. 

    Twitter owner Elon Musk claimed he would be “up for a cage fight” against Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who, in turn, tweeted “send me the location.”

    Christie has been a vocal opponent of Trump for years but has recently become especially outspoken against his latest campaign for the White House.

    Ex-Fox News Host Reveals What Led to Abrupt Exit

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    Mark Taylor from Rockville, USA, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

    Recently ousted Fox News host Geraldo Rivera says that his “toxic relationship” with one of his co-hosts on The Five was a motivating factor behind his exit.

    During an appearance with The View, Rivera said that after he was taken off the program, he decided to retire from the network altogether.

    He explained that he still had time left on his contract, but he decided “if you fired me from the number one show, then I’m going to quit. And that’s basically what happened.”

    “Which one?” Joy Behar asked. “Does it rhyme with Smeshie Shwatters,” another co-host added, clearly referring to Jesse Watters.

    Rivera wouldn’t reveal who it was, beyond referring to the person as “he,” making clear it was not Jeanine Pirro, and urging the hosts to “check the Internet.”

    Rivera also had a tense relationship with Fox News star Greg Gutfeld. The two media stars recently had a dustup on Twitter over Tucker Carlson’s exit from the network.

    Later in the segment, Sara Haines circled back to Rivera’s “tox relationship” comments and asked if that was the reason he was axed from The Five.

    “Sure, and also I thought that it was very unfair that I was not judged objectively in our disputes but rather he was always favored and I was the one — I was suspended, you know, three times,” he said. “My appearances, I had two, three appearances scheduled weekly, then biweekly, then monthly, then they kind of disappeared. They were canceled in the last day right before I was supposed to go on, so I was really ticked off.”

    When the conversation shifted to Carlson’s new Twitter venture, Rivera revealed how he felt towards the conservative firebrand.

    “I think that he is an excellent writer. I think that he was very charismatic in his presentation. He was number one for a reason, was a pretty good show. Then he drifted into this murky area where a swampy area where, you know, these conspiracy theories and it’s not just generates a whole bunch of different mucky kind of conspiracies,” Rivera told the panelists.

    He added, “Fox is a tremendous platform. And once you lose that platform, you’re kind of screaming in the wilderness and competing with a lot of other people who have podcasts and so forth. So will he be the same character? I don’t know.”

    “I don’t like to be unkind, but that what he did, just as I would never vote for Donald Trump, I will never forgive Tucker for what he did about January 6th,” Rivera concluded.

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