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    Report: Arizona Convicts First Individual In Fake Electors Scheme

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    3
    Police image via Pixabay free images

    An Arizona woman has become the first to be convicted in the state’s 2020 fake electors scheme…

    A Republican activist who signed a document falsely claiming that former President Trump won the 2020 presidential election in Arizona has pleaded guilty earlier this week.

    Court records show Pellegrino’s plea change was entered Tuesday, and she was sentenced to unsupervised probation. The details of her agreement have not yet been posted by the court. She previously faced nine felony counts. The Hill requested comment from her lawyer.

    The alternate electors scheme relied on former Vice President Mike Pence to certify slates of Trump-supporting electors in battleground states instead of the true Electoral College votes cast for Biden. Pence declined to do so on Jan. 6, 2021, the day of the election certification, after which a mob of Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol.

    On Monday, former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis’s charges were dismissed after she agreed to cooperate with state prosecutors. She faced nine felony counts including fraud, forgery and conspiracy.

    As part of the deal, Ellis agreed to testify “completely and truthfully at any time and any place,” including at a criminal trial. She also promised not to “protect any person or entity” through false information or omissions. 

    The case against the remaining defendants is set to go to trial in October.

    Report: Man With Ties To Iran Charged In Assassination Plot

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    4
    Police image via Pixabay free images

    A Pakistani man with ties to the Iranian government sought to carry out a political assassination in the United States targeting high-ranking officials including former President Donald Trump.

    Asif Merchant, 46, traveled to New York City and worked with a hit man to carry out the assassinations in late August or early September, federal prosecutors said in a court complaint.

    Fox News has more:

    “Fortunately, the assassins Merchant allegedly tried to hire were undercover FBI Agents,” said Acting Assistant Director Christie Curtis of the FBI New York Field Office. “This case underscores the dedication and formidable efforts of our agents, analysts and prosecutors in New York, Houston, and Dallas. Their success in neutralizing this threat not only prevented a tragic outcome but also reaffirms the FBI’s commitment to protecting our nation and its citizens from both domestic and international threats.”

    “Working on behalf of others overseas, Merchant planned the murder of U.S. government officials on American soil,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “This prosecution demonstrates that this Office and the entire U.S. Department of Justice will take swift and decisive action to protect our nation’s security, our government officials and our citizens from foreign threats.”

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

    Trump Lawyer Jenna Ellis Reverses Course To Help Arizona Prosecutors

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    Gage Skidmore Flickr

    In a surprising turnaround, former Trump campaign attorney Jenna Ellis has agreed to cooperate with Arizona prosecutors in their 2020 election interference case.

    Ellis previously faced nine felony counts including fraud, forgery, and conspiracy. However, in exchange for her cooperation, the charges were dismissed.

    In a statement, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) called the agreement a “significant step forward” in the case.

    “I am grateful to Ms. Ellis for her cooperation with our investigation and prosecution,” Mayes said. “Her insights are invaluable and will greatly aid the State in proving its case in court. As I stated when the initial charges were announced, I will not allow American democracy to be undermined — it is far too important. Today’s announcement is a win for the rule of law.”

    As part of the deal, Ellis agreed to testify “completely and truthfully at any time and any place,” including at a criminal trial. She also vowed not to “protect any person or entity” through false information or omissions. 

    Ellis’s charges stemmed from her false claims of election fraud and efforts to pressure the Arizona Legislature into overturning the state’s election results in Trump’s favor. 

    She was also accused of encouraging then-Vice President Mike Pence to accept slates of fake electors instead of the true electoral votes cast for President Biden. Biden won Arizona by 10,457 votes.

    Ex-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Rudy Giuliani are among the 17 total defendants with remaining charges; they were indicted in April and have pleaded not guilty. 

    Trump himself is not charged in the case but is described as “unindicted co-conspirator 1.”

    SCOTUS Rejects Bid To Stop Trump’s Criminal Sentencing

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    3
    Duncan Lock, Dflock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected Missouri’s bid to block former President Trump’s criminal sentencing and gag order in his hush-money case.

    In a brief order, the justices turned away Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s (R) attempt to go straight to the Supreme Court by invoking its exclusive, original jurisdiction over disputes between two states.

    Bailey’s state of Missouri directly sued New York, accusing the Empire State of violating Missourians’ First Amendment rights and interfering with the presidential election in the state. 

    Read:

    080524zr_5hekDownload

    Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, two of the court’s leading conservatives, said they would’ve allowed Missouri to file the suit but “would not grant other relief.” No other justice publicly dissented. 

    Missouri’s lawsuit sought to block Trump’s Sept. 18 sentencing and gag order in his hush-money case until after the presidential election. 

    Trump was convicted in May on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with a hush money deal during his 2016 campaign, marking the first-ever criminal conviction of a former U.S. president.  

    AG Bailey has vowed to appeal, but Trump is scheduled to be sentenced weeks before the election.

    The Hill noted, that by suing the state directly, Bailey forced New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) to defend Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s (D) prosecution of the former president. 

    James’s office called on the justices to turn away the suit, criticizing it for containing “bare assertions of bad faith” and arguing it wasn’t an actual controversy between two states. 

    “It’s disappointing that the Supreme Court refused to exercise its constitutional responsibility to resolve state v. state disputes,” Bailey wrote on the social platform X, vowing to continue to “prosecute our lawsuit.”

    Campaign Launches ‘Republicans For Harris’ Initiative

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    14
    Mike Pence via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    On Sunday, the Kamala Harris campaign announced the launch of a controversial new initiative “Republicans For Harris” boasting a number of high-profile conservatives.

    The campaign announced Sunday that Trump-era White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham and Olivia Troye, ex-national security adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence, also endorsed Harris.

    “I encourage other Trump administration officials who saw the tyrant we worked for in office to speak out and stand with Kamala Harris this November to keep integrity in the White House and ensure democracy for our country,” Grisham said in a statement.

    Troye added, “The stakes are too high to let partisanship jeopardize our freedoms and the Constitution.”

    Other endorsements came from former GOP Govs. Bill Weld (Mass.), Christine Todd Whitman (N.J.) and Jim Edgar (Ill.), the campaign announced Sunday. It also highlighted that former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) endorsed Harris after backing Biden.

    “Donald Trump’s MAGA extremism is toxic to the millions of Republicans who no longer believe the party of Donald Trump represents their values and will vote against him again in November,” Austin Weatherford, Harris’s national director for Republican outreach, said in a statement.

    He added, “Donald Trump said he doesn’t want these voters, but Vice President Harris and our campaign are working overtime to earn the support of my fellow Republicans who care about defending democracy and restoring decency — all of which would be torn away in a second Trump presidency.”

    On Sunday, former Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-Va.) also endorsed Vice President Harris’s bid for president and warned sending former President Trump back to the White House “would endanger U.S. citizens.”

    “I’m on here. Yep,” Riggleman said on the social platform X in a post that included the “Republicans for Harris” press release.

    Riggleman pointed to the events of Jan. 6, 2021 — when a violent mob of Trump supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol — to explain his reasoning behind the endorsement. Riggleman was endorsed by Trump in two separate campaigns, but he broke with the former president on Jan. 6.

    “I’ve seen the data from J6. Trump & his minions are dangerous. The same folks who pushed J6 push Project 2025,” Riggleman said. “A 2nd Trump term would endanger US citizens — and create global chaos.”

    “Sanity should be the baseline. Criminals should be discounted,” he added, before tagging the Republicans for Harris X account.

    Harris To Reveal VP Pick Tuesday

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    Kamala Harris via Wikimedia Commons

    Kamala Harris has narrowed down her choices…

    She plans to announce her choice no later than Tuesday. Harris’ team announced that she and her running mate will then embark on a five-day trip through the seven battleground states expected to decide November’s election.

    Harris and her vice presidential pick will start Tuesday night in Philadelphia before traveling to Wisconsin and Michigan on Wednesday, North Carolina and Georgia on Thursday, Arizona on Friday, and Nevada on Saturday.

    Harris and her running mate will meet with voters in smaller settings like restaurants and union halls, the campaign said. They will be joined at each stop by local officials.

    “This swing will allow the Vice President and her running mate to speak directly with voters in their communities and cement the contrast between our ticket and Trump’s,” the campaign said. 

    Harris last week earned enough delegates to become the presumptive Democratic nominee, setting up a likely matchup in November against former President Trump.

    Harris spent the weekend interviewing prospective running mates, including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

    Speculation is building around Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro after the mayor of Philadelphia published a video referring to Gov. Shapiro as “vice president.”

    On Friday, Mayor Cherelle Parker posted a video on her personal social media accounts encouraging Pennsylvanians to stand behind “Kamala Harris for president” and “Josh Shapiro for vice president”, days before the presumptive Democratic nominee is expected to make her official announcement.

    “I can’t think of a better partner than our governor, Josh Shapiro,” Parker said, in the video.

    The video was “accidentally posted” on Friday but had been “scheduled for Monday” after Harris made her announcement, Ernest Owens, editor-at-large for Philadelphia Magazine, wrote in a tweet. “It’s Josh Shapiro, y’all.”

    Trump Agrees To Kamala Debate On Fox News

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    It’s on…

    Donald Trump has agreed to a presidential debate against Kamala Harris hosted by Fox News.

    The former president also noted that an ABC News debate previously scheduled against President Biden before he suspended his re-election campaign had been canceled, citing his lawsuit against that network and one of its hosts, George Stephanopoulos.

    “I have agreed with Fox News to debate Kamala Harris on Wednesday, September 4th,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “The Debate was previously scheduled against Sleepy Joe Biden on ABC, but has been terminated in that Biden will no longer be a participant, and I am in litigation against ABC Network and George Slopadopoulos, thereby creating a conflict of interest.”

    The moderators of the debate will be Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum.

    The debate rules will be similar to the rules of the June 27 CNN debate against Biden, who Trump wrote “has been treated horribly by his Party.” But unlike the CNN debate, which did not have an audience, the Fox News debate will have spectators.

    Fox News had invited Trump and Harris to participate in a debate in Pennsylvania on Sept. 17.

    Trump previously said he would not debate Harris because she was not the party’s official candidate after Biden dropped out of the race. But on Friday, the vice president officially secured enough delegates to become the party’s nominee.

    “As everyone knows, the Democrats have Unconstitutionally taken a Candidate, who was acknowledged to be defeated, and unceremoniously replaced him with a new Candidate,” Trump wrote. “This has never been done before, and is a Threat to Democracy, but I am totally prepared to accept the results of this ‘coup,’ and replace Joe on the Debate stage with Crazy Kamala Harris.”

    “I spent Hundreds of Millions of Dollars, Time, and Effort fighting Joe, and when I won the Debate, they threw a new Candidate into the ring. Not fair, but it is what it is!” he continued. “Nevertheless, different Candidate or not, their bad Policies are the same, and this will be strongly revealed at the September 4th Debate. I look forward to meeting and debating Kamala Harris on September 4th. This date is convenient and appropriate in that it is just prior to the September 6th start of Early Voting in the 2024 Presidential Election. I look forward to seeing everyone on September 4th, in the Great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania!”

    Liberal Comedian Walks Back Trump Comments

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    Austin Green, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    Outspoken comedian Michael Rapaport is warming up to Trump…

    Rapaport, known for his vocal opposition to Trump, told former ESPN host Sage Steele that he “was wrong” about the GOP nominee.

    The famous actor admitted during an interview he began to rethink his opinion after his friend, Dr. Enoch Wilf, rated Trump with “100%,” especially relating to his stance on Israel.

    “I didn’t like his mouth,” Rapaport told Steele.

    “It was low-hanging fruit there,” Steele remarked.

    “The mouth and the mean tweets. I didn’t feel like it was appropriate. Yeah, it’s not appropriate. And I would say that to him today. If I would say, like, yo, your mouth, man. You’re the president. You’re also 79. You’re the president, you’re 79. You just got shot in the ear. Like, get some new material. Like, truly, like, bring us together. Like, shut the shit up. Like, you’re the president,” Rapaport said.

    Watch:

    Rapaport stated that the defense of Israel should be prioritized “first and foremost” and that Iran should face tariffs.

    “So honestly, I mean, between your two issues, Israel and your money and the economy, would this be the first time you vote Republican?” Steele inquired.

    “I’m not saying I’m gonna vote Republican,” Rapaport replied.

    “Here was your quote. ‘Voting for Trump is on the table.’” Steele began.

    “Yes,” Rapaport confirmed.

    “Does that pain you to say?” Steele asked.

    “Yes, it pains me! It pains me! It pains me to be wrong,” Rapaport responded.

    “So, you think you were wrong about him?” Steele questioned.

    “I was wrong. I wasn’t wrong about my personal feelings, and I wasn’t wrong about everything. And I wasn’t wrong about his behavior,” Rapaport said.

    “A lot of people agree with that!” Steele said.

    “I’m sure his own family are like, yo, calm down, man. Stop,” Rapaport continued.

    “They do say that to him,” Steele commented.

    “I’m sure! But I was wrong about Israel, and I was wrong about economy stuff,” Rapaport said. “I was wrong. I was… and I wasn’t even wrong about Israel. I was ill-informed about how he, you know, what he did about Iran and the importance of that and how it was. Put the screws to Iran.”

    “I think, you know, as I’m sort of going through this process of understanding and learning, I feel no matter who anyone votes for, it’s never going to be exactly what you want,” Rapaport continued. “You know, I don’t agree with everything my wife says.”

    “Yes! And you still love her, and you love the good and she’s working on the bad. So are you,” Steele said.

    “But at the end of the day, you know, like I’m clear. I want my interest rates to be down. And I know, ‘Oh, that doesn’t have anything to do with….’ And then Israel needs to be protected more than ever now,” Rapaport said.

    Nate Silver Labels November Election A ‘Toss-up’

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    4
    (Los Angeles - EUA, 09/06/2022) Presidente da República Jair Bolsonaro, durante Sessão Plenária de Abertura da IX Cúpula das Américas..Foto: Alan Santos/PR

    This is big news…

    Prominent polling guru and FiveThirtyEight founder Nate Silver is sounding the alarm for Republicans after he re-labeled the presidential election a “toss-up.”

    In a post online, Silver recalled a past article where he argued that the race wasn’t a toss-up because of how poor Biden was performing in key swing states, even before his debate performance shocked Democrats into action.

    “Now that the election is in kamala_mode, however, it’s far from clear whose position you’d rather be in, and I wouldn’t blame if you wanted to bet either on Harris or on Trump,” he wrote.

    As of Thursday, Silver argued, Harris and former President Trump each have at least a 40 percent chance of winning the election. Harris earns 44.6 percent compared to Trump’s 54.9, he said.

    “It’s not exactly 50/50, but close enough that a poker player would call it a ‘flip’: Democrats have ace-king suited, and Republicans have pocket jacks,” Silver said.

    The FiveThirtyEight founder said Harris is performing well in swing states but it’s still up in the air. He said she has a 54 percent chance of winning Michigan, a 50 percent chance of winning Wisconsin and a 47 percent chance of winning Pennsylvania.

    Silver echoed similar warnings that Democrats shouldn’t be too excited. His model has accounted for the excitement that’s generated for Harris after she became the likely nominee but it could be “a temporary surge of Democratic enthusiasm.”

    “Still, we’re not exactly going out on a limb here. Betting markets agree with the assessment that the race is about 50/50,” he said.

    “And although we can’t tell you who’s going to win, there’s one thing I think we can say with some confidence: Democrats are lucky that they’re getting a second chance in this election with Harris instead of Biden,” Silver concluded.

    Trump’s Nephew Declares Support For Kamala Harris

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    7
    (Los Angeles - EUA, 09/06/2022) Presidente da República Jair Bolsonaro, durante Sessão Plenária de Abertura da IX Cúpula das Américas..Foto: Alan Santos/PR

    Recently, Donald Trump’s nephew Fred announced he will vote for Kamala Harris this November.

    “I believe in policy over politics, and without question, Kamala Harris’s policies are what I get behind,” he said in an interview on “The View.” “So I will be voting for Kamala Harris.” 

    “And if I’m asked, I will campaign for her without hesitation,” he added.

    Fred Trump and his sister, Mary, have been vocal critics of their uncle.

     In an ABC News interview earlier Tuesday, he called the former president’s way of doing things “complex and sometimes cruel.”

    Fred Trump was promoting his new book, “All in the Family: The Trumps and How We Got This Way,” which features “never-before-told stories” about the Trump family and Fred Trump’s complex relationship with the former president. 

    During one of his trips to the Oval Office, Fred Trump claimed his uncle suggested those with disabilities “should just die.” He said a similar incident occurred on a phone call with Trump to tell him the medical fund set up by the family for his son, William, who has a disability, was running low.

    Fred Trump claimed the President then reportedly told his nephew his son “doesn’t recognize you. Let him die and move to Florida.”

    Trump communications director Steven Cheung denied Fred Trump’s claims in a statement to The Hill.

    “This is completely fabricated and total fake news of the highest order,” he said. “It is appalling a lie so blatantly disgusting can be printed in media. Anyone who knows President Trump knows he would never use such language, and false stories like this have been thoroughly debunked.

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