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Report: RFK Jr. Campaign Operative Charged With Assault

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

A prominent political operative for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign has been charged with assault after allegedly choking and punching a woman in New York last weekend.

Trent Pool, a petition circulator, is running Kennedy’s ballot access fight was charged with assault and criminal obstruction of breathing.

Mediaite has more:

According to an NYPD spokesperson, a little after 5 a.m. on Saturday morning Pool was engaged in a “verbal dispute” with a 25-year-old woman at the ritzy Soho Grand hotel in downtown Manhattan.

Police said the woman reported that Pool “wrapped his hand around her neck making it hard for her to breathe and then struck her in the face with a closed fist, causing pain.”

The woman refused medical attention, and Pool was arrested without incident.

In February, Pool was arrested for fourth-degree assault in Seattle, Washington, a spokesperson for SPD confirmed.

Pool’s firm, Accelevate 2020, which specializes in ballot access, petition and general campaign consulting, is being paid by the Kennedy campaign. Another ballot access firm run by Pool, Public Appeal, is also being paid by a super PAC supporting Kennedy, FEC reports show.

Ex-Trump Aide Says She Won’t Vote For Former President

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Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Former Trump aide Sarah Matthews is turning her back on her old boss…

On Monday, Matthews said she would not cast for Trump in November.

“When we have a candidate on the ballot who will not uphold the Constitution, then I feel like I have to put policy aside” Matthews said on MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki.”

“And I wanna support the person who is best suited to defeat Donald Trump,” she added in the clip, highlighted by Mediaite.

“I think it’s my duty to pick the person I think would do the least harm to the country,” Barr said on Fox News’s “America’s Newsroom.” “And in my mind, that’s — I will vote the Republican ticket.”

Matthews said she has talked with a lot of Republicans, including high-ranking elected officials, who “bash” Trump privately. But, she added, “many of them will not even say it publicly.” 

“What they often say is that they’re supporting him because of the policies, that they want the conservative agenda. And where I get really frustrated is that they’re treating this like it’s a normal election, a normal Republican candidate and a normal Democratic candidate,” Matthews continued. “Well, this couldn’t be anything further from the case.”

Trump Responds To Presidential Debate Commission Rejection

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Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Donald Trump and Joe Biden are jumping at the chance to debate one another but the Commission on Presidential Debates is pumping the brakes.

Trump’s campaign blasted the Commission on Presidential Debates this week after the organization said that they are sticking to kicking off debates in early September despite calls for the schedule to be moved up.

Trump campaign managers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles released a statement in response to the CPB saying they will not apply their “criteria” or send invitations to “qualified” candidates until the fall by extending an invitation to every television network that may be interested in setting up their own event.

Read the full statement below:

“The Presidential Debate Commission’s schedule does not begin until after millions of Americans will have already cast their ballots. This is unacceptable, and by refusing to move up the debates, they are doing a grave disservice to the American public who deserve to hear from both candidates before voting begins. President Trump has stated he will debate Joe Biden anytime, anywhere, anyplace, and Joe Biden himself just agreed to debate. 

“We are committed to making this happen with or without the Presidential Debate Commission. We extend an invitation to every television network in America that wishes to host a debate, and we once again call on Joe Biden’s team to work with us to set one up as soon as possible. The American people deserve it.”

— Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles

The requests for a schedule change follow President Biden recently telling SiriusXM’s Howard Stern that he’s “happy” to debate his likely November opponent.

“I don’t know when. I’m happy to debate him,” the president said.

Trump responded to Biden’s interview by taking to Truth Social, saying he wanted a debate “ANYWHERE, ANYTIME, ANYPLACE.”

Report: Judge Rules Over Trump Gag Order Violations

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Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

On Tuesday, Judge Juan Merchan fined former President Donald Trump nearly $10,000 for violating his gag order.

Prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office claim Trump has so far violated the order barring him from attacking witnesses, prosecutors, court staff, and the judge’s family 10 times. They asked the judge to fine Trump $1,000 for each violation.

The Hill reports:

“What happened here is precisely what this order was designed to prevent and this defendant doesn’t care,” Assistant District Attorney Chris Conroy said at last week’s hearing.

At one point, a hearing on the matter grew heated between the judge and Trump’s attorney, where at one point Merchan told Todd Blanche that he was “losing all credibility” with the court.

Trump regularly rails against his perceived foes in his legal entanglements, leading his hush money judge, at prosecutors’ request, to place restrictions on Trump’s speech as the case headed to trial.

Trump is being charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records to make alleged hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels.

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

Report: Trump Wants This candidate To Hit The Campaign Trail

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Marine One lifts-off after returning President Donald J. Trump to Mar-a-Lago Friday, March 29, 2019, following his visit to the 143-mile Herbert Hoover Dike near Canal Point, Fla., that surrounds Lake Okeechobee. The visit was part of an infrastructure inspection of the dike, which is part of the Kissimmee-Okeechobee Everglades system, and reduces impacts of flooding for areas of south Florida. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian) [Photo Credit: The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons]

Presumed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has reportedly gotten tired of Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake spending so much time at Mar-a-lago.

According to a recent Washington Post report, Trump is concerned Lake has focused too much on networking with the Republican elite and not enough on campaigning for a crucial win in the contentious state.

“At one point last year, after grumbling for months that she was at his Mar-a-Lago Club too often, Trump gently suggested to Lake that she should leave the club and hit the campaign trail in Arizona, according to a person with direct knowledge of his comments,” the Post reporters wrote. “Trump has also asked others if she can really win in Arizona and if she might drag down his own poll numbers as he seeks the presidency again in 2024, advisers said.”

Trump also privately thinks Lake’s 2022 election fraud claims are full of hot air, according to the report.

“She didn’t win,” Trump bluntly told a political ally at a Mar-a-Lago dinner earlier this year, according to the Post.

One other notable Lake moment got the attention of Trump and his inner circle: the incident in which a Lake ally released a tape of former Arizona GOP chair Jeff DeWit appearing to show Lake being offered a bribe to not run for Senate in 2024. The Post reporters described Trump’s reaction to the incident as “more surprised than angry” when he learned about it on the night of the New Hampshire primary in January.

“She tapes everything?” Trump reportedly asked. “That’s good to know.”

In a statement sent to the Post defended the MAGA Republican “Kari Lake is a Smart and Fearless Leader who will WIN in Arizona, and help us flip the Senate to Republican control. Kari’s Opponent, Ruben Gallego, is an Open Borders RADICAL, who is BAD on Inflation and SOFT on Terrorists and Crime.”

Report: Rep. Adam Schiff Robbed In San Francisco

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Photo via Gage Skidmoer Flickr

Yikes…

California Congressman Adam Schiff (D) was reportedly a victim of a theft just hours before a swanky campaign dinner on Thursday.

According to The San Francisco Chronicle, thieves broke into his car that was parked in a downtown parking garage and stole his bags. Without business clothes to wear, Schiff still proceeded to the event in shirt sleeves and a hiking vest, according to the Chronicle, with others dressed in suits.

At the dinner, Schiff thanked attorney Joe Cotchett for supporting Schiff’s bid to replace the late Dianne Feinstein and represent California in the U.S. Senate.

“I guess it’s ‘Welcome to San Francisco,’” joked Cotchett’s press agent Lee Houskeeper, who was at the dinner.

Schiff was not in the vehicle when it happened.

“Yes, they took my bags,” the California representative said, per the Chronicle. “But I’m here to thank Joe.”

The apparent theft came just days after the San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s security guard was assaulted in downtown San Jose Tuesday, according to KRON4, a local Bay Area news outlet.

“While interviewing Mayor Matt Mahan in downtown San Jose, a man was shouting at us and fought Mayor Mahan’s security guard,”KRON4 reporter Jack Molmud wrote in a post along with a video of the incident. “The fight lasted a couple minutes and the man was arrested by SJPD. Police said they were compiling evidence and sending it to the DA’s office.”

Report: Poppy Harlow To Leave CNN

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CNN Headquarters via Wikimedia Commons

Big changes are coming…

Longtime CNN anchor Poppy Harlow is exiting the network.

Harlow, a veteran of CNN who spent nearly two decades on the air, will be departing in May, a CNN spokesperson confirmed to Mediaite.

The news of her departure was first reported by Vanity Fair.

Mediaite has more:

“When I walked in the door at CNN in 2008, I was 25 years old and had never been on live TV. Green is an understatement!” Harlow said in an internal note to colleagues that was obtained by Vanity Fair. “I passed those three iconic red letters in the hall on day one and thought how lucky I was to be here.”

“There’s been plenty written about what’s wrong with journalism, and the challenges our industry faces,” she wrote. “And it does. But there is also so much right with it. At the heart of everything we do is the pursuit of truth – it is the core of CNN. I remain CNN’s biggest fan and I’ll be watching and cheering you on every day.”

She did not reveal her future plans, saying only, “For now, my plan is to walk our children to school and pick them up (hopefully they won’t get sick of me!), and to support the evolution of journalism in every way I can, while preserving the human(ity) in it.”

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

Trump Loses Latest Attempt To Overturn E. Jean Carroll Verdict

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Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

Judge Lewis Kaplan issued a scathing opinion Thursday afternoon, ripping apart former President Donald Trump‘s legal argument to avoid paying E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million.

A New York jury found Trump liable for sexual assault and defamation against Carroll in May 2023. Carroll was initially awarded $5 million. However, the presidential front-runner later called Carroll “crazy” and a “liar” leading to further civil damages against Trump, including $7.3 million in emotional harm, $11 million in “reputational repair” and $65 million in punitive damages.

In his opinion, Kaplan wrote:

Mr. Trump’s argument is entirely without merit both as a matter of law and as a matter of fact for all of the reasons articulated in Ms. Carroll’s memorandum of law in opposition to his motion. Among other things, it ignores the fact that, as the jury and/or the Court concluded, Mr. Trump’s…statements were false, defamatory, and made with both actual and common law malice. It ignores the fact that those defamatory statements were viewed between at least 85 to 104 million times…It ignores as well the fact that the jury was entitled to believe Ms. Carroll’s testimony as to the impact of the…statements on her. And it ignores the lack of any persuasive legal authority supporting Mr. Trump’s contention. Indeed, the law is clear that when competing theories and evidence are presented at trial, the issue of causation ultimately is one for the jury, which the Court should not ordinarily disturb.

In short, the argument — which Mr. Trump previously made to the the jury, conspicuously without success, and which defies common sense — does not warrant dismissal as a matter of law.

Kaplan ended on a blistering note: “Accordingly, Mr. Trump’s motions for a new trial and for a judgment as a matter of law are DENIED.”

Trump’s appeal before New York’s Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit remains pending.

In 2019, Carroll accused Trump of raping her in a dressing room at a New York City department store in the mid-1990s.

Article Published With The Permission of American Liberty News.

Report: Giuliani, Former Chief Of Staff Among Top Trump Aides Indicted In Arizona

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

An Arizona grand jury charged top 2020 Trump campaign aides and lawyers alongside 11 so-called “fake electors” on Wednesday over their efforts to alter the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in the state.

The indictment lists the 11 fake electors, but redacted the names of seven other individuals who were indicted following the investigation led by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D).

The Washington Post reported the names of those seven individuals as “former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, attorneys Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, John Eastman and Christina Bobb, top campaign adviser Boris Epshteyn and former campaign aide Mike Roman.”

The felony charges stem from the 11 Trump supporters gathering at the Arizona GOP’s headquarters following the 2020 election to sign fraudulent certifications claiming to be Arizona’s 11 official electors to the Electoral College, with the intent that their votes would eventually be counted for Donald Trump.

“They are accused of allegedly aiding an unsuccessful strategy to award the state’s electoral votes to Trump instead of Biden after the 2020 election,” the Post added.

“In Arizona, and the United States, the people elected Joseph Biden as President on November 3, 2020,” the indictment reads.

“Unwilling to accept this fact, Defendants and unindicted coconspirators schemed to prevent the lawful transfer of the presidency to keep Unindicted Coconspirator 1 in office against the will of Arizona’s voters,” it continued, referring to Trump. “This scheme would have deprived Arizona voters of their right to vote and have their votes counted.”

Ex-Arizona Republican Party chairwoman Kelli Ward is among those charged for her role as a fake electoral. Politico’s Kyle Cheney noted that Trump himself is listed as an unindicted co-coconspirator.

Mayes released a video with the indictment.

“We conducted a thorough and professional investigation over the past 13 months into the fake electors scheme in our state. I understand for some of you today didn’t come fast enough. And I know I’ll be criticized by others for conducting this investigation at all. But as I’ve stated before, and we’ll say here again, today, I will not allow American democracy to be undermined.”

Ex-GOP Congressman Suspends House Campaign

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It’s over before it even started…

Former Republican New York Congressman George Santos has suspended his independent campaign less than two months later. (RELATED: George Santos Now Running For Congress As ‘Ultra MAGA Independent’)

Santos was running to unseat Republican Rep. Nick LaLota who represents New York’s 1st Congressional District after being expelled last year.

“I have decided to withdraw from my independent run for NY-1,” Santos announced via social media on Tuesday. “I don’t want my run to be portrayed as a reprisal against Nick Lalota

“Although Nick and I don’t have the same voting record and I remain critical of his abysmal record, I don’t want to split the ticket and be responsible for handing the house to Dems,” Santos continued, citing r. “It is clear that with the rise of antisemitism in our country we cannot afford to hand the house to Dems as they have a very large issue with antisemitism in their ranks.”

Santos launched his independent campaign for NY-1 in March, despite having previously represented a different New York district.

Last December, the House of Representatives voted 311-114-2 to expel the Santos with 105 Republicans joining almost all Democrats. (RELATED: House Votes To Expel George Santos)

A scathing House Ethics report said there was clear evidence Santos committed serious crimes and said the New York Republican “blatantly stole from his campaign” and “deceived donors into providing what they thought were contributions to his campaign but were in fact payments for his personal benefit.”

His campaign committee reported zero expenditures and zero fundraising income in a filing to the Federal Elections Commission.

“The future holds countless possibilities and I am ready willing and able to step up to the plate and go fight for my country at anytime,” Santos said on Tuesday. “I will continue to participate in the public policy discussions and will do my part.”

He concluded, “I will always strive to stand on the right side of history. It’s only goodbye for now, I’ll be back.”

Article Published With The Permission of American Liberty News.