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    Report: Judge Allows Trump To Appeal Fani Willis Disqualification Ruling

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    Madeleine Jackson
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    Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

    On Wednesday, a Georgia judge gave Donald Trump the green light to immediately appeal the recent ruling declining to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) from overseeing the election interference case against the former President.

    In a brief order issued on Wednesday, Judge Scott McAfee granted the certificate of immediate review requested by Trump and eight of his co-defendants in the sprawling racketeering case.

    The Hill has more:

    They are now expected to ask the Georgia Court of Appeals to take up the disqualification battle before the case goes to trial.

    As the effort proceeds, however, McAfee made clear he won’t pause proceedings in his court.

    “The Court intends to continue addressing the many other unrelated pending pretrial motions, regardless of whether the petition is granted within 45 days of filing, and even if any subsequent appeal is expedited by the appellate court,” McAfee wrote in his ruling.

    judge-mcafee-certificate-of-immediate-review-willis-disqualificationDownload

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

    Supreme Court Green Lights Texas Law Allowing Police To Arrest Illegal Immigrants

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    admin
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    Duncan Lock, Dflock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Texas law permitting state officials to arrest illegal migrants to take effect.

    The decision comes one day after the Supreme Court extended an administrative stay on the state law while it considered an emergency appeal by the Biden administration, CNN reported.

    Last year, Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 4 into law but it was initially blocked by a federal judge before a federal appeals court reversed the judge’s decision and allowed the law to go into effect. However, the Supreme Court intervened earlier this month — first, delaying the law’s implementation and then extending the stay until March 18. (RELATED: Federal Judge Blocks Texas Border Security Law)

    SB 4 allows state officials to arrest and jail immigrants suspected of entering the U.S. unlawfully and also grants state judges the power to order deportations. 

    The Supreme Court’s Monday decision placed a stay on the Texas law “pending further order” from the court, according to NBC News.

    “SCOTUS temporarily halted enforcement of SB 4 but Texas is still using its authority to arrest illegal immigrants for criminal trespass and other violations of law,” Abbott said. “We continue building the wall, use [National Guard] to erect razor wire barriers to repel migrants & buoys remain in river.”

    Biden’s Justice Department has asserted that the law violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution which prohibits states from interfering with the federal government using its constitutional powers.

    The DOJ argued that “SB 4 impedes the federal government’s ability to enforce entry and removal provisions of federal law and interferes with its conduct of foreign relations.”

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has argued that Texas has a constitutional right and duty to protect itself from “violent” cartels who traffick drugs and people across the U.S. southern border.

    “[The] Constitution recognizes that Texas has the sovereign right to defend itself from violent transnational cartels that flood the State with fentanyl, weapons, and all manner of brutality,” Paxton said.

    Ex-White House Adviser Peter Navarro Reports To Prison

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    Image via Pixabay

    Ex-Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro reported to a federal prison in Miami on Tuesday afternoon to begin his four-month sentence.

    The Hill has more:

    “They can put me in prison; they can put you in prison,” Navarro said during a parking lot press conference Tuesday just before he reported to the facility. “Make no mistake about that, and make no mistake about this: They are coming after Donald Trump with the same tactics, tools and strategies they used to put me over there today.”

    “If they come for me, they can come for you,” he told a group of reporters.

    On Monday, Navarro’s last-ditch bid to remain free while appealing his contempt of Congress conviction was shot down by U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts in a rare “in-chambers” opinion, a written explanation for his ruling on a case he didn’t refer to the full court for consideration.

    Roberts said he denied Navarro’s application because the ex-Trump White House economic adviser forfeited any argument challenging the district court’s conclusion that executive privilege was not invoked by Trump, citing an appeals court’s decision. 

    “I see no basis to disagree with the determination that Navarro forfeited those arguments in the release proceeding, which is distinct from his pending appeal on the merits,” Roberts said. 

    Trump Says ‘Fire Sale’ Of Properties Will Be Necessary To Make $464 Million Bond

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    admin
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    Image via Pixabay free images

    Donald Trump admitted on Tuesday that he’ll have to take extraordinary measures to make his bond on the New York Attorney General’s office civil fraud case.

    Sources tell Fox Business that Trump’s billionaire friends are reluctant to throw him a financial lifeline, potentially forcing him to sell his properties at “fire sale” prices.

    The Hill reports on the former president’s latest social media tirade:

    Trump blasted New York Judge Arthur Engoron, who ruled against the former president in the fraud case, in a Truth Social post objecting to having to post the bond.

    “I would be forced to mortgage or sell Great Assets, perhaps at Fire Sale prices, and if and when I win the Appeal, they would be gone. Does that make sense? WITCH HUNT. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!” Trump added.

    Trump’s warning comes a day after his legal team informed the court that the former president was unable to secure the full $464 million bond due next week.

    They cited difficulties finding a Treasury Department-approved surety company willing to underwrite a bond at such a high level. And they noted many of the approved companies have internal policies against issuing bonds of more than $100 million.

    New York Attorney General Letitia James said that if Trump fails or refuses to pay the $354.8 million fine, plus roughly $100 million in interest, she will seize his assets – including his properties.

    Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham proposed a list of properties former President Trump would be most disappointed to have seized if he cannot pay the damages in his civil fraud case.

    “I think if it were to happen, 40 Wall Street is probably the one that he would … I mean, he would hate it,” Grisham told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Monday. “But I think if she tried to seize Mar-a-Lago or Bedminster or Trump Tower even — I mean, those are his babies.”

    “You’ve got the Sterling golf course in Virginia. Any of the properties with golf courses, I think, would absolutely devastate him,” Grisham, who worked under the Trump administration, added. “It will be interesting to see what [New York Attorney General Letitia James] goes for.”

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

    Trump Sues ABC News, George Stephanopoulos For Defamation

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    Tulane Public Relations, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    Former President Trump sued ABC News and George Stephanopoulos, alleging defamation over a recent interview with South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace (R).

    The March 10 interview on “This Week” caught attention after Mace, a rape survivor, accused Stephanopoulos of trying to “shame” her by probing why she endorsed the former president despite juries’ recent verdicts in author E. Jean Carroll’s sexual battery and defamation lawsuits.

    Trump’s lawsuit, filed on Monday, takes aim at how Stephanopoulos at multiple points in his questioning said Trump had been found “liable for rape.” The jury had found Trump liable for sexual abuse under New York law, but not rape.

    “Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape. How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony we just saw, ” Stephanopoulos asked during the interview.

    The Hill has more:

    “These statements were and remain false, and were made by Defendant Stephanopoulos with actual malice or with a reckless disregard for the truth given that Defendant Stephanopoulos knows that these statements are patently and demonstrably false,” Trump’s attorney, Alejandro Brito, wrote in the 20-page complaint.

    “Indeed, the jury expressly found that Plaintiff did not commit rape and, as demonstrated below, Defendant George Stephanopoulos was aware of the jury’s finding in this regard yet still falsely stated otherwise,” Brito continued.

    Trump asked for an unspecified amount of damages in the lawsuit.

    Read the full complaint below:

    gov.uscourts.flsd_.664183.1.0Download

    Trump Says Paying Bond is a ‘Practical Impossibility’ in New Court Filing

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    admin
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    Image via Pixabay free images

    Former President Donald Trump may be in trouble.

    Attorneys for the Republican nominee for president told a New York appeals court that they haven’t found an insurance company to underwrite his bond to cover the $464 million civil fraud judgment against him.

    According to his legal representatives, Trump asked 30 underwriters to put up his massive bond payment – but couldn’t find one.

    The 45th president’s legal team is seeking a stay of execution on the $464 million judgment, telling the court in writing that “Posting a Full Undertaking Is a Practical Impossibility.”

    This article originally appeared on American Liberty News. Republished with permission.

    Mike Pence Says He Won’t Endorse Trump

    By
    Victoria Churchill
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    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Former Vice President Mike Pence had some strong words for his former boss in an interview with Martha MacCallum on Fox News. On Friday, Mike Pence made a bombshell announcement.

    Social media users from across the Republican spectrum had some choice words for Pence following his statement. Most conservatives seemed upset by the statement.

    Pence’s former Press Secretary and current co-host on The View – Alyssa Farah Griffin – was one of few Republicans who praised Pence’s decision.

    Former Illinois Congressman and Presidential candidate who defied Trump in 2020 also commended Pence’s decision.

    The University of Virginia‘s Center for Politics Director Larry Sabato also praised Pence’s choice and wondered if he had set a precedent for other top Republican leaders to reject Trump this year.

    This article originally appeared on American Liberty News. Republished with permission.

    Georgia Judge Floats Possible Gag Order For DA Willis

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    On Friday, Georgia Judge Scott McAfee suggested that a gag order could be imposed on the Fulton County District Attorney’s office to prevent it from mentioning the case against former President Trump and other defendants in a public setting.

    McAfee ruled on Friday that Willis’s once-romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade constituted an appearance of conflict of interest in the racketeering case and barred the prosecutors from continuing to oversee it unless either Willis or Wade leaves the case. 

    “The time may well have arrived for an order preventing the State from mentioning the case in any public forum to prevent prejudicial pretrial publicly, but that is not the motion presently before the Court,” McAfee said in suggesting the possibility.

    In his 23-page ruling, the judge criticized the district attorney at multiple turns, both for the relationship and for her public comments during her testimony.

    After being accused of having an affair with Wade, in her first public comments, Willis defended his qualifications and role in the case.

    She then implied that race played a role in the criticism of their relationship. Willis argued that people had only attacked Wade, not the other two special prosecutors hired to the case, who are white.

    McAfee said her speech was intended to “cast racial aspersions” at Mike Roman, one of Trump’s co-defendants in the case, who brought forth the accusations against Willis.

    McAfee argued that her comment was “still legally improper.”

    “Providing this type of public comment creates dangerous waters for the District Attorney to wade further into,” he wrote.

    The judge then went as far to say that a gag order may be possible to prevent a future jury pool from being prejudiced by Willis’s comments.

    Florida Judge Rules On Request To Dismiss Trump’s Classified Docs Probe

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    Image via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    On Thursday, Florida District Court Judge Aileen Cannon rejected former President Donald Trump’s motion to dismiss charges of retaining classified documents.

    This is only one of two motions from Trump’s legal team. The judge has not ruled on the other motion to dismiss based on the Presidential Records Act (PRA). 

    Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche initially asserted that the PRA gives the president the authority to retain documents he sees fit. However, later the judge one point remarked that the Trump defense team’s view of the Presidential Records Act would essentially “gut the PRA.”

    Fox News continues:

    “Presidents since George Washington have taken material out of the White House,” said Blanche, adding that the PRA was passed in the late ’70s and nothing in the statute says anything about documents with markings or anything that gives the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) the ability to challenge a president’s decision about which documents are personal versus presidential.

    Trump’s attorney also pointed out often that the then-president caused these boxes to be moved while he was still president and that this is the first time NARA has challenged a decision made by a president about which documents are personal versus presidential. They claim NARA only took this action because the president in question was Donald Trump.

    Blanche replied that it is up to Congress to change the law. “That’s what’s supposed to happen. DOJ can’t just decide… [what is personal versus presidential],” he said. 

    “We don’t have a lot of case law on this because this has never been done before,” added Blanche. “While he was the president he took records, like many presidents… For the first time ever, NARA took a different path and made a criminal referral,” instead of negotiating with the president as had been done in the past.

    Cannon at one point said, “Correct… the seizure of a president’s records was seen to be an extraordinary act.”

    Judge Rules If DA Fani Willis May Remain On Georgia Election Case

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    3
    Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

    Time to make a decision…

    A Georgia judge ruled that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) or the prosecutor she had a romantic relationship with must step aside before the office can continue its election interference case against former President Donald Trump and codefendants.

    The Hill has more:

    Judge Scott McAfee ruled on Friday that Willis’s once-romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade constituted an appearance of conflict of interest in the racketeering case and barred the prosecutors from continuing to oversee it unless either Willis or Wade leaves the case. 

    “[T]he established record now highlights a significant appearance of impropriety that infects the current structure of the prosecution team — an appearance that must be removed through the State’s selection of one of two options. The Defendants’ motions are therefore granted in part,” McAfee wrote in his 23-page ruling.

    The Trump prosecution was sidetracked by the probe into Willis and Wade’s relationship. In over three days of hearings, defense attorneys sought to prove that Willis hired her romantic partner to prosecute Trump and has since benefitted from his appointment in the form of lavish vacations they took together.

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

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