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    Former Trump Organization CFO Sentenced To Prison

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    Image via Pixabay

    Former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg has been sentenced to five months in prison for perjury stemming from former President Trump’s civil fraud case.  

    Weisselberg pleaded guilty to two counts of felony perjury last month as part of a plea deal with the Manhattan district attorney’s office. 

    The charges stemmed from a 2020 deposition with the New York attorney general’s office as it built its civil fraud case against the Trump Organization.

    The Hill has more:

    In his July 17, 2020, deposition with the attorney general’s office, state lawyers questioned Weisselberg over the size of Trump’s Manhattan triplex apartment in Trump Tower. The property was listed on the former president’s financial statements as 30,000 square feet in size but is actually less than 11,000 square feet.  

    Weisselberg told state lawyers he “didn’t find out about the error” in the triplex’s listed size until Forbes reported it and that he was never present when Trump described the size of the property. He has now admitted that both remarks were untrue. 

    The inquiry into Weisselberg’s perjury was spurred by his October testimony in the civil fraud trial, in which he was also a defendant. Without pleading guilty to a specific charge, he admitted as part of his plea deal that he falsely testified he “never focused” on the triplex throughout the course of his work for the Trump Organization. 

    Prosecutors with the district attorney’s office said in charging documents that the Trump Tower triplex’s size was “material” to the attorney general’s investigation. 

    The civil fraud trial ended earlier this year with a New York judge ruling that Trump and top executives, including Weisselberg, conspired to alter the former president’s net worth for tax and insurance benefits.  

    Weisselberg was ordered to pay more than $1.1 million, plus interest, and barred for three years from serving in top leadership positions in any New York corporation or business entity. He was also barred for life from serving “in the financial control function” of any New York business. 

    Trump was ordered to pay $454 million, plus interest, and faced similar business-related penalties.

    Weisselberg’s 5-month sentence marks his second stint in prison after the former CFO pleaded guilty in 2022 to evading nearly $2 million in taxes. He was sentenced to five months at the Rikers Island jail for tax evasion.

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

    Judge Rejects Trump’s Request To Delay Hush Money Trial

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    5
    Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

    On Tuesday the New York Appeals Court denied Donald Trump’s effort to delay his hush money criminal trial while he argues against a gag order the judge overseeing the case imposed. 

    Judge Juan Merchan’s gag order bars Trump from attacking witnesses, prosecutors, court staff, and the judge’s family.

    The Hill has more:

    During an emergency hearing Tuesday before Justice Cynthia Kern, Trump’s lawyers argued that banning public statements about those individuals is an unconstitutional prior restraint on his right to free speech while running for president and mounting his defense. 

    “The First Amendment harms arising from this gag order right now are irreparable,” said Trump lawyer Emil Bove, according to the Associated Press. 

    State prosecutors countered that Trump’s remarks threaten the “public interest in protecting the integrity of the trial.”

    “This is not political debate. These are insults,” Steven Wu, appellate chief for the Manhattan district attorney’s office, said of Trump’s statements, according to the AP.

    Trump is scheduled to head to trial in his New York criminal case on April 15.

    The former president faces 34 charges linked to hush money payments made by his ex-fixer to porn actress Stormy Daniels to cover up an alleged affair ahead of the 2016 election. He has pleaded not guilty.

    On Monday, a judge in New York denied a separate request for a delay in his hush money trial. Trump’s attorneys argued for the trial to be relocated from Manhattan and postponed as they pursue the matter. 

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

    Trump Sues Judge Overseeing New York Hush Money Trial

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    On Monday, former President Donald Trump sued the New York judge presiding over his hush-money case over the gag order in an effort to delay the upcoming trial.

    Judge Juan Merchan’s gag order bars Trump from attacking witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and the judge’s family.

    The Hill has more:

    The documents were placed under seal, though several outlets have reported that they pertain to the gag order. The Hill requested comment from Trump’s lawyers and his campaign regarding the lawsuit, which essentially functions as an appeal of the gag order.

    Merchan cited Trump’s “uncontested record” of attacks on those involved in his legal matters in his original order curbing the former president’s speech. He originally refrained from gagging Trump, instead choosing to admonish him, but agreed to do so after Bragg’s office requested it last month.

    Loren Merchan is also the subject of the former president’s efforts to recuse the judge from the case — an effort he has mounted twice. The most recent bid came Friday, when Trump asked the judge to recuse because his daughter has a “direct financial interest” in the former president’s case, given the firm’s work for his 2024 presidential election opponents.

    The eleventh-hour lawsuit against Merchan comes just a week before Trump is scheduled to head to trial in his New York criminal case on April 15.

    The former president faces 34 charges linked to hush money payments made by his ex-fixer to porn actress Stormy Daniels to cover up an alleged affair ahead of the 2016 election. He has pleaded not guilty.

    On Monday, a judge in New York denied a separate request for a delay in his hush money trial. Trump’s attorneys argued for the trial to be relocated from Manhattan and postponed as they pursue the matter. 

    Trump’s attorneys argued for the trial to be relocated from Manhattan and postponed as they pursue the matter. His attorneys argued that Manhattan, a well-known liberal bastion, was not an appropriate location for the Republican president’s case. They requested a change of venue to Staten Island, the only borough in New York City that Trump won in both 2016 and 2020.

    Leading Anti-Abortion Group Breaks With Trump Over Latest Announcement

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    4
    Washington D.C., USA - January 22, 2015; A Pro-Life woman clashes with a group of Pro-Choice demonstrators at the U.S. Supreme Court.

    On Monday, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump made his stance on abortion clearer by stating he believes abortion laws should be decided by the states.

    In an announcement on Truth Social on Monday, Trump said he was proud to be the president responsible for overturning Roe v. Wade.

    “My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land,” Trump said. “In this case, the law of the state.”

    “Many states will be different. Many will have a different number of weeks, or some will have more conservative than others, and that’s what they will be,” Trump said. 

    However, Trump stopped short of providing any specifics of at what point abortion should be banned. Last week, he was pressured to give his opinion on a six-week abortion ban set to go into effect in Florida.

    Trump called Florida’s ban a “terrible thing and a terrible mistake” but did not go into specifics.

    “President Trump supports preserving life but has also made clear that he supports states’ rights because he supports the voters’ right to make decisions for themselves,” said Brian Hughes, senior adviser to the Trump campaign. “Where President Trump thinks voters should have the last word, Biden and many Democrats want to allow abortion up until the moment of birth and force taxpayers to pay for it.”

    Trump’s position drew fire from the anti-abortion heavyweight group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.

    “We are deeply disappointed in President Trump’s position. Unborn children and their mothers deserve national protections and national advocacy from the brutality of the abortion industry. The Dobbs decision clearly allows both states and Congress to act,” SBA President Marjorie Dannenfelser said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “Saying the issue is ‘back to the states’ cedes the national debate to the Democrats who are working relentlessly to enact legislation mandating abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy. If successful, they will wipe out states’ rights.”

    No Labels Ends 2024 Unity Ticket Plan

    By
    admin
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    0
    Missvain, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    Despite voting to proceed with its bid to shake up the 2024 presidential election, the centrist group No Labels announced Thursday that it is scrapping its plans to field a third-party candidate this year.

    “Americans remain more open to an independent presidential run, and hungrier for unifying national leadership, than ever before,” stated the organization. “But No Labels has always said we would only offer our ballot line to a ticket if we could identify candidates with a credible path to winning the White House. No such candidates emerged, so the responsible course of action is for us to stand down.” (RELATED: Popular Dem Strategist Blames ‘Preachy Females’ For Disappointing Polls)

    Last month, 800 delegates from all 50 states convened for a private meeting to approve the organization’s increasingly desperate plan to push an independent ticket.

    In a press release, No Labels National Convention Chair Mike Rawlings asserted that voters remained extremely dissatisfied with Joe Biden and Donald Trump, making a case for a third-party candidacy.

    The group indicated that they were open to both Democrats and Republicans and would ideally serve as a “unity” option for anyone disillusioned by partisan politics.

    However, on March 18, former Georgia Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan (R) announced his withdrawal from consideration to run on a third-party presidential ticket backed by No Labels. (RELATED: Former Republican Lieutenant Governor Tells CNN Trump Has Values Of ‘Axe Murderer’)

    “It was an honor to be approached, and I am grateful to all those who are engaged in good-faith efforts to offer Americans a better choice than the Trump vs. Biden re-match,” Duncan said in a statement.

    Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has chosen to run for the U.S. Senate as a Republican instead of launching a third-party bid for the White House. Additionally, former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley (S.C.), Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman (R) all made clear they were not interested in running.

    Article Published With The Permission of American Liberty News

    Former Trump Lawyer Responds To Disbarment Push

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

    Former President Trump’s ex-attorney John Eastman responded to a California judge’s effort to have him disbarred over his role in attempting to overturn the 2020 election saying he’s optimistic he will win his appeal.

    Eastman said in an interview on conservative network Frank Speech on Thursday that “there’s a lot of water to go under the bridge yet” before the state Supreme Court hears his case.

    “If the law was faithfully followed, this case should have never been brought in the first place,” he said. 

    “We had a disagreement on the facts of the 2020 election. We had a disagreement on the constitutional interpretation on issues that have never been settled,” Eastman continued. “That has never been the basis of disciplinary action.”

    State Bar Judge Yvette Roland found Eastman culpable in 10 of 11 charges against him.

    “In view of the circumstances surrounding Eastman’s misconduct and balancing the aggravation and mitigation, the court recommends that Eastman be disbarred,” she wrote in a 128-page decision.

    He also revealed he has been subpoenaed as part of a civil suit brought by a group of Capitol Police officers against Trump. The officers claim Trump is responsible for Jan. 6, and they hope to elicit financial penalties for the violence they suffered in the riots.

    “I just got a subpoena served on us last week by the Capitol Police officers seeking everything, all of my communications with the president and anybody else,” he said. “They’ve completely blown through attorney-client privilege.”

    While his case is under appeal, Eastman is suspended from practicing law in California. 

    Report: Two Republican Congressmen Subpoenaed In Trump Probe

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    Two Republican Congressmen have been subpoenaed as part of a probe into a scheme that attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Arizona.

    According to a Politico report, the investigation by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is similar in nature to those in other states Donald Trump lost, where the former president and his allies attempted to advance slates of pro-Trump electors for recognition in the Electoral College.

    Reps. Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar have been ordered to testify before a grand jury, noting:

    There is no indication that Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, who is leading the probe, is considering bringing criminal charges against either lawmaker. And it’s unclear whether Mayes has insisted on enforcing the subpoenas against the lawmakers, who may have legal bases to resist testifying.

    But the subpoenas themselves — in conjunction with a series of other aggressive recent moves — show that Mayes, a Democrat, has cast a far wider net in her probe than previously understood.

    Politico said it reviewed a letter dated Feb. 16 from Gosar to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) apprising the speaker of the subpoena.

    The pair of GOP congressmen mark the latest Trump allies to be subpoenaed in Mayes’ Investigation. Last month, she subpoenaed former Trump campaign aide Michael Roman.

    Electors in Michigan and Nevada, where similar schemes were attempted, have already been indicted in those states.

    Judge Rejects Trump Attempts To Toss Cases

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    Gage Skidmore Flickr

    On Thursday, Judge Scott McAfee rejected Donald Trump’s attempt to toss the election interference charges under the First Amendment.

    According to The Hill, Trump and some of his co-defendants had contended their charges must be tossed because their efforts to contest the 2020 election comprised constitutionally protected “core political speech.” 

    “Even core political speech addressing matters of public concern is not impenetrable from prosecution if allegedly used to further criminal activity,” Judge Scott McAfee wrote in the 14-page ruling.

    McAfee said only a jury can decide the question of whether the speech at issue was carried out with criminal intent. His ruling leaves open the possibility that Trump could still raise a First Amendment defense down the road, once the factual record is more developed. 

    Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) last summer indicted Trump and more than a dozen of his allies on charges of entering a months-long criminal conspiracy to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in Georgia. Trump pleaded not guilty, and a trial date has not yet been set. 

    Trump and his co-defendants still have various other pending motions seeking to toss their charges without a trial.

    Those efforts include Trump’s presidential immunity defense, which is likely to be impacted by the Supreme Court’s ruling on Trump’s near-identical defense to his federal election interference indictment brought in Washington, D.C.

    “President Trump and other defendants respectfully disagree with Judge McAfee’s order and will continue to evaluate their options regarding the First Amendment challenges,” Trump attorney Steve Sadow said in a statement, emphasizing how Trump could again raise some of his claims at a later time. 

    In the separate classified documents case, Florida Judge Aileen Cannon also refused to throw out the charges against the former President.

    The ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon comes after special counsel Jack Smith urged her to promptly reject Trump’s claims that the Presidential Records Act (PRA) allowed him to deem the national security records his personal property.

    “The Presidential Records Act does not provide a pre-trial basis to dismiss,” Cannon wrote in the three-page ruling.

    While the ruling is seemingly a win for Smith, Cannon didn’t rule out Trump’s ability to raise the issue at trial

    Peter Navarro Files Request With Supreme Court

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

    Former Trump administration adviser Peter Navarro filed a request asking the Supreme Court to review his plea to get out of prison.

    On Tuesday, Navarro’s lawyers asked Justice Neil Gorsuch to look over the request initially denied by Roberts. The Supreme Court allows parties to resubmit requests to individual justices if their emergency appeals are denied by a separate single justice.

    “We respectfully request that our application for an order staying the execution of the district court’s order requiring Dr. Navarro submit to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons be renewed with the Honorable Associate Justice Gorsuch,” Navarro’s attorneys, Stan M. Brand and Stanley E. Woodward, Jr., said.

    It’s the second time Navarro’s asked the nation’s highest court to set him free while he challenges his conviction. Chief Justice John Roberts shut down the first request last month, a day before Navarro went to prison on March 19. 

    Navarro, 74, was convicted last year on two counts of contempt of Congress.

    Trump Social Media Company Sues Co-Founders Over ‘Reckless Decisions’

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    1
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    This legal battle is just getting started.

    Former President Donald Trump hit two of its cofounders with a lawsuit, claiming they impeded the merger with “a series of reckless and wasteful decisions.”

    The lawsuit from Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, alleges that Wesley Moss and Andrew Litinsky “failed spectacularly” to set up a corporate leadership structure for the company and nearly derailed its plans to merge with a publicly traded firm.

    According to The Hill, The lawsuit also names as defendants United Atlantic Ventures (UAV) — an entity run by Moss and Litinsky — and Patrick Orlando, the former CEO of Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC), whose merger with Trump Media was approved March 22, allowing the Truth Social parent company to hit the stock market March 26.

    Trump Media alleged that Moss and Litinsky harmed the company through its negotiations with Orlando, accusing them of spurring an SEC investigation in 2021 that caused the merger “to be put on ice” for more than 18 months.

    Moss and Litinsky had previously sued Trump Media in Delaware, claiming the company was illegally attempting to dilute their stake.

    The dueling lawsuits come amid a challenging start to Truth Social’s new chapter as a public company. Truth Social reported a net loss of $58 million in 2023, according to SEC disclosures filed Monday. Trump owns 57.3 percent of Trump Media through holding 78,750,000 shares of the company, according to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) records

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