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    Judge Makes New Ruling In Jan. 6 Case

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    Gage Skidmore Flickr

    On Tuesday, a federal judge threw out most of the civil counts against former President Donald Trump in connection with the death of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick during the U.S. Capitol riots on Jan. 6.

    According to Fox News, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta dismissed three of the five civil counts in a lawsuit filed last January by Sandra Garza, Sicknick’s girlfriend in a 12-page ruling.

    Garza’s lawsuit against Trump and Jan. 6 rioters Julian Khater and George Tanios sought damages from all three men for claims of wrongful death, conspiracy to violate civil rights, and negligence per se.

    In his ruling Tuesday, Mehta dismissed the wrongful death act count and both negligence per se allegations.

    In a statement to Fox News Digital, Mark Zaid, an attorney representing Garza, said that they are “considering our next step options” to depose Trump. 

    “We are pleased to see that our lawsuit in pursuit of justice for the late Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died in the aftermath of the January 6th insurrection, has been permitted to continue. We are now considering our next step options, to include deposing former President Trump,” Zaid said.

    Read the filing below:

    Trump1Download

    While a majority of the counts against trump were dismissed, Garza’s claims against the defendants under D.C.’s Survival Act and the conspiracy to violate a civil rights claim will proceed.

    The Survival Act allows an individual’s legal representative to pursue legal action on their behalf after their death.

    Report: Shots Fired Inside Colorado Supreme Court

    By
    admin
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    1
    Police image via Pixabay free images

    A man is under arrest after firing gunshots inside the Colorado Supreme Court building. The alleged gunman broke into the building overnight, held a security guard at gunpoint and proceeded to open fire, state police said in a statement.

    Investigators do not believe the incident is related the previous threats to the Colorado Supreme Court justices who declared former President Donald Trump ineligible to run for reelection.

    Fox 31 Denver explains:

    According to the Denver Police Department, officers responded to a call at 1:15 a.m. about a two-car crash in the area of 13th Street and Lincoln. One of the drivers allegedly pointed a handgun at the other.

    A short time later, the Colorado State Patrol said the same suspect shot out a window on the east side of the Colorado Supreme Court building known as the Ralph L. Carr Judicial Center located at 2 East 14th Ave.

    The suspect then breached the building and came in contact with an unarmed security guard with the Colorado State Patrol Capitol Security Unit.

    CSP said the suspect held the security guard at gunpoint and demanded access to other parts of the building. The suspect obtained keys from the guard and accessed an unknown number of floors.

    After firing shots on the building seventh floor, the suspect called police and voluntarily surrendered.

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

    This article was republished with permission from American Liberty News.

    Appeals Court Overturns Republican Lawmaker’s Conviction

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

    How embarrassing…

    President Biden’s Department of Justice was humiliated by a recent federal appeals court decision to overturn ex-Rep. Jeff Fortenberry’s (R-Neb.) conviction of lying to the FBI about an illegal campaign contribution.

    Last year, a California jury convicted Fortenberry for false statements he made during interviews in Nebraska and the nation’s capital over an illegal campaign donation from a foreign national.

    The Republican lawmaker resigned from his seat in Congress and was sentenced to two years of probation, a $25,000 fine and 320 hours of community service. However, the federal appeals court ruled that because Fortenberry was tired in the proper venue his conviction must be overturned.

    “Fortenberry’s trial took place in a state where no charged crime was committed, and before a jury drawn from the vicinage of the federal agencies that investigated the defendant,” wrote U.S. District Judge James Donato, who sat on the appeals court by designation. 

    “The Constitution does not permit this. Fortenberry’s convictions are reversed so that he may be retried, if at all, in a proper venue,” the 23-page opinion continued.

    According to reports from The Hill, authorities charged Fortenberry after accepting a $30,200 donation from a Nigerian businessman to the then-congressman’s campaign at a 2016 fundraising event in California. Fortenberry told investigators that he was unaware of any illegal contributions to his campaign. But court filings indicate the agency had listened into an earlier phone call, in which a cooperating witness told Fortenberry that the Nigerian businessman was likely the source of the $30,200 donation. 

    Federal law prohibits campaign contributions from foreign nationals to any local, state or federally elected official.

    “We are gratified by the Ninth Circuit’s decision. Celeste and I would like to thank everyone who has stood by us and supported us with their kindness and friendship,” Fortenberry said in a statement.

    While the appeals court decision reverses Fortenberry’s sentence, the ex-lawmaker could still be retried in the proper venue.

    Trump Disqualified From Maine Primary Ballot

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    4
    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    It’s happened again and the fight is just now heating up…

    On Wednesday evening, Maine’s Secretary of State disqualified Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 primary ballot.

    In her ruling, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) cited Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution which bans from office those who “engaged in insurrection.” 

    Trump Campaign spokesman Steven Cheung derided Bellows as “a virulent leftist and a hyper-partisan Biden-supporting Democrat who has decided to interfere in the presidential election on behalf of Crooked Joe Biden.” 

    “We are witnessing, in real-time, the attempted theft of an election and the disenfranchisement of the American voter,” Cheung said. “Democrats in blue states are recklessly and un-Constitutionally suspending the civil rights of the American voters by attempting to summarily remove President Trump’s name from the ballot. 

    “Make no mistake, these partisan election interference efforts are a hostile assault on American democracy. Biden and the Democrats simply do not trust the American voter in a free and fair election and are now relying on the force of government institutions to protect their grip on power.”

    Decision-in-Challenge-to-Trump-Presidential-Primary-PetitionsDownload

    The Maine Republican Party likened the ruling to an attack on democracy. 

    “Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, once named the most progressive Senate candidate in America, unilaterally threw Donald Trump off the ballot,” Maine GOP said in a statement. 

    “The Maine Republican Party has been fighting these backroom elites since they started their push to subvert democracy by tossing President Trump. Rest assured we’ll be fighting this in court — all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary. And we reserve our right as a private organization to use a caucus system if that’s what it takes to keep a Democrat Hack Secretary of State from infringing on the Rights of Maine voters.” 

    The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to make a final decision on Trump’s eligibility nationwide.

    Colorado Secretary Of State To Put Trump’s Name Back On The Ballot

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    On Wednesday, the Colorado Republican Party filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision made by the Colorado Supreme Court, which disqualified Donald Trump from appearing on the state’s presidential ballot. The disqualification was due to his alleged involvement in the U.S. Capitol riot and the subsequent application of the “insurrection” clause of the United States Constitution.

    Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) announced on Thursday afternoon that Trump will remain on the ballot printed on Jan. 5, unless the United States Supreme Court upholds the lower court’s decision or declines the appeal.

    Griswold expressed her displeasure on X/Twitter and called on the Supreme Court to uphold the earlier decision.

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

    This article was republished with permission from American Liberty News.

    Special Counsel Seeks To Silence Trump Through 2020 Election Trial

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Special Counsel Jack Smith is asking a judge to prohibit former President Donald Trump from making “political attacks” about his federal 2020 election interference case set to go to trial in early spring.

    “Through public statements, filings, and argument in hearings before the Court, the defense has attempted to inject into this case partisan political attacks and irrelevant and prejudicial issues that have no place in a jury trial,” senior assistant special counsel Molly Gaston wrote in court papers filed Wednesday.

    “Although the Court can recognize these efforts for what they are and disregard them, the jury — if subjected to them — may not,” she continued. “The Court should not permit the defendant to turn the courtroom into a forum in which he propagates irrelevant disinformation, and should reject his attempt to inject politics into this proceeding.”

    Prosecutors’ motion asks the court to bar Trump and his lawyers from introducing evidence that suggests he is being selectively prosecuted, that prosecutors are coordinating with the Biden administration or that foreign actors interfered in the 2020 presidential election.

    It further urges U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the trial proceedings in Washington, to prohibit certain evidence related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. 

    Prosecutors are seeking to prevent Trump from placing blame on the National Guard or the D.C. mayor for the attack or from claiming undercover agents helped provoke violence.

    “Allowing the defendant to introduce evidence about undercover actors would inevitably lead to confusing minitrials on collateral issues, such as the identities and intentions of the alleged undercover actors,” prosecutors wrote. “For example, it may require the Government to introduce evidence to show that people whom the defendant alleges were undercover actors actually were his vehement supporters.”

    Trump is charged in the case with four federal felonies. He has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing.

    The trial is currently slated for March 4, however, Trump’s appeals may interfere with the scheduled date.

    Democrat Senator Demands Fellow Dem ‘Shut Up’ About Biden’s Poll Numbers

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    4

    The gloves are off…

    Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman (D) didn’t mince words when he brushed off longtime Democrat strategist James Carville’s concerns over Biden’s recent nosedive in polling.

    Fetterman had an inflammatory response to Carville’s warnings, cursing him out and questioning his relevance in a recent Politico interview.

    “There’s a whole lifetime in politics between now and next November as well. I’m not worried about that. And I’m very vocal about this, too, while there are Democrats that are being very critical about the president. … I’ll use this [as] another opportunity to tell James Carville to shut the fuck up,” Fetterman told Politico regarding Biden’s polling.

    “My man hasn’t been relevant since grunge was a thing,” Fettterman said. “And I don’t know why he believes it’s helpful to say these kinds of things about an incredibly difficult circumstance with an incredibly strong and decent and excellent president. I’ll never understand that.”

    “I really am not worried about that because he is my guy,” Fetterman told Politico. “And he is going to be the Democrats’ guy, and I’m proud to campaign with him.”

    Carville pushed back against the senator’s claims about his lack of relevance and said that other Democrat senators “apparently haven’t gotten the memo yet,” Politico reported.

    “[Fetterman’s] colleague Sen. Casey asked me to host a fundraiser with him last week,” Carville told Politico. “Sen. Brown asked me to go to Cleveland to campaign with him.”

    Trump Predicts GOP White House Hopeful Will Ultimately Endorse Him

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    Vivek Ramaswamy speaking with attendees at the 2022 AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

    Donald Trump is confident he will soon have another feather in his cap…

    On Wednesday, Trump predicted Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will ultimately endorse him for President following reports Ramaswamy has canceled TV advertising ahead of the first primary contests.

    “He will, I am sure, Endorse me. But Vivek is a good man, and is not done yet!” Trump wrote Wednesday on TruthSocial.

    “We are focused on bringing out the voters we’ve identified — best way to reach them is using addressable advertising, mail, text, live calls and doors to communicate with our voters on Vivek’s vision for America, making their plan to caucus and turning them out,” Ramaswamy campaign press secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a Tuesday statement.

    Ramaswamy’s praise of the former president has fueled speculation that the biotech entrepreneur is eying a spot on a potential Trump ticket as vice president.

    On Sunday, Ramaswamy expressed some hesitancy over the prospect of taking a position in a second Trump administration telling Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo, “I didn’t get where I am, [his wife, Apoorva Ramaswamy] didn’t get to where she is by being ‘Plan B people,’ and so I’m actually confident we’re going to overdeliver massively at the Iowa caucus.”

    Trump, meanwhile, said in August that Ramaswamy would be “very good” as a running mate, adding, “Anybody that said I’m the best president in a generation … I have to like a guy like that.”

    Ramaswamy has struggled to maintain momentum in the Republican primary race after briefly surging in the polls this summer.

    Michigan Supreme Court Rules On Trump Ballot Bid

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    Gage Skidmore Flickr

    On Wednesday the Michigan Supreme Court rejected the latest bid to keep Donald Trump off the state’s primary ballot.

    A liberal-leaning group had appealed a state appeals court ruling that regardless of whether the 14th Amendment disqualifies Trump from holding office, Michigan’s secretary of state lacks the legal authority to remove him from the ballot.

    The Democrat-controlled court let that lower ruling stand, stating in an unsigned order that it was “not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this Court.”

    The Hill has more:

    In a solo dissent in Michigan on Wednesday, Justice Elizabeth Welch wrote that it was “important” for the state court to issue a decision on the merits given the gravity of the legal questions at issue.

    But she likened the case to Minnesota, while drawing contrast to Colorado.

    “Significantly, Colorado’s election laws differ from Michigan’s laws in a material way that is directly relevant to why the appellants in this case are not entitled to the relief they seek concerning the presidential primary election in Michigan,” Welch wrote.

    Welch also noted that Tuesday’s ruling leaves open the possibility that the plaintiffs could renew their efforts for the general election if Trump becomes the Republican nominee, which polling indicates is very likely.

    The ruling is a significant win for Trump as he seeks to appeal the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

    The 14th amendment prohibits someone from holding “any office … under the United States” if they engaged in insurrection after taking an oath as “an officer of the United States” to “support” the Constitution.

    Former President Trump celebrated the Michigan Supreme Court’s ruling on Truth Social.

    “The Michigan Supreme Court has strongly and rightfully denied the Desperate Democrat attempt to take the leading Candidate in the 2024 Presidential Election, me, off the ballot in the Great State of Michigan,” Trump wrote Wednesday in a Truth Social post. “This pathetic gambit to rig the Election has failed all across the Country, including in States that have historically leaned heavily toward the Democrats.”

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

    GOP Lawmakers ‘Swatted’ on Christmas Day

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    3
    Police image via Pixabay free images

    Two Republican lawmakers had an eventful Christmas Day…

    Police officers were called to the homes of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-Ga.) and Rep. Brandon Williams (R-NY) after false reports were made.

    In an X post, Monday, Rep. Williams announced, “Our home was swatted this afternoon. Thanks to the Deputies and Troopers who contacted me before arriving. They left with homemade cookies and spiced nuts! Merry Christmas everyone!”

    In a follow-up post, Williams revealed that Capitol and local police were investigating the incident and that five police cars had arrived at his home following the false report.

    “Swatting” is the act of making a false police report with the intention that the victim receives a visit from armed law enforcement.

    “The deputies & troopers were polite, professional, & prompt. God bless them,” Williams added.

    Greene was visited by law enforcement on Monday morning after an anonymous caller told 911 that a man had been shot at the congresswoman’s address.

    Local police were reportedly called by the suspect, who took responsibility for the incident and said “they were upset about Greene’s stance on ‘trans-gender youth’s rights.’”

    “I have been swatted 8 times but the FBI can’t seem to figure out who is responsible for the swatting and says the law doesn’t allow them to track them down,” protested Greene on X following the incident. “The FBI can do so many things, has even abused FISA to spy on hundreds of thousands of Americans, but can not figure out who wants me killed by a hail of bullets fired by a SWAT team responding to murder suicide calls supposedly coming from me.”

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