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    Report: Trump Must Pay Nearly Half-Billion Dollars Before Appealing New York Ruling

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    7
    Image via Pixabay free images

    Before Donald Trump can appeal Judge Arthur Engoron’s ruling he must pay nearly half a billion dollars as a bond to New York State.

    Last week, the judge ordered Trump to pay $354 million in fines, $450 million with interest, after New York Attorney General sued Trump under and obscure New York fraud statute.

    Jonathan Turley points out another astonishing fact at the New York Post: before he can appeal, Trump must pay the whole fine:

    Under New York law, Trump cannot appeal this ruling without depositing the full amount, including interest, in a court account. Even for Trump, $455 million is hard to come by. Likewise, a bond would require a company to guarantee payment for a defendant who has been barred from doing business in New York and is facing the need to liquidate much of his portfolio.

    Nothing succeeds like excess for judges like Engoron. By imposing this astronomical figure, he can make it difficult or impossible for a defendant to appeal, absent declaring bankruptcy or selling off assets at distress prices.

    The excessive fine and its basis raise serious statutory and constitutional questions. Many of us believe it should be substantially reduced or tossed out entirely.

    Trump Inches Toward Tulsi Gabbard As VP Pick

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    5

    Could this be the winning ticket?

    Former President Donald Trump has reportedly been in conversation with former Congresswoman and 2020 presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) in regard to her potentially becoming his running mate.

    Per the Washington Post:

    Former president Donald Trump and top advisers have spoken with former Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard about foreign policy and how the Defense Department should be run in a second Trump term, according to people familiar with the matter.

    Gabbard told Fox News about her willingness to entertain discussions with Trump about potentially joining his 2024 presidential ticket as a running mate.

    I’d be open to that conversation. My mission in life is to serve our country and serve the American people and find the best way to be able to do that.

    She ran for president in 2020 and had issues with the Democrat National Committee throughout her campaign.

    Gabbard served on the following committees when she was in Congress: Judiciary, Intelligence, Financial Services, Foreign Affairs, Energy and Commerce, Education and Labor, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Armed Services. 

    There has also been talk that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (I) is considering Gabbard as a running mate. 

    Hillary Clinton Warns Trump Will Withdraw from NATO

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    Hillary Clinton via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Former Democrat presidential candidate and avid Trump critic Hillary Clinton warned that if elected Donald Trump will make good on his threat to withdraw the U.S. from NATO.

    Over the weekend, Clinton made the claim during remarks at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, telling U.S. allies that they should take Trump’s claims to heart after the former president warned NATO countries to contribute their fair share.

    “We have a long struggle ahead of us, and the obvious point to make about Donald Trump is take him literally and seriously,” she said. “He means what he says. People did not take him literally and seriously in 2016. Now he is telling us what he intends to do, and people who try to wish it away, brush it away, are living in an alternative reality.”

    “He will do everything he can to become an absolute authoritarian leader if given the opportunity to do so. And he will pull us out of NATO even though the Congress passed a resolution saying that he couldn’t without congressional support, because he will just not fund our obligations,” she said.

    Clinton seemed to direct her message to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who has brushed off Trump’s recent comments.

    The Republican presidential frontrunner has repeatedly claimed that member countries should not receive protection if they do not pay their share toward NATO’s budget.

    “The whole idea of NATO is that an attack on one ally will trigger a response from the whole alliance and as long as we stand behind that message together, we prevent any military attack on any ally,” Stoltenberg said.

    “Any suggestion that we are not standing up for each other, that we are not going to protect each other, that does undermine the security of all of us.”

    According to Fox News, the NATO chief announced that 18 of the alliance’s 31 members are on track to meet their pledges of contributing 2% of GDP to the group. European states are on track to contribute $380 billion this year, and Germany will meet its 2% pledge for the first time since the Cold War.

    Manchin Reveals He Will Not Run For President

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0

    On Friday, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin (D) revealed he will not launch a presidential campaign this year.

    The moderate Democrat who announced he will not seek another term in the Senate has fueled speculation he may launch a third party run for the White House.

    “I will not be seeking a third-party run. I will not be involved in a presidential run,” Manchin said in remarks at West Virginia University. 

    “I will be involved in making sure that we secure a president that has the knowledge and has the passion and has the ability to bring this country together,” he said.  

    Manchin’s announcement comes days after he floated multiple potential choices for a running mate.

    “Hypothetically, if I was picking my running mate, really who I would ask right now is Mitt Romney,” the West Virginia Democrat said during a Q&A at a City Club of Cleveland breakfast Thursday — a stop on the nationwide “listening tour” he launched after announcing he would forgo a reelection bid in 2024. Romney is also not running for reelection this year.

    “Rob Portman would be right there, too,” Manchin quickly added.

    Trump Lawyer Predicts Disappointing Results In Fraud Trial

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    8
    Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America,

    Former President Donald Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba is anxiously awaiting the ruling in the civil fraud trial against Trump.

    During an interview, Habba signaled she does not expect good news from the decision which is expected to be handed down on Friday.

    “If I could file the appeal now, I would,” Habba said in a Newsmax interview Wednesday. “There’s no surprises coming here.”

    “I’ll be loud and booming right after the decision,” she continued. “I don’t have high hopes.”

    Judge Arthur Engoron already ruled that Trump committed fraud in his real estate empire and he is expected to issue a penalty ruling Friday, according to sources familiar with the matter.

    In addition to a $370 million financial penalty, James has asked Engoron to ban Trump from New York’s real estate business for life.

    Multiple Republicans have alleged Engoron is politically biased, and that James also broke ethics rules in prosecution.

    “I’ve been on weeks and weeks and weeks of trial in New York, and the corruption runs deep,” Habba said. “The Trump derangement syndrome, quite frankly, runs even deeper. They can’t see straight. They can’t apply law to fact.”

    Santos Sends Profanity-Laced Message To NY GOP Lawmakers After Special Election

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1

    Disgraced former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) sent a profanity-laced text message to the Republican New York delegation following the loss in the state’s special election on Tuesday.

    The ex-lawmaker faces numerous criminal charges, including wire fraud, conspiracy and laundering campaign funds.

    Mediaite reports:

    In a text message sent Tuesday night, Santos blamed the GOP lawmakers for pushing him out of Congress and costing the party a seat amid the slim Republican majority.

    “I hope you guys are happy with this dismal performance and your 10 million for futile Bull Shit cost the party,” he wrote in a text to the entire New York Republican delegation, according to Semafor.

    He, added, “I look very forward to most of you losing due to your absolute hate filled campaign to remove me from Congress arbitrarily. Now go tell the Republicans Base what you fucking idiots did and good luck raising money next quarter.”

    Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) replied with a slight jab at Santos, writing in the group chat, “Sorry, new phone, who dis?”

    Last year, the House of Representatives voted 311-114-2 to expel Santos with 105 Republicans joining almost all Democrats.

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

    Fani Willis’ Fmr. Assistant Drops Courtroom Bombshell

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ longtime assistant and “good friend” testified today that she has “no doubt” the besieged Democrat began her extramarital affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade in 2019. The testimony contradicts Willis’ sworn statements to the court.

    The testimony from Robin Yeartie came at a hearing concerning accusations that Willis hired her lover to secure a grand jury indictment against Donald Trump and misused taxpayer money to fund her affair with Wade. The testimony came before the judge overseeing the Georgia election subversion case.

    From Fox News:

    Robin Yeartie, a former Fulton County DA employee and self-described “good friend” of Willis, said Thursday she has “no doubt” Willis and Wade were in a romantic relationship starting in 2019 to when her and Willis last spoke in 2022. 

    This contradicts Wills’ claims in court that she and Wade “have been professional associates and friends since 2019,” and “there was no personal relationship” between her and Wade in November 2021 at the time of Wade’s appointment.

    “You have no doubt that their romantic relationship was in effect from 2019 until the last time you spoke with her?” attorney Ashleigh Merchant questioned. 

    “No doubt,” Yeartie said.

    The accusations against Willis were first made by Michael Roman, a co-defendant and 2020 Trump campaign official, in a court motion to dismiss the case.

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

    Judge Rules Trump Hush Money Case Will Head To Trial

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

    Bad news for Donald Trump…

    On Thursday, a judge rejected Trump’s attempt to have his hush-money case tossed. Instead, the case is scheduled to begin next month.

    Judge Juan Merchan said “at this point” he will move ahead with jury selection beginning on March 25 as scheduled, a timeline that would enable a jury to return a verdict well in advance of July’s Republican National Convention and November’s general election.

    Trump’s lawyers then began insisting the trial be delayed, noting Trump’s other cases, quickly turning the hearing into a fiery back-and-forth.

    “We have been faced with extremely compressed and expedited schedules in each and every one of those trials,” said Trump attorney Todd Blanche.

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) charged Trump in the case with 34 counts of falsifying business records last spring over reimbursements Trump made to his then-fixer, Michael Cohen.

    Cohen had paid porn actress Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an affair she alleged to have had with Trump. The indictment accuses Trump of improperly deeming the reimbursements a legal retainer to conceal damaging information from the public ahead of the 2016 presidential election. 

    Trump, who denies the affair, pleaded not guilty.

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

    Impeachment Republican Announces Retirement

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    1

    On Thursday, House Homeland Security Chair, Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) announced Wednesday he will not run for re-election.

    “At the start of the 118th Congress, I promised my constituents to pass legislation to secure our borders and to hold Secretary Mayorkas accountable. Today, with the House having passed H.R. 2 and Secretary Mayorkas impeached, it is time for me to return home,” Green said in a statement. “In the last few months, in reading the writings of our Framers, I was reminded of their intent for representatives to be citizen-legislators, to serve for a season and then return home. Our country – and our Congress – is broken beyond most means of repair. I have come to realize our fight is not here within Washington, our fight is with Washington.”

    “As I have done my entire life, I will continue serving this country – but in a new capacity,” Green continued Wednesday, not disclosing if he will run again for governor in 2026, where the seat will up for grabs because Republican Gov. Bill Lee is prohibited from running under Tennessee’s gubernatorial term limits.

    “I am grateful to my wife, Camie, and my family, for standing beside me and for their service to our nation,” he continued, announcing his retirement. 

    “During my time in the Army, they sacrificed dad and husband to multiple deployments – and as I have served here in Congress, they have supported me as I’ve been away most weeks,” he said. “I also want to thank the constituents of Tennessee’s 7th District for the unbelievable honor to serve them in Congress – whose vote of confidence was not only evident in the wide margins in each election, but also without ever having a single primary opponent in my three elections. And finally, I want to thank my staff, whose unmatched hard work, dedication, and talent have resulted in our many victories and one of the lowest turnover rates in Congress.”

    Green is the fifth Republican committee chair to forgo re-election. 

    As chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, Green spearheaded a months-long investigation of Mayorkas, his policies and his management of the department, ultimately concluding Tuesday that his conduct in office amounted to “high crimes and misdemeanors” worthy of impeachment. 

    After a bid failed, a second impeachment attempt succeeded Tuesday, making Mayorkas the first Cabinet secretary to be impeached since 1876.

    RNC Candidate Doubles Down On Trump Support After Announcing Campaign

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    1
    Image via gage Skidmore Flickr

    Lara Trump is all in on a second Trump presidency.

    The current Republican presidential frontrunner’s daughter-in-law vowed Tuesday to spend “every single penny” of Republican National Committee (RNC) funds to reelect him to the White House. 

    Asked by Newsmax host Rob Schmitt what needs to change to make the RNC more competitive, Lara Trump said Tuesday: “The RNC needs to be the leanest, most lethal political fighting machine we’ve ever seen in American history.” 

    “That is the goal over the next nine-and-a-half months. If I am elected to this position, I can assure you, there will not be any more $70,000 — or whatever exorbitant amount of money it was — spent on flowers,” she continued. “Every single penny will go to the No. 1 and the only job of the RNC — that is elected Donald J. Trump as president of the United States and saving this country.” 

    Earlier this week, Trump announced he is endorsing North Carolina GOP chair Michael Whatley, daughter-in-law Lara Trump, and campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita to lead the Republican National Committee (RNC).

    “Lara is an extremely talented communicator and is dedicated to all that MAGA stands for,” the former president said. “She has told me she wants to accept this challenge and would be GREAT!”

    The current RNC chair, Ronna McDaniel, is likely to step down after the South Carolina primary Feb. 24.

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