Latest

    News

    Home News Page 76

    Report: Trump Refused Settlement in Classified Docs Case

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    5
    Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Will Donald Trump end up regretting this move?

    New reports indicate the former president rejected his attorney’s idea to approach the Justice Department (DOJ) with a settlement offer in the contentious classified documents case to avoid potential charges.

    The Hill reports:

    Three unidentified sources briefed on the matter told the Post that Christopher Kise proposed quietly approaching the DOJ to reach an agreement that would include the promised return of all remaining documents in Trump’s possession and no indictment. Kise reportedly wanted to try to “take the temperature down” and hoped that the DOJ would agree to avoid indicting a former president. 

    The Post reported that the offer was one of several times in which the former president’s attorneys tried to get him to cooperate with the investigation into the classified and sensitive documents kept at his Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach, Fla., after his presidency ended. 

    Seven unidentified Trump advisers with knowledge of the investigation told the Post that the former president told his advisers that the boxes of documents only contained newspaper clippings and clothes and ignored warnings from them about pending legal issues. 

    However, other attorneys reportedly pushed Trump to take a harsh stance against the investigation and Kisa ultimately never approached the DOJ with the proposal.

    Months later Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith as the special counsel to oversee the investigation. Last week, a 37-count indictment was filed against Trump, making him the first former president to face federal charges. The indictment includes 31 counts of the willful retention of documents in violation of the Espionage Act. 

    Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told the Post that Trump told the DOJ, “you need anything from us, just let us know.” 

    “Sadly, the weaponized DOJ rejected this offer of cooperation and conducted an unnecessary and unconstitutional raid on the President’s home in order to inflict maximum political damage on the leading presidential candidate,” Cheung said. 

    White House Hopeful Pledges to Pardon Trump If Elected

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    3
    Vivek Ramaswamy speaking with attendees at the 2022 AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

    Republicans, even his direct opponents, are still loyal to Donald Trump – despite the building legal woes.

    During a Tuesday press conference at the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. U.S. Courthouse in Miami, Florida Vivek Ramaswamy said if he is elected president, he will pardon Trump for his federal charges.

    While speaking to a crowd the Ohio businessman and tech mogul challenged his Republican counterparts to make the same pledge to pardon the former President if elected.

    “The use of police force by a sitting U.S. President against his chief political rival in the midst of a presidential election sets a dangerous precedent in our country,” Ramaswamy said in a press release.

    “No one is above the law: the U.S. President shouldn’t be able to use the federal police to arrest his opponents,” he continued.

    “No one should be below the law either, yet there are now two standards of justice depending on your political viewpoints,” Ramaswamy added. “That’s the single greatest threat to our constitutional republic today.”

    “If President Trump is prosecuted in a manner that effectively prevents him from running, this will permanently damage public trust in our electoral process and our justice system,” the letter reads.

    “Whoever among us is elected, our job of reuniting the nation will become daunting – if not impossible,” Ramaswamy wrote.

    Trump is set to be arraigned Tuesday after a federal grand jury indicted him last week on 37 charges related to his retention of sensitive documents. 

    In addition to pledging to pardon Trump, Ramaswamy also filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request this week seeking communication between the White House and the Justice Department concerning the second indictment of Trump. 

    Ramaswamy said he filed the request “to demand *exactly* what the White House Communicated to [Attorney General] Merrick Garland & [Special Counsel] Jack Smith about the unprecedented indictment of a former U.S. President & Biden’s disfavored opponent in this election.” 

    Other Republican candidates have yet to respond to Ramaswamy’s challenge but former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley signaled she’s “inclined” to sign on.”

    “I think we all need to let this trial play out. We need to see exactly what happens, when you look at a pardon, the issue is less about guilt and more about what’s good for the country. And I think it would be terrible for the country to have a former president in prison for years because of a documents case,” Haley said on “The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show” when asked if she’d commit to pardoning Trump if elected.

    “That’s something you’d see in a Third World country. I saw that at the United Nations, so I would be inclined in favor of a pardon. But I think it’s really pretty mature at this point when he’s not even been convicted of anything,” she added.

    Republican Governor Snubs Trump, Endorses Top White House Rival

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    2
    Kevin Stitt via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    The 2024 campaign field is heating up…

    Top Trump campaign challenger Ron DeSantis is gaining steam as the former President’s legal troubles overshadow his active campaign.

    Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (R) is choosing to endorse DeSantis for president and Trump could not be less thrilled by the choice.

    “Governor DeSantis is a strong conservative and principled leader, and I am proud to endorse him for president,” Stitt said in a statement.

    “As fellow Governors during COVID, DeSantis did not surrender states’ rights and individual liberties over to groupthink,” the governor continued. “In this election cycle, Oklahomans will remember that DeSantis was one of the few who never backed down in the face of adversity because DeSantis operated with dogged conviction and shared our values for a limited government and free country.”

    The Oklahoma governor campaigned with DeSantis over the weekend in the Sooner State.

    “Governor Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, who I didn’t know very well, called me before his last election to say he was in BIG trouble and very much needed my Endorsement. I LOVE Oklahoma & won 77 out of 77 Counties, something that never happened before,” the former president said on his social media platform Truth Social.

    Former presidential contender Mitt Romney (R-Utah) also won all 77 counties during the 2012 election.

    “Ronald Reagan was next with 56. Anyway, I gave him my endorsement, he immediately went way up, and won. Now, despite the fact that DeSanctimonious is losing to Biden, & me, Stitt just endorsed him. Wow! He disliked ‘the Indians’ & my great Senate pick!” the former president continued, appearing to reference Stitt’s working relationship with Indigenous tribes within the state.

    DeSantis also received an endorsement from former Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.), Trump’s former NASA administrator, and 20 state lawmakers last week.

    What About the Federal Investigations on Biden’s Corruption?

    By
    Paul Crespo
    -
    3
    The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    ANALYSIS – We are rightfully covering all aspects of the ongoing legal proceedings against former president Donald Trump, especially the most recent federal indictment. 

    But we also need to ask – what about the federal investigations into Joe and Hunter Biden? They are potentially far more serious.

    Bill Barr, Attorney General under Trump, said the protracted investigation into Hunter Biden, which is being led by U.S. Attorney David Weiss, is damaging the nation.

    “I think it’s time to fish or cut bait and find out what actually happened in that investigation,” Barr said, according to The Blaze.

    The Hunter investigation has the strong potential to also implicate Joe Biden criminally, including credible whistleblower allegations that the senior Biden took a $5 million bribe from the Chinese.

    That would be a far worse crime than anything Trump has been accused of.

    But Democrats are quick to dismiss these serious accusations, and in some cases even lie about them.

    Case in point, a confidential human source (CHS) allegations that Biden had been involved in a criminal bribery scheme.

    After meeting with the FBI, where they showed Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin and House Oversight Committee Chairman, Republican James Comer, a document detailing the allegations, Raskin dismissed the whole thing, and apparently lied about it.

    As The Blaze reported: “Raskin, the committee’s top Democrat, claimed the Justice Department had investigated the allegations in 2020 but decided not to move further because then-U.S. Attorney Scott Brady ‘found no evidence to corroborate’ them.

    He also claimed information against Biden was given to the FBI by Rudy Giuliani, a high-profile, if slightly discredited, Trump loyalist.

    In an interview on Fox News, Barr, who led the Department of Justice (DOJ) when the whistleblower allegations were made, disputed Raskin’s comments, saying the Democrat was “confused,” and essentially called him a liar.

    According to the Blaze:

    Barr said he assigned Brady the task of vetting the document to determine its credibility. He established this “intake process,” he explained, because there were a number of ongoing investigations related to the Biden family and he wanted to avoid “proliferating investigations around the country going in to the election year, all related to the Bidens.”

    “We also wanted to protect the integrity of the investigations that were going on,” Barr said. “So this was a screening, a clearinghouse function to check evidence out before sending it to the ongoing investigations.”

    Regarding Raskin’s claim that the document contained information provided by Rudy Giuliani. That is just flatly untrue, he said.

    Barr added, “It was stuff that was developed within the department and the FBI from [a] confidential human source. And that information was checked out and it was determined that it was not likely to have been disinformation.” 

    Meanwhile, Biden decided to joke about the serious allegations about Chinese bribery.

    When confronted by a reporter at the White House who asked about them, saying “Congresswoman Nancy Mace says there’s damning evidence in the FBI file that you sold out the country,” Biden replied: “Where’s the money?” adding, “I’m joking. It’s a bunch of malarkey.”

    The GOP Congresswoman quickly responded: “[W]e don’t find selling out your country funny. Prove us wrong by releasing your and your family’s unredacted bank records. The FBI can’t protect you forever.”

    She went on to list the names of businesses the Biden family allegedly used as “shell companies” to conceal funds received from foreign nationals.

    Comer earlier had explained: “Most of these companies were limited liability companies formed during Joe Biden’s vice presidency.” 

    “The bank records show the Biden family, their associates, and their companies received over $10 million from foreign nationals and their companies.”

    According to Fox News, an executive with Burisma Holdings, the Ukrainian natural gas firm where Hunter Biden served as a board member, told the FBI’s source the payoff was to be divided: “$5 million for one Biden, $5 million for the other Biden.” 

    Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.

    Fox News Issues Cease And Desist Letter to Tucker Carlson

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    1
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    The relationship between Tucker Carlson and Fox News continues to sour…

    The network has issued a cease and desist letter to Tucker Carlson after the conservative pundit published the first two episodes of his new Twitter show.

    Carlson remains under contract with Fox News despite being unceremoniously fired by the network in April days after Fox agreed to a historic settlement with Dominion Voting Systems. (RELATED: Fox News, Dominion Voting Systems Speak Out Over Tucker Carlson Exit)

    In a Twitter thread posted Monday, Harmeet Dhillon, one of Carlson’s attorneys who regularly appeared on his show while he was still on Fox, accused the network of attempting to muzzle its former prime-time star.

    “What you are seeing on Fox today is a censored version of the news,” Dhillon said. “Keep that in mind as you make your viewing and your commenting choices.”

    Since leaving Fox News, Carlson has launched a new web series on Twitter Spaces. However, the network’s latest move may jeopardize the future of Carlson’s venture.

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

    Report: Trump Aide Indicted In Classified Documents Investigation

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    6
    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    A close aide for former president Donald Trump has been indicted in Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the former president’s alleged mishandling of classified information.

    Fox News has reported that Walt Nauta, who served as a Trump personal aide and valet in the White House and later at Mar-a-Lago, has been indicted. It’s unclear what exact charges Nauta is facing.

    Sources told Fox News that Nauta was seen on surveillance video moving boxes of sensitive material from a storage area at a time when the government had sought information about those documents. At some point, he reportedly had stopped speaking with investigators.    

    Nauta’s indictment comes after a Miami grand jury indicted Donald Trump on Thursday.

    During an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital Thursday night, Trump said the case is “election interference” and “the greatest witch hunt of all time.” Trump said he will “of course” plead not guilty to charges in federal court on Tuesday, and said he is “totally innocent.”

    “This is the most corrupt administration in history—there has never been an administration so corrupt, and they’re just starting to find it right now,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “They are trying to deflect all of their dishonesty by bringing this ridiculous boxes hoax case.”

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

    CNN Dumps Trump Transcript Over Classified Docs

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    6
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Things are not looking good for Donald Trump.

    Hours after Trump was reportedly indicted by a Florida grand jury in the classified documents case CNN’s Paula Reid shared a transcript of the tape in which Trump discusses not being able to share secret information.

    Reid and Kaitlan Collins broke the news last week that Trump was caught on tape discussing an allegedly classified document that he had taken with him when he left the White House. During the tape, Trump reportedly acknowledged he can’t show the document, which outlines a plan to attack Iran, to his visitors because of the classification attached to it.

    Read the transcript below:

    “Secret. This is secret information. Look, look at this,” Trump says at one point, according to the transcript. “This was done by the military and given to me.”

    Trump was complaining in the meeting about Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley. The meeting occurred shortly after The New Yorker published a story by Susan Glasser detailing how, in the final days of Trump’s presidency, Milley instructed the Joint Chiefs to ensure Trump issued no illegal orders and that he be informed if there was any concern.

    “Well, with Milley – uh, let me see that, I’ll show you an example. He said that I wanted to attack Iran. Isn’t that amazing? I have a big pile of papers, this thing just came up. Look. This was him,” Trump says, according to the transcript. “They presented me this – this is off the record, but – they presented me this. This was him. This was the Defense Department and him. We looked at some. This was him. This wasn’t done by me, this was him.”

    Trump continues: “All sorts of stuff – pages long, look. Wait a minute, let’s see here. I just found, isn’t that amazing? This totally wins my case, you know. Except it is like, highly confidential. Secret. This is secret information. Look, look at this.”

    During an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital Thursday night, Trump said the case is “election interference” and “the greatest witch hunt of all time.” Trump said he will “of course” plead not guilty to charges in federal court on Tuesday, and said he is “totally innocent.”

    “This is the most corrupt administration in history—there has never been an administration so corrupt, and they’re just starting to find it right now,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “They are trying to deflect all of their dishonesty by bringing this ridiculous boxes hoax case.”

    He added: “They’re not going to get away with it.”

    “I did absolutely nothing wrong,” he said, citing the Presidential Records Act, saying it “makes me totally innocent.”

    Report: Trump Indicted In Documents Case

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    2
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Former President Donald Trump broke the news that he’s been indicted in the classified documents case.

    A federal grand jury in Miami indicted Trump on seven charges for his alleged mishandling of over 100 classified documents after leaving office.

    It is the first time a former president of the United States has been indicted on federal criminal charges.

    Trump has been ordered to appear in federal court in Miami on Tuesday at 3 p.m.

    Fox News has more:

    Former President Trump has been indicted on federal charges that emerged out of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s months-long investigation.

    Trump facing at least seven federal counts related to document handling and obstruction of justice. He has been ordered to appear in federal court in Miami on Tuesday.

    Trump himself announced the indictment on his social media platform, Truth Social.

    “The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax, even though Joe Biden has 1850 Boxes at the University of Delaware, additional Boxes in Chinatown, D.C., with even more Boxes at the University of Pennsylvania, and documents strewn all over his garage floor where he parks his Corvette, and which is “secured” by only a garage door that is paper thin, and open much of the time,” Trump said on Truth Social.

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

    Trump Responds to Latest Indictment Whispers

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    5
    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Former President Donald Trump is responding to fresh claims that federal authorities are closing in on a new indictment against him.

    On Wednesday, a former Trump associate testified before a federal grand jury in the investigation into former President Donald Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified materials.

    “Today, in what can only be described as a bogus and deeply troubling effort to use the power of government to ‘get’ Trump, I fulfilled a legal obligation to testify in front a federal grand jury and I answered every question honestly,” Taylor Budowich, a former Trump spokesperson, wrote on Twitter.

    “America has become a sick and broken nation—a decline led by Joe Biden and power hungry Democrats,” he added. “I will not be intimidated by this weaponization of government. For me, the need to unite our nation and make America great again has never been more clear than it is today.”

    Budowich previously served as a spokesperson for Trump after he left the White House. He is now the head of MAGA Inc., a super PAC backing the former president’s 2024 bid.

    The Florida grand jury hearing testimony is the latest development in the investigation by special counsel Jack Smith into whether Trump mishandled classified documents after leaving office.

    Multiple outlets have reported that Trump has received a letter from federal prosecutors notifying him of the impending indictment.

    https://twitter.com/MishaFitton/status/1666737315060826114

    Tucker Carlson Launches New Twitter Series

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    2
    Tucker Carlson via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Tucker Carlson is back.

    The recently ousted Fox News host has officially kicked off his new Twitter-based news program.

    “Hey, it’s Tucker Carlson,” the host said, opening the 10-minute video while seated behind a desk at what appears to be his home in Maine.

    Throughout the video, Carlson largely focused on the American news media and politicians who have defended U.S. involvement in the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia. The pundit opened his video by reporting on an explosion at a dam in Ukraine that sparked widespread evacuations in the war-torn country.

    Before signing off, Carlson offered a cryptic message about his new program’s future with Twitter.

    “As of today we have come to Twitter, which we hope will be the short wave radio under the blankets,” Carlson said, closing his first video on the platform. “We’re told there are no gatekeepers here. If that turns out to be false, we’ll leave. But in the meantime, we’re grateful to be here.”

    According to The Hill, Carlson remains under contract with Fox and it’s unclear if his production of content for the social media platform would violate the terms of his agreement with the network. The pundit has separately accused the network of violating its contract by leaking unflattering material about him to the press. (RELATED: Tucker Carlson Quietly Preparing for ‘War’ Against Fox News)

    In April, Carlson was unceremoniously ousted from Fox News. Neither Carlson nor the network have released details on what led to the decision. (RELATED: Tucker Carlson Leaves Fox News)

    “We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor,” the network said in a statement at the time.

    Before the launch of “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Carlson was co-host of “FOX & Friends Weekend” from 2012 through 2016. 

    Days before Carlson’s exit, Fox News agreed to a historic settlement with Dominion Voting Systems hours before an expected blockbuster defamation trial.

    1...757677...106Page 76 of 106
    © Great America News Desk 2022