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    Report: Key Mar-a-Lago witness said to be former White House Employee

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    13
    Marine One lifts-off after returning President Donald J. Trump to Mar-a-Lago Friday, March 29, 2019, following his visit to the 143-mile Herbert Hoover Dike near Canal Point, Fla., that surrounds Lake Okeechobee. The visit was part of an infrastructure inspection of the dike, which is part of the Kissimmee-Okeechobee Everglades system, and reduces impacts of flooding for areas of south Florida. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian) [Photo Credit: The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons]

    The call is coming from inside the house…

    New reports indicate a key witness in the ongoing Justice Department and FBI investigation of Donald Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents is a former Trump official.

    According to sources close to the matter, Walt Nauta is a Navy veteran who followed the former president to Florida after serving as a valet in the Trump White House and later provided key evidence to investigators.

    The Washington Post reported Wednesday that an unnamed Trump employee had provided critical evidence to investigators — telling them that he moved boxes at the former president’s request at a time when the government was seeking the return of classified material, including some highly sensitive items, from Mar-a-Lago.

    The witness account was corroborated by security-camera footage, the people familiar with the case said, giving investigators key evidence of Trump’s behavior as they probe potential crimes including obstruction, destruction of government records or mishandling classified information.

    When FBI agents first interviewed Nauta, he denied any role in moving boxes or sensitive documents, the people familiar with the situation said in interviews before Nauta’s name became public. But as investigators gathered more evidence, they questioned him a second time and he told a starkly different story — that Trump instructed him to move the boxes, these people said.

    Nauta’s information marks the most direct look into Trump’s actions and instructions leading up to the FBI’s August 8th raid.

    The Justice Department is now ensnared in a contentious legal battle against the former President who has claimed no wrongdoing in the situation. The DOJ is investigating whether Trump violated the Espionage Act by improperly handling the sensitive materials.

    Last month, a Florida judge appointed an independent third party, known as a special master, to oversee the documents alleged by the DOJ to contain information sensitive to national security.

    Trump-era DOJ Official Sounds Alarm Over Plans to ‘Prosecute’ Social Media Users for ‘Disinformation’

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    Chuck Kennedy for The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice is becoming more and more political as the months go by.

    First, the DOJ announced it would target parents concerned by schools’ implementation of Critical Race Theory in classrooms and radical school boards. Now, the DOJ is launching a new “political operation” according to a former DOJ spokesperson under President Donald Trump, Alexei Woltornist.

    Woltornist says the recent letter from the American Medical Association to Merrick Garland calls for investigations on social media users spreading “disinformation” about child sex changes is part of the Biden DOJ’s “political operation.”

    Earlier this month, Journalist Christopher Rufo exposed the letter requesting the DOJ to “take swift action to investigate and prosecute all organizations, individuals, and entities” that have spread “misleading information targeting individual physicians and hospitals” that perform irreversible sex-change surgeries for minors.

    The Daily Caller reports:

    The letter, authored by the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association, specifically states that a “few high-profile users on social media” are responsible for spreading the “disinformation” about child sex-change surgeries, which have resulted in “bomb threats.”

    “The behavior from the AMA is straight from the Soviet playbook. The legal system should be used to protect the rule of law, not to punish political enemies,” Woltornist continued.

    When asked what the DOJ should do about the letter, Woltornist said, the “DOJ should be focused on restoring their credibility,” but that the perception that it’s a “political operation” can’t be reversed “with simple spin or messaging.”

    The DOJ so far has “declined any additional comment” on if the DOJ plans to carry out the investigations on the “social media users” or anyone else mentioned in the letter

    Report: FBI Agents on the Cusp of Charging Hunter Biden

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    President Joe Biden hugs his family during the 59th Presidential Inauguration ceremony in Washington, Jan. 20, 2021. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took the oath of office on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol. (DOD Photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Carlos M. Vazquez II)

    The walls are finally closing in on Hunter Biden.

    Federal agents investigating President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter says they believe that they have uncovered enough evidence to charge him with crimes related to tax fraud and lying during his purchase of a handgun, according to a new report by The Washington Post.

    The agents leading the criminal investigation noted that while the probe concluded months ago the facts supported federal charges against Hunter Biden, but it is ultimately up to U.S. Attorney David Weiss, the Delaware prosecutor overseeing the case, to decide whether to indict the president’s son.

    The outlet said Thursday that the federal investigation into Hunter Biden initially centered around Hunter Biden’s overseas business dealings and consultant work in places such as China and Ukraine, but that “over time, investigators with multiple agencies focused closely on whether he did not report all of his income, and whether he lied on gun purchase paperwork in 2018, according to the people familiar with the situation.”

    This story is developing. Stay tuned with Great America News Desk for updates.

    Amanda Head: Leftist Mayor Caught Sleeping at Fallen Cop’s Funeral

    By
    Amanda Head
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    4

    Austin, TX mayor Steve Adler’s leftist policies have already desecrated the once-great Texas city but his actions at a funeral for a fallen police officer truly show his disdain for law enforcement. Get ready to be infuriated.

    Watch what Amanda has to say on the despicable behavior exhibited by Mayor Adler below.

    Conservative Legal Group Sues FBI Over Hunter Biden Laptop Censorship

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    President Joe Biden hugs his family during the 59th Presidential Inauguration ceremony in Washington, Jan. 20, 2021. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took the oath of office on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol. (DOD Photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Carlos M. Vazquez II)

    Conservative legal group, America First Legal (AFL), is suing the FBI for allegedly concealing communications between the agency and Big Tech companies regarding reports published about the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop

    On Tuesday, AFL which is led by former Trump White House advisor Stephen Miller filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit in a Washington, D.C., federal court. The lawsuit claims that the FBI acted illegally by failing to publicize its communications with Facebook and other Big Tech companies that worked in coordination with the agency to “censor news and information” about Hunter Biden’s laptop immediately before the 2020 presidential election.

    Hunter’s laptop included information detailing Hunter’s overseas business dealings and ties to Ukraine, China, and other foreign nations as well as other salacious material related to his drug use. Hunter is also facing a federal investigation into various tax violations and potential foreign lobbying violations, according to Fox News.

    The lawsuit states: “The evidence is that the FBI and Big Tech, including Facebook, colluded to interfere with the 2020 Presidential election first by falsely and maliciously labeling the laptop ‘Russian disinformation’ and then by censoring and/or discrediting all news about its contents.”

    “Now, barely a month before the 2022 midterm election, FBI officials continue to suppress information of great interest to American voters and stonewall AFL’s request for records relating to the FBI’s collusive scheme with Facebook to censor news and information about the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop,” continues the lawsuit.

    President Biden, along with other Democrats and administration officials, have attempted to

    In August, Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley (Iowa) and Ron Johnson (Wis.) called on Facebook to turn over communications between government agencies and Facebook employees regarding Hunter Biden after the company admitted to suppressing content related to the scandal following instruction from the FBI.

    “The evidence is that during the 2020 Presidential election campaign, the FBI conspired and combined with large corporations, including Facebook, to censor and suppress the damning evidence of Biden family corruption and influence peddling found on Hunter Biden’s laptop,” AFL’s senior counselor and director of oversight Reed Rubinstein told Fox News Digital. 

    “This was done to help Joe Biden and the Democrats win the 2020 election. Now, arrogantly disregarding the law, the FBI is stonewalling AFL’s efforts to expose the FBI’s emails detailing the tradecraft behind this collusive attack on our elections, and identifying the persons inside and outside of government who were responsible for it,” Rubinstein continued.

    Donald Trump Launches $475 Million Lawsuit Against News Network

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Former President Donald Trump has sued CNN for defamation.

    Trump who filed the lawsuit in Florida on Monday, claimed CNN “has sought to use its massive influence — purportedly as a ‘trusted’ news source — to defame the Plaintiff in the minds of its viewers and readers for the purpose of defeating him politically, culminating in CNN claiming credit for ‘[getting] Trump out’ in the 2020 presidential election.”

    Trump is reportedly suing the outlet, who boasted record viewership during Trump’s time in the White House, for $475 million, according to The Hill.

    The former president’s attorneys allege in the filing that CNN “has undertaken a smear campaign to malign the Plaintiff with a barrage of negative associations and innuendos, broadcasting commentary that he is like a cult leader,  a Russian lackey, a dog whistler to white supremacists,  and a racist.” 

    It also cited anchors, personalities and pundits on CNN using the term “Big Lie” to refer to Trump’s repeated false statements about the 2020 election and voter fraud as evidence of the outlet attempting to associate him with Adolf Hitler. 

    Trump has hinted before at suing the left-wing news network. Over the summer Trump said in a statement he would “also be commencing actions against other media outlets who have defamed me and defrauded the public regarding the overwhelming evidence of fraud throughout the 2020 Election.”

    So far it’s unclear if Trump plans to target any other news outlets.

    CNN has recently been undergoing a makeover under its new leader Chris Licht. In a distinct shift from former president Jeff Zucker’s highly partisan approach to news Licht has opted to remove any highly partisan talent from the air.

    Left-wing hosts like Brian Stelter were the first to get the axe but recently former primetime host Don Lemon was demoted to co-hosting the network’s morning show, a message that no CNN talent is safe under the new regime.

    In order to prove defamation, public officials and other public figures must prove journalists acted with actual malice or reckless disregard for the truth in their reporting, a distinctly high legal bar.

    Supreme Court Rejects Mike Lindell’s Appeal

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

    The Supreme Court dealt a loss to MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell on Monday.

    The Court declined to hear an appeal from the pro-Trump businessman who is named in a defamation suit from voting machine company, Dominion Voting Systems.

    Dominion, which manufactures machines used to administer elections in several states, sued the Trump supporter over his claims the company helped rig the 2020 election in favor of Democrats. The voting machine company has leveled a $1.3 billion defamation suit against Lindell and other Trump supporters such as former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and Trump attorney Sidney Powell.

    In the months following the 2020 election Lindell, among other Trump supporters publicly claimed Dominion and another voting company Smartmatic Voting Systems helped rig the election, however, no evidence has been brought to corroborate the allegations.

    Lindell’s request to dismiss the case was declined by a lower court in August, and the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear his appeal means the lawsuit can proceed. 

    FBI Accused of Retaliating Against Conservative Agents

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    7
    FBI Headquarters Washington DC [Photo Credit: I, Aude, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons]

    House Republicans have accused the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of intentionally retaliating against conservative agents and suspected whistleblowers by revoking security clearances.

    Both House and Senate Republicans have raised concerns over increasingly politicized misconduct within the FBI. Recently, Washington, D.C. agent Timothy Thibault was investigating Hunter Biden until he suddenly resigned in August to avoid being subjected to an internal review.

    Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley (R) the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has also claimed that whistleblowers have approached his office to report internal misconduct in the bureau’s investigations into former President Donald Trump, according to The Daily Caller.

    Republican Reps. Jim Jordan (OH), Darrell Issa (CA), and Mike Johnson (LA) alleged in a letter to FBI Executive Assistant Director Jennifer Leigh Moore that the FBI is cracking down on suspected whistleblowers in response.

    “Once a whistleblower makes a protected disclosure, an agency is prohibited from retaliating against the employee for that disclosure by taking or failing to take a personnel action,” the Republicans wrote. “Your efforts to interfere with FBI employees who seek to expose the Bureau’s misconduct by communicating directly with Congress cannot be condoned.”

    FBI agent Steve Friend was reportedly suspended and escorted from a Florida field office after he declined to participate in an arrest operation targeting a Jan. 6 Capitol riot suspect. Friend filed a whistleblower report detailing his experience, according to the New York Post.

    Other whistleblowers have reportedly alleged that the FBI is pulling agents off of child sexual abuse cases to investigate the Capitol riot and that bureau superiors told agents not to look into Hunter Biden’s laptop.

    The FBI has denied the allegations.

    “The FBI does not target or take adverse action against employees for exercising their First Amendment rights or for their political views; to allege otherwise is false and misleading.The FBI is required to follow established policies and procedures, to include a thorough investigation, when suspending or revoking a security clearance. The FBI takes very seriously its responsibility to FBI employees who may make protected disclosures under the whistleblower regulations.  FBI employees who report evidence of wrongdoing through a protected disclosure are protected from retaliation,” a spokesperson said.

    Judge Cannon Grants Trump Request to Seal Affidavit

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    3
    Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

    Florida judge Aileen Cannon just ruled on a motion that the Justice Department says is necessary to protect an FBI agent from potential “threats and harassment.”

    Judge Cannon, who was also responsible for appointing a special master in the Trump-FBI raid case, ruled in favor of the Justice Department, according to Mediaite.

    This week, Counterintelligence and Export Control Section (CES) of DoJ’s National Security Division Deputy Chief Julie Edelstein filed a motion asking ”to file under seal one document, the United States’ Affidavit Regarding Detailed Inventory (the “Affidavit”), which is made pursuant to the Special Master’s Case Management Plan (DE 112).”

    According to Mediaite, the reasons for the request included:

    In a hearing on September 20, 2022, the Special Master gave permission for the government to redact the name of the FBI Supervisory Special Agent making the Affidavit. On September 26, 2022, the government filed on the public docket a Notice of Filing that attached the redacted version of the affidavit and indicated it had filed a motion to seal the unredacted version (DE 116).1 The proposed sealed document is the unredacted version of the Affidavit. The redaction sought here will protect the identity of an FBI agent working on this investigation. This limited sealing is necessary because a number of the government personnel working on this investigation have, once their identities have been revealed publicly, been subject to threats and harassment.

    Judge Cannon ruled on the motion on Thursday in favor of the DOJ.

    THIS CAUSE comes before the Court upon Defendant’s Renewed Motion to File Affidavit Under Seal [ECF No. 122].

    The Motion seeks leave to file under seal an unredacted version of the minimally redacted Affidavit that has already been filed on the docket [ECF No. 116-1].

    The Court has reviewed the Motion and is otherwise duly advised.

    Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED AND ADJUDGED as follows:

    1. Defendant’s Renewed Motion to File Affidavit Under Seal [ECF No. 122] is GRANTED.
    2. On or before September 30, 2022, Defendant shall file under seal the unredacted version
    of the Affidavit [ECF No. 116-1].
    3. The seal will remain in place until further order of the Court.

    Since the FBI’s August raid of former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, the Justice Department has reportedly seen a distinct uptick in threats against the department.

    Judge Greenlights Defamation Lawsuit Against Fox News, Lou Dobbs

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    7
    Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America,

    A federal judge has allowed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News and former host Lou Dobbs to continue forward.

    Venezuelan businessman Majed Khalil filed the suit last year accusing Dobbs and the network of pushing false claims he helped rig the 2020 presidential election. Khali’s filing claims statements made on Twitter and on Dobbs’ show and by pro-Trump attorney Sidney Powell defamed Khalil by accusing him of executing an “electoral 9/11” and helping change ballot counts in voting machines.

    In January Dobbs, the Fox Corporation, and Fox News moved to dismiss the case by arguing the statements were protected under the First Amendment and not said with malice, the standard of proof required for defamation against public figures.

    According to The Hill, U.S. District Court Judge Louis Lee Stanton denied the motion saying Khalil is not a public figure and that his complaint showed enough evidence of false and defamatory statements to move forward to discovery in the case.

    “Defendants repeatedly maintained their claims about Khalil long after Powell’s election fraud theories were challenged,” Stanton wrote in the ruling. “Numerous reports that declared the falsity of the claims against Dominion and Smartmatic and rejected Powell as an accurate source of information gave Defendants reasons to doubt Powell’s veracity and the accuracy of her reports.” 

    Khalil’s complaint references a Dec. 10, 2020, tweet from Dobbs listing Khalil as one of “four names” that people need to get familiar with, accusing him of being a liaison with Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the “effective COO” of an election rigging scheme using Smartmatic and Dominion voting machines.

    According to Khalil’s complaint, Dobbs asked Powell on the show, “You say these four individuals led the effort to rig this election. How did they do it?”

    Powell allegedly responded by saying Khalil and the others “designed and developed the Smartmatic and Dominion programs and machines that include a controller module that allows people to log in and manipulate the vote even as it’s happening.” 

    Powell’s and other Trump allies’ claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election have triggered multiple defamation lawsuits. Separately, Dominion Voting Systems is also targeting Powell in a $1.3 billion defamation suit.

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