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    Report: Tragedy Occurs Outside Trump Courtroom

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    Police image via Pixabay free images

    An unidentified person has set themselves on fire outside the courthouse where former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial is underway.

    The scene occurred live on CNN, with first responders rushing to extinguish the flames.

    Video circulating online shows flames engulfing a man kneeling on the ground with his hands behind his head. Bystanders said he poured some kind of accelerant over himself moments before.

    CNN anchor Lauren Coats attempted to describe the apparent self-immolation.

    The man eventually collapsed, screaming in agony. After several more excruciating seconds, police officers arrived with fire extinguishers to put out the fire.

    His body, reportedly twitching, was placed on a gurney and whisked to a nearby hospital.

    The shocking incident occurred in a barricaded park outside Manhattan’s 100 Centre Street courthouse.

    Jury selection was completed on Friday, with a 12-person jury and six alternates. Opening arguments are set to begin Monday.

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

    This article is republished with permission from American Liberty News.

    Romney To Align With Dems To Quash Impeachment – But There’s A Catch

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

    Republican Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah) is poised to betray the Republican Party yet again.

    The Anti-Trump Senator told Axios that he would be willing to dismiss articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. However, Romney included one stipulation for this vote, there must be a debate.

    In the report by Stef W. Kight and Stephen Neukam, Romney indicated that he could vote with his Democrat colleagues in the Senate to end the historic impeachment by House Republicans. However, while he was skeptical about whether the allegations rose to a constitutional standard, Romney did insist that there should be a debate, even a brief one, to address the charges:

    I don’t believe there’s a constitutional standard met. But at the same time, I think the Senate should give a chance for debate, even if it’s limited to two hours.

    He added:

    So if there’s a motion just to table without any discussion, that’s something I would oppose. If there’s a provision that allows debate, it’s something I’d be open to.

    Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has publicly opposed the politically-motivated impeachment, but has not made clear what he plans to do. It takes a two-thirds majority to convict someone who has been impeached, and in the Democratic-led Senate, such a vote is highly unlikely. 

    New York Judge Issues Response To Trump’s SCOTUS Request

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

    On Monday, the New York judger presiding over Donald Trump’s hush money trial said the former president is not permitted to attend arguments on presidential immunity at the Supreme Court next week.

    The attempts by Trump to take off certain days of his hush money trial which is expected to last weeks, if not months, came as the first day of trial was officially underway in Manhattan. 

    The decision to not allow Trump to be in Washington, D.C., on April 25, when the Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on a presidential immunity claim Trump is making in his federal criminal case, came just before the New York trial adjourned Monday.

    The Hill has more:

    “Arguing before the Supreme Court is a big deal, and I can certainly appreciate why your client would want to be there, but a trial in New York Supreme Court … is also a big deal,” Judge Juan Merchan said to Trump lawyer Todd Blanche, rejecting his request to let the former president play hooky.

    “I will see him here next week,” the judge added.

    Under New York state law, Trump is required to attend the entirety of his trial unless he gets special permission from the judge to skip.

    After court adjourned for the day, Trump suggested Merchan believes he is “superior” to the Supreme Court for preventing him from attending the high court’s oral arguments.

    Merchan earlier delayed a decision on allowing Trump to attend his son Barron’s high school graduation in May.

    Report: Prosecutors Allege Trump Violated Gag Order

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Prosecutors in the hush money case against Donald Trump are asking the judge presiding over the case to fine the former President for violating his gag order.

    The Hill has more:

    Assistant District Attorney Chris Conroy said the former president in three recent Truth Social posts violated a gag order imposed by Judge Juan Merchan barring him from attacking witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and the judge’s family.

    Conroy asked that Trump be fined $1,000 for each post and be reminded he can be jailed if he continues violating the gag order. The judge has not yet ruled.

    “The defendant is aware of the April 1 order. We know that from various posts he had made,” Conroy said.

    Trump attorney Todd Blanche insisted the posts in question don’t violate the gag order, however.

    “He is responding to salacious, repeated, vehement attacks by these witnesses,” Blanche said.

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

    Mike Pence Lands New Job

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    Mike Pence via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Former vice president Mike Pence has landed a new gig.

    Pence will be teaching a course at Grove City College, the school announced Thursday. Grove City College is a conservative Christian school located in Grove City, Pennsylvania.

    “It was an honor to be on campus today and see President Paul McNulty and so many wonderful students!” Pence tweeted Thursday, with photos of him addressing the annual conference held by The Institute for Faith & Freedom.

    Pence will serve as the Distinguished Visiting Fellow for Faith & Public Life for the school’s new Center for Faith & Public Life, which will “explore and support the presence of Christian faith in public institutions,” the school said.

    In a separate statement, Pence said he was honored to be a visiting fellow for the college.

    “It is my great honor to serve as a visiting fellow to Grove City College’s new Center for Faith & Public Life,” Pence said. “Faith and engaging in public life are not mutually exclusive, nor should they ever be. History shows that Christians steadily working toward the common good have changed the world, and Grove City College opening a center shows they are committed to continuing this work.”

    The former vice president and governor of Indiana continued: “Grove City College has been a pivotal institution in helping students grow in their faith and in understanding God’s calling for their life through a rigorous education and a faith-based community. Grove City works to send out young men and women into the world to be beacons of light and truth in a world that needs leaders of integrity and principle.”

    Grove City College President Paul J. McNulty emphasized the role of faith in society and praised Pence as the “perfect choice” for the position.

    “No one has pursued this calling more sincerely than the former vice president,” the president continued. “He is an extraordinary role model for what it looks like to lead with wisdom and winsomeness in public life, and he will be a leading source of thought leadership and an impactful voice of the Center.”

    Former Trump Organization CFO Sentenced To Prison

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    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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    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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    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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    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

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    admin
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    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

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