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Amanda Head: California Isn’t Ready for Green Energy-This is Proof

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Amanda Head

As California experiences a heat wave residents are being pressured to make unreasonable sacrifices that prove Governor Gavin Newsom’s green energy plan is destined to fail.

Watch Amanda break it down HERE:

Florida Judge Responds to Trump Team Request

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Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

Florida Judge Aileen Cannon declined to issue a ruling after hearing arguments from Donald Trump and the Department of Justice regarding whether a special master should be appointed to independently review the documents recovered in the FBI’s August 8 raid of Mar-a-Lago.

The Hill reported that Judge Cannon said a written ruling will come “in due course.”

On Sunday, Judge Cannon said she was inclined to grant Trump’s request for a special master to independently review the seized materials due to the “exceptional circumstances presented” by the events at Mar-a-Lago.

Cannon’s remarks triggered a harsh response from the Department of Justice in a Wednesday filing. In the filing, the DOJ picked apart Trump’s request a special master be appointed, calling the move “unnecessary” and even released photos of the recovered documents. (RELATED: Justice Department Responds to Trump’s Special Master Request)

“Furthermore, appointment of a special master would impede the government’s ongoing criminal investigation and—if the special master were tasked with reviewing classified documents—would impede the Intelligence Community from conducting its ongoing review of the national security risk that improper storage of these highly sensitive materials may have caused and from identifying measures to rectify or mitigate any damage that improper storage caused,” the filing said. “Lastly, this case does not involve any of the types of circumstances that have warranted appointment of a special master to review materials potentially subject to attorney-client privilege.” 

The DOJ also criticized Trump’s claim that the seized materials were protected by executive privilege.

“The former President cites no case—and the government is aware of none—in which executive privilege has been successfully invoked to prohibit the sharing of documents within the Executive Branch,” it said. 

Wednesday night, Trump’s legal team filed a last-minute response to the DOJ. Throughout the filing, Trump’s team argues the National Archives should have expected to find classified material among the documents Trump delivered in January from Mar-a-Lago because they were presidential records. This serves as a definite acknowledgment from Trump that he was in possession of classified material and also torpedoed his previous argument he “declassified everything.”

Read the late-night filing from Trump below.

Trump Reaches Deal with House Oversight Committee on Financial Records

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The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Donald Trump’s attorneys have reached an agreement with the House Oversight and Reform Committee over its years-long battle to obtain the former president’s financial records.

In 2019, the committee subpoenaed the records as part of a larger investigation to assess if Trump engaged in conflicts of interest, self-dealing, or foreign financial ties. In July three federal judges moved to uphold the 2019 subpoena for the financial records, but with a more narrow scope than Democrats initially sought after.

According to The Washington Examiner:

“After numerous court victories, I am pleased that my Committee has now reached an agreement to obtain key financial documents that former President Trump fought for years to hide from Congress,” Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) said in a statement. “After facing years of delay tactics, the Committee has now reached an agreement with the former President and his accounting firm, Mazars USA, to obtain critical documents. These documents will inform the Committee’s efforts to get to the bottom of former President Trump’s egregious conduct and ensure that future presidents do not abuse their position of power for personal gain.”

The agreement comes after a long-standing legal battle between the committee and Trump, with the former president unsuccessfully attempting to challenge the panel’s subpoena for eight years of financial documents from his accounting firm, Mazars, after his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, accused him of committing fraud while testifying before Congress.

The notice does not affect Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee’s court battle to obtain Trump’s tax returns.

DOJ Rebukes Trump Team’s Special Master Request in New Filing

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Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

The U.S. Department of Justice released a filing responding to former President Trump’s request a special master be appointed to review materials obtained from the FBI’s recent Mar-a-Lago raid.

“Politics cannot be allowed to impact the administration of justice. President Donald J. Trump is the clear frontrunner in the 2024 Republican Presidential Primary and in the 2024 General Election, should he decide to run,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in their request. “Law enforcement is a shield that protects Americans. It cannot be used as a weapon for political purposes.”

Through the filing, the DOJ picked apart Trump’s arguments that a special master is required starting with Trump’s assertion the documents had been stored in a secure room on the premises.

The DOJ filing predicted Trump “likely concealed and removed [the documents] from the Storage Room and that efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government’s investigation.”

The filing also noted that the government was able to develop enough evidence to obtain a warrant beyond the storage room which is where more materials were recovered.

Fox News reports:

It continued, “That the FBI, in a matter of hours, recovered twice as many documents with classification markings as the ‘diligent search’ that the former President’s counsel and other representatives had weeks to perform calls into serious question the representations made in the June 3 certification and casts doubt on the extent of cooperation in this matter.”

The DOJ filing also described Trump’s request for a special master as “unnecessary” alleging the move would “harm national security interests.”

“Furthermore, appointment of a special master would impede the government’s ongoing criminal investigation and—if the special master were tasked with reviewing classified documents—would impede the Intelligence Community from conducting its ongoing review of the national security risk that improper storage of these highly sensitive materials may have caused and from identifying measures to rectify or mitigate any damage that improper storage caused,” the filing said. “Lastly, this case does not involve any of the types of circumstances that have warranted appointment of a special master to review materials potentially subject to attorney-client privilege.” 

Following the raid, Trump also accused the DOJ of taking personal items such as passports from Mar-a-Lago. However, in the filing, the DOJ noted that personal effects are not subject to be returned due to the fact their “comingling” with sensitive materials serve as evidence the records were improperly stored. (Related: Trump Said FBI ‘Stole’ His Passports, DOJ Admits He’s Right)

“Wow! In the raid by the FBI of Mar-a-Lago, they stole three Passports (one expired), along with everything else,” Trump said in a TRUTH Social statement.

“Of most significant concern was that highly classified records were unfoldered, intermixed with other records, and otherwise unproperly [sic] identified.” Id. (internal quotations omitted). The NARA Referral was made on two bases: evidence that classified records had been stored at the Premises until midJanuary 2022, and evidence that certain pages of Presidential records had been torn up.”

The DOJ’s filing goes on to dissect Trump’s claim that the seized documents were covered by executive privilege. 

“The former President cites no case—and the government is aware of none—in which executive privilege has been successfully invoked to prohibit the sharing of documents within the Executive Branch,” it said. 

The DOJ filing comes on the heels of Judge Aileen M. Cannon’s statement that she is inclined to grant Trump’s request a special master be appointed to independently review the seized materials. (Related: Judge Signals ‘Preliminary’ Intent to Side with Trump’s Lawyers After Mar-a-Lago Raid)

However, until Judge Cannon officially grants Trump’s request the DOJ is entitled to continue its review of the materials.

A hearing is scheduled on Thursday to review Trump’s motion.

The Department’s filing provides the most complete look into the search and seizure of the Trump-related records yet.

Ex-NYPD Cop Accuses Department of Firing Him Over Support for ‘MAGA Ideals’

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Anthony Quintano, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

A former New York Police Department officer has accused the department of violating his First Amendment rights after being fired over of his support for “MAGA ideals” according to a new lawsuit filed in Brooklyn’s Federal Court.

Salvatore Greco, says he lost his job because of his right-wing political stance and also accused the NYPD of weaponizing his interpersonal relationships with former Donald Trump adviser Roger Stone and Kristin Davis. Greco was filmed attending the Jan. 6th rally however was never accused of entering the capitol building or committing any violence and he was not wearing his badge or carrying a weapon.

The Hill reports:

“Unfortunately, Mr. Greco’s case is not unusual in that the department has been engaging in these sorts of ‘political viewpoint’ hit jobs for more than forty (40) years. With these legal claims, Mr. Greco intends to shed light on the institutional problem and hold the city and the other defendants accountable for these actions,” said lawyer Eric Sanders in a statement.

In January 2021, the suit alleges Internal Affairs received an anonymous letter saying Greco and another cop attended the riots at Capitol Hill and “these officers want to have a civil war in America.” The Bureau launched an investigation and reviewed Greco’s phone, social media, and other personal accounts and eventually filed departmental charges in April, according to the filing.

The NYPD accused the former cop of “wrongfully and knowingly associating with persons, Roger Jason Stone, Jr., and Kristin M. Davis, reasonably believed to be engaged in, likely to engage in, or to have engaged in criminal activities,” the suit said.

In his court filing, Mr. Greco accuses the department of using an overly broad statement as a justification for his termination.

“This rule is ‘overbroad’ and its application is in contravention of the First Amendment and must be stricken,” says the court filing.

“The action taken against me has cost me my reputation, my job, and my life savings,” Greco said in a statement.”

Judge Signals ‘Preliminary’ Intent to Side with Trump’s Lawyers After Mar-a-Lago Raid

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The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

On Saturday a federal District judge in Florida signed she is inclined to side with Donald Trump’s legal team’s request a special master be appointed to review the materials recovered from the FBI’s recent raid of the former president’s Mar-a-Lago residence.

On Aug. 8th, the FBI raided former president Trump’s residence to recover sensitive materials for the National Archives.

However, instead of fighting against U.S. District Judge Bruce Reinhart, the judge who approved the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant, Trump’s league team filed a motion for  District Judge Aileen M. Cannon to appoint a special master.

Law and Crime reports:

On Saturday evening, Judge Cannon replied that she was inclined to grant the request for a special master due to the “exceptional circumstances presented” by the events at Mar-a-Lago.  However, that inclination, she said, was “subject to an opportunity” for additional arguments by both sides, including the U.S. Government.

Next came a series of specific demands for “the defendant” — the U.S. Government.  Judge Cannon ordered the government to “publicly file a Response” to Trump’s list of demands on or before Tues., Aug. 30.

Additionally, Judge Cannon ordered the government to file under seal a “more detailed” list of the property seized during the Aug. 8 search and a “particularized notice indicating the status of Defendant’s review of the seized property, including any filter review conducted by the privilege review team and any dissemination of materials beyond the privilege review team.”

The documents requested by Judge Cannon must, per her order and “accordance with Rule 53,” explain the parties’ “respective and particularized positions on the duties and responsibilities of a prospective special master, along with any other considerations pertinent to the appointment of a special master in this case.”

Special Masters have been appointed to review allegedly privileged materials in other high-profile cases, including a search of Rudy Giuliani’s office and home.

Judge Criticizes DOJ and FBI as He Rejects Argument to Keep Affidavit Under Wraps

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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]

A federal judge criticized the FBI and DOJ as he rejected a DOJ argument to keep the affidavit for the search warrant at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago under wraps.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart said the DOJ did not meet the government’s required burden of proof to keep the document sealed, The Daily Caller reports.

Reinhart wrote in his ruling that the government had a to show if it has a compelling governmental interest and the denial of access is “narrowly tailored to serve that interest.” 

The DOJ argued that the unsealing “would jeopardize the integrity of its ongoing criminal investigation,” and that there were privacy concerns with unsealing it.

In response, unsealing the document would “unsealing the Affidavit would promote public understanding of historically significant events. This factor weighs in favor of disclosure.”

However, Reinhart has the government did show a compelling interest in not unsealing the whole affidavit but that there was an alternative between unsealing the whole thing or not unsealing anything.

Reinhart has given the agency until August 25th to propose the redactions of the document they would like.

[READ NEXT: Trump Makes Fun of Failed CNN Host and Liz Cheney]

Trump Finds Time to Make Fun of Stelter Amid FBI Probe

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From the session "The War at Home: Trump and the Mainstream Media". [Photo Credit: nrkbeta, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons]

Despite emotions running high over an FBI probe into documents President Trump has in his possession the former president found time to make fun of his biggest critic at CNN, Brian Stelter.

Stelter was recently fired from the network amid declining ratings and a realization that he is no longer relevant.

The network is also attempting to make a move to become more neutral and Stelter, who was the media critic, chose to consistently criticize conservative media.

Mediaite reports:

“Brian Stelter of Fake News CNN got fired because he lied, and lied, and lied – ABOUT ME. May he REST IN PEACE!” Trump wrote, ironically misstating the circumstances of Stelter’s departure from the network.

“CNN will end its Reliable Sources program on Sunday, August 21st. As a result Brian Stelter will leave the company. We appreciate his contributions to the network and wish him well as he embarks on new endeavors,” a CNN spokesperson told Mediaite in a statement this week.

Next, Stelter earned a place of honor beside January 6 Committee Vice-Chair Rep. Liz Cheney, because they have roughly equivalent roles in Trump’s life.

“Trivia question: Who’s got less charisma, Brian Stelter or Liz Cheney. I say Liz Cheney, because Stelter could have gotten more votes than she did the other night in Wyoming – She lost by 40!” Trump wrote.

Despite Trump being in a battle with the FBI and other legal battles, the classic Trump always shines through.

We’ expect nothing less from one of the best verbal sparers ever to do it.

[READ NEXT: DOJ ADMITS Trump was Right]

Former Fox News Editor Blames Trump for Firing

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Looking east towards 6th Avenue along north (48th Street) side of Fox News building on a snowy afternoon. [Photo Credit: Jim.henderson, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons]

Former Fox News Editor Chris Stirewalt was fired following the 2020 election.

Stirewalt famously called Arizona for Joe Biden in what many said was a premature decision.

Now, in a new book Stirewalt is criticizing former President Trump, and blaming him, at least in part, for his firing, DNYUZ reports.

Stirewalt wrote, “I got canned after very vocal and very online viewers — including the then-president of the United States — became furious when our Decision Desk was the first to project that Joe Biden would win the former G.O.P. stronghold of Arizona in 2020.”

Trump was furious at Stirewalt for calling the state too early.

A ratings decline followed after Trump urged his supporters to watch other networks.

But the decision to call Arizona was never reversed an ultimately turned out to be the right one.

[READ NEXT: New Accusations Hit Member of Trump’s Family]

Trump Says FBI Was After Documents That Would Exonerate Him: REPORT

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Former President of the United States Donald Trump speaking with attendees at the 2022 Student Action Summit at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida. [Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons]

A new report from The Daily Caller indicates that former President Trump believes the FBI was after documents that would exonerate him.

The report says that the FBI was seeking documents that Trump believes would exonerate him from Russian collusion claims.

We reported yesterday that the unit that conducted the raid was the same one involved in investigating the Trump-Russia hoax. [READ MORE: FBI Unit Investigating Trump has a Bias Problem]

Along with the Russia evidence Trump also believes that the FBI was looking for election-related evidence.

The FBI also collected passports from Trump which Trump claimed were stolen.

The passports were outside the scope of the warrant and the DOJ admitted that the FBI overstepped the authority granted to them in the search warrant.

The passports are reportedly being returned.

[READ NEXT: DOJ Admits FBI Violated Trump’s Rights]