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    Supreme Court Rejects Challenge To Special Counsel’s Access To Trump Twitter Data

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    3
    Duncan Lock, Dflock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    On Monday, the Supreme Court declined to take up a challenge by social platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to court rulings that forced the platform to turn over data on former President Trump’s account to special counsel Jack Smith. 

    Early last year, Smith obtained a secret warrant for Trump’s account on X, where Trump posted constantly during his White House term, as part of prosecutors’ federal election interference investigation.

    X was prohibited from informing the former president about the warrant. It only became public last summer, after Trump was charged with four felonies in the case. He pleaded not guilty. 

    Kamala’s Plan to Destroy America Unveiled – Only Trump Can Stop Her! Take a Stand TODAY!

    The company challenged the order, arguing the records were potentially covered by executive privilege and not being able to tell Trump violated the First Amendment. Court filings show X at one point was fined $350,000 for not timely turning over Trump’s data.

    X brought its fight to the Supreme Court, hoping to prevent the process from happening again, insisting most similar challenges never reach the high court and the case was a “rare opportunity” to review the issue. 

    “If the Court does not grant this petition, it could be decades (if ever) before it gets another clean vehicle to resolve the important and recurring questions presented,” X wrote in its petition. 

    The Supreme Court declined to take up X’s appeal in a brief, unsigned order.

    “If review of the underlying legal issues were ever warranted, the Court should await a live case in which the issues are concretely presented,” prosecutors wrote in court filings. 

    Blackface Incident Threatens To Upend House Race

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    3

    Could this upend the whole race?

    A recently unearthed photo of an incumbent Republican congressman in blackface as part of a Halloween costume years ago could be enough to shift the needle to Democrats in a close House race in New York. Lawler is facing off against Rep. Mondaire Jones.

    Rep. Michael Lawler (R-N.Y.) who is white, is pictured dressed like pop sensation Michael Jackson, complete with bronzer to darken his face in an October 2006 photo reported by the New York Times.

    Lawler does not dispute the photo’s authenticity and has issued an apology to anyone who has taken offense, though he said it was not his intention to dress in blackface:

    “As has been well-documented – most recently by the Daily Beast – I was a so-called ‘Super Fan’ of Michael Jackson, so much so that I was mentioned by name in his biography for my outspoken support of him and the Jackson Family.  I loved Michael’s music, was awed by him as a performer, and by his impact on pop culture,” Lawler said in a statement. “One of my greatest memories is attending his concert at Madison Square Garden before his untimely death.  

    “When attempting to imitate Michael’s legendary dance moves at a college Halloween party eighteen years ago, the ugly practice of black face was the furthest thing from my mind. Let me be clear, this is not that. Rather, my costume was intended as the sincerest form of flattery, a genuine homage to one of my childhood idols since I was a little kid trying to moonwalk through my mom’s kitchen.  

    “I am a student of history and for anyone who takes offense to the photo, I am sorry.  All you can do is live and learn, and I appreciate everyone’s grace along the way,” he said. 

    The race is one of 22 toss-up contests that may well determine which party controls the House of Representatives next year, according to Fox News’ Power Rankings.  

    Elon Musk To Join Trump Rally At Attempted Assassination Site

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    1
    Image via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Space X CEO Elon Musk is planning to attend Donald Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania this weekend – the same site where the former President narrowly survived an attempt on his life earlier this year.

    “I will be there to support,” Musk wrote in a post late Thursday on social platform X, which he acquired in 2022. 

    Trump’s campaign announced last week that he would return to Butler, Pa., just months after his ear was grazed with a bullet during a campaign event in July. The gunman and one attendee were killed, and two others were injured during the incident.

    “President Trump’s return to Butler will stand as a tribute to the American spirit. In America, we do not let monsters like that evil assassin have the last word,” the campaign said in a release that framed Trump’s survival as “what the world has recognized as an act of divine providence.” 

    Musk, who has increasingly waded into discussions on politics, endorsed Trump in July following the shooting. The tech entrepreneur helped launch a pro-Trump Super PAC, America PAC, that has carried out some of the GOP’s get-out-the-vote efforts in the critical swing states. 

    The shooting in Pennsylvania was just one of two assassination threats the former president has faced this election cycle.

    Last month, a suspect was arrested after Secret Service agents witnessed a man pushing a rifle through the perimeter of Trump’s Florida golf course. The man, identified was Ryan Wesley Routh, was later arrested and charged with federal gun crimes.

    Former Speaker Skewers Matt Gaetz During Podcast Interview

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    5
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    The claws came out…

    It’s not a secret that former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is no fan of Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz after helping lead the charge to oust him from the Speaker’s office.

    While the Florida Republican who filed a motion to vacate the chair in October 2023, which triggered a vote of the House on whether to remove McCarthy as speaker claims his actions were motivated by McCarthy’s mishandling of the office, the former Speaker discussed his own opinion on the shocking events.

    McCarthy claims Gaetz wanted him to end a House Ethics Committee probe examining whether Gaetz had sexual relations with a minor.  In January, the left-leaning publication The Daily Beast reported that Gaetz privately told colleagues he was motivated by the ethics investigation.

    Appearing on the PBD Podcast, McCarthy discussed the drama with host Patrick Bet-David.

    The ex-speaker pointed to court filings unsealed last week in which witnesses testified that Gaetz was at a drug-fueled party that was attended by a 17-year-old.

    “Everything I said has come to fruition,” McCarthy stated. “It’s unfortunate that one person would utilize something to stop what was coming after them and disrupt the entire Congress.”

    “How is the relationship now?” Bet-David asked. “Because I know I saw you guys at the RNC where he walked up to you while you’re talking to somebody. ‘You wouldn’t be on the stage, you would be booed’ or something like that. Are you guys better know or–

    “No!” McCarthy said. “I don’t hang around with pedophiles, I’m sorry.”

    Watch:

    The Department of Justice investigated Gaetz, but ultimately declined to prosecute.

    Team Harris Taps Liz Cheney To Shore Up Support In Birthplace Of GOP

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    2
    Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Kamala is getting desperate…

    Vice President Kamala Harris has reportedly tapped former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney to help sway Republicans.

    A senior Harris campaign official says that the vice president on Thursday will team up in battleground Wisconsin with former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, a former rising conservative star in the GOP who became her party’s most visible anti-Trump leader.

    The campaign event will take place in Ripon, Wisconsin, where a one-room schoolhouse was designated a national historic landmark due to its role in holding a series of meetings in 1854 that led to the formation of the Republican Party.

    Ripon is not the only town that claims to be the birthplace of the GOP. Exeter, New Hampshire also has some bragging rites, as it was the site of meetings in 1853 – a year ahead of the Ripon gatherings – by disenchanted political leaders who discussed the formation of a new party of Republicans.

    But officials in Ripon said the group in Exeter never actually formed a political organization, or chose officials, as they did in Wisconsin.

    Cheney — who has argued that the former president is a “liar,” a “con man” and a potential “tyrant” who, if elected again, would “torch the Constitution” — vowed after leaving Congress that “I will do everything I can to make sure [Trump] is never anywhere near the Oval Office again.”

    According to her campaign, Harris plans to spotlight the significance of that moment and that place – as she makes another direct appeal to Republican voters frustrated that Trump is their party’s presidential nominee – and as she reiterates her pledge to be a president for all Americans.

    The Harris campaign says that the vice president, at her event with Cheney, plans to note that while Republicans may not agree with her on every issue, she promises to uphold the Constitution, America’s fundamental principles, and the rule of law.

    I Am Donald J. Trump. FEAR NOT! There are those who will do whatever it takes to stop us, but I will never stop fighting for you. I will never surrender! Your support means everything to me. Together, through our UNITY, we will Make America Great Again!

    NYC Mayor ‘Welcomes’ Possible Trump Support After Corruption Indictment

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    1

    New York City Mayor Eric Adams is looking for support anywhere he can get it.

    Adams said he would “welcome support from every American” in response to a question from the Washington Examiner about whether he would accept former President Donald Trump’s favor.

    Trump recently said he had predicted Adams would be “indicted within a year” as the mayor called for federal government funds to deal with the city’s migrant crisis.

    “Listen, I welcome support from every American,” Adams said Tuesday at a press conference. “No matter where they are and who they are, I welcome support from every American. Those who know me and know how I am, and those who are just reading up on this. So every American in this great country, I welcome support from.”

    Trump’s comments last week suggested that he sympathized with the mayor.

    “I watched about a year ago when he talked about how the illegal migrants are hurting our city, and the federal government should pay us, and we shouldn’t have to take them,” the former president said. “And I said, ‘You know what? He’ll be indicted within a year,’ and I was exactly right.”

    Watch:

    An Adams spokesman believes press coverage of Adams’s remarks has been misguided.

    “This is a distortion of what the mayor said today,” Fabien Levy, Adams’s deputy mayor for communications, said in a social media post. “He never said he was looking for Trump’s support. Mayor Adams has said multiple times that he supports Kamala Harris for president. In fact, the mayor traveled to Chicago to support her historic nomination in August.”

    Adams was recently indicted on five corruption charges, including bribery and wire fraud, for his actions allegedly soliciting benefits from foreign nationals, namely Turkish government officials, in exchange for favors.

    New York City Mayor Eric Adams could be facing a bevy of new charges after being indicted last week in a federal corruption case. On Wednesday, prosecutors said that further counts are “quite likely” and that more defendants may be implicated.

    I Am Donald J. Trump. FEAR NOT! There are those who will do whatever it takes to stop us, but I will never stop fighting for you. I will never surrender! Your support means everything to me. Together, through our UNITY, we will Make America Great Again!

    Report: Alleged Trump Bomber Charged

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    2

    Political threats are on the rise…

    On Monday, A man pleaded not guilty after he allegedly drove past a security checkpoint and claimed to have an explosive device at a rally for former President Donald Trump in Michigan, last week.

    Steven William Nauta was arrested after police say he drove around barricades set up for Trump’s rally and told police that he had a C4 explosive, WOOD TV 8 reported. According to a court document, Nauta “held up a bottle to police and stated that it was ‘C4’ explosive and that it was the ‘real deal.’” After being told to stop by officers, Nauta allegedly “sped off” before stopping and throwing bags of fertilizer on the ground.

    The Daily Wire reports:

    “When (Nauta) finally stopped, he removed bags of fertilizer from his vehicle and threw them on the ground to make it appear that they were explosives while disobeying officers’ commands,” the court document states. The 65-year-old was eventually detained by police, and the man allegedly told officers that he intended to make them believe that he had explosives. Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker said there was no active bomb in Nauta’s vehicle.

    Nauta’s virtual court appearance from a jail cell was a bizarre scene as the man took his shirt off at one point and made profane hand gestures, according to WOOD TV 8. Nauta was charged with one felony count each of a false report or threat of terrorism, possession of bombs with unlawful intent, third-degree fleeing a police officer, and resulting, resisting or obstructing a police officer.

    Kent County, Michigan, District Court Judge Nicholas Christensen set the man’s bond at $1 million, and Nauta replied, “Well, your honor, given my situation, I think I’m better off just staying in here. Very cruel world out there. Probably a lot better off here.”

    The judge told Nauta, “It’s not lost on this court here today that your alleged actions were directed to stopping or hindering a fundamental aspect of this country’s democratic process: a political rally.”

    The Michigan man’s alleged bomb threat came just two weeks after Secret Service agents apprehended an alleged suspect with a gun near Trump’s golf course. Ryan Routh pleaded not guilty in court on Monday.

    The Republican nominee said on Monday that he has requested more Secret Service agents, but alleged that Democrats are “not giving us the proper number of people within Secret Service that are necessary for Security.”

    “We need more Secret Service, and we need them NOW,” Trump wrote. “It is ELECTION INTERFERENCE that we have to turn away thousands of people from arenas and venues because it is not being provided to us.”

    Rudy Giuliani’s Daughter Announces Plans To Vote For Harris

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    5
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    An epic betrayal…

    The daughter of former New York City Mayor and Trump’s attorney announced she will vote for Vice President Kamala Harris in November.

    In the article titled, “Trump Took My Dad From Me. Please Don’t Let Him Take Our Country Too,” Giuliani wrote:

    “I spent a lot of my life wishing my father had less power,” Caroline Giuliani said in her Vanity Fair piece. “But I never wanted it to happen like this. And selfishly, the deeper my dad gets stuck in the quicksand of his problems, the more fleeting our opportunities to connect as father and daughter become.

    “After months of feeling the type of sorrow that comes from the death of a loved one, it dawned on me that I’ve been grieving the loss of my dad to Trump,” Caroline Giuliani continued. “I cannot bear to lose our country to him too.”

    This isn’t the first time Caroline Giuliani has backed a Democrat for president over Trump.

    In 2016, she also reportedly supported the Democrat presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, saying on Facebook that she was “pro-Hillary all along.”

    In her Vanity Fair piece, Caroline Giuliani said she is voicing her “adamant support for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz,” stating that she is “a recently engaged-to-be-married, 35-year-old who hopes to feel more joyous than fearful about the potential of becoming a parent” herself and that she is obligated “to advocate for a future worth bringing children into.”

    Giuliani was disbarred last week in the nation’s capital by a federal appeals court due to his efforts to stop the transfer of power following Trump losing the 2020 election.

    Former GOP Senator Jeff Flake Endorses Harris

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    11
    (Los Angeles - EUA, 09/06/2022) Presidente da República Jair Bolsonaro, durante Sessão Plenária de Abertura da IX Cúpula das Américas..Foto: Alan Santos/PR

    A former Republican Senator is endorsing Kamala Harris for president.

    Over the weekend, Jeff Flake (Ariz.) who served as ambassador to Turkey, officially endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.

    Flake said in a statement posted to X, on Sunday he is supporting the Harris-Walz ticket because he believes in the rule of law and wants to support a candidate “who respects the will of the voters and would never attempt to use the powers of the Presidency to overturn an election” and “seeks to unite our country” rather than divide it.

    Flake, who described himself as a “conservative Republican,” added, “I would encourage all Republicans who feel this way to do the same. After all, in times like these there is nothing more conservative than putting country over party.”

    Flake, a vocal Trump critic during his time as a senator during the Trump administration, said that he wanted a candidate who uses “the political process created by our founders to debate and to persuade, not disparage or demonize” and “understands that political opponents are our fellow citizens, not the enemy.”

    “I want to support a presidential candidate who seeks to unite our country, rather than one who divides us,” Flake said in the video. “One who represents the ideals of new generation of leadership, not based on grievances of the past but hope for the future.”

    In the video, and later in an interview with Martha Raddatz on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday morning, Flake pointed to Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election results as a reason he cannot support him — and that he wants a candidate who “respects the will of the voters.”

    “I think Republicans believe in the rule of law in particular, and it’s difficult to support a candidate who, having lost an election, tries to use the powers of the presidency to overturn that election,” Flake said in an interview with ABC. “That is anything but respect for the rule of law. So I know that a lot of conservative Republicans feel the way I do, that you just can’t support a candidate like that.”

    Flake served in the House from 2001 to 2013 and the Senate from 2013 to 2019.

    Flake served as an ambassador to Turkey, stepping down earlier this month.

    He noted on ABC that as an ambassador, he could not make the endorsement until he resigned.

    “Having spent the past three years overseas as a United States ambassador, I’ve seen up close that we have very real enemies abroad,” Flake said in the video. “We also have vital and indispensable allies. I want to support a presidential candidate who understands and appreciates the difference.”

    New York Appeals Court Poised To Overturn Trump’s $454 Million Fine

    By
    Patrick Houck
    -
    2
    Alec Perkins from Hoboken, USA, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

    An appeals court in New York appears set to issue a favorable ruling for former President Donald Trump after the state’s Attorney General’s Office controversially applied an anti-fraud law to his real estate practices. The case resulted in a hefty $454 million fine, which now faces potential reduction or reversal.

    During Thursday’s hearing, justices from the New York Supreme Court expressed concern about the judgment, with one justice labeling the fine “troubling.”

    The New York Post reports:

    A panel of New York appeals court judges appeared skeptical about the gargantuan $454 million civil fraud judgment Donald Trump was dealt after he was found liable for business fraud — with one jurist calling it “troubling.”

    The former president is attempting to reverse or reduce the judgment of $354 million — plus an additional $100 million in interest — after a judge sided with New York Attorney General Letitia James, who argued in a lawsuit that Trump inflated his net worth by billions to get better loan and insurance terms.

    Trump’s lawyers, who have called Judge Arthur Engoron’s February ruling “draconian, unlawful, and unconstitutional,” appeared before a five-judge panel of a Manhattan appeals court Thursday to plead their case.

    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Judge Peter Moulton questioned whether James’ lawsuit turned into “something it was not meant to do.”

    In a post-verdict interview, Attorney General Letitia James stated that if Trump cannot pay the judgment, her office would pursue asset seizure, including Trump’s iconic properties like the 40 Wall Street skyscraper. “We will seek judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets,” she told ABC News.

    Fox News Legal Analyst Johnathan Turley criticized the ruling, calling it “astronomical” and accusing James of engaging in “mob justice” by threatening Trump’s assets.

    James filed a civil fraud lawsuit against the former president and his three adult children in September 2022, on the heels of a years-long civil investigation into the Trump family’s real estate business, the Trump Organization.

    The investigation centered on whether the former president’s company misled investors and tax authorities by inflating property values to get investments and subsequently deflating them to get tax and loan benefits.

    Trump continues to deny any wrongdoing.

    READ NEXT: House Republicans Subpoena Dishonored Anti-Trump Prosecutor – They Never Expected This

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