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Appeals Court Upholds Trump Gag Order

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    Gage Skidmore Flickr

    On Friday, an appeals court largely upheld a gag order limiting former President Donald Trump’s statements in his federal election interference case.

    The ruling from a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals largely affirms a prior ruling from Judge Tanya Chutkan. The initial order barred Trump from making statements that “target” foreseeable witnesses, court staff, and prosecutors.

    The Hill has more:

    The appeals court refined that directive, barring Trump from any statements “made with the intent to materially interfere with, or to cause others to materially interfere with” the course of the case.

    But it removed Smith from the list of protected court staff, giving Trump free reign to go after a prosecutor he is fond of taunting as “deranged.” 

    “We agree with the district court that some aspects of Mr. Trump’s public statements pose a significant and imminent threat to the fair and orderly adjudication of the ongoing criminal proceeding, warranting a speech-constraining protective order. The district court’s order, however, sweeps in more protected speech than is necessary,” the panel wrote.

    Read the ruling here:

    Trump Will Be A Dictator! – Shriek Panicked Democrats

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    Gage Skidmore Flickr

    ANALYSIS – Welcome to the 2024 version of the liberals’ “Russia collusion” hoax. But now they hysterically claim that Donald Trump will abandon the Constitution, destroy democracy and become a dictator.

    You know, just like the last time he was president.

    This latest Trump demonization is an effort to scare left-wing voters unenthusiastic about reelecting Joe Biden next year.

    Democrats believe that Biden stands a better chance against Trump in 2024 if the campaign is a battle for the future of democracy rather than a referendum on Biden’s record.

    And this idiotic fear campaign is now in full gear, The New York Times and The Washington Post recently published articles previewing a future Trump dictatorship. The Atlantic will devote its January/February issue to articles predicting Trump’s harmful impact on civil rights, the Justice Department, immigration and more if elected again.

    Sadly, these accusations are potentially more dangerous than the fake Russia collusion claims.

    Sen. J.D. Vance, an Ohio Republican, said on social media that Trump opponents “need to take a chill pill.” He added: “All of these articles calling Trump a dictator, are about one thing: legitimizing illegal and violent conduct as we get closer to the election.”

    Meanwhile, let’s ignore for a moment that Biden has done far more than any recent president to shred the Constitution, cancel student loan debt without Congress, target opponents with a weaponized federal government, censor dissident speech in collusion with Big Tech, not to mention persecute his chief political rival and ex-president by criminalizing politics with lawfare.

    Trump makes that case often on the campaign trail, notes the Washington Times:

    “He’s been weaponizing government against his political opponents like a Third World political tyrant,” Mr. Trump said of the president at a campaign event last weekend in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. “Biden and his radical left allies like to pose as standing up as allies of democracy. Joe Biden is not the defender of American democracy. Joe Biden is the destroyer of American democracy. It’s him and his people. They’re the wreckers of the American dream. The American dream is dead with them in office.”

    Well, it’s hard to top all that undemocratic things Biden has done, but if Trump tries, it will be a reaction to the left’s long-standing control over and abuse of the deep state.

    And I as I wrote on November 23, ‘Trump’s Much-Needed ‘Radical’ Second Term Agenda’ will be a very welcome corrective to the decades of leftist penetration and subversion of our institutions.

    Even then, Trump can only achieve so much.

    As The Washington Times reported:

    Republican Party strategist John Feehery, a partner at EFB Advocacy in Washington, said Democrats and media outlets are raising fears of a Trump dictatorship because “they think he is going to win and they are completely panicked.”

    “I don’t know how somebody who doesn’t have functional control over the military or the intelligence community could possibly be a dictator,” he said. “[Democrats] don’t have deep faith in our constitutional framework, so they are projecting that lack of faith into Trump. I think it is ridiculous.”

    But sometimes Trump, or his associates, don’t help.

    Kash Patel, a top deputy in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence under Trump, said this week that he and other Trump allies would seek payback against “deep state” actors and media members in a second Trump term.

    The Washington Times noted:

    “The one thing we learned in the Trump administration, the first go-round, is we’ve got to put in [government] all American patriots, top to bottom,” Mr. Patel told podcast host Steve Bannon. “And we’ve got them for law enforcement. We got them for intel collection, we got them for offensive operations. We got them for DOD, CIA, everywhere. We will follow the facts and the law and go to courts of law and correct these justices and lawyers who have been prosecuting these cases based on politics. … We will go out and find the conspirators, not just in government but in the media.

    “Yes, we’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections. We’re going to come after you, whether it’s criminally or civilly, we’ll figure that out. This is why they hate us. This is why we’re tyrannical. This is why we’re dictators.”

    However, when asked during a televised town hall whether he plans to become a dictator, Trump laughed.

    “No, no, no – other than Day One,” he said. “We’re closing the border, and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator.”

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

    Tucker Carlson Shoots Down Vice President Rumors

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    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Former Fox News star Tucker Carlson doesn’t seem keen on running for public office, however, he did not completely rule out the possibility.

    Carlson was asked during an event this week if he would consider being Donald Trump’s running mate.

    “God would have to yell at me very loud,” Carlson said at the American Principles Project Foundation’s annual Christmas gala, where he gave a speech, according to Semafor.

    One attendee at the dinner asked Carlson about a recent Axios report suggesting former first lady Melania Trump was advocating for her husband, the frontrunner for the GOP nomination, to consider selecting Carlson as a running mate.

    From the report:

    She thinks Carlson would make a powerful onstage extension of her husband, a source close to Trump told us. The former first lady has made few campaign appearances this time around — but a Trump-Carlson ticket might encourage her to hit the trail.

    Trump, asked last month about Carlson as a potential V.P., said: “I like Tucker a lot. … He’s got great common sense.”

    Carlson responded that he doesn’t have a close relationship with the former First Lady and hasn’t planned on running for public office.

    “I don’t know her, really,” Carlson said. “To go from being, like, a well-paid street corner schizophrenic to, like, a politician — it’s just kind of hard to envision.”

    Hunter Biden Indicted In California Tax Probe, Faces 17 Years In Prison

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    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)

    On Thursday, the President’s son Hunter Biden was indicted in California on numerous tax charges.

    Special Counsel David Weiss has been using a federal grand jury in Los Angeles to gather evidence of possible criminal tax charges against Hunter Biden. 

    CNN reported that Hunter was hit with nine counts on charges that include failure to file and pay taxes; evasion of assessment; and false or fraudulent tax return.

    Biden is facing up to 17 years in prison for his crimes.

    Read the indictment below:

    Prosecutors said that Hunter Biden made more than $7 million during that period, which included money that he received from Burisma, CEFC China Energy, and others.

    “Between 2016 and October 15, 2020, the Defendant spent this money on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature, in short, everything but his taxes,” prosecutors said.

    Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty in October to federal gun charges in U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware after being charged out of Weiss’ years-long investigation. 

    House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer attributed Thursday’s indictment to the efforts of “two brave IRS whistleblowers, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler.” 

    “The Department of Justice got caught in its attempt to give Hunter Biden an unprecedented sweetheart plea deal,” Comer said. “Every American should applaud these men for their courage to expose the truth.”

    “Unless U.S. Attorney Weiss investigates everyone involved in the Bidens’ fraud schemes and influence peddling, it will be clear President Biden’s DOJ is protecting Hunter Biden and the big guy.”

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

    Trump Seeks Pause In Jan. 6 Proceedings 

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      Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

      Former President Trump filed a motion seeking to halt activity in his election interference case after filing a notice of appeal Thursday seeking to override a decision from a federal judge.

      Trump’s back-to-back motions ask Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the Jan. 6 case, to pause “all district court proceedings in this case” as a higher court considers Trump’s appeal of the motion to toss the entire case.

      Last week, Judge Chutkan rejected Trump’s effort to have the federal case dismissed.

      She also tossed Trump’s contention that the indictment violated his due process rights and that the alleged conduct was protected by the First Amendment.

      “Whatever immunities a sitting President may enjoy, the United States has only one Chief Executive at a time, and that position does not confer a lifelong ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ pass, Former Presidents enjoy no special conditions on their federal criminal liability,” Chutkan wrote in the 48-page ruling.

      While Trump’s legal argument will come in a later filing, Trump’s attorneys bashed Chutkan’s decision.

      “The Court incorrectly denied President Trump’s claim of Presidential immunity on the ground that such immunity does not extend to federal criminal prosecution for a President’s official acts,” they wrote.

      Wyoming Official Intervenes On Court Labeling Trump ‘Insurrectionist’

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        Missvain, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

        Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray is working to change a Colorado judge’s ruling which labeled former President Donald Trump an “insurrectionist”.”

        “As chief election officials of our states, [Secretaries of State] have to stand up for the electoral process in our republic, and this is pivotal to ensuring the integrity of our elections,” Gray told Fox News Digital in a phone interview. 

        “I ran on election integrity, and that’s why the people of Wyoming voted me into office. And I’m following through on that, and defending the truth here, and making sure that these outrageous, frivolous lawsuits that the radical left is bringing and trying to remove President Trump from the ballot, that they don’t succeed.” 

        Gray filed an amicus curiae brief, otherwise known as a friend of the court brief, with the Colorado Supreme Court last week that argues a Colorado District Court made a mistake when labeling Trump an “insurrectionist” in a legal case that worked to remove Trump’s name from the state’s primary ballot. 

        The amicus brief calls on the Colorado Supreme Court to vacate the district court’s order and “direct the District Court to dismiss the petition for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.” 

        “It really should have been dismissed immediately, the case is frivolous. And instead we got this 95-page finding from this local judge there in Colorado and with the principle of issue preclusion, this could be really used against President Trump,” Gray said. “So it’s very important that this is just dismissed in its entirety. And that’s what we really try to delve into with this amicus brief … and we’re really proud that Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and Ohio Secretary of State LaRose signed on.” 

        Gray’s move comes after a liberal group attempted to have Trump removed from the state’s 2024 primary ballot under the 14th Amendment..

        Gray told Fox News the case should have been dismissed from the start.

        “The frivolous lawsuits, they’re happening around the country, and it’s imperative that voters in one state not be affected by judgments in other states. And if you think about it, preventing an eligible candidate in one state for being able to attain electoral votes affects every other state. And preventing a candidate from being on the ballot, primary or caucus, artificially will alter momentum,” Gray said. 

        Report: Trump Eyeing Tucker Carlson As Potential VP Pick

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          Tucker Carlson via Gage Skidmore Flickr

          A new Axios report gives an inside look at a plausible Trump administration cabinet if he’s elected President.

          On Thursday, Axios reported that Trump is looking to fill his cabinet with those “who share his zeal to punish critics, purge non-believers, and take controversial legal and military action.”

          “Trump hasn’t settled on specific roles for specific figures, and hates it when his staff and friends speculate otherwise. It’s not in his DNA to do detailed personnel planning, and a lot depends on the last few people he’s talked to,” the report says. “But in rolling conversations with friends and advisers, he’s been clear about the type of men — and they’re almost all older, white men — he’d want to serve at his pleasure if he were to win a second term.”

          The reported list of Trump’s potential vice president picks consists entirely of conservative stars like Senator J.D. Vance (Ohio), Kari Lake, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA). According to the Axios report, an interesting possible vice president is former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who has become Melania Trump’s top choice.

          From the report:

          She thinks Carlson would make a powerful onstage extension of her husband, a source close to Trump told us. The former first lady has made few campaign appearances this time around — but a Trump-Carlson ticket might encourage her to hit the trail.

          Trump, asked last month about Carlson as a potential V.P., said: “I like Tucker a lot. … He’s got great common sense.”

          Despite Axios’ report indicating Carlson is a potential choice for Trump’s running mate other political pundits have cast doubts on Carlson’s ability to attract votes from any Democrats or Independents.

          Other possible top members of a new Trump administration could be Stephen Miller as attorney general.

          McCarthy Announces Early Retirement

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          Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

          Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that he is resigning from Congress.

          The California Republican will leave at the end of the year, setting up a special election before 2024’s U.S. House of Representatives elections.

          Multiple Republican lawmakers told Axios last week that the former House Speaker would vacate his long-held congressional seat before the end of the year.

          According to the report, McCarthy had reportedly gone so far as to confide in major donors that he intended to “get the hell out” of Congress, further eroding the GOP’s tenuous three-vote majority.

          “I have another week or so to decide because if I decide to run again, I have to know in my heart I’m giving 110%,” McCarthy told financial reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin last Wednesday at Manhattan’s DealBook Summit. “I have to know that I want to do that,” the longtime Republican leader continued. “I also have to know if I’m going to walk away, that I’m going to be fine with walking away. And so I’m really taking this time now.”

          Reaction to the then-rumors from his Republican colleagues was mixed.

          “I mean, why the hell would he stay?,” one Republican lawmaker opined. “Damn shame,” quipped another.

          Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz (R), who lead the intra-party rebellion against McCarthy, had an uncompromising take: “I suspect the former speaker will return to spend more time with the people he’s always represented – on Wall Street and K Street. I don’t imagine he’ll be walking the streets of Bakersfield.”

          Some Republicans are worried that McCarthy may use his campaign funds to interfere in the primaries of the eight GOP lawmakers who voted for his removal instead of helping to expand the GOP’s majority.

          California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is expected to hold a special election after McCarthy departs at the end of the year.

          This article was republished with permission from American Liberty News.

          Trump Predicts Biden Won’t Be Democrat Nominee

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          Joe Biden via Gage Skidmore Flickr

          Trump is calling it now, Biden will not be the Democrats’ nominee for president next year.

          “I personally don’t think he makes it,” Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity during a town hall-style event in Davenport, Iowa, on Tuesday. 

          “I can’t think of in the last couple of months any appearance that he’d had where he wasn’t either mumbling or bumbling or stumbling or having no clue where to go, where to exit. Now my question is: do you think in 11 months he will be their candidate?” Hannity asked Trump. 

          “I think he’s in bad shape physically. Do you remember when he said, ‘I’d like to take him behind the barn’? If he took me behind the barn, and I went like this,” Trump said, puckering to blow air from his mouth, “I believe he’d fall over. I believe he’d fall over, who knows!” 

          “And by the way, it was okay for him to say that,” Trump said of Biden’s comment. “He could say that and everybody thought it was so cute. If I ever said it, they’d say, ‘He’s a dictator, he’s a horrible human being.’ You know it’s a whole double standard we have, not only in the law but just about everything else, as you know very well. I personally don’t think he makes it physically. I watched him at the beach. He wasn’t able to lift a beach chair which is meant for children to lift… and mentally I would say he’s possibly equally as bad and maybe worse.” 

          Trump has been narrowly topping Biden in head-to-head polls taken over the past several weeks, including in battleground states. A recent poll conducted by The Economist/YouGov found that 51% of respondents believe Trump has done a better job as president, while 41% answered that Biden has done better.

          Biden Says Re-Election Plans Entirely Revolve Around Trump

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          Joe Biden via Gage Skidmore Flickr

          Now we see where President Biden’s priorities are…

          During remarks to donors at one of the fundraisers he attended on Tuesday in Massachusetts the President said he doubted he would seek a second term in the White House if Donald Trump was not also running for President.

          “If Trump wasn’t running, I’m not sure I’d be running. But we cannot let him win,” Biden said, according to a press pool report from the event.

          Another reporter also asked if Trump were to drop out of the race if Biden would consider doing the same.

          “Would you drop out if Trump drops out?” the reporter asked.

          “No, not now,” President Biden replied.

          Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), who is running a challenge against Biden for the Democrat Party’s 2024 nomination, responded to Biden’s quote on Tuesday, saying on X, “Says the candidate with lower approval figures and losing to Trump in every poll of consequence. It’s downright delusional.”

          Trump has been narrowly topping Biden in head-to-head polls taken over the past several weeks, including in battleground states. 

          President Biden’s age and leadership abilities have cast serious doubts among Americans that Biden is the right man for the job. Even former Obama adviser David Axelrod has openly questioned if it would be “wise” for Biden to back out of the race now.

          Trump has dominated the polls thus far, however, his numerous legal battles are cause for concern.