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Ivanka Trump Shares Sweet Message After Guilty Verdict

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    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    The Trump family is sticking together…

    On Thursday, Trump became the first-ever U.S. President to be charged and convicted of criminal charges.

    The former first daughter shared a photo of a young Donald Trump holding her as a kid on his lap to Instagram Stories with the caption “I love you dad” and a heart emoji.

    The short and sweet message were the first public remarks Ivanka, 42, has made after her dad became the first former US president to be criminally convicted.

    The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records as part of a hush-money scheme to prevent porn star Stormy Daniels from speaking out about her alleged extramarital affair before the 2016 presidential election.

    This is the lowest level felony in New York, any potential sentence will more than likely be served after the 2024 election.

    Senator Leaves Democrat Party, Registers As Independent

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    West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin has announced his departure from the Democrat Party and has registered as an Independent.

    In a statement, Manchin, who is not running for re-election, said he switched his party affiliation at the West Virginia State Capitol. 

    “From my first day in public service in 1982, I have always focused on doing what’s best for my state and my country, without regard to party or politics. Throughout my days in elected office, I have always been proud of my commitment to common sense, bipartisanship and my desire to bring people together. It’s who I am. It’s who I will always be. I have never seen America through a partisan lens,” Manchin said. 

    “However, since becoming a United States Senator in 2010, I have seen both the Democrat and Republican parties leave West Virginia and our country behind for partisan extremism while jeopardizing our democracy. Today, our national politics are broken and neither party is willing to compromise to find common ground. To stay true to myself and remain committed to put country before party, I have decided to register as an independent with no party affiliation and continue to fight for America’s sensible majority.”

    “My commitment to do everything I can to bring our country together has led me to register as an independent with no party affiliation,” Manchin wrote on X.

    In a statement Friday, Manchin said partisanship on both sides has jeopardized democracy.

    “To stay true to myself and remain committed to put country before party, I have decided to register as an independent with no party affiliation and continue to fight for America’s sensible majority,” he said.

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

    Trump Donation Page Crashes After Verdict

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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]

    Trump has made history again…

    Immediately after the Manhattan jury in the Trump criminal hush money case found the former President guilty of 24 counts a wave of donations overwhelmed the Trump campaign website.

    “The American people see through Crooked Joe Biden’s rigged show trial,” Trump’s campaign posted on the social platform X. “So many Americans were moved to donate to President Trump’s campaign that the WinRed pages went down. We are working on getting the website back online as quickly as possible.”

    Trump’s campaign website redirected visitors to WinRed, the official GOP fundraising site. But the page to donate to the former president said it was under maintenance. The campaign briefly redirected to a different donation processor amid the technical difficulties.

    Trump campaign co-manager Chris LaCivita urged supporters to “log back on and try again” if they received an error message.

    On Friday, the Trump campaign announced a new fundraising record totaling $34.8 million.

    “From just minutes after the sham trial verdict was announced, our digital fundraising system was overwhelmed with support, and despite temporary delays online because of the amount of traffic, President Trump raised $34.8 million dollars from small dollar donors. Not only was the amount historic, but 29.7% of yesterday’s donor’s were brand new donors to the WinRed platform. President Trump and our campaign are immensely grateful from this outpouring of support from patriots across our country. President Trump is fighting to save our nation and November 5th is the day Americans will deliver the real verdict.” – Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, Trump Campaign Senior Advisors

    Trump is expected to appeal the verdict.

    Despite Trump becoming the first President to be convicted of a felony the verdict is not expected to dissuade voters.

    The NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist national poll showed 67% of registered voters nationally wouldn’t be swayed by a guilty verdict against Trump, while 15% said it would make them more likely to vote for him. Another 17% said a guilty verdict would make them less likely to vote for Trump.

    According to the Washington Examiner, among Republicans surveyed in the poll, 25% said a guilty verdict would make them more likely to vote for the former president, while 10% said it would make them less likely to vote for him. Only 7% of Democrats said a guilty verdict would make them more likely to vote for Trump, and 27% said it would make them less likely to vote for Trump.

    Among coveted independent voters, 15% said a guilty verdict would make them more likely to vote for Trump, and 11% said it would make them less likely.

    In contrast, 76% of all voters said a not-guilty verdict wouldn’t affect their votes.

    Jury Reaches Verdict In Historic Trump Hush Money Trial

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      Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

      This just in…

      On Thursday, the Manhattan jury found Donald J. Trump, the 45th president of the United States, guilty on all charges.

      Before the jury began deliberations, Judge Juan Merchan instructed its members that they did not need to have a unanimous verdict in order to convict the former president.

      The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records as part of a hush-money scheme to prevent porn star Stormy Daniels from speaking out about her alleged extramarital affair before the 2016 presidential election.

      Before Trump, no sitting or former president ever faced criminal charges. This is the lowest level felony in New York, any potential sentence will more than likely be served after the 2024 election.

      Trump has yet to respond to the verdict.

      Trump, a slight favorite to win the White House, might face diminished support from some voters who aren’t keen on backing a candidate with a criminal record. On the flip side, it could galvanize his base and swing voters, who view the trial as a politically motivated attack while the economy languishes.

      The political significance of the trial was on display Tuesday, as the Biden and Trump campaigns held dueling events outside the courthouse.

      The Biden campaign featured actor Robert De Niro and retired law enforcement officers who were at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, for a press conference to bash Trump as dangerous. 

      It was the first time the Biden campaign held an event around the trial. Communications director Michael Tyler explained why it chose to do so, saying to the media, “Because you all are here.”

      “We want to remind the American people … of the unique, persistent and growing threat that Donald Trump poses to the American people and to our democracy,” he said.

      Trump’s team brushed off the Biden event as a sign of desperation.

      “Why is Joe Biden now making this a campaign event after months of weaponizing the legal system against President Trump? Because Joe Biden’s numbers are in the tank,” senior Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller said.

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

      Poll Reveals How Likely Trump Verdict Is To Sway Voters

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        Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

        Nothing can slow Donald Trump down now…

        A recent report found that Trump’s criminal hush money trial is unlikely to deter voters as he awaits a verdict.

        The NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist national poll showed 67% of registered voters nationally wouldn’t be swayed by a guilty verdict against Trump, while 15% said it would make them more likely to vote for him. Another 17% said a guilty verdict would make them less likely to vote for Trump.

         The 12-member jury is currently on day two of deliberations after the prosecution and defense concluded their closing arguments on Tuesday.

        According to the Washington Examiner, among Republicans surveyed in the poll, 25% said a guilty verdict would make them more likely to vote for the former president, while 10% said it would make them less likely to vote for him. Only 7% of Democrats said a guilty verdict would make them more likely to vote for Trump, and 27% said it would make them less likely to vote for Trump.

        Among coveted independent voters, 15% said a guilty verdict would make them more likely to vote for Trump, and 11% said it would make them less likely.

        In contrast, 76% of all voters said a not-guilty verdict wouldn’t affect their votes.

        The best-case scenario for Trump is acquittal however experts have noted outcome is unlikely as it would require all 12 jurors to find him innocent. The most realistic path for the defense is a hung jury, in which at least one juror dissents.

        The former president is expected to appeal if he is found guilty. A conviction would not keep him from running for a second term.

        DOJ Settles With Ex-FBI ‘Lovebirds’ Caught In Anti-Trump Text Scandal

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        Former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page have settled their yearslong case with the Justice Department (DOJ).

        The former FBI agents alleged the DOJ committed privacy rights violations after the release of their text messages leveraged by former President Trump to challenge the Russia investigation during his presidency. 

        According to Fox News, a tentative agreement was filed Tuesday resolving Page’s 5-year-old lawsuit against the FBI for releasing text messages with Strzok — with whom she had an affair — that disparaged the former president. Strzok’s lawsuit seeking backpay and reinstatement remains unsettled.

        In 2019, Strzok argued in a court filing in Washington, D.C., federal district court that his politically charged anti-Trump messages were protected by the First Amendment even though he sent them on bureau-issued phones while playing leading roles in the probes into both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

        Strzok, once the FBI’s head of counterintelligence, said he was entitled to “develop a full factual record through discovery,” and that it would be premature to dismiss the case at this early stage. He went on to argue that the DOJ’s position would “leave thousands of career federal government employees without protections from discipline over the content of their political speech.”

        Page also filed suit against the FBI and DOJ alleging the government’s publication of her text messages with Strzok amounted to a breach of the Federal Privacy Act.

        Page’s complaint also sought reimbursement for “the cost of childcare during and transportation to multiple investigative reviews and appearances before Congress,” the “cost of paying a data-privacy service to protect her personal information” and attorney’s fees.

        In a later filing, according to CNN, Strzok’s lawyers wrote that the defendants “should not be heard to complain about the notoriety and putative damage to the FBI’s reputation from Strzok’s speech when it was their own illegal disclosures, magnified and distorted by the false attacks made by the President and his allies, that placed a spotlight on Strzok’s opinions.”

        The two agents were connected to the FBI’s initial counterintelligence investigation into potential Russian meddling collusion with Trump’s 2016 campaign associates and later served on special counsel Robert Mueller’s team.

        Fox News noted that in 2020, the spotlight was on the lovers’ scandal during a live performance titled “FBI Lovebirds: UnderCovers” at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which was based on the anti-Trump text messages shared between the former agents. Trump has called the couple the “FBI lovebirds” during his rallies. 

        Actor Dennis Quaid Says Why He’s Voting For Trump

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          He’s team Trump…

          Well-known actor Dennis Quaid said in a recent interview that he plans to vote for Donald Trump in the November election.

          The celebrity announced his support of the Republican candidate during an interview with Piers Morgan on British television when asked by Morgan what he thought of Trump.

          “I think I’m gonna vote for him in the next election,” the actor said. “It just makes sense. I was ready not to vote for Trump, until what I saw is, more than politics, I see a weaponization of our justice system and a challenge to our Constitution.”

          “Trump is the most investigated person, probably in the history of the world, and they haven’t been able to really get him on anything,” he added.

          Quaid went on to reference many of Trump’s accomplishments…

          “What he did with Korea, with Rocket Baby, the way he defeated ISIS in three weeks,” he continued. “You know, people don’t even remember, it happened so fast. How he stood up for us overseas. The way he responded to China. He stands up to people and that’s what makes him a leader. Rather than, what I kind of compare it to, what was going on in Jimmy Carter’s administration, where we’re trying to be everybody’s friend and pal.”

          “And there’s some evil people and bad actors in this world and so, you know, people might call [Trump] an a**hole but he’s my a**hole,” Quaid said. “I’ll tell you one true thing about him is that I really feel that he is working for the American people. That’s what he’s all about, and I do believe that to be true and sincere.”

          Charlamagne Tha God Admits To Suffering From ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’

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          Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

          Radio host Charlamagne tha God said Tuesday that he suffers from “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” a popular term related to disliking former President Donald Trump to a nearly excessive degree.

          “Let the record show, I totally agree with Robert De Niro,” Charlamagne said on Fox News’s Gutfeld! “I am one of those people that suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome. I think he is a threat to democracy. I think that he led an attempted coup of this country, you know. He said he wanted to suspend the Constitution to overthrow the results of an election. At the least, that’s just not a patriotic thing to say.”

          Charlamagne’s comment was referring to a Truth Social post that Trump made in December 2022 in which the former president reiterated his claim that the 2020 presidential election results were illegitimate and that this calls for the termination of all rules, “even those found in the Constitution.” Trump has denied calling for terminating the Constitution, calling it “more DISINFORMATION & LIES.” 

          Charlamagne also said he believes voters “deserve better from both parties.” The statement comes as the 2024 presidential election will likely end up being a rematch between Trump and President Joe Biden.

          Despite his vocal opposition to Trump the rapper has rejected pressure to endorse Biden, saying he wanted to focus on problems facing the country rather than on a specific candidate.

          Former Trump Official Wins Texas Primary Runoff

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          Trump knows winners…

          On Tuesday, former Trump official Katrina Pierson won her primary fight and will now represent a deep-red Texas House district.

          Republican Katrina Pierson, who served as the spokesperson for former President Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, defeated incumbent state Rep. Justin Holland (R) in Tuesday’s primary runoff for Texas’ 33rd House District, according to Fox News. Pierson is the presumptive winner of November’s general election since no Democrat candidate is standing in the race.

          Holland, who was first elected in 2016, opposed key legislation supported by Abbott that would have paved the way for Texas parents to send their children to private or religious affiliated schools using public funding.

          Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott endorsed Pierson in the race to take down Holland.

          Holland has also faced scrutiny for a number of other positions he’s taken, including supporting legislation last year that would have raised the age to purchase “assault” style rifles from 18 to 21, and voting in favor of impeaching Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

          Republicans currently hold 86 of the 150 seats in the Texas state House, a majority of 11.

          Ex-Trump Attorney’s Law License Suspended For Three Years

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            It’s official now…

            Jenna Ellis, a former attorney for Donald Trump, has agreed to a three-year suspension of her law license in the state of Colorado due to her felony guilty plea in the Georgia election case.

            Ellis is among the nearly 20 co-defendants indicted in Georgia for their alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election in that state.

            Ellis pled guilty in October and offered an apology for her actions as part of the deal.

            “If I knew then what I know now, I would have declined to represent Donald Trump in these post-election challenges,” she continued according to Mediaite, claiming she “look[ed] back on this whole experience with deep remorse.”

            On Tuesday afternoon, a Colorado state bar disciplinary judge approved a settlement between Ellis and Colorado’s Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel to suspend her license for three years, reported local Denver NBC affiliate 9News.

            In the court’s opinion, the judge wrote that Ellis’ actions included multiple examples of “significant actual harm,” especially by how she “undermined the American public’s confidence in the presidential election process.”

            In a letter submitted to the court as part of the deal to let her avoid disbarment, Ellis wrote that she was “choosing to take responsibility for my actions and my association with the harm caused to the nation by the post-election activities of 2020 on behalf of then-President Donald Trump.”

            Read more of Ellis’ letter below:

            Since my involvement in the Trump Campaign’s challenges to the election results, I have learned of the bad faith dealing and outright illegality of some actors involved. For example, I did not know at the time of the Campaign’s commissioned investigation into the 2020 election results, or that the President was notified in December 2020 that he had lost. A lot of new information has come out, which I encourage the public to consider.

            …The harm of my participation in the Georgia Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing is painfully evident to this day. Millions have been misled by the cynical “Stop the Steal” campaign, and otherwise responsible leaders are still publicly maintaining that these false claims have merit. The lies were repeated, thereby becoming “true” to a large segment of the populace. For democracy to function and thrive, the people have to believe that their votes count and that the electoral system is fair. This is what “election integrity” should mean, rather than what it has become for many: a political statement of “loyalty.” This faith in the integrity of our elections was damaged. That is the harm. While I do not doubt that this mindset would still prevail even if I didn’t play a part in it, I am ashamed and remorseful that I was involved to the extent that I was. Had I known then what I know now, I would not have been involved.

            …I will hopefully encourage others who may still believe that the election was “stolen” to consider changing their position. Everything that has come out since has not proven that claim.

            Ellis’ suspension will reportedly begin on July 2. She is also required to pay $5,000 to the Georgia secretary of state, roughly $1,700 in fines and costs to the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel, complete 100 hours of community service, and write an apology letter to the residents of Georgia for her actions.

            If she wishes to reinstate her Colorado law license in 2027, the court’s order says she must first “prove by clear and convincing evidence that she has been rehabilitated, has complied with all disciplinary orders and rules, and is fit to practice law.”