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Federal Judge Issues Arrest Warrant For Former GOP Governor’s Ex-Chief Of Staff

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Maryland GovPics, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

A federal judge has issued an arrest warrant for Roy McGrath, the former chief of staff to two-term Maryland GOP Gov. Larry Hogan.

McGrath is facing an eight-count federal indictment stemming from a criminal corruption investigation. Charges include wire fraud, including securing a $233,648 severance payment equal to one year of salary as the head of Maryland Environmental Service. He also faces fraud and embezzlement charges connected to roughly $170,000 in expenses. McGrath has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

McGrath resigned from Hogan’s office a few months after the six-figure payment was reported.

One charge relates to allegations that McGrath falsified a memo that purports to show the Governor was informed of his then-chief of staff’s severance arrangement and signed off on the deal.

The former Governor, who until recently was mulling a White House bid has vehemently denied knowing or approving of a severance payment negotiated by McGrath.

U.S. District Court Judge Deborah Boardman issued the arrest warrant after McGrath failed to appear in Baltimore for the start of his criminal trial on Monday.

“Let’s hope he’s safe and there’s some mix-up,” Boardman told local outlet Maryland Matters on Monday.

Joseph Murtha, McGrath’s attorney, said he had attempted throughout the morning on Monday to reach his client and his wife.

“Most importantly, I’m concerned. I’m hoping he’s safe,” Murtha said. “These situations are very stressful, the uncertainty of going to trial can cause people to do things many people don’t think are appropriate. We hope that he’s safe.”

McGrath’s attorney noted t

McGrath also faces pending state criminal charges relating to alleged illegally recorded private conversations involving senior state officials without their permission during his employment at the Maryland Environmental Service and as chief of staff.

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

Trump Has ‘No Plan’ To Testify In Grand Jury As Prosecutors Inch Toward Charges

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Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Former President Donald Trump seems unconcerned with Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation into his alleged involvement in the $130,000 hush payment made to former pornstar Stormy Daniels.

On Monday, Trump’s attorneys revealed the former president would not testify in the grand jury investigation into the 2016 payment.

“We have no plans on participating in that proceeding,” Trump attorney Joe Tacopina told ABC News on Monday. “Decision needs to be made still. There’s been no deadline set, so we’ll wait and see.”

The Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg has been investigating whether Trump falsified business records in connection with a $130,000 payment Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels before the 2016 election. Prosecutors allege the “hush money” was to keep her from talking about a long-denied affair.

Trump has adamantly denied the affair.

On Friday, Cohen reportedly met with prosecutors for over seven hours in the latest sign the investigation into Trump is heating up. The former Trump adviser is scheduled to testify before a grand jury on Monday. (RELATED: Michael Cohen To Testify Monday In Trump Probe)

“My goal is to tell the truth,” Cohen told reporters outside the courthouse, according to the AP.

“This is not revenge,” he added. “This is all about accountability. He needs to be held accountable for his dirty deeds.”

Last week, The New York Times reported prosecutors are getting closer to formally charging Trump.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office recently signaled to Donald J. Trump’s lawyers that he could face criminal charges for his role in the payment of hush money to a porn star, the strongest indication yet that prosecutors are nearing an indictment of the former president, according to four people with knowledge of the matter.

The prosecutors offered Mr. Trump the chance to testify next week before the grand jury that has been hearing evidence in the potential case, the people said. Such offers almost always indicate an indictment is close; it would be unusual for the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, to notify a potential defendant without ultimately seeking charges against him.

In New York, potential defendants have the right to answer questions in the grand jury before they are indicted, but they rarely testify, and Mr. Trump is likely to decline the offer. His lawyers could also meet privately with the prosecutors in hopes of fending off criminal charges.

Any case would mark the first indictment of a former American president, and could upend the 2024 presidential race in which Mr. Trump remains a leading contender. It would also elevate Mr. Bragg to the national stage, though not without risk, and a conviction in the complex case is far from assured.

America-First Congresswoman Lauren Boebert Joins Liberty & Justice Podcast

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MAGA Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (R-CO) tunes in to Matt Whitaker’s podcast to discuss key issues facing America and how patriots can help take back their freedom.

Per Matt Whitaker:

Lauren became the first mom to represent Colorado’s Third District in Congress after unseating a five-term incumbent Congressman and then, despite being outspent nearly 2-1, defeated her Democrat opponent on November 3rd, 2020. Lauren’s historic victory showed that no amount of money can beat good, old-fashioned grassroots enthusiasm and hard work.

Lauren was the founder and former operator of Shooters Grill, a restaurant that earned national notoriety for staff that proudly open carry as they serve their customers. She gained additional recognition in September 2019 by attending presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke’s rally to tell him directly: “Hell, no, you won’t take our guns.”

When Colorado’s liberal Democrat Governor tried to shut down small businesses across the state, it was Lauren who stood against tyranny and kept her business open. They operated safely and took every precaution to keep her staff and her patrons healthy. Because of this, Lauren’s staff was able to continue making their hard-earned money and weren’t sent to the unemployment line. Lauren will ALWAYS fight for small businesses.

A Coloradoan living on the Western Slope, Lauren is active in her church and has spent years counseling at-risk women at the local jail, encouraging them to become self-sufficient and productive members of society who do not depend on government assistance.
Lauren’s husband, Jayson, has worked his entire adult life in oil and gas fields, primarily in Western Colorado. They are the proud parents of four boys.

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

Trump’s Song With J6 Prison Choir Reaches No. 1 On iTunes

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    Donald Trump…real estate mogul, businessman, family man, politician, and now the No.1 recording artist. What can’t the man accomplish?

    Over the weekend, Former President Donald Trump’s new debut single with the J6 Prison Choir, “Justice for All” soared to the number one spot on the iTunes charts.

    “J6 Prison Choir consists of individuals who have been incarcerated as a result of their involvement in the January 6, 2021 protest for election integrity after President Donald J. Trump stated ‘I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard,’” the J6 Prison Choir website states. “The J6PC continues to make their voices heard through the power of music and sings ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ every evening before bed.” 

    The song was released on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. Proceeds from the song go to “certain J6 families in need,” a press release from Kash Patel, a former Trump security official who played a role in recording the song, said. (RELATED: Former Trump Adviser, Kash Patel Joins Matt Whitaker’s Podcast)

    “We basically broke the music industry is what we did here, because we put America First values back front and center,” Patel told Breitbart News. “And we said we’re going to use free speech platforms like Truth Social and Rumble, and then we’re going to debut a song that speaks to what’s on so many Americans’ minds.”

    The J6 Prison Choir reportedly asked former President Trump to take part in the project. A campaign adviser told CNN the song “doesn’t have anything to do” with Trump’s presidential campaign. 

    The song released in March is a tribute to the prisoners of the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. It includes roughly 20 prisoners singing the national anthem and a recitation of the pledge of allegiance by former President Trump. The ending of the song includes the prisoners chanting, “USA!”

    Amanda Head: We Are Winning!

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    The latest polls show why liberalism sucks…

    It’s unavoidable and now more Americans are sick and tired of Biden’s leadership has resulted in nothing but an epic failure.

    Let Amanda break down the latest situation below:

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

    Trump Trade Adviser Ordered to Hand Over Hundreds of White House Emails

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    The Justice Department has ordered former Trump administration trade advisor Peter Navarro to hand over hundreds of emails from a personal encrypted account that he used while working in the White House.

    Navarro was required to turn over any records generated or received while working in his official capacity for the president under the Presidential Records Act (PRA). This explicitly includes records sent or received on an unofficial account.

    However, the former Trump advisor argued that the PRA does not impose an obligation on him to turn over presidential records, cannot be enforced because there is no explicit mechanism, and is “’vague’ and unsettled,”

    In Thursday’s opinion, District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly rejected each of Navarro’s arguments as to why he felt he didn’t need to turn over the emails from his personal account.

    “These arguments ignore or contravene the statute’s purpose, framework and provisions,” Kollar-Kotelly noted in her opinion.

    According to reports from The Hill, Navarro’s attorneys identified between 200-250 emails that would qualify as presidential records in response to a request by the Department of Justice, but he refused to turn them over.

    The DOJ sued Navarro for the Proton Mail account materials last year after the former adviser refused to turn them over without a “grant of immunity.” 

    Report: New York Prosecutors Close on Charging Trump

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    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Back in January, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office dramatically escalated its investigation into former President Donald Trump.

    At the time, D.A. Alvin Bragg began presenting evidence to a New York City grand jury on Trump’s role in paying for porn star Stormy Daniels‘ silence before the 2016 presidential election.

    Now, the former president is being told that he could appear before the grand jury and testify next week if he wishes to — a strong indication he will face criminal charges.

    Per The New York Times:

    The Manhattan district attorney’s office recently signaled to Donald J. Trump’s lawyers that he could face criminal charges for his role in the payment of hush money to a porn star, the strongest indication yet that prosecutors are nearing an indictment of the former president, according to four people with knowledge of the matter.

    The prosecutors offered Mr. Trump the chance to testify next week before the grand jury that has been hearing evidence in the potential case, the people said. Such offers almost always indicate an indictment is close; it would be unusual for the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, to notify a potential defendant without ultimately seeking charges against him.

    In New York, potential defendants have the right to answer questions in the grand jury before they are indicted, but they rarely testify, and Mr. Trump is likely to decline the offer. His lawyers could also meet privately with the prosecutors in hopes of fending off criminal charges.

    Any case would mark the first indictment of a former American president, and could upend the 2024 presidential race in which Mr. Trump remains a leading contender. It would also elevate Mr. Bragg to the national stage, though not without risk, and a conviction in the complex case is far from assured.

    The payments to Daniels were to cover up an alleged affair between her and Trump. Bragg’s office chose to revive the investigation, which prosecutors used to charge former Trump attorney Michael Cohen with campaign finance violations.

    Bragg’s predecessor considered charging Trump with violating election law for falsifying business records to misrepresent the payments but ultimately abandoned the idea.

    In a lengthy statement, Trump lashed out about the news Thursday evening, saying in part:

    I did absolutely nothing wrong, I never had an affair with Stormy Daniels, nor would I have wanted to have an affair with Stormy Daniels.
    This is a political Witch-Hunt, trying to take down the leading candidate, by far, in the Republican Party while at the same time also leading all Democrats in the polls, including Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

    Mitch McConnell’s Office Provides Update Following Hospitalization

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    Mitch McConnell via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) office is releasing more details on the senior’s sudden hospital visit.

    The 81-year-old Senator fell at a dinner event on Wednesday evening at the Waldorf Astoria for the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC closely affiliated with the leader. He is being treated for a concussion and will stay in the hospital for the next few days for treatment and observation, according to reports from The Hill.

    “Leader McConnell tripped at a dinner event Wednesday evening and has been admitted to the hospital and is being treated for a concussion. He is expected to remain in the hospital for a few days of observation and treatment,” his office announced Thursday, breaking hours of silence after revealing Wednesday evening that the GOP leader had tripped and injured himself at a local hotel.  

    “The Leader is grateful to the medical professionals for their care and to his colleagues for their warm wishes,” McConnell’s office said.

    McConnell won election to a seventh term in 2020 and is next up for reelection in 2026.  

    Critics of the senior lawmaker wasted no time before offering their distasteful remarks.

    However, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer offered prayers for McConnell and his family in his opening remarks on Thursday. Sen. Schumer said he spoke with the Republican Senator Thursday morning and wished him a full and speedy recovery.

    Controversial conservative influencer Laura Loomer offered her own crass remarks on Twitter.

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

    Liberal Congresswoman’s Bodyguard Offers Bizarre Excuse Amidst Claims of Anti-Semitism

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      Cori Bush via Wikimedia Commons

      Liberal Congresswoman Cori Bush (D-MO) isn’t used to being in the spotlight but right now all eyes are on a member of her security team.

      Bush’s bodyguard, Nathaniel Davis has invited backlash over his claims to be a master of psychic self-defense born 109 trillion years ago along with his anti-semitic comments. The Washington Free Beacon confirmed that Davis is in fact a St. Louis, Missouri, spiritual guru known as Aha Sen Piankhy who teaches classes on how to read minds, summon mythical beings, and maintain urban gardens “to avoid having to buy food from the Jews.”

      Davis initially gained notoriety over his claim to host a number of supernatural abilities, including the ability to summon hurricanes, levitate, and retrieve winning lottery numbers “from the spirit realm.”

      Nathaniel Davis demanded The Free Beacon retract a previous article in which the outlet detailed Davis’s connections with Bush and history of advancing anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.

      Per the original report from The Free Beacon:

      When Davis, who did not return requests for comment, is not protecting the congresswoman, he spends his time teaching St. Louis’s black community to grow their own food—so they can liberate themselves from a genocidal Jewish cabal that runs the world.

      “I’m going come teach the people how to survive. It’s what I came to this planet for in this lifetime,” Davis said in a July 17, 2020, Facebook live stream. “I’m 109 trillion years old in this galaxy, the Milky Way galaxy.”

      Davis has advanced a number of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, including the belief that the Rothschild family “runs the Western Hemisphere” and unleashed the COVID-19 pandemic to murder 99 percent of the human population. Davis is also a proponent of QAnon, according to a Facebook post he shared in December 2018.

      “You got the global elite looking to kill every last one of us. They want to wipe out half the population of the planet,” Davis said in a July 17, 2020, Facebook live stream.

      However, despite Davis’s history of anti-Semitic comments, the bodyguard said it’s impossible for him to be anti-Semitic because he himself is a member of the Tribe of Issachar, one of the lost tribes of Israel.

      “That makes me Hebrew. How can I be anti-Semitic?” Davis asked the Free Beacon, adding “You’re literally dealing with the priesthood, literally.”

      “If you could retract the whole anti-Semite, because I’m not, man. I’m not,” Davis said. “I got bar mitzvah’ed in this city. There’s no way I can be anti-Semite. No way. You didn’t complete your homework.”

      The bodyguard also asserted he never made any claims about the Rothschild family or promoted any anti-semitic conspiracies.

      “I didn’t make any type of statement dogging anybody of any nationality or background,” Davis told the Free Beacon. “Didn’t do that. That’s not how I move.”

      It’s not exactly clear how David came to work for the Congresswoman. However, a deep dive by The Free Beacon revealed the congresswoman’s personal Facebook page show that she is friends with “Aha Davis Zadok El,” one of Davis’s Facebook accounts. There, he claims to be a member of the “Priesthood of the Sun Moon Sect.” Davis’s various FacebookTwitter, and Instagram accounts are riddled with references to the “Priesthood of the Sun Moon Sect.”

      Davis has earned over $137,000 providing “security services” for Bush since 2020, according to FEC filings, the latest of which showed disbursements of $5,000 in Dec. 2022. 

      Citing a “non-disclosure agreement,” Davis refused to comment on the “security services” he has provided to Bush.

      “I can’t talk to you about that,” Davis said when pressed for details about his non-disclosure agreement.

      The Free Beacon reported that Davis changed his story minutes later and denied ever mentioning a non-disclosure agreement, claiming it would be false to report that he did.

      Former Trump Official Launches New PAC Supporting Gov. Ron DeSantis

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      Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

      Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is already seeing a tremendous outpouring of support for a 2024 White House bid and he hasn’t even decided to run yet.

      A senior Trump administration official and former Virginia attorney general has launched a new political action committee (PAC) to persuade Gov. DeSantis to throw his hat into the ring. Ken Cuccinelli served as acting deputy Homeland Security secretary under former President Trump during his final year in office.

      The ex-Trump official filed Never Back Down PAC with Federal Elections Commission (FCE) in late February according to documents obtained by The Hill.

      Cuccinelli launched the campaign to draft DeSantis into the 2024 race on Thursday, saying in a video that “America’s future is Ron DeSantis.”

      “Ron DeSantis doesn’t just talk, he acts, but most of all he never backs down,” Cuccinelli says in the video. “Gov. DeSantis, today I’m asking you to run for president. You’ve had our back, now we will have yours.”

      Two similar super PACS— titled “Ready for Ron” and “Ron to the Rescue” — which are not affiliated with DeSantis or his political circle are already up and running, raising money as they urge the governor to launch a presidential campaign. But sources in DeSantis’s wider political orbit have described those groups as “a grift – plain and simple” to Fox News.

      Super PACs, known as independent expenditure-only committees, are legally allowed to raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, associations and individuals, and to spend unlimited sums to support or oppose political candidates. Unlike traditional PACs, they are prohibited under long-standing federal rules from either coordinating or contributing directly to a candidate or candidate’s campaign. 

      DeSantis is widely expected to announce a presidential bid this spring. (RELATED: DeSantis Lays Out Timeline for 2024 Decision)

      Last month, the Republican governor told “Fox & Friends” we would make a final decision after Florida’s legislative session wraps up in May and after his book tour.

      Trump launched his campaign right after the 2022 midterm elections and has consistently attacked DeSantis ahead of his possible entry into the race.

      “I have been speaking to many grassroots conservative activists around the country who are very enthusiastic for Governor DeSantis to run for President in 2024,” Cuccinelli said in a statement. “The energy is there, grassroots conservatives see the Governor as a leader and a fighter with a winning conservative track record who will lead the Republican Party to victory in 2024.”

      Cuccinelli is hardly the first Trump-aligned Republican to change allegiances.

      Donald Tapia, a prominent businessman from Arizona and Trump’s former ambassador to Jamaica from 2019 to 2021, was a strong financial backer of Trump in 2016 and 2020, contributing hundreds of thousands of dollars to the former president over his two elections but recently announced he plans to support DeSantis for president.

      “The name-calling has turned a lot of people off,” Tapia said to Politico. “Let me tell you, we don’t like that.”

      However, despite some grumblings among conservatives, Trump has consistently come on on top in various 2024 hypothetical matchups.