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Trump Sues Prominent Journalist Bob Woodward

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Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Former President Donald Trump suing journalist Bob Woodward over interview recordings that Trump alleges he didn’t agree could be included in his audiobook, “the Trump Tapes.”

The lawsuit, filed in the Pensacola division of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, names Simon & Schuster Inc. and its parent company Paramount Global as defendants along with Woodward. Trump seeks more than $49 million in damages.

According to The Hill, Trump noted that he consented to Woodward recording their conversations for the purpose of a book, and gave 19 interviews to the veteran journalist in 2019 and 2020, which Woodward included in his 2020 book “Rage” but did not agree to the interviews’ being published via audiobook.

“This case centers on Mr. Woodward’s systematic usurpation, manipulation, and exploitation of audio of President Trump gathered in connection with a series of interviews conducted by Mr. Woodward,” Trump’s team argues in the filing.

“The Defendants’ ongoing concerted efforts to profit off the protected audio recordings and the works they have distributed derived from the protected audio recordings have caused President Trump to sustain substantial damage,” the suit continues.

The former president’s team is pursuing a number of counts against the defendants, including unjust enrichment, violation of Florida trade law and breach of contract. At one point, the filing also alleges that the audiobook misrepresented one of the pair’s interviews through editing. 

Woodward, 79, is one of the two Post journalists that famously broke the Watergate scandal

Links to China? FBI Must Search All Biden Homes for Classified Materials

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Federal Bureau of Investigation, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

ANALYSIS – While the Donald Trump classified documents saga is embarrassing in its own right, it appears to be more ego related than anything else. 

Trump thought he could take them, and he did – a lot of them.

Not so with Joe Biden’s similar saga, which, while it involves less volume, could involve his son Hunter Biden and Communist China.

While in no way excusing him, Trump doesn’t seem to have had any other motive than ego.

That doesn’t change the potential damage to national security they may have caused. 

However, despite unhinged partisan commentary at the saga’s outset speculating that Trump was selling these documents to foreigners, it appears there was absolutely no truth to that nonsense whatsoever.

While an Intelligence Community (IC) damage assessment is ongoing, as it is with Joe Biden’s unsecured classified documents, and now Mike Pence’s as well, there is no reporting of anything being compromised by Trump.

At least not yet.

Meanwhile, Biden’s mishandling of highly classified documents brings more realistic speculation and concerns, especially due to Hunter Biden’s potential access to these documents and his close ties to the Chinese communist regime.

This is why Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is now asking that the FBI search all locations, residences and offices Hunter has used or is now using.

I would add that the same be done for all homes and offices used by Joe Biden as well, especially his Rehoboth beach house. 

The FBI’s failure to search that beach house borders on criminal negligence and professional malpractice.

But back to Hunter.

As Newsmax reported:

“It seems he [President Biden] leaves classified documents wherever he goes. And we also know that Hunter Biden at times was — declared his residence to be those very same places,” Cruz said on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”

“I also believe it is critical for the FBI to search Hunter Biden’s homes, home and office residences to make sure there are no classified documents there, given all the evidence that’s piling up. We need to ascertain who’s had access to what and when.”

Cruz also was asked about an email allegedly written by Hunter Biden to a business partner that contained information about Ukraine seemingly taken directly from classified information given to senators before they travel overseas.

“Well, the one thing we know for sure is Hunter Biden didn’t write that. Hunter Biden is not an expert on Ukraine, he’s not an expert on Eastern Europe, he’s not an expert on Russia, but that email did help get him on the board of Burisma,” Cruz said. “It did help him get paid $83,000 a month because it showed a level of expertise, not coming from him, but he got it somewhere.”

While the wild speculation aimed at Trump selling secrets to the highest bidder was pure left-wing ranting, and some residual Russia collusion delusion, the concerns about Joe and Hunter, and dangerous liaisons with China appear more grounded in facts and evidence.

Hunter had intimate business relations with agents of the Chinese regime, and access to all the locations Joe may have stashed highly classified documents. 

It’s not a stretch to see the links and risk.

It is time the FBI searches all Biden homes and offices, including everywhere Hunter has been, and Joe Biden’s beach house. 

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

Meadows Ally Plans to Plead Guilty

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    Office of Congressman Mark Meadows, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    A Republican who ran to replace former Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) after he joined the Trump White House will plead guilty to accepting an illegal campaign contribution.

    Federal prosecutors have charged Lynda Bennett for knowingly accepting a $25,000 campaign contribution from a relative that was made in someone else’s name.

    Monday’s court filing indicated Bennett’s plan to plead guilty. Details surrounding the illegal contribution have largely been kept secret.

    “This case involves a technical violation of campaign-finance regulations, based on a loan from a family member. Lynda looks forward to putting it behind her,” Bennett’s attorney, Kearns Davis, told Fox News Digital by email Monday. 

    Sentencing guidelines for violations of 52 USC 30122 list maximum penalties of five years imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $50,000.

    Bennett, an outspoken GOP activist ultimately lost her 2020 Congressional campaign to controversial firebrand Madison Cawthorn by about 32 percentage points, or 15,000 votes.

    Federal campaign finance laws prohibited individual contributions that exceeded $2,800 for the 2020 primary cycle or $2,800 for that year’s general election cycle.

    According to The Hill, Meadows’s wife, Debbie was close with Bennett and reportedly encouraged the former president to endorse her in the primary.

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

    RNC Holds Highly Anticipated Leadership Vote

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      Ronna McDaniel via Gage Skidmore Flickr

      The Republican National Committee held its long-awaited leadership vote on Friday.

      Ronna McDaniel won a fourth term to head the Republican National Committee (RNC) during a secret ballot vote by members on Friday.

      Ronna McDaniel has led the RNC since being tapped by former President Trump to the role in 2016. However, disappointing midterm results prompted criticism from Republicans across the nation.

      McDaniel fended off two challengers — California attorney Harmeet Dhillon and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.

      NBC News correspondent Vaugh Hillyard reported McDaniel received 111 votes for RNC chair. Dhillon come in second with 51 votes, while Lindell and former Congressman Lee Zeldin trailed in a distant third and fourth place, receiving four and one votes respectively.

      McDaniel, the niece of Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), ran the RNC while Trump was president. She dropped the “Romney” from her name when she became RNC chairwoman in 2017, making her just the second woman to ever hold the position. She is one of the longest-serving RNC chairs ever. 

      On Thursday, Florida Gov. Ron. DeSantis (R) plunged into the race, saying the RNC needed “new blood” and offering favorable comments for Harmeet Dhillon. (RELATED: DeSantis Dives into RNC Leadership Race)

      “I think we need a change, I think we need to get some new blood in the RNC,” DeSantis said in an interview with Florida’s Voice. “I like what Harmeet Dhillon has said about getting the RNC out of D.C. … We need some fresh thinking.”

      Dhillon, a California attorney who was a legal adviser for Trump’s 2020 campaign, emerged as a major opponent set to disrupt McDaniel-re-election plans.

      Mike Lindell, a staunch Trump supporter and MyPillow CEO, led a disappointing campaign for RNC chair.

      Lindell focused his RNC campaign on protecting election “integrity.”

      New House Subcommittee Takes Aim at ‘Weaponized’ Federal Agencies

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      Joe Biden via Gage Skidmore Flickr

      ANALYSIS – LONG OVERDUE – The new Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government will soon be investigating federal agencies that have abused their power and violated Americans’ rights.

      The spotlight should be especially focused on those federal agencies in the law enforcement and intelligence arenas. 

      As I have repeatedly argued, this subcommittee is long overdue and badly needed, as the always growing behemoth that is our federal government has in recent years been fully weaponized for partisan gain and abused citizens of all stripes.

      The active partisan involvement by the FBI in helping cover up Hunter Biden’s laptop, along with current and retired senior officials in the intelligence community working to discredit the laptop, should be front and center of these investigations.

      As should the entire Hillary Clinton campaign contrived Trump-Russia-collusion hoax.

      More recently, new bombshells of this vast federal overreach and abuse have been dropped by Elon Musk’s ‘Twitter Files’ expose’.

      These files show a deep unconstitutional collusion between the FBI and a multitude of federal agencies and Big Tech, especially Twitter to censor and block online content posted and read by millions of Americans.

      This illegal activity violating Americans’ first amendment rights is also a huge concern.

      According to The Epoch Times:

      For now, the subcommittee will specifically look at abuses by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI, the legality of vaccine mandates, disinformation about conservative-sponsored election security laws, and censorship by big tech firms under government pressure, according to subcommittee members.

      While created by Republicans the new select subcommittee has a broad mandate. It will be chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).

      Since its creation, some Democrats have called the panel a Republican ploy to deflect from ongoing investigations into the Jan. 6 Capitol breach and former President Donald Trump.

      On January 10, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) using every leftist talking point and incendiary partisan term he could muster, called it “nothing more than a deranged ploy by the MAGA extremists who have hijacked the party and want to use taxpayer money to push their far-right conspiracy nonsense.”

      Republican subcommittee members dismissed these allegations, with one congressman saying that this vast federal overreach which they will be investigating represents “the signature abuse of power of our time,” in much the same way Watergate defined another era.

      ET adds:

      The new panel will examine how these abuses happened, how to correct them, and how to make sure the abuses won’t happen again, subcommittee member Rep. Mike Johnson told The Epoch Times.

      “Since the beginning of the Biden administration, some federal agencies designed to serve and keep Americans safe have instead been turned against them,” he said.

      “This fact is beyond dispute. The Biden Administration has used counterterrorism resources against the parents of school children, raided the homes of political opponents, targeted conservative states over their election integrity laws, inflated domestic extremism statistics, and instituted illegal vaccine mandates, just to name a handful of examples,” he added.

      However, the members emphasized that the subcommittee won’t be limited to investigating specific abuses, like the Russian collusion hoax or specific agencies.

      “We have a very broad charter. We’re not limited to [investigating the] DOJ and FBI,” said Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.).

      That is a good thing, because the abuse and corruption at our federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies extends far beyond the DOJ and the FBI.

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

      Trump in Hot Water Again After Posing with Infamous Philly Mob Boss

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        Trump is facing criticism after a photo emerged of him with the infamous Philadelphia mon boss, Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino.

        Trump posed for the photo obtained by The Philadelphia Inquirer with Merlino earlier this month at Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach. The two, along with an unidentified third man, flash Trump’s customary “thumbs-up” hand signs and smiles while wearing golfing attire.

        “President Trump takes countless photos with people. That does not mean he knows every single person he comes in contact with,” said a Trump spokesperson after The Inquirer shared a copy of the photo with his campaign.

        Merlino was convicted in 2001 in a racketeering case and served a decade in federal prison and is known for connections to mob with operations in Philadelphia and Atlantic City. After his release, he relocated to Boca Raton, Florida before being arrested again in 2018 on a gambling-related charge.

        Trump has recently come under fire for his contact with controversial public figures like Kanye West and Nick Fuentes.

        Last year Trump hosted a dinner while the rapper also known as Ye was in the middle of his anti-Semitic, pro-Nazi meltdown. West was also accompanied by Nick Fuentes, one of the most infamous white nationalists and Holocaust deniers in the country. Trump has asserted that he was unaware Fuentes would be attending the dinner.

        Paul Pelosi Hammer Attack Footage Released

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        Image via Pixabay images

        Police have released the footage of a hammer-wielding intruder attacking former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband in their San Fransisco home.

        The footage disclosure follows San Francisco Superior Court Judge Stephen M. Murphy’s ruling yesterday over prosecutors’ objections.

        Beware the video shows graphic and violent content.

        According to a sworn affidavit, David DePape broke into the Pelosis’ San Francisco estate shouting, “Where is Nancy?” DePape said he intended to break Pelosi’s kneecaps if she didn’t comply with his instructions.

        However, the House speaker had flown to Washington.

        Instead, DePape encountered her husband, Paul Pelosi, 82.

        This story is developing. Click refresh for the latest updates.

        Biden Pentagon ‘Diversity’ Push is Part of Radical Leftist Agenda, Harms US Warfighting

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        Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III speaks during the 2023 U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee meeting co-hosted with Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken hosting Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa and Japanese Defense Minister Hamada Yasukazu, at the Department of State. Washington, D.C., Jan 11, 2023. (DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jack Sanders)

        ANALYSIS – The ‘Woke Wars’ at the Pentagon will be heating up now that Republicans have taken over the House of Representatives, but few know how bad the problem is.

        And what exactly do we mean by ‘woke.’

        Well, to me, woke is a catchall term invented by the left to describe a full spectrum of leftist and socialist agendas. Among them are diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), better described as DIE.

        DIE includes Critical Race Theory (CRT), anti-white racism, extreme feminism as well as the radical transgender agenda. 

        All flow from the Frankfurt School of modern socialism and intend to radically transform our institutions and society along socialist lines.

        Not only are these policies wrong, but in many cases, they are illegal and unconstitutional; they simply codify reverse discrimination and racism in violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

        Many of these concepts have thoroughly infected our colleges and universities and are being pushed down to even our high schools and grammar schools.

        Some of this goes back to the 1980s, but most recently they have been pushed hard at the Pentagon by hardcore leftists with Team Clinton, Team Obama and now the same radicals with Team Biden.

        This aggressive push for ‘diversity’ and the obsession with race totally undermines our military culture, where our troops are supposed to think less about our differences, not more.

        As Michael Washburn of The Epoch Times writes:

        The U.S. military’s increased push for diversity and inclusion, as reflected in the far-reaching National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) signed by President Joe Biden on Dec. 23, 2022, aims to remake the military’s culture and ethos along the same lines as left-wing policies that have been put to use at elite colleges and other areas of the private sphere, defense experts say.

        While efforts to diversify the armed forces along racial and gender lines at the expense of traditional standards, aren’t new, the NDAA signals dramatically increased civilian input on and oversight of a culture once deemed to be the domain of professional soldiers, the experts told The Epoch Times.

        Provisions of the NDAA that aim to boost diversity are so similar to policies enforced by private institutions, such as Harvard University, that an organization opposing the “woke” agenda in the armed forces, and supporting traditional standards and requirements [Veterans for Fairness and Merit- VFM], has gone so far as to lend its expertise in a lawsuit over Harvard’s admissions policies, in the form of an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) filing (pdf), obtained by The Epoch Times. The filing argues that diversity and inclusion policies have harmed the military and aren’t a good idea in either the public or private spheres.

        Part of Biden’s NDAA pushes illegal racial preferences in training and recruitment.

        Scott McQuarrie, president of Veterans for Fairness and Merit (VFM), explains how bad this is: “[advocates of diversity] make this assertion that it’s a national security imperative that the military be allowed to use racial preferences in order to meet that high bar. Most people being candid with you would say that’s a very far-fetched argument.”

        “In fact, our military has operated over the last few generations effectively without having to suspend the Constitution. In Bosnia, Panama, the Gulf War, Afghanistan, and Iraq, the military did quite well, and we don’t need to violate the Constitution for the military to execute its mission,” he added.

        The Pentagon’s aggressive push for diversity and inclusion, as reflected in Biden’s far-reaching NDAA signed on Dec. 23, aims to radically transform the military’s culture and ethos along the same lines as left-wing policies that are ruining many colleges, corporations and civilian institutions.

        They can’t be allowed to destroy our military, as they are destroying everything else. The GOP House needs to focus like a laser beam on these issues at the Defense Department, and private groups like VFM need to continue and ramp up their legal battle against DIE.

        This is a war for the soul of our armed forces and our Republic.

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

        DeSantis Dives into RNC Leadership Race

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          Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is getting involved in the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) ongoing leadership battle.

          Gov. DeSantis endorsed former Trump campaign adviser and California attorney Harmeet Dhillon in her bid to take the RNC chairmanship away from Ronna McDaniel.

          “I think we need to get some new blood in the RNC,” DeSantis told Charlie Kirk, the founder of conservative Turning Point USA, on Florida’s Voice

          “I like what Harmeet Dhillon has said about getting the RNC out of D.C. Why would you want to have your headquarters in the most Democrat city in America? It’s more Democrat than San Francisco is,” he continued, referencing a letter that Dhillon sent to RNC members about looking into regional offices while keeping their headquarters in Washington.

          The Florida governor referenced the disappointing performance of Republicans in the last three election cycles as the reason for wanting a leadership change at the RNC.

          “We’ve had three substandard election cycles in a row: ‘18, ‘20 and ‘22. And I would say of all three of those, ‘22 was probably the worst. Given the political environment of a very unpopular president in Biden, huge majorities of the people think the country is going in the wrong direction — that is an environment that’s tailor-made to make big gains in the House and the Senate and in state houses all across the country. And yet that didn’t happen,” DeSantis told Kirk.

          DeSantis’s comments come just one day before the RNC committee members will hold a secret ballot vote for several positions, including their chairperson. 

          In addition to McDaniel and Dhillon, the pro-Trump MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell is also running to lead the party.

          Former Top FBI Official Charged with Violating Russia Sanctions

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          Arrest image via Pixabay

          A former top FBI official involved in the investigation of alleged ties between Russia and Donald Trump has been charged with violating U.S. sanctions against Russia.

          Charles McGonigal, who previously worked as the counterintelligence director in the FBI’s New York field office, was arrested for violating U.S. sanctions against Russia over his work with Oleg Deripaska, a sanctioned Russian oligarch.

          McGonigal was charged along with a court interpreter, Sergey Shestakov, who also had ties to Deripaska according to The Hill.

          According to the FBI, McGonigal took money from Deripaska in exchange for investigating a rival Russian oligarch. The indictment also alleges also claims that the duo was actively trying to conceal the identity of Deripaska when negotiating the deal.

          “They both previously worked with Deripaska to attempt to have his sanctions removed, and, as public servants, they should have known better,” U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said in a statement. “This Office will continue to prosecute those who violate U.S. sanctions enacted in response to Russian belligerence in Ukraine in order to line their own pockets”

          The FBI alleges that the two attempted to conceal Deripaska’s involvement by “not directly naming Deripaska in electronic communications, using shell companies as counterparties in the contract that outlined the services to be performed, using a forged signature on that contract, and using the same shell companies to send and receive payments from Deripaska.”

          The two were charged with one count of conspiring to violate and evade U.S. sanctions, in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), one count of violating the IEEPA, one count of conspiring to commit money laundering, and one count of money laundering, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Shestakov is also charged with one count of making false statements, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. 

          After leaving the FBI, McGonigal worked for Deripaska directly, making $42,000 a month.