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Trump Fined In Civil Fraud Trial

By
Madeleine Jackson
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5
Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

Former President Trump was fined $10,000 for violating the gag order in his $250 million New York business fraud trial.

Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to the witness stand and questioned him about comments he made outside of the courtroom.

The surprise calling of Trump to the witness stand came amid the second day of testimony from Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney and fixer, who faced a barrage of attacks about his credibility as a witness.

CNBC has more:

Trump doubled down Wednesday during a mid-morning break, saying Cohen “went to jail for lying” and branding him “a totally discredited witness.”

Trump, who stared down Cohen in court on Tuesday, repeatedly attacked his former lawyer in between the proceedings. He called Cohen a “proven liar,” a “felon” and a “disgrace” outside the courtroom.

He launched more attacks on social media, writing Tuesday evening that Cohen “was a complete and total disaster” in the trial.

“Lie after lie, and getting caught each time,” claimed Trump.

New York Attorney General Letitia James’ civil case accuses Trump, his two adult sons, the Trump Organization and top executives of falsely inflating the values of Trump’s real estate properties and other assets in order to get tax benefits and better loan terms.

James seeks around $250 million in damages, and she wants to bar Trump and his co-defendants from running another business in New Yo

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

House Elects New House Speaker

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1

    On Tuesday the House officially elected a new Speaker of the House, ending the nearly monthlong stalemate.

    Mike Johnson (R-La.), who was in his second term as vice chairman of the House Republican Conference, won the Speaker’s gavel in a 220-209 vote over Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), officially cementing himself as successor to former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)

    “It is the honor of a lifetime to have been elected the 56th Speaker of the House,” Johnson said in a post to X, adding later, “As Speaker, I will ensure the House delivers results and inspires change for the American people. We will restore trust in this body. We will advance a comprehensive conservative policy agenda, combat the harmful policies of the Biden Administration, and support our allies abroad. And we will restore sanity to a government desperately in need of it. Let’s get back to work.”

    “A man of deep faith, Mike epitomizes what it means to be a servant leader. A deeply respected constitutional lawyer, Mike has dedicated his life to preserving America’s great principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) said in her speech nominating Johnson on Wednesday.

    Trump Targets Former Chief Of Staff After Report Undermines 2020 Election Claims

      By
      Madeleine Jackson
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      1
      Office of Congressman Mark Meadows, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

      The walls are closing in on Donald Trump…

      The former President who is facing a litany of federal charges stemming from his alleged interference in the 2020 election pushed back on Tuesday’s ABC News report that former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows took an immunity deal to testify to a grand jury.

      Jonathan Karl reported that Meadows spoke with special counsel Jack Smith’s team at least three times this year:

      The sources said Meadows informed Smith’s team that he repeatedly told Trump in the weeks after the 2020 presidential election that the allegations of significant voting fraud coming to them were baseless, a striking break from Trump’s prolific rhetoric regarding the election.

      According to the sources, Meadows also told the federal investigators Trump was being “dishonest” with the public when he first claimed to have won the election only hours after polls closed on Nov. 3, 2020, before final results were in.

      “Obviously, we didn’t win,” a source quoted Meadows as telling Smith’s team in hindsight per Karl’s report, which strikes at the heart of both the federal and Fulton County case against Trump for criminally conspiring to defraud the American people that a free and fair election was “rigged.”

      Trump took to Truth Social and suggested that while he didn’t think Meadows was the sort to lie to prosecutors to get “IMMUNITY.”  He then passively aggressively suggested Meadows was among  “weaklings and cowards” that make a deal and are “so bad for the future our Failing Nation.”

      “I don’t think that Mark Meadows is one of them, but who really knows? ” Trump wrote:

      I don’t think Mark Meadows would lie about the Rigged and Stollen 2020 Presidential Election merely for getting IMMUNITY against Prosecution (PERSECUTION!) by Deranged Prosecutor, Jack Smith. BUT, when you really think about it, after being hounded like a dog for three years, told you’ll be going to jail for the rest of your life, your money and your family will be forever gone, and we’re not at all interested in exposing those that did the RIGGING — If you say BAD THINGS about that terrible “MONSTER,” DONALD J. TRUMP, we won’t put you in prison, you can keep your family and your wealth, and, perhaps, if you can make up some really horrible “STUFF” a out him, we may very well erect a statue of you in the middle of our decaying and now very violent Capital, Washington, D.C. Some people would make that deal, but they are weaklings and cowards, and so bad for the future our Failing Nation. I don’t think that Mark Meadows is one of them, but who really knows? MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!

      Trump then added:

      Mark Meadows NEVER told me that allegations of significant fraud (about the RIGGED Election!) were baseless. He certainly didn’t say that in his book!

      Politico’s Kyle Cheney also noted that in Trump’s attack, the former President may have also violated the gag order imposed in the case.

      Trump Files Series Of Motions In D.C. Election Interference Case

      By
      Madeleine Jackson
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      0
      Gage Skidmore Flickr

      Former President Trump attempted to distance himself from the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol in a series of late-night legal motions.

      Former President Trump’s legal team is asking a judge to toss his prosecution in his federal election interference case.

      The Daily Beast reports that in one motion, Trump filed to dismiss his federal 2020 election subversion case, citing First Amendment rights surrounding Trump’s belief the election as stolen and claiming the indictment, “taken as true, violates this core principle.”

      “The fact that the indictment alleges that the speech at issue was supposedly, according to the prosecution, ‘false’ makes no difference,” the defense wrote. “Under the First Amendment, each individual American participating in a free marketplace of ideas — not the federal Government — decides for him or herself what is true and false on great disputed social and political questions.”

      “President Trump’s opinion on the subject was just that — an opinion formed based on his view of the available information. Virtually every American, including the cited public officials, had similar access to much of this same information, including a mountain of publicly reported facts and opinions, which were the subject of wall-to-wall media coverage throughout the post-election period and beyond,” they wrote.

      “Each official thus had every opportunity to form his or her own conclusions, just like President Trump.”

      The second motion seeks dismissal on statutory grounds, arguing, “The prosecution does not explain how President Trump violated these statutes, beyond simply saying he has while regurgitating the statutory language.”

      The third motion asks Judge Chutkan to remove “repeated references to the actions of independent actors at the Capitol on January 6, 2021” from his indictment, claiming Trump was not charged “with responsibility for the actions at the Capitol” and therefore the “allegations related to these actions are not relevant and are prejudicial and inflammatory.”

      “Because the Government has not charged President Trump with responsibility for the actions at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, allegations related to these actions are not relevant and are prejudicial and inflammatory. Therefore, the Court should strike these allegations from the Indictment,” his attorneys wrote in a motion to strike “inflammatory allegations” from Trump’s indictment. 

      The fourth saw Trump request dismissal “on the basis of selective and vindictive prosecution.”

      “These demands place an unacceptable burden on President Trump to foreshadow a possible formal defense,” they wrote.

      Jenna Ellis Takes Plea Deal In Georgia Election Case

      By
      Madeleine Jackson
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      4
      Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

      Former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis became the fourth defendant to plead guilty in the Georgia election interference case on Tuesday.

      According to reports from ABC News, Ellis is pleading guilty to one count of aiding and abetting false statements and writings.

      Recently, defendants Kenneth Chesebro, Sidney Powell, and Scott Hall took plea deals in exchange for agreeing to testify against other defendants.

      Ellis, who described herself as part of an “elite strike force team” of attorneys combating unfounded claims of election fraud, pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting false statements and writings.

      “If I knew then what I know now, I would have declined to represent Donald Trump in these post election challenges,” a tearful Ellis told the judge.

      “How do you plead to aiding and abetting false statements and writings,” Fulton County prosecutor Daysha Young asked.

      “Guilty,” Ellis responded.

      She was sentenced to five years of probation, 100 hours of community service and ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution and write a letter of apology to Georgia citizens.

      In August, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis indicted former President Trump and 18 others for trying to overturn his 2020 defeat in Georgia.

      Report: Trump To File For New Hampshire Primary In Person

      By
      Madeleine Jackson
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      0
      Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

      Donald Trump is reportedly planning to file for the New Hampshire primary in person this week.

      The filing period for New Hampshire’s presidential primary opened earlier this month, and the window closes Oct. 27. 

      A spokesperson for Trump’s campaign confirmed reporting from The Associated Press that Trump will visit the Granite State’s secretary of state office to formally file ahead of a campaign rally in Derry. 

      Democrat Sen. Maggie Hassan (N.H.) and New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley held a press conference Monday ahead of Trump’s formal filing in the state to talk about the former president’s “failures.”

      “As Trump files for the [New Hampshire] primary today, Granite Staters are remembering just how disastrous his presidency was for our state,” Buckley said.

      “Trump has proven over and over that we cannot trust him with New Hampshire’s economy or important crises — at home or on the world stage.”

      Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who have polled as some of Trump’s top challengers in the GOP primary, have already filed, according to the latest posting from the New Hampshire secretary of state. 

      North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Vice President Mike Pence, Trump’s ex-running mate, are also among the GOP White House hopefuls who have already signed up. 

      Trump Supporter Sentenced To Prison Over Voting Memes

        By
        Madeleine Jackson
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        6
        Image via Pixabay

        A Trump supporter has been sentenced to seven months in prison after he was convicted of election interference over social media posts.

        Douglass Mackey was accused of a “scheme to deprive individuals of their constitutional right to vote,” after a Twitter account he ran under the handle “Ricky Vaughn” posted memes in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election. One image showed a black woman standing in front of an “African Americans for Hillary” sign and said “Avoid the Line. Vote from Home,” “Text ‘Hillary’ to 59925.”

        The Justice Department said around 4,900 unique telephone numbers texted the hotline although it was unclear how many were participating in the joke rather than trying to cast their ballots.

        Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey suspended Mackey from the platform.

        Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Ann M. Donnelly, an Obama appointee, sentenced Mackey, claiming that his actions were “nothing short of an assault on our democracy” and amounted to attempts “injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate” people from exercising their right to vote according to Courthouse News Service.

        “Voting is the right that secures all other rights we hold dear,” Department of Justice Attorney Erik David Paulsen said. “They were committing fraud, one that was aimed at one of our most sacred rights in our democracy.”

        Prosecutors also took aim at Mackey for derogatory posts he had made toward black people and women, but Donnely said her sentence did not have to do with his political beliefs. “You are not being sentenced for your political beliefs or for expressing those beliefs,” she said.

        James Lawrence, an attorney for Mackey, previously said in an interview with The Daily Wire that his memes were satirical and were therefore not relevant to the law he purportedly violated. Mackey faced as many as 10 years in prison.

        Some have contended that Mackey’s right to free speech had been violated in a politically motivated case by the Biden administration. “It’s a three-fer: the prosecutorial creation of a crime Congress has not prescribed, the trivialization of civil-rights law, and the intrusion of government as a monitor of political speech,” former federal prosecutor Andy McCarthy wrote in an opinion piece for National Review.

        Report: Fox News Pulls The Plug On Trump Interviews

        By
        Madeleine Jackson
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        11
        Gage Skidmore Flickr

        Is Fox News icing out former President Donald Trump?

        New reports indicate the media giant has potentially been blackballed from making appearances on the conservative network for the considerable future.

        “In recent months, Trump’s inner circle has become increasingly convinced that Fox News is essentially sidelining the former president by restricting live appearances on their network,” reported Zachary Petrizzo. “‘Trump is not allowed live on Fox,’ a Trump operative told The Daily Beast, chalking it up to ‘fear’ that Trump could level a baseless allegation that could leave the network in a legal mess. A Trump adviser told The Daily Beast a similar story — that the former president isn’t allowed on live air anymore. At the very least, this person said, Fox News prefers to have Trump in a pre-recorded setting. ‘Fox sent down word from the top that they don’t want to ‘platform’ Trump like they did before,’ a Trump adviser told The Daily Beast. ‘I find it hilarious. For one, it sounds like something MSNBC would do.'”

        “After a lengthy hiatus last year, Trump re-emerged on Fox News this past March,” said the report. “However, following Trump’s absence, the former president only came back in a diminished capacity. Starting in March of 2023, Trump conducted a string of interviews with Fox hosts and anchors including Sean Hannity, Bret Baier, and Larry Kudlow. But gone are the days of Trump simply calling in live and offering his stream of consciousness. According to a search by The Daily Beast and Media Matters for America, Trump last phoned in live to a Fox News program in April of 2022.”

        Trump’s relationship with Fox News has deteriorated since leaving the White House but the current Republican presidential frontrunner has still made a number of appearances with the network in past months. The report noted that the network’s distance from Trump could also be a result of a recent settlement with Dominion Voting Systems.

        Trump has fired off repeated attacks against the network over its coverage of the former President.

        Second Trump Lawyer Pleads Guilty In Georgia Case

        By
        Madeleine Jackson
        -
        5
        Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

        A second Trump attorney has pleaded guilty in the Georgia election interference case brought by District Attorney Fani Willis.

        On Friday, Kenneth Chesebro agreed to testify truthfully in any future case proceedings and write a letter of apology to Georgia citizens.

        According to reports from The Hill, Fulton County prosecutor Daysha Young told the court that if the case had gone to trial, the state would have shown that Chesebro — along with Trump, Rudy Giuliani and other co-defendants — entered a criminal conspiracy to cause other co-conspirators to “falsely hold themselves out as the duly elected and qualified electors for the president and vice president from Georgia following the Nov. 3, 2020, presidential election.” 

        Young also said that Chesebro was present at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when an inflamed pro-Trump mob stormed the building while the certification of the presidential election was underway. 

        “Are you pleading guilty because you agree that there’s a factual basis that supports this remaining charge?” McAfee asked Chesebro. 

        “Yes, this charge,” Chesebro replied. 

        McAfee accepted the agreement. 

        Chesebro was also sentenced to five years of probation, 100 hours of community service and ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution.

        He was originally charged with seven felony counts linked to the alternate electors scheme, for which he drafted multiple memos detailing strategies for how slates of pro-Trump individuals could falsely claim to be their states’ valid electors.  However, Under the plea agreement, Chesebro will only be charged with one of those counts, conspiracy to commit filing false documents. 

        Chesebro’s guilty plea comes a day after Sidney Powell also pleaded guilty. (RELATED: Sidney Powell Pleads Guilty In Georgia Election Interference Case)

        Far-right Billionaire Peter Thiel Revealed as FBI Informant

          By
          Madeleine Jackson
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          4

          Far-right billionaire investor Peter Thiel was revealed as an FBI informant as recently as 2021, according to a new report from Insider.

          Insider reports:

          In order to be added to this database, multiple layers of approval are typically required, and only those able to provide “valuable information … on a recurring basis” are given CHS status. Once admitted to the CHS database, informants are then given a code name and a serial number to categorize reports.

          The source added that Thiel’s status as an FBI informant is meant to be a way for the billionaire to distance himself from the MAGA movement, which has repeatedly assailed both the FBI and the US Department of Justice in response to investigations focused on former President Donald Trump. Johnson told Insider that he believes Thiel is primarily informing on foreign governments’ attempts to cement themselves within Silicon Valley. Johnson added that Thiel was explicitly told to not inform on former President Donald Trump or other US political figures.

          Peter Thiel, who was the first outside investor in Facebook, became influential within the Republican Party in 2016, when he pledged $1.25 million to elect Trump and endorsed him at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Thiel then served on then-President-elect Trump’s transition team. And in the 2022 midterm elections, Thiel backed MAGA US Senate candidate and ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ author JD Vance with a $10 million super PAC donation. Vance went on to attack the FBI, falsely accusing agents of wiretapping his phone. Thiel also put $15 million toward a super PAC backing Arizona Republican US Senate candidate Blake Masters, who went on to lose the general election to incumbent Senator Mark Kelly (D-Arizona).

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