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Obama Claims New Yorkers ‘Don’t Take Trump Seriously’

By
Madeleine Jackson
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6
The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

During a podcast interview, former President Barack Obama swiped at Donald Trump claiming the former President is not taken “seriously” in the city he called home for years, New York City.

Obama appeared alongside Bill Clinton and President Biden in the newest episode of the “SmartLess” podcast. 

Obama was asked on the “SmartLess” podcast by co-host Jason Bateman whether he was surprised how quickly the “protection and passion for democracy was diluted” in recent years. Obama responded by noting the trend began during former President Clinton’s time in the White House before accelerating during his presidency.

“I have been surprised that there haven’t been guardrails inside the Republican Party. Trump didn’t surprise me,” he said, before taking aim at Trump.

“I mean, he comes from New York. There’s nobody in New York who does business with him or lend him money. He’s not considered a serious guy here,” Obama added.

Obama went on to explain how he thought more Republicans would say some of Trump’s behavior went too far.

“But, so I was surprised he was elected, but I wasn’t surprised in terms of his behavior. I did expect, and I suspect Bill and Joe, you’d agree with this, that there would be some folks in the Republican Party who would say, no, you can’t go that far. You can’t start praising Putin and saying that his intelligence is better than the US intelligence agencies,” he said.

Trump is currently on trial in New York for falsifying business records to make alleged hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels.

Judge Grants Trump Permission To Attend Son’s Graduation

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Former President Donald Trump will be able to attend his son Barron’s high school graduation in May, according to Judge Juan Merchan.

    Merchan, who is presiding over the New York hush Money trial, said Tuesday that Trump would be permitted to attend the May 17 ceremony in lieu of court proceedings. The judge had previously delayed his decision earlier this month on whether Trump would be able to attend the graduation.

    The Hill has more:

    Trump had previously railed against Merchan for delaying the decision, slamming the judge for potentially barring him from attending the event. Under New York state law, Trump is required to attend the entirety of his trial unless he gets special permission from the judge to skip.

    “I was looking forward to that graduation with his mother and father there,” Trump told reporters at the time. “It looks like the judge isn’t going to allow me to escape this scam. It’s a scam trial.”

    Other Republicans and Trump allies also criticized Merchan after he delayed the decision. Another of Trump’s sons, Eric Trump, said earlier this month that the judge “is truly heartless in not letting a father attend his son’s graduation.”


    Trump is being charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records to make alleged hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels.

    On Tuesday, Judge Merchan also fined the former President nearly $10,000 for repeatedly violating the gag order barring him from targeting witnesses, prosecutors, court staff, and the judge’s family.

    Report: Judge Rules Over Trump Gag Order Violations

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    3
    Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

    On Tuesday, Judge Juan Merchan fined former President Donald Trump nearly $10,000 for violating his gag order.

    Prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office claim Trump has so far violated the order barring him from attacking witnesses, prosecutors, court staff, and the judge’s family 10 times. They asked the judge to fine Trump $1,000 for each violation.

    The Hill reports:

    “What happened here is precisely what this order was designed to prevent and this defendant doesn’t care,” Assistant District Attorney Chris Conroy said at last week’s hearing.

    At one point, a hearing on the matter grew heated between the judge and Trump’s attorney, where at one point Merchan told Todd Blanche that he was “losing all credibility” with the court.

    Trump regularly rails against his perceived foes in his legal entanglements, leading his hush money judge, at prosecutors’ request, to place restrictions on Trump’s speech as the case headed to trial.

    728068518-Read-judge-s-rulingDownload

    Trump is being charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records to make alleged hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels.

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

    Stefanik Files Ethics Complaint Against Special Counsel Jack Smith

      By
      Madeleine Jackson
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      1
      Elise Stefanik with Donald Trump via Wikimedia Commons

      On Tuesday, House GOP conference chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) filed an ethics complaint against special counsel Jack Smith on Tuesday, accusing the prosecutor overseeing the federal investigations into former President Trump of trying to “unlawfully interfere with the 2024 presidential election.”

      The New York Congresswoman filed the complaint with the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility, arguing that Smith is trying to “rush” Trump’s federal election subversion case.

      “It’s obvious to any reasonable observer that Jack Smith is trying to interfere with the 2024 election and stop the American people from electing Donald Trump,” Stefanik said in a statement. “At every turn, he has sought to accelerate his illegal prosecution of President Trump for the clear (if unstated) purpose of trying him before the November election.”

      Smith should be censured for violating the Justice Department’s manual, she argues, citing a section that says attorneys may “never select the timing of any action…for the purpose of affecting any election.”

      “Smith’s conduct has brought disrepute to the Department of Justice and the entire federal government, and the DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility should impose the discipline that such conduct warrants,” Stefanik said in her statement.

      The complaint is unlikely to prompt any action from the Justice Department, however, as Smith’s case kicked off with an August 2023 indictment, some 15 months ahead of the presidential election.

      Though an unwritten policy, the Justice Department encourages prosecutors to follow the “60-day rule” — avoiding any action that might influence an election.

      In November, Stefanik filed an ethics complaint against Judge Arthur Engoron, who oversaw the former president’s civil fraud trial, accusing him of “inappropriate bias and judicial intemperance.” 

      GOP Senator Predicts SCOTUS Will Punt Trump Immunity Case

        By
        Madeleine Jackson
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        2
        [Photo Credit: The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons]

        On Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) predicted that the U.S. Supreme Court will send former President Trump’s immunity case back to the lower courts.

        “Well, I think the court’s gonna find that presidential immunity exists for President Trump like every other president, but you got to be within the scope of being president. I think they’ll send it back to the lower courts to find out exactly what actions fall within presidential immunity and what are considered personal. I think that’s the way this will end — there will be some immunity for some of the actions,” Graham said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

        The Supreme Court heard arguments last week over whether Trump could have presidential immunity from criminal prosecution in the federal Jan. 6 case brought by special counsel Jack Smith. 

        Graham said the question of immunity may be “decided partially” for the former president.

        “There’s no absolute immunity in the Constitution. It will be a legal analysis, you know, the president needs to be protected. You know, we don’t become a banana republic here. We prosecute, you know, our political opponents, which is going on really in many jurisdictions,” he said. “But I think the immunity question will be decided partially for Trump and some legal, some factual analysis as to when and where it applies.”

        Graham then went on to slam all of the cases being brought against Trump as “political” and “selective prosecution.”

        “So I think most Americans are not going to decide how to vote based on Trump’s legal troubles, but their troubles they face — inflation, crime or broken border — your poll tells me everything I need to know about these legal problems for Trump. People looking at their problems, not Trump’s legal problems,” Graham said.

        Report: Trump Wants This candidate To Hit The Campaign Trail

        By
        Madeleine Jackson
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        0
        Marine One lifts-off after returning President Donald J. Trump to Mar-a-Lago Friday, March 29, 2019, following his visit to the 143-mile Herbert Hoover Dike near Canal Point, Fla., that surrounds Lake Okeechobee. The visit was part of an infrastructure inspection of the dike, which is part of the Kissimmee-Okeechobee Everglades system, and reduces impacts of flooding for areas of south Florida. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian) [Photo Credit: The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons]

        Presumed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has reportedly gotten tired of Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake spending so much time at Mar-a-lago.

        According to a recent Washington Post report, Trump is concerned Lake has focused too much on networking with the Republican elite and not enough on campaigning for a crucial win in the contentious state.

        “At one point last year, after grumbling for months that she was at his Mar-a-Lago Club too often, Trump gently suggested to Lake that she should leave the club and hit the campaign trail in Arizona, according to a person with direct knowledge of his comments,” the Post reporters wrote. “Trump has also asked others if she can really win in Arizona and if she might drag down his own poll numbers as he seeks the presidency again in 2024, advisers said.”

        Trump also privately thinks Lake’s 2022 election fraud claims are full of hot air, according to the report.

        “She didn’t win,” Trump bluntly told a political ally at a Mar-a-Lago dinner earlier this year, according to the Post.

        One other notable Lake moment got the attention of Trump and his inner circle: the incident in which a Lake ally released a tape of former Arizona GOP chair Jeff DeWit appearing to show Lake being offered a bribe to not run for Senate in 2024. The Post reporters described Trump’s reaction to the incident as “more surprised than angry” when he learned about it on the night of the New Hampshire primary in January.

        “She tapes everything?” Trump reportedly asked. “That’s good to know.”

        In a statement sent to the Post defended the MAGA Republican “Kari Lake is a Smart and Fearless Leader who will WIN in Arizona, and help us flip the Senate to Republican control. Kari’s Opponent, Ruben Gallego, is an Open Borders RADICAL, who is BAD on Inflation and SOFT on Terrorists and Crime.”

        Report: Rep. Adam Schiff Robbed In San Francisco

        By
        Madeleine Jackson
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        2
        Photo via Gage Skidmoer Flickr

        Yikes…

        California Congressman Adam Schiff (D) was reportedly a victim of a theft just hours before a swanky campaign dinner on Thursday.

        According to The San Francisco Chronicle, thieves broke into his car that was parked in a downtown parking garage and stole his bags. Without business clothes to wear, Schiff still proceeded to the event in shirt sleeves and a hiking vest, according to the Chronicle, with others dressed in suits.

        At the dinner, Schiff thanked attorney Joe Cotchett for supporting Schiff’s bid to replace the late Dianne Feinstein and represent California in the U.S. Senate.

        “I guess it’s ‘Welcome to San Francisco,’” joked Cotchett’s press agent Lee Houskeeper, who was at the dinner.

        Schiff was not in the vehicle when it happened.

        “Yes, they took my bags,” the California representative said, per the Chronicle. “But I’m here to thank Joe.”

        The apparent theft came just days after the San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s security guard was assaulted in downtown San Jose Tuesday, according to KRON4, a local Bay Area news outlet.

        “While interviewing Mayor Matt Mahan in downtown San Jose, a man was shouting at us and fought Mayor Mahan’s security guard,”KRON4 reporter Jack Molmud wrote in a post along with a video of the incident. “The fight lasted a couple minutes and the man was arrested by SJPD. Police said they were compiling evidence and sending it to the DA’s office.”

        Report: Poppy Harlow To Leave CNN

        By
        Madeleine Jackson
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        2
        CNN Headquarters via Wikimedia Commons

        Big changes are coming…

        Longtime CNN anchor Poppy Harlow is exiting the network.

        Harlow, a veteran of CNN who spent nearly two decades on the air, will be departing in May, a CNN spokesperson confirmed to Mediaite.

        The news of her departure was first reported by Vanity Fair.

        Mediaite has more:

        “When I walked in the door at CNN in 2008, I was 25 years old and had never been on live TV. Green is an understatement!” Harlow said in an internal note to colleagues that was obtained by Vanity Fair. “I passed those three iconic red letters in the hall on day one and thought how lucky I was to be here.”

        “There’s been plenty written about what’s wrong with journalism, and the challenges our industry faces,” she wrote. “And it does. But there is also so much right with it. At the heart of everything we do is the pursuit of truth – it is the core of CNN. I remain CNN’s biggest fan and I’ll be watching and cheering you on every day.”

        She did not reveal her future plans, saying only, “For now, my plan is to walk our children to school and pick them up (hopefully they won’t get sick of me!), and to support the evolution of journalism in every way I can, while preserving the human(ity) in it.”

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

        Trump Loses Latest Attempt To Overturn E. Jean Carroll Verdict

        By
        admin
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        1
        Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

        Judge Lewis Kaplan issued a scathing opinion Thursday afternoon, ripping apart former President Donald Trump‘s legal argument to avoid paying E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million.

        A New York jury found Trump liable for sexual assault and defamation against Carroll in May 2023. Carroll was initially awarded $5 million. However, the presidential front-runner later called Carroll “crazy” and a “liar” leading to further civil damages against Trump, including $7.3 million in emotional harm, $11 million in “reputational repair” and $65 million in punitive damages.

        In his opinion, Kaplan wrote:

        Mr. Trump’s argument is entirely without merit both as a matter of law and as a matter of fact for all of the reasons articulated in Ms. Carroll’s memorandum of law in opposition to his motion. Among other things, it ignores the fact that, as the jury and/or the Court concluded, Mr. Trump’s…statements were false, defamatory, and made with both actual and common law malice. It ignores the fact that those defamatory statements were viewed between at least 85 to 104 million times…It ignores as well the fact that the jury was entitled to believe Ms. Carroll’s testimony as to the impact of the…statements on her. And it ignores the lack of any persuasive legal authority supporting Mr. Trump’s contention. Indeed, the law is clear that when competing theories and evidence are presented at trial, the issue of causation ultimately is one for the jury, which the Court should not ordinarily disturb.

        In short, the argument — which Mr. Trump previously made to the the jury, conspicuously without success, and which defies common sense — does not warrant dismissal as a matter of law.

        Kaplan ended on a blistering note: “Accordingly, Mr. Trump’s motions for a new trial and for a judgment as a matter of law are DENIED.”

        Trump’s appeal before New York’s Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit remains pending.

        In 2019, Carroll accused Trump of raping her in a dressing room at a New York City department store in the mid-1990s.

        Article Published With The Permission of American Liberty News.

        Trump Attorney Admits Unfortunate Truth Of Trump Hush Money Trial

          By
          Madeleine Jackson
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          4
          Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America,

          It’s not looking good…

          In an interview with Newsmax on Wednesday night, Alina Habba sounded less than optimistic about her client Donald Trump’s chances of prevailing in his New York criminal case.

          Trump is being charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records to make alleged hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels.

          Appearing on Wednesday’s Greg Kelly Reports, Habba was asked about the proceedings.

          “How are you and what do you think tonight about everything?” Greg Kelly asked his guest.

          Habba struck a tone of resignation:

          …I don’t have hopes really that high at this moment that the New York courts will do the right thing, that the jury will do the right thing. We’re in a blue state, as you know, Greg. And I think everything’s by design. We’re in a case that was eight years old, over the statute of limitations, was denied by [former Manhattan District Attorney] Cy Vance, then brought only after President Trump decided he was going to run for office.

          “It’s very troubling,” she added. “We’re in the fight of our lives at this moment.”

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