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Hillary Clinton Claims Trump Wants To ‘Kill’ Opponents

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Hillary Clinton via Gage Skidmore Flickr

That’s extreme…

Hillary Clinton made an extreme accusation that 2016 rival Donald Trump wants to “kill his opposition” because of his purported affinity for “strongmen” leaders such as Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Daily Wire continues:

“We haven’t talked much about the international arena, but, you know, his bromance with Putin,” said Clinton, who served as U.S. secretary of state and U.S. senator, during a podcast released last week.

“And it was actually called that I think by the former prime minister of Australia, who said he saw Trump with Putin and Trump was like, you know, just gaga over Putin because Putin does what he would like to do: kill his opposition, imprison his opposition, drive, you know, journalists and others into exile, rule without any check or balance.”

“That’s what Trump really wants,” Clinton added. “And so we have to be very conscious of how he sees the world because, in that world, he only sees strongmen leaders. He sees Putin, he sees [Chinese leader Xi Jinping], he sees Kim Jong Un in North Korea. Those are the people he is modeling himself after, and we’ve been down this road in our world history. We sure don’t want to go down that again.”

The interview took place on the “Defending Democracy” podcast hosted by Marc Elias, who served as the lawyer who directed funding from Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and Democratic National Committee that went toward British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s now-discredited dossier that contained allegations of a conspiracy between Trump and Russia.

Running with the “Russiagate” narrative, which allegedly was the opposite of what some U.S. intelligence information showed, Clinton said one of the reasons Putin “went after” her is “because he knew I would deal with him in an appropriate way and Trump would basically do whatever he wanted.” She added, “It’s really important to think about what could happen to our world with Trump back in the White House,” adding later that it was a “very scary prospect.”

Report: SCOTUS Rejects Kari Lake’s Voting Machine Suit

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Duncan Lock, Dflock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Republicans Kari Lake and Mark Finchem’s lawsuit over the use of voting machines in Arizona elections.

The Hill reports Lake and Finchem asked the Supreme Court to review a federal appellate judge’s decision to dismiss their case last October. The suit sought to block electronic voting machines from being used in the state, questioning their accuracy and reliability.  

Lawyers for Lake, who is running for a Senate seat in Arizona this cycle, and Finchem, who is seeking a state Senate seat, argued in a court filing to the Supreme Court that they had sufficiently argued that “[a]ll Arizona-certified optical scanners and ballot marking devices, as well as the software on which they rely, have been wrongly certified for use”; Arizona’s voting machines had been “hacked” and “manipulated”; and that there were apparent discrepancies in the Maricopa County’s vote count after the 2020 election. 

The lawsuit was filed ahead of the November 2022 midterms while Lake was running for governor.

The Supreme Court’s decision to decline to revisit the federal court’s decision puts a cap on Lake’s and Finchem’s lawsuit.

“We are obviously disappointed that the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to review the decisions of the Arizona district court and the Ninth Circuit, and order that our challenge to the 2022 election procedures be heard on the merits,” said Kurt Olsen, one of the attorneys that sought to get the Supreme Court to consider the case, in a statement, who argued new information came to light after their case was dismissed by the  circuit court. 

“Although the Supreme Court grants review in less than 1 percent of cases presented on petition, we believe we presented a case.”

“The Kari Lake and Mark Finchem case was dismissed based on a purported lack of standing to assert an injury,” Olsen wrote. “Therefore, the courts, even now, have not ruled on the merits of our case. We will continue to raise these issues especially in light of the upcoming 2024 election.”

Trump Promotes ‘Peaceful Protests’ Ahead Of Hush Money Trial’s Opening Arguments

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Before opening arguments are scheduled to begin in Donald Trump’s hush money trial in Manhattan the former President urged supporters to exercise their right to protest.

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

Opening statements are expected to begin Monday.

In a post just before he left for the courthouse, Trump questioned why pro-Palestinian protesters were allowed to “roam the Cities, scream, shout, sit, block traffic, enter buildings, not get permits, and basically do whatever they want” while his supporters are “rudely and systematically shut down and ushered off to far away ‘holding areas,’ essentially denying them their Constitutional Rights.”

“America Loving Protesters should be allowed to protest at the front steps of Courthouses, all over the Country,” Trump added, appearing to reference how demonstrators who have shown up outside his trial have been kept across the street from the building.

Trump urged his supporters to “GO OUT AND PEACEFULLY PROTEST. RALLY BEHIND MAGA. SAVE OUR COUNTRY!”

In a separate post Sunday, Trump specifically attacked Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D), who is leading the case against Trump, and defended the payment at the heart of the case as a “legal expense.”

“What other term would be more appropriate??? Believe it or not, this is the pretext under which I was Indicted, and that Legal Scholars and Experts CANNOT BELIEVE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “It is also the perfect Crooked Joe Biden NARRATIVE – To be STUCK in a courtroom, and not be allowed to campaign for President of the United States!”

Report: Tragedy Occurs Outside Trump Courtroom

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Police image via Pixabay free images

An unidentified person has set themselves on fire outside the courthouse where former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial is underway.

The scene occurred live on CNN, with first responders rushing to extinguish the flames.

Video circulating online shows flames engulfing a man kneeling on the ground with his hands behind his head. Bystanders said he poured some kind of accelerant over himself moments before.

CNN anchor Lauren Coats attempted to describe the apparent self-immolation.

The man eventually collapsed, screaming in agony. After several more excruciating seconds, police officers arrived with fire extinguishers to put out the fire.

His body, reportedly twitching, was placed on a gurney and whisked to a nearby hospital.

The shocking incident occurred in a barricaded park outside Manhattan’s 100 Centre Street courthouse.

Jury selection was completed on Friday, with a 12-person jury and six alternates. Opening arguments are set to begin Monday.

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

This article is republished with permission from American Liberty News.

Report: Frank Luntz, Legendary Republican Consultant, Suffers Stroke

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    Photo via Pixabay images

    America’s best-known pollster, celebrated on the right for coining the phrase climate change instead of global warming and estate tax rather than death tax had a stroke earlier this week.

    Frank Luntz posted to X on Thursday he “suffered another stroke Monday night that was hidden by all the vertigo and vomiting.”

    Luntz continued: “Three days later, I’m finding it very difficult to walk, even with assistance. That’s why I’ve been canceling public events for a few days, I walk like an old man.”

    The GOP communications guru added that his “thinking and strategizing are still as sharp as ever. So, I will hopefully resume my role as a commentator very soon.”

    Reactions from across the political spectrum poured in. 

    This is the second stroke Luntz has suffered in recent years. He blamed his first stroke on political tension. After decades of sampling opinion for conservative Republicans, the 62-year-old used the medical emergency to moderate and express his discontent with the direction of the Republican Party under Donald Trump.

    Reflecting on the change, Luntz explained: “The loudness of my voice has changed. The speed in which I speak is changed. I’m slower and I’m quieter and I think about what I say. It’s not that I’m trying to be careful, it’s that I really analyze stuff that comes out.”

    “If I didn’t die, I’m not afraid any more, so you will hear me criticize people I never would have two years ago,” he told The Guardian in 2022. “What are they going to do to me? It can’t be any worse than what I’ve been through and, when you become more fearless, it makes life easier to navigate.”

    Often seen on TV as ebullient and garrulous, Luntz has felt tired all the time following the stroke. He is visibly so as he holds court with half a dozen British newspaper journalists in his downtown Washington luxury condo, a kitsch affair with faux classical columns, built-in saloon bar (“Frank’s sports bar”) and busts of presidents George Washington (wearing a mask) and Abraham Lincoln.

    Luntz’s motivation for this unusual gathering, it seems, is to express gratitude to Britain. He is one of those old school American conservatives who says, “I believe in the special relationship very much,” and is tickled by how the nations rhyme and how they don’t. Last year he went to the UK for a month and ended up staying nearly eight, finding an antidote to American’s poison.

    “I was in real trouble when I got to Britain, in real emotional trouble,” he admitted.

    Luntz, who studied British voters for a conservative thinktank, the Centre for Policy Studies, also invited UK journalists to disseminate a warning: don’t let British politics become as polarised and debased as the American system.

    “You still like each other, you still respect each other, you still value public debate: your democracy is still functioning,” he warned. “Ours has seized up and I don’t know how to get ours flowing again. Be thankful that you don’t have our poison … I’m very afraid of the American system being hopelessly damaged.”

    Republished from American Liberty News.

    Trump Juror Dismissed After Prior Criminal Record Comes To Light

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      Arrest image via Pixabay

      The path to finding an impartial jury in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial in New York has faced a number of setbacks throughout the week.

      On Thursday, two jurors were dismissed after being sworn in on Tuesday, including one who had previously been arrested for tearing down Right-leaning political posters.

      Judge Juan Merchan excused juror #4 after a prosecutor from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office said the man had been arrested for ripping down “political posters that were on the Right,” Fox News reported. Juror #4’s dismissal came just after another juror — juror #2 — was excused by Merchan following her admission that she could no longer be impartial.

      “I definitely have concerns. I don’t think I can be fair,” she said, adding that “outside influence” would “interfere” with her judgment.

      The dismissals of jurors #4 and #2 brought the total of those seated down to five, but shortly after they were let go, more jurors were sworn in, bringing the total to 12, according to the New York Post.

      Five more jurors must be selected as alternates before the trial can move forward. Thursday marks the third day of the hush-money trial, which is the first criminal trial against a former U.S. president. Jury selection will continue on Friday and with hopes that opening statements will kick off at the beginning of next week.

      Dozens of prospective jurors were dismissed on Monday after they said it would be difficult for them to remain impartial throughout the trial.

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

      Fox News Publishes Scathing Op-Ed Targeting MTG

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        Marjorie Taylor Greene -Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, via Wikimedia Commons

        On Wednesday, Fox News published an op-ed eviscerating MAGA firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene (R).

        Columnist Liz Peek published “Marjorie Taylor Green is an idiot. She is trying to wreck the GOP” in response to Greene’s recent charge to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.)

        Johnson has slammed the motion against him as “absurd.” On Tuesday, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) became the first Congressional colleague to voice support for Greene’s push. (RELATED: Prominent Republican Joins Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Effort To Oust Johnson)

        Read more of the op-ed here:

        The ouster of the popular McCarthy also torched the public’s view of the GOP. In May 2023, registered voters were evenly split between approving and disapproving of the Republican Party. Today, there is a 25-point gap, with 61% disapproval and 36% approving. That will not help win elections. 

        The internal squabbles of the party need to stop. If Marjorie Taylor Greene and others want to oppose aid to Ukraine or the FISA bill, they can vote against it. That’s how democracy works. 

        Recently, Speaker Johnson attended a meeting with Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago to address election integrity.

        Standing next to Johnson at a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump said, “We’re getting along very well with the speaker, and I get along very well with Marjorie. We have a speaker who was voted in, and it was a complicated process. And I think very, it’s not, not an easy situation for any speaker.”

        On Friday, Trump said Johnson is “doing a very good job.”

        “And I’m sure that Marjorie understands that, she’s a very good friend of mine. And I know she has a lot of respect for the speaker,” Trump said.

        The future of the U.S. is on the line. Former President Donald Trump, who very much wants to kick Joe Biden out of office, knows how dangerous the tumult in the House can be. He recently met with Mike Johnson in Florida and gave him an important and well-deserved vote of confidence. “I stand with the speaker,” Trump declared; he also said he thinks Johnson is “doing a very good job – he’s doing about as good as you’re going to do.” 

        The Fox News contributor concluded her public plea to MTG with a short message.

        My message for MTG? Borrowing from Hillary Clinton: Get over yourself. The mission today is to elect Donald Trump. 

        Republished with permission from American Liberty News.

        Hush Money Judge Stops Trump Jurors From Disclosing Responses To Employer Questions

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          Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

          Judge Juan Merchan ruled on Thursday morning that the media is not allowed to publish the jurors’ responses to questions 3a and 3d on the juror qualification questionnaire.

          The questions ask: “Who is your current employer and who is your previous employer?”

          The ruling comes as the seated jury in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial fell to six as a sworn juror expressed concerns about her identity being made public by the media.

          The juror told Judge Merchan:

          “Aspects of my identity have already been out there in the public, yesterday alone I had friends colleagues and family push things to my phone questioning my identity as a juror.”

          A number of people observing the jury selection process (voir dire) have expressed similar concerns about the intense political climate.

          Merchan proceeded to address members of the press in the courtroom: “We just lost what probably would’ve been a very good juror.”

          Though the judge agreed with Trump’s lawyers that having that information is essential, the court will redact it from the public record.

          Merchan also instructed journalists to refrain from revealing any information regarding the physical appearance of the jurors.

          Jury selection continues. Twelve New Yorkers and six alternates need to be selected.

          This article was republished with permission from American Liberty News.

          Trump Risks Violating Court Order By Sharing Media Clip

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            Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

            Donald Trump might regret this…

            On Wednesday, Trump seemed to violate the gag order imposed by Judge Juan Merchan in the ongoing hush money trial.

            On Wednesday, Trump took to Truth Social and quoted comments made about potential jurors by Fox News host Jesse Watters on The Five Wednesday night.

            “They are catching undercover Liberal Activists lying to the Judge in order to get on the Trump Jury,” Trump wrote, quoting the Fox host.

            That post appears to be in direct violation of Merchan’s gag order, a reality highlighted by JustSecurity’s Ryan Goodman, who shared screen grabs of both the Truth Social post and a section from the gag order, writing:

            On the left:

            NY judge’s gag order prohibiting Trump from “making … public statements about any prospective juror or any juror in this criminal proceeding.”

            On the right:

            Trump making public statement about prospective jurors in this criminal proceedings.

            The gag order section reads, in part, “Making or directing others to make public statements about any prospective juror or any juror in this criminal proceeding.”

            CNN’s Jeffrey Toobin was asked by Anderson Cooper Wednesday night if this sort of social media post was permissible under the gag order. Toobin argued that it was an apparent attempt to intimidate jurors, which is “clearly barred.”

            Toobin said:

            I don’t think so. I think it’s false, but more importantly, it’s clearly – I think – an attempt to intimidate jurors and it is clearly barred by the gag order in this case. I mean, Donald Trump doesn’t seem to realize he is now a criminal defendant, and criminal defendants have different and lesser rights than ordinary citizens. They are not allowed to interfere in the trial process – especially when there is a gag order that specifically addresses attempts to intimidate jurors. I mean, it is just not permissible.

            Liberal Comedian Goes Off The Rails Over Recent Trump Gains

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            On Tuesday, Actor John Leguizamo lost his cool over recent reports showing more Latino voters trending toward Donald Trump.

            After he mocked an ad from the Trump campaign targeting Latino voters, “The Daily Show” guest host expressed dismay over polls showing he was gaining ground with Latinos. 

            “I mean, clearly, Trump isn’t making any effort to get Latino voters or make them a priority,” Leguizamo scoffed. “But the thing that hurts the most is that his lazy a– strategy is actually working.”

            The comedy show played a news clip reading the results of a poll earlier this year which put Trump ahead of Biden by six points with Latino voters. Leguizamo reacted by grabbing a piñata from under his desk and punching it.

            The comedian let out a string of curse words in Spanish aimed at Trump while attacking the piñata. After regaining his composure, Leguizamo warned Democrats were in trouble because Latino voters trusted Trump over Biden to handle their number one concern: inflation.

            “It looks like the Democrats are in trouble. And you might be thinking, how is this possible? Donald Trump is winning Latinos? ‘Build the wall’ Donald Trump? ‘Mass deportations’ Donald Trump? Guy who thinks Daddy Yankee is a baseball player, Donald Trump? But the truth is, in 2024, Latino voters have something else on their minds,” he said.

            “That’s right. For Latinos, this election is all about inflation! And that makes sense! Inflation is bad right now,” he said before claiming that Trump had no solutions to solve the crisis.