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Trump Hints Ex-Rival Could Hold Position In Future Admin.

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Image via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Former President Donald Trump teased that North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum could serve in an “important” role in his administration.

Trump, who has yet to announce a running mate, ton 98 out of Iowa’s 99 counties on Monday.

“Doug Burgum from North Dakota, the governor and his beautiful wife, Catherine, and he got out of the race,” Trump said following his projected Iowa win, addressing the North Dakota governor on stage beside him. Burgum notably suspended his 2024 campaign in December, just six months after launching his dark horse presidential bid. 

“What people don’t know is that he actually supported me on the other side twice already. Right?” Trump said of Burgum. “That he decided to do it and he was outstanding. But the traction is never easy, right? You need controversy for traction sometimes. And this guy is the most solid guy. There’s no controversy whatsoever. And he’s one of the best governors in our country. And I hope that I’m going to be able to call on him to be a piece of the administration, a very important piece of the administration.” 

Burgum, who dropped out of the race endorsed Trump on Sunday.

Burgum is in his second term as governor and is eligible to seek a third in 2024, though he has not indicated whether he plans to run again.

Trump said during a Fox News town hall last week that he already knew who he would choose as his vice presidential running mate but would not announce the decision yet. 

Asa Hutchinson Drops Out Of 2024 Contest

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The morning after former President Donald Trump cruised to victory in the Iowa caucus a second presidential contender is bowing out of the race.

On Tuesday, former Gov. Asa Hutchinson (Ark.) announced he is dropping out of the 2024 presidential race.

“I congratulate Donald J. Trump for his win last night in Iowa and to the other candidates who competed and garnered delegate support,” Hutchinson said in a statement.

“Today, I am suspending my campaign for President and driving back to Arkansas,:” he added. My message of being a principled Republican with experience and telling the truth about the current front runner did not sell in Iowa.”

The Arkansas Republican’s announcement came after he came in sixth place in the Iowa caucus.

Hutchinson’s decision to drop out comes less than 12 hours after Vivek Ramaswamy announced his exit from the race.

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

Ramaswamy Officially Ends 2024 Campaign

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Vivek Ramaswamy speaking with attendees at the 2022 AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

On Monday night, Vivek Ramaswamy made the highly anticipated announcement that he is suspending his presidential campaign.

After Donald Trump handily won nearly every county in Iowa the tech mogul announced he is endorsing the former president.

“As of this moment, we are going to suspend this presidential campaign,” Ramaswamy told supporters in Iowa on Monday night.

“As I’ve said since the beginning, there are two America First candidates in this race. And earlier tonight I called Donald Trump to tell him that I — congratulate him on his victory, and now going forward, you will have my full endorsement for the presidency,” Ramaswamy said later, while one of his attendees interjected during his remarks “don’t do it!”

Ramaswamy’s exit comes not long after former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) announced he was dropping his White House bid. 

Ramaswamy launched his longshot bid for the White House in February of 2023.

Former President Trump is currently poised to emerge the top candidate in 98 of Iowa’s 99 counties after Monday’s caucuses, with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley edging him out in just one county.

According to reports from The Hill, by Tuesday morning, with about 110,298 votes counted, Trump had won 51 percent (56,260 votes) of all votes in the Hawkeye State, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s 21.2 percent (23,420 votes) and Haley’s 19.1 percent (21,085).

Report: Trump Lawyer Withdraws From Cases

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Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

On Monday, one of former President Donald Trump’s top trial lawyers resigned from his cases.

Joe Tacopina had represented Trump in both his criminal hush money case, one of four indictments Trump faces, and a sexual battery civil lawsuit brought by columnist E. Jean Carroll.

“President Trump has the most experienced, qualified, disciplined, and overall strongest legal team ever assembled as he continues to fight for America and Americans against these partisan, Crooked Joe Biden-led election interference hoaxes,” Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement.

The motivation behind Tacopina’s departure remains unclear. He confirmed to The Hill he was withdrawing from Trump’s cases but declined further comment. 

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

Fani Willis Breaks Silence On Latest Misconduct Allegations

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    Gage Skidmore Flickr

    On Sunday, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis broke her silence after former President Donald Trump’s co-defendant accused her of having a romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade in the state’s case against Trump.

    For the first time since the allegations were made, Willis spoke on the matter at the Big Bethel AME Church in Atlanta on Sunday.

    “They only attacked one,” she said. “First thing they say, ‘Oh, she’s gonna play the race card now.’

    “But no God, isn’t it them that’s playing the race card when they only question one,” Willis asked.

    Citing “sources close” to both Willis and Wade, Roman’s lawyer, Ashleigh Merchant, claimed the pair have been involved in an “ongoing, personal and romantic relationship,” and went on vacations together. The filings argued the alleged relationship, which Merchant claims started before the election interference began, makes the indictment “fatally defective” and requests it be dismissed.

    “I’m a little confused. I appointed three special counselors. It’s my right to do, paid them all the same hourly rate. They only attack one,” Willis said Sunday. “I hired one white woman, a good personal friend and a great lawyer, a superstar, I tell you. I hired one white man — brilliant — my friend and a great lawyer. And I hired one Black man, another superstar, a great friend and a great lawyer.”

    Although she never mentioned Wade by name during the speech on Sunday, she referred to the man as “a great friend and a great lawyer.”

    Earlier this month, court documents filed say Willis hired special prosecutor Nathan Wade, her alleged partner, to prosecute Trump and benefited financially from the relationship in the form of lavish vacations the two went on using funds his firm received for working the case.

    “The district attorney chose to appoint her romantic partner, who at all times relevant to this prosecution has been a married man,” court documents read.

    Fulton County records show Wade has been paid nearly $654,000 in legal fees since January 2022.

    Oregon Supreme Court Rules On Trump Eligibility Challenge

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    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    The Oregon Supreme Court ruled former President Donald Trump may remain on the state’s primary ballot.

    Instead, the court said it would wait for the U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming decision on whether Trump can be disqualified from the ballot under the insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment.

    Section 3 of the 14th Amendment states that no person shall hold elected office who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States.”

    “Because a decision by the United States Supreme Court regarding the Fourteenth Amendment issue may resolve one or more contentions that relators make in the Oregon proceeding, the Oregon Supreme Court denied their petition for mandamus, by order, but without prejudice to their ability to file a new petition seeking resolution of any issue that may remain following a decision by the United States Supreme Court,” the court said in a release.

    The Oregon lawsuit was filed on behalf of five voters by the nonprofit Free Speech For People. The same organization has launched numerous challenges across the country.

    Colorado and Maine removed Trump from the primary ballot last month. Those rulings are on hold as Trump appeals.

    The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take up the Colorado case, giving the justices with a pathway to provide a national resolution on the 14th Amendment’s insurrection ban in advance of the general election. Oral arguments are set for Feb. 8.

    Oregon’s high court noted the state is not set to finalize its presidential primary ballots until March 21.

    Former GOP State Rep Acquitted In Second Corruption Trial

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      Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

      On Thursday, Former Michigan Rep. Larry Inman (R) was acquitted on all counts involving bribery and extortion after a second corruption trial.

      Inman, 69, was charged in 2019 for allegedly soliciting a bribe, attempted extortion, and lying to federal investigators, according to the Detroit Free Press.

      According to The Daily Caller, in 2019 a jury originally found Inman not guilty of lying to investigators, however, they could not reach a verdict regarding the remaining counts forcing the trial to go into a second hearing, Detroit Free Press reported.

      “I think he’s very glad to have this behind him,” Inman’s attorney James Fisher stated. “He feels vindicated because this has been a very long struggle for him. And he’s never said anything other than that he is not guilty of these charges, and I think the jury believed that.”

      The jury had allegedly debated for 45 minutes before reaching their final verdict on Thursday. According to the outlet, the first jury deliberated for over 10 hours over two days during the first hearing.

      Inman served as a Michigan representative from 2015 to 2020. However, Fisher noted that Inman is unlikely to get back into politics.

      “I think it’ll be very hard for him to get back involved in politics after this just because he’s struggled through this whole entire process,” Fisher told the Detroit Press. “I hope the people that he represented see this and look at him in a positive way. I think he is a good man who deserves to be credited for what he did for his constituents.”

      Trump Bucks Judge With Courtroom Monologue

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      Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

      In the end, former President Donald Trump spoke to the court from the defense table in his civil fraud trial.

      Trump’s remarks came during closing arguments, which remain ongoing.

      “The facts are the financial statements are perfect, that there are no witnesses against us. The banks got all their money paid back. There were great loans,” Trump maintained, echoing remarks he has previously made in public.

      Trump spoke for approximately five minutes before accusing Judge Arthur Engoron of having his own agenda.

      “I certainly understand that,” the GOP front-runner persisted. “You can’t listen for more than one minute.”

      At that point, Engoron told one of Trump’s lawyers to “control your client.” The judge eventually cut Trump off.

      Engoron ruled on Wednesday that he wouldn’t allow Trump to speak during his attorneys’ closing arguments because he wouldn’t agree to avoid personal attacks.

      NBC News further reports on the unprecedented courtroom display:

      Speaking from the table sitting next to his lawyers, Trump spoke to denying all wrongdoing while Engoron quietly listened.

      Trump maintained that banks “got all their money back” and “they weren’t defrauded” while repeating his call to receive damages “for what we’ve gone through.”

      The former president accused James’ office of not providing one document proving her allegations of inflating his financial statements and argued that the case presents a “situation where I”m an innocent man.”

      “The legal scholars looking at this case find it disgraceful,” he said, adding “this is a fraud on me.”

      James is asking Engoron to fine Trump and his co-defendants over $370 million and impose a lifetime ban on Trump and two former company executives from the New York real estate industry.

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

      This article was republished with permission from American Liberty News.

      Police Respond To Bomb Threat Targeting Judge In Trump Fraud Trial

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      Police image via Pixabay free images

      Authorities in Nassau County, New York, are responding to a bomb threat at the residence of the judge presiding over Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial.

      New York Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron received the threat this morning, hours before closing arguments are scheduled to begin.

      Per ABC News:

      In light of the threat, the court is adding additional security for the judge, the court official said.

      Nassau County Police bomb technicians responded to Engoron’s home out of an abundance of caution. Nassau County Police notified the court system of the threat, which they say they have determined to be unfounded.

      Today’s court proceedings are expected to proceed as planned.

      Trump is prohibited from delivering closing remarks by Engoron after he refused to agree to the judge’s proposed conditions to limit the subject of conversation to what is permissible in a lawyer’s closing argument.

      The former president is on trial for allegedly deceiving lenders.

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

      This article is republished with permission from American Liberty News.

      Trump Says He’s Selected VP Choice

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      Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

      During a town hall event hosted by Fox News on Wednesday, Donald Trump revealed he has decided who will be his running mate if he becomes the Republican nominee for president.

      “I can’t tell you that really, I mean, I know who it’s going to be,” Trump said when he was asked who his running mate will be in 2024.

      “We’ll do another show sometime,” Trump said when pushed by host Martha MacCallum to “give us a hint.”

      “What about any of the people who you’ve run against?” MacCallum asked. “Would you be open to mending fences with any of them?”

      “Oh, sure. I will, I will,” Trump responded. “I’ve already started to like Christie better.”

      Hours before Trump’s event with Fox News, the former New Jersey governor announced he is dropping out of the 2024 contest.

      MacCallum then jokingly asked if Trump would consider Christie as a running mate.

      “I don’t see it, I don’t see it,” Trump said. “That would be an upset. Christie for vice president. Ladies and Gentlemen, I’d like to announce, nah.”