Home Blog Page 88

Report: Judge Allows Trump To Appeal Fani Willis Disqualification Ruling

3
Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

On Wednesday, a Georgia judge gave Donald Trump the green light to immediately appeal the recent ruling declining to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) from overseeing the election interference case against the former President.

In a brief order issued on Wednesday, Judge Scott McAfee granted the certificate of immediate review requested by Trump and eight of his co-defendants in the sprawling racketeering case.

The Hill has more:

They are now expected to ask the Georgia Court of Appeals to take up the disqualification battle before the case goes to trial.

As the effort proceeds, however, McAfee made clear he won’t pause proceedings in his court.

“The Court intends to continue addressing the many other unrelated pending pretrial motions, regardless of whether the petition is granted within 45 days of filing, and even if any subsequent appeal is expedited by the appellate court,” McAfee wrote in his ruling.

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

Fox News Cuts Off Navarro Press Conference, Issues Fact Check

    2
    Looking east towards 6th Avenue along north (48th Street) side of Fox News building on a snowy afternoon. [Photo Credit: Jim.henderson, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons]

    On Tuesday, before Trump administration adviser Peter Navarro reported to prison Fox News unexpectedly cut away from the press conference to fact-check claims he was making.

    Navarro told reporters in Miami on Tuesday, “They can put me in prison; they can put you in prison.”

    “Make no mistake about that, and make no mistake about this: They are coming after Donald Trump with the same tactics, tools and strategies they used to put me over there today,” he continued.

    Navarro also claimed he was the “first senior White House adviser in the history of our republic that has ever been charged with this alleged crime.”

    As the network cut away from Navarro’s press conference, Fox anchor Sandra Smith said “to fact-check there. It is no longer an alleged crime that he’ll be serving this four-month sentence for.”

    “He has obviously been convicted, and there was no evidence that did … that would have excluded him, per executive privilege, from testifying,” she said.

    Navarro, 74, was convicted last year on two counts of contempt of Congress.

    Supreme Court Green Lights Texas Law Allowing Police To Arrest Illegal Immigrants

    3
    Duncan Lock, Dflock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Texas law permitting state officials to arrest illegal migrants to take effect.

    The decision comes one day after the Supreme Court extended an administrative stay on the state law while it considered an emergency appeal by the Biden administrationCNN reported.

    Last year, Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 4 into law but it was initially blocked by a federal judge before a federal appeals court reversed the judge’s decision and allowed the law to go into effect. However, the Supreme Court intervened earlier this month — first, delaying the law’s implementation and then extending the stay until March 18. (RELATED: Federal Judge Blocks Texas Border Security Law)

    SB 4 allows state officials to arrest and jail immigrants suspected of entering the U.S. unlawfully and also grants state judges the power to order deportations. 

    The Supreme Court’s Monday decision placed a stay on the Texas law “pending further order” from the court, according to NBC News.

    “SCOTUS temporarily halted enforcement of SB 4 but Texas is still using its authority to arrest illegal immigrants for criminal trespass and other violations of law,” Abbott said. “We continue building the wall, use [National Guard] to erect razor wire barriers to repel migrants & buoys remain in river.”

    Biden’s Justice Department has asserted that the law violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution which prohibits states from interfering with the federal government using its constitutional powers.

    The DOJ argued that “SB 4 impedes the federal government’s ability to enforce entry and removal provisions of federal law and interferes with its conduct of foreign relations.”

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has argued that Texas has a constitutional right and duty to protect itself from “violent” cartels who traffick drugs and people across the U.S. southern border.

    “[The] Constitution recognizes that Texas has the sovereign right to defend itself from violent transnational cartels that flood the State with fentanyl, weapons, and all manner of brutality,” Paxton said.

    Ex-White House Adviser Peter Navarro Reports To Prison

    2
    Image via Pixabay

    Ex-Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro reported to a federal prison in Miami on Tuesday afternoon to begin his four-month sentence.

    The Hill has more:

    “They can put me in prison; they can put you in prison,” Navarro said during a parking lot press conference Tuesday just before he reported to the facility. “Make no mistake about that, and make no mistake about this: They are coming after Donald Trump with the same tactics, tools and strategies they used to put me over there today.”

    “If they come for me, they can come for you,” he told a group of reporters.

    On Monday, Navarro’s last-ditch bid to remain free while appealing his contempt of Congress conviction was shot down by U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts in a rare “in-chambers” opinion, a written explanation for his ruling on a case he didn’t refer to the full court for consideration.

    Roberts said he denied Navarro’s application because the ex-Trump White House economic adviser forfeited any argument challenging the district court’s conclusion that executive privilege was not invoked by Trump, citing an appeals court’s decision. 

    “I see no basis to disagree with the determination that Navarro forfeited those arguments in the release proceeding, which is distinct from his pending appeal on the merits,” Roberts said. 

    Trump Says ‘Fire Sale’ Of Properties Will Be Necessary To Make $464 Million Bond

    1
    Image via Pixabay free images

    Donald Trump admitted on Tuesday that he’ll have to take extraordinary measures to make his bond on the New York Attorney General’s office civil fraud case.

    Sources tell Fox Business that Trump’s billionaire friends are reluctant to throw him a financial lifeline, potentially forcing him to sell his properties at “fire sale” prices.

    The Hill reports on the former president’s latest social media tirade:

    Trump blasted New York Judge Arthur Engoron, who ruled against the former president in the fraud case, in a Truth Social post objecting to having to post the bond.

    “I would be forced to mortgage or sell Great Assets, perhaps at Fire Sale prices, and if and when I win the Appeal, they would be gone. Does that make sense? WITCH HUNT. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!” Trump added.

    Trump’s warning comes a day after his legal team informed the court that the former president was unable to secure the full $464 million bond due next week.

    They cited difficulties finding a Treasury Department-approved surety company willing to underwrite a bond at such a high level. And they noted many of the approved companies have internal policies against issuing bonds of more than $100 million.

    New York Attorney General Letitia James said that if Trump fails or refuses to pay the $354.8 million fine, plus roughly $100 million in interest, she will seize his assets – including his properties.

    Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham proposed a list of properties former President Trump would be most disappointed to have seized if he cannot pay the damages in his civil fraud case.

    “I think if it were to happen, 40 Wall Street is probably the one that he would … I mean, he would hate it,” Grisham told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Monday. “But I think if she tried to seize Mar-a-Lago or Bedminster or Trump Tower even — I mean, those are his babies.”

    “You’ve got the Sterling golf course in Virginia. Any of the properties with golf courses, I think, would absolutely devastate him,” Grisham, who worked under the Trump administration, added. “It will be interesting to see what [New York Attorney General Letitia James] goes for.”

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

    Trump Sues ABC News, George Stephanopoulos For Defamation

    1
    Tulane Public Relations, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    Former President Trump sued ABC News and George Stephanopoulos, alleging defamation over a recent interview with South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace (R).

    The March 10 interview on “This Week” caught attention after Mace, a rape survivor, accused Stephanopoulos of trying to “shame” her by probing why she endorsed the former president despite juries’ recent verdicts in author E. Jean Carroll’s sexual battery and defamation lawsuits.

    Trump’s lawsuit, filed on Monday, takes aim at how Stephanopoulos at multiple points in his questioning said Trump had been found “liable for rape.” The jury had found Trump liable for sexual abuse under New York law, but not rape.

    “Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape. How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony we just saw, ” Stephanopoulos asked during the interview.

    The Hill has more:

    “These statements were and remain false, and were made by Defendant Stephanopoulos with actual malice or with a reckless disregard for the truth given that Defendant Stephanopoulos knows that these statements are patently and demonstrably false,” Trump’s attorney, Alejandro Brito, wrote in the 20-page complaint.

    “Indeed, the jury expressly found that Plaintiff did not commit rape and, as demonstrated below, Defendant George Stephanopoulos was aware of the jury’s finding in this regard yet still falsely stated otherwise,” Brito continued.

    Trump asked for an unspecified amount of damages in the lawsuit.

    Read the full complaint below:

    Ex-MSNBC Host Signals ‘Hope’ Trump Gets Assassinated

      2
      Gage Skidmore Flickr

      Yikes…

      Ex-MSNBC host Keith Olbermann drew swift criticism over the weekend when he seemed to express hope former President Donald Trump is assassinated.

      According to Fox News, Olbermann was referring to the Biden-Harris HQ X account flagging a clip of Trump saying he had been persecuted worse than any president in history, including Abraham Lincoln.

      “Trump says he has been treated worse than Abraham Lincoln, who was assassinated,” the Biden campaign account posted on Saturday.

      “There’s always the hope,” Olbermann wrote, linking to the post.

      https://twitter.com/KeithOlbermann/status/1769107476069097674

      One account that responded to Olbermann’s post suggested the commentator’s account should be “permanently suspended” for appearing to endorse someone killing Trump, the presumptive nominee for the 2024 Republican nomination. Trump is trying to become only the second president since Grover Cleveland to win another White House term after losing a previous re-election bid.

      Olbermann is known for his inflammatory leftist comments and has also recently called for the dissolution of the Supreme Court.

      Trump Says Paying Bond is a ‘Practical Impossibility’ in New Court Filing

      6
      Image via Pixabay free images

      Former President Donald Trump may be in trouble.

      Attorneys for the Republican nominee for president told a New York appeals court that they haven’t found an insurance company to underwrite his bond to cover the $464 million civil fraud judgment against him.

      According to his legal representatives, Trump asked 30 underwriters to put up his massive bond payment – but couldn’t find one.

      The 45th president’s legal team is seeking a stay of execution on the $464 million judgment, telling the court in writing that “Posting a Full Undertaking Is a Practical Impossibility.”

      This article originally appeared on American Liberty News. Republished with permission.

      Trump Doubles Down On Call for Liz Cheney to Be Jailed

        1
        Image via Pixabay

        Is he right?

        Former President Donald Trump wants ex-Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney to be thrown behind bars.

        On Sunday morning, Trump wrote that Cheney “should go to Jail along with the rest of the Unselect Committee!”

        Trump also shared an article about the committee and accused them of having “withheld crucial evidence” by not making testimony public from a Secret Service driver. The driver, who has not been named, disputed the account of former White House staffer Cassidy Hutchinson — who claimed that on his way back to the White House on Jan. 6, Trump tried to grab the steering wheel of the limo in an effort to redirect it to the Capitol.

        The Jan. 6 committee has faced intense scrutiny over its decision to withhold some testimony from the public. According to Mediaite, Committee members noted that they had a deal with the Secret Service in which they agreed to avoid disclosing “privacy information, for-official-use-only information, intelligence and law enforcement sensitive records and raw intelligence information” from 12 interviews they conducted.

        Cheney didn’t waste much time before responding to Trump’s comments.

        “Hi Donald: you know these are lies,” Trump said. “You have had all the grand jury & J6 transcripts for many months. You’re trying to halt your 1/6 trial because your VP, WH counsel, WH aides, campaign & DOJ officials etc will testify against you. You’re afraid of the truth and you should be.”

        After that, Trump reiterated his call.

        “SHE SHOULD BE PROSECUTED FOR WHAT SHE HAS DONE TO OUR COUNTRY!” Trump wrote. “SHE ILLEGALLY DESTROYED THE EVIDENCE. UNREAL!!!”

        Mike Pence Says He Won’t Endorse Trump

        1
        Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

        Former Vice President Mike Pence had some strong words for his former boss in an interview with Martha MacCallum on Fox News. On Friday, Mike Pence made a bombshell announcement.

        Social media users from across the Republican spectrum had some choice words for Pence following his statement. Most conservatives seemed upset by the statement.

        Pence’s former Press Secretary and current co-host on The View – Alyssa Farah Griffin – was one of few Republicans who praised Pence’s decision.

        Former Illinois Congressman and Presidential candidate who defied Trump in 2020 also commended Pence’s decision.

        The University of Virginia‘s Center for Politics Director Larry Sabato also praised Pence’s choice and wondered if he had set a precedent for other top Republican leaders to reject Trump this year.

        This article originally appeared on American Liberty News. Republished with permission.