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Stefanik Files Ethics Complaint Against Special Counsel Jack Smith

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    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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      [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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      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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      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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      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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        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.”

        Report: Trump Leading In 6 Swing States

          By
          Madeleine Jackson
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          1

          It’s the economy, stupid…

          The latest Bloomberg News/Morning Consult survey shows former President Donald Trump leading his successor in six of seven all-important swing states.

          Responses from a substantial sample of around 5,000 registered voters reveal Trump leading in Arizona (49% to 42%), Georgia (49% to 43%), Nevada (51% to 43%), North Carolina (51% to 41%), Pennsylvania (47% to 46%) and Wisconsin (48% to 44%). The poll shows President Biden leads Trump by 2 points in Michigan (47% to 45%).

          Seventy percent of respondents said the economy was heading in an unfavorable direction. A further 82% said the state of the economy would be of “great importance” in influencing their vote.

          America’s News Desk breaks down the results even further:

          Additionally, 54% of Americans hold the belief that inflation will worsen by the end of the year, while 17% are of the opinion that it will improve.

          Under the Biden administration, inflation has persisted at a high level, resulting in consumers facing increased costs for essential items such as food and gasoline.

          Last month, a political action group supporting Trump unveiled a website called “Biden-Mart” that focuses on the significant rise in food costs.

          Deep economic pessimism and Biden’s inverted favorability ratings more than make up for Trump’s 43.4% average favorability rating, according to the latest polls.

          Article Published With The Permission of American Liberty News.

          Report: Giuliani, Former Chief Of Staff Among Top Trump Aides Indicted In Arizona

          By
          Madeleine Jackson
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          Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

          An Arizona grand jury charged top 2020 Trump campaign aides and lawyers alongside 11 so-called “fake electors” on Wednesday over their efforts to alter the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in the state.

          The indictment lists the 11 fake electors, but redacted the names of seven other individuals who were indicted following the investigation led by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D).

          The Washington Post reported the names of those seven individuals as “former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, attorneys Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, John Eastman and Christina Bobb, top campaign adviser Boris Epshteyn and former campaign aide Mike Roman.”

          The felony charges stem from the 11 Trump supporters gathering at the Arizona GOP’s headquarters following the 2020 election to sign fraudulent certifications claiming to be Arizona’s 11 official electors to the Electoral College, with the intent that their votes would eventually be counted for Donald Trump.

          “They are accused of allegedly aiding an unsuccessful strategy to award the state’s electoral votes to Trump instead of Biden after the 2020 election,” the Post added.

          “In Arizona, and the United States, the people elected Joseph Biden as President on November 3, 2020,” the indictment reads.

          “Unwilling to accept this fact, Defendants and unindicted coconspirators schemed to prevent the lawful transfer of the presidency to keep Unindicted Coconspirator 1 in office against the will of Arizona’s voters,” it continued, referring to Trump. “This scheme would have deprived Arizona voters of their right to vote and have their votes counted.”

          Ex-Arizona Republican Party chairwoman Kelli Ward is among those charged for her role as a fake electoral. Politico’s Kyle Cheney noted that Trump himself is listed as an unindicted co-coconspirator.

          Mayes released a video with the indictment.

          “We conducted a thorough and professional investigation over the past 13 months into the fake electors scheme in our state. I understand for some of you today didn’t come fast enough. And I know I’ll be criticized by others for conducting this investigation at all. But as I’ve stated before, and we’ll say here again, today, I will not allow American democracy to be undermined.”

          Ex-GOP Congressman Suspends House Campaign

          By
          Madeleine Jackson
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          0

          It’s over before it even started…

          Former Republican New York Congressman George Santos has suspended his independent campaign less than two months later. (RELATED: George Santos Now Running For Congress As ‘Ultra MAGA Independent’)

          Santos was running to unseat Republican Rep. Nick LaLota who represents New York’s 1st Congressional District after being expelled last year.

          “I have decided to withdraw from my independent run for NY-1,” Santos announced via social media on Tuesday. “I don’t want my run to be portrayed as a reprisal against Nick Lalota”

          “Although Nick and I don’t have the same voting record and I remain critical of his abysmal record, I don’t want to split the ticket and be responsible for handing the house to Dems,” Santos continued, citing r. “It is clear that with the rise of antisemitism in our country we cannot afford to hand the house to Dems as they have a very large issue with antisemitism in their ranks.”

          Santos launched his independent campaign for NY-1 in March, despite having previously represented a different New York district.

          Last December, the House of Representatives voted 311-114-2 to expel the Santos with 105 Republicans joining almost all Democrats. (RELATED: House Votes To Expel George Santos)

          A scathing House Ethics report said there was clear evidence Santos committed serious crimes and said the New York Republican “blatantly stole from his campaign” and “deceived donors into providing what they thought were contributions to his campaign but were in fact payments for his personal benefit.”

          His campaign committee reported zero expenditures and zero fundraising income in a filing to the Federal Elections Commission.

          “The future holds countless possibilities and I am ready willing and able to step up to the plate and go fight for my country at anytime,” Santos said on Tuesday. “I will continue to participate in the public policy discussions and will do my part.”

          He concluded, “I will always strive to stand on the right side of history. It’s only goodbye for now, I’ll be back.”

          Article Published With The Permission of American Liberty News.

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