blackbull1970

The Black Bastard
Platinum Member
Arizona Republicans feud over audit as Trump pushes falsehoods about 2020 election

By Eric Bradner, CNN
Updated 3:24 PM EDT, Mon May 17, 2021


(CNN) Arizona Republican officials are pushing back against false claims from former President Donald Trump and his allies about the 2020 election -- another sign of how the same divisions that led the House GOP to oust Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney from her post as No. 3-ranking member last week are fracturing the party outside of Washington.

Trump lit the latest fuse Saturday -- as Republican leaders of the Arizona state Senate press forward with a controversial audit conducted by Cyber Ninjas, a Florida-based consulting firm -- when he falsely claimed in a statement that the "entire Database of Maricopa County in Arizona has been DELETED!"

Stephen Richer, the Maricopa County recorder -- a Republican who heads the county's election department -- responded to Trump's statement by saying on Twitter: "Wow. This is unhinged."

"I'm literally looking at our voter registration database on my other screen. Right now," Richer said. "We can't indulge these insane lies any longer. As a party. As a state. As a country."

Maricopa County's Board of Supervisors -- four out of five of whom are Republicans -- are set to meet Monday afternoon, which the county's Twitter account said would be used to "refute lies alleged by the Arizona Senate and the people involved in its audit."

Trump's statement amplified claims made by Arizona state Senate President Karen Fann in a letter last week that a screenshot offered evidence that election files had been deleted.

Matt Masterson, an elections cybersecurity official who served under both the Obama and Trump administrations, told CNN the screenshot looked like it was a duplicate of one of the two post-election "Logic and Accuracy" tests run by the county.

Fann's claims were condemned by Jack Sellers, the Republican chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, who said the allegations are "false and ill-informed."

"It's clearer by the day: the people hired by the Senate are in way over their heads," Sellers said. "This is not funny; this is dangerous."

Richer also lambasted the GOP-controlled Senate's allegations, saying: "Enough with the defamation. Enough with the unfounded allegations. I came to this office to competently, fairly, and lawfully administer the duties of the office. Not to be accused by own party of shredding ballots and deleting files for an election I didn't run. Enough."

In Washington, the far-right and Trump-aligned portion of the House Republican caucus was also wading into the Arizona election battle.

Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Matt Gaetz of Florida joined two Arizona congressmen, Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar, wrote a letter Monday to Pamela Karlan, a top official in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Department who on May 5 had written a letter to Fann seeking "the steps that the Arizona Senate will take to ensure that violations of federal law do not occur."

The four Republicans asked Fann for "a commitment to uphold the rule of law and allow Arizona to confirm the 2020 elections were free and fair."

They also said they wanted a response by May 20 -- the day before Gaetz and Taylor Greene hold an "America First" rally in Mesa, Arizona.

Late last week, semi trucks filled with 2.1 million ballots cast in Arizona in the 2020 election moved those ballots to a warehouse where they are being temporarily stored as the audit is paused because the Veteran's Memorial Coliseum -- where the audit is taking place -- is hosting high school graduations this week.

State Senate officials have said the audit will resume May 24, with the goal of finishing in about 14 to 16 days, Arizona Senate liaison Ken Bennett told CNN last week.

That pace would require an exponential ramp-up and rate that so far have proved elusive to this partisan ballot count, taking place despite two audits conducted by Maricopa County showing no widespread election fraud.

"I've never seen anything like it," said election technology expert Ryan Macias of the ballot review being led by Cyber Ninjas, hired by the state Senate. "They do not have auditing experience. They do not have election technology experience. The more that this (the ballots) moves in and out, the more likely the chain of custody will be broken and the less likely that the data is reliable."

Macias is an expert in election technology who is one of the pro bono observers brought in by the Arizona secretary of state's office to watch the Cyber Ninjas ballot count. He has been hired by both Republicans and Democrats to help safeguard dozens upon dozens of state and federal elections.

"There's ballots; there's people counting. But the process in which they are utilizing, at least on the counting floor, is nothing that is in an election environment," said Macias.

210512_abcnl_prime_arizona_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg
 

blackbull1970

The Black Bastard
Platinum Member
McConnell called Trump 'a fading brand' and said 'sucking up' to him 'is not a strategy that works': book

Eliza Relman
Sep 23, 2021, 1:41 PM


Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called former President Donald Trump a "fading brand" and insisted that the Republican party is moving away from the former president, according to Bob Woodward and Robert Costa's new book, "Peril."

McConnell called Trump an "OTTB as they say in Kentucky — off-the-track Thoroughbred" during a conversation with Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who McConnell dubbed the "Trump whisperer."

"'There is a clear trend moving,' McConnell said, toward a place where the GOP is not dominated by Trump. McConnell added, "Sucking up to Donald Trump is not a strategy that works,'" Woodward and Costa wrote.

McConnell noted that he might face conflict with Trump if the former president endorses Senate candidates that the leader and other Republicans don't support.

"The only place I can see Trump and me actually at loggerheads would be if he gets behind some clown who clearly can't win," McConnell said. "To have a chance of getting the Senate back, you have to have the most electable candidates possible."

McConnell publicly blamed Trump for provoking the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, calling the then-president "practically and morally responsible" for the deadly attack.

"The mob was fed lies," McConnell said in a speech from the Senate floor on Jan. 19. "They were provoked by the president and other powerful people, and they tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of the federal government, which they did not like."

But he ultimately did not vote to impeach Trump for inciting the riot.

Since leaving office, Trump has repeatedly attacked McConnell, calling him "a dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack" in one February statement.

Lizza-McConnell-Trump.jpg
 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
"The mob was fed lies," McConnell said in a speech from the Senate floor on Jan. 19. "They were provoked by the president and other powerful people, and they tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of the federal government, which they did not like."

But he (McConnell) ultimately did not vote to impeach Trump for inciting the riot.

McConnell and Lindsey Graham are both Talking out of both sides of their asses . . .
One minute pretending to discredit and the next minute pumping-up PUblic Enemy No.
1
 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
We Are Republicans. There’s Only
One Way to Save Our Party From
Pro-Trump Extremists.


The New York Times
By: Miles Taylor and Christine Todd Whitman
(Mr. Taylor served at the Department of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019, including as chief of staff, and was the anonymous author of a 2018 guest essay for The Times criticizing President Donald Trump’s leadership. Ms. Whitman was the Republican governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001).

Oct. 11, 2021


After Donald Trump’s defeat, there was a measure of hope among Republicans who opposed him that control of the party would be up for grabs, and that conservative pragmatists could take it back. But it’s become obvious that political extremists maintain a viselike grip on the national and state parties and the process for fielding and championing House and Senate candidates in next year’s elections.

Rational Republicans are losing the party civil war. And the only near-term way to battle pro-Trump extremists is for all of us to team up on key races and overarching political goals with our longtime political opponents: the Democrats.

This year we joined more than 150 conservatives — including former governors, senators, congressmen, cabinet secretaries, and party leaders — in calling for the Republican Party to divorce itself from Trumpism or else lose our support, perhaps with us forming a new political party.

[But] Rather than return to founding ideals, Republican leaders in the House​
and in many states have now turned belief in conspiracy theories and​
lies about stolen elections into a litmus test for membership and running for office.​

Starting a new center-right party may prove to be the last resort if Trump-backed candidates continue to win Republican primaries. We and our allies have debated the option of starting a new party for months and will continue to explore its viability in the long run. Unfortunately, history is littered with examples of failed attempts at breaking the two-party system, and in most states today the laws do not lend themselves easily to the creation and success of third parties.

So for now, the best hope for the rational remnants of the Republican Party is for us to form an alliance with Democrats to defend American institutions, defeat far-right candidates, and elect honorable representatives next year — including a strong contingent of moderate Democrats.

It’s a strategy that has worked. Mr. Trump lost re-election in large part because Republicans nationwide defected, with 7 percent who voted for him in 2016 flipping to support Joe Biden, a margin big enough to have made some difference in key swing states.

Even still, we don’t take this position lightly. Many of us have spent years battling the left over government’s role in society, and we will continue to have disagreements on fundamental issues like infrastructure spending, taxes and national security. Similarly, some Democrats will be wary of any pact with the political right.

But we agree on something more foundational — democracy.

We cannot tolerate the continued hijacking of a major U.S. political party by those who seek to tear down our Republic’s guardrails or who are willing to put one man’s interests ahead of the country. We cannot tolerate Republican leaders — in 2022 or in the presidential election in 2024 — refusing to accept the results of elections or undermining the certification of those results should they lose.

To that end, concerned conservatives must join forces with Democrats on the most essential near-term imperative: blocking Republican leaders from regaining control of the House of Representatives. Some of us have worked in the past with the House Republican leader, Kevin McCarthy, but as long as he embraces Mr. Trump’s lies, he cannot be trusted to lead the chamber, especially in the run-up to the next presidential election.

And while many of us support and respect the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, it is far from clear that he can keep Mr. Trump’s allies at bay, which is why the Senate may be safer remaining as a divided body rather than under Republican control.

For these reasons, we will endorse and support bipartisan-oriented moderate Democrats in difficult races, like Representatives Abigail Spanberger of Virginia and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, where they will undoubtedly be challenged by Trump-backed candidates. And we will defend a small nucleus of courageous Republicans, such as Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, Peter Meijer and others who are unafraid to speak the truth. - [REALLY ???]


merlin_191720592_c79a67a0-f6af-4129-a519-97ee3616b426-articleLarge.jpg

Image


In addition to these leaders, this week we are coming together around a political idea — the Renew America Movement — and will release a slate of nearly two dozen Democratic, independent and Republican candidates we will support in 2022.

These “renewers” must be protected and elected if we want to restore a common-sense coalition in Washington. But merely holding the line will be insufficient. To defeat the extremist insurgency in our political system and pressure the Republican Party to reform, voters and candidates must be willing to form nontraditional alliances.

For disaffected Republicans, this means an openness to backing centrist Democrats
. It will be difficult for lifelong Republicans to do this — akin to rooting for the other team out of fear that your own is ruining the sport entirely — but democracy is not a game, which is why when push comes to shove, patriotic conservatives should put country over party.

One of those races is in Pennsylvania, where a bevy of pro-Trump candidates are vying to replace the departing Republican senator, Pat Toomey. The only prominent moderate in the primary, Craig Snyder, recently bowed out, and if no one takes his place, it will increase the urgency for Republican voters to stand behind a Democrat, such as Representative Conor Lamb, a centrist who is running for the seat.

??? - For Democrats, this similarly means being open to conceding that there are certain races where progressives simply cannot win and acknowledging that it makes more sense to throw their lot in with a center-right candidate who can take out a more radical conservative. - ???

Utah is a prime example, where the best hope of defeating Senator Mike Lee, a Republican who defended Mr. Trump’s refusal to concede the election, is not a Democrat but an independent and former Republican, Evan McMullin, a member of our group, who announced last week that he was entering the race.​

We need more candidates like him prepared to challenge politicians who have sought to subvert our Constitution from the comfort of their “safe” seats in Congress, and we are encouraged to note that additional independent-minded leaders are considering entering the fray in places like Texas, Arizona and North Carolina, targeting seats that Trumpist Republicans think are secure.​

More broadly, this experiment in “coalition campaigning” — uniting concerned conservatives and patriotic progressives — could remake American politics and serve as an antidote to hyper-partisanship and federal gridlock.

To work, it will require trust building between both camps, especially while they are fighting side by side in the toughest races around the country by learning to collaborate on voter outreach, sharing sensitive polling data, and synchronizing campaign messaging.

A compact between the center-right and the left may seem like an unnatural fit, but in the battle for the soul of America’s political system, we cannot retreat to our ideological corners.

A great deal depends on our willingness to consider new paths of political reform. From the halls of Congress to our own communities, the fate of our Republic might well rest on forming alliances with those we least expected to.

_______________________

Miles Taylor (@MilesTaylorUSA) served at the Department of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019, including as chief of staff, and was the anonymous author of a 2018 guest essay for The Times criticizing President Donald Trump’s leadership. Christine Todd Whitman (@GovCTW) was the Republican governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and served as E.P.A. administrator under President George W. Bush.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: letters@nytimes.com.


Opinion | Elect Democrats in 2022, Write Miles Taylor and Christine Todd Whitman - The New York Times (nytimes.com)


.
 

blackbull1970

The Black Bastard
Platinum Member
Jan. 6 committee: Evidence Trump engaged in 'criminal conspiracy,' may have broken laws

The committee made the argument in a court filing related to his former lawyer.

ByBenjamin Siegel,Soo Rin Kim andLaura Romero
March 3, 2022, 12:25 AM ET


The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack said Wednesday it has evidence that former President Donald Trump and some of his associates may have illegally tried to obstruct Congress' count of electoral votes and "engaged in a criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States" in their efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

The committee argued in a federal court filing Wednesday that Trump may have committed two crimes as it challenged a bid by former Trump lawyer John Eastman to block investigators from obtaining thousands of pages of emails.

The panel argued that the records should not be protected by attorney-client privilege under the crime fraud exception, given that Eastman's legal advice may have helped Trump commit multiple crimes.

"The facts we've gathered strongly suggest that Dr. Eastman's emails may show that he helped Donald Trump advance a corrupt scheme to obstruct the counting of electoral college ballots and a conspiracy to impede the transfer of power," Reps. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the leaders of the panel, said in a statement.

Eastman's lawyer, Charles Burnham, said in a statement to ABC News that Eastman "has a responsibility to protect client confidences, even at great personal risk and expense."

"The Select Committee has responded to Dr. Eastman's efforts to discharge this responsibility by accusing him of criminal conduct," Burnham said. "Because this is a civil matter, Dr. Eastman will not have the benefit of the Constitutional protections normally afforded to those accused by their government of criminal conduct. Nonetheless, we look forward to responding in due course."

Representatives for Trump did not respond to requests for comment.

The new filing marks the first time the committee has accused Trump of specific criminal activities, by working to disrupt the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6 and by waging a campaign to overturn the results in key states and promote unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud.


"As the courts were overwhelmingly ruling against President Trump's claims of election misconduct, he and his associates began to plan extra-judicial efforts to overturn the results of the election and prevent the president-elect from assuming office," the committee wrote in its filing.

"At the heart of these efforts was an aggressive public misinformation campaign to persuade millions of Americans that the election had in fact been stolen. The president and his associates persisted in making 'stolen election' claims even after the president's own appointees at the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, along with his own campaign staff, had informed the president that his claims were wrong."

Click Above Link For Full Story
 

blackbull1970

The Black Bastard
Platinum Member
Pence hits Trump: No room in GOP 'for apologists for Putin'

Former Vice President Mike Pence is urging Republicans to move on from the 2020 election

By JILL COLVIN Associated Press
March 4, 2022, 5:06 PM ET


WASHINGTON -- Former Vice President Mike Pence will urge Republicans to move on from the 2020 election and will declare that “there is no room in this party for apologists for Putin” as he further cements his break from former President Donald Trump.

Pence, in a speech Friday evening to the party's top donors in New Orleans, will take on those in his party who have failed to forcefully condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin for his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

“Where would Russian tanks be today if NATO had not expanded the borders of freedom? There is no room in this party for apologists for Putin,” Pence will say, according to excerpts from the speech. “There is only room for champions of freedom.”

Pence does not directly reference the former president in excerpts shared ahead of his remarks. But Trump has repeatedly used language that has been criticized as deferential to Putin, including calling the Russian leader “smart” while insisting the attack never would have happened on his watch.

Pence will also continue to push back on Trump's lies about the 2020 election as he lays the groundwork for a possible 2024 presidential run. Trump, who has been teasing his own comeback bid that could potentially put the two in direct competition, has continued to falsely insist that Pence had the power to overturn the 2020 election, which he did not.

“Elections are about the future," Pence will say. "My fellow Republicans, we can only win if we are united around an optimistic vision for the future based on our highest values. We cannot win by fighting yesterday’s battles, or by relitigating the past.”

Pence has been increasingly willing to challenge Trump — a dramatic departure from his deferential posture as vice president.

Pence has said the two men will likely never see “eye to eye” on the Capitol insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the building in an effort to stop certification of Joe Biden's election victory And last month, he directly rebutted Trump’s false claims that he, as vice president, could have overturned the results, telling a gathering of lawyers in Florida that Trump was “wrong.”

Still, he will join the oft-stated view of Trump and others in the Republican Party Friday evening in blaming President Biden for Putin's actions, accusing the current president of having “squandered the deterrence that our administration put in place to keep Putin and Russia from even trying to redraw international boundaries by force.”

“It’s no coincidence that Russia waited until 2022 to invade Ukraine,” Pence will say, according to excerpts. “Weakness arouses evil, and the magnitude of evil sweeping across Ukraine speaks volumes about this president.”


While Pence allies believe that he can forge a coalition that brings together movement conservatives, white Evangelical Christians and more establishment-minded Republicans, Trump’s attacks on Pence have made him deeply unpopular with large swaths of Trump’s loyal base, potentially complicating his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

Pence on Jan. 6 had to be whisked to safety with his family as a mob of Trump supporters breached the Capitol building, some chanting “Hang Mike Pence!”

2020-03-19T161741Z_1135862016_RC24NF99YTNS_RTRMADP_3_HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS-USA-TRUMP-1024x675.jpg
 

blackbull1970

The Black Bastard
Platinum Member
Caught On Tape: Trump Ally Roger Stone Bolts “Insurrection” HQ On January 6th

New, Washington Post footage of convicted Trump ally Roger Stone shows him saying the Jan. 6 riot was a mistake and would be “really bad” for the pro-Trump movement.

The footage also shows Stone calling Trump the “greatest single mistake in American history,” after he learned Trump had pardoned Steve Bannon. MSNBC’s Ari Melber reports the significance of this bombshell footage.



 

blackbull1970

The Black Bastard
Platinum Member
The con is on to sucker his minions bank accounts to get a new plane.

Trump's PAC is fundraising for a new 'Trump Force One' jet after his plane was forced to make an emergency landing this past weekend

Cheryl Teh
Mar 9, 2022, 9:31 PM


Former President Donald Trump is fundraising for a new "Trump Force One" airplane after his private jet made an emergency landing this weekend.

The Trump Save America PAC sent an email on Wednesday titled "Update: Trump Force One," touting a reveal of a new Trump plane.

Trump's PAC sent the message just hours after news broke that the former president's plane was forced to make an emergency landing in New Orleans shortly after takeoff on Saturday after one of its engines failed. According to Politico, Trump hitched a ride back to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on a GOP donor's jet.

The fundraising email said Trump had "a very important update on his plane." It urged potential donors to recall how Trump used to travel the country in his own "Trump Force One" before he became "the greatest President of all time."

The fundraising email included an animated, looped GIF of a plane taking off, along with the words "Do you want to see President Trump's new plane?" The link, however, goes to a site calling for monthly recurring donations of up to $2,500 a month.

"I need to trust that you won't share it with anyone: my team is building a BRAND NEW Trump Force One," said the message signed by Trump.

"The construction of this plane has been under wraps — not even the fake news media knows about it — and I can't wait to unveil it for everyone to see," it continued.

Emails to Trump's press office were not immediately returned.

Trump's plane was a hot topic when he was campaigning for president in 2015. He bought the Boeing-757 airliner in 2011 and customized it to his preferences, adding the Trump family crest to all the plane's headrests and pillows. Trump also fitted the plane out with a master bedroom that came complete with a big-screen entertainment system and a master bath with gold fixtures.

Trump said last May that the plane, which was sitting unused in upstate New York, was going to get new engines and a new paint job for future rallies.

62295b136ec7c20019cd6d05

Donald Trump's private jet, dubbed "Trump Force One," was a fixture at his campaign rallies when he was running for president.
 

blackbull1970

The Black Bastard
Platinum Member
Trump loses bid to countersue rape accuser E. Jean Carroll, judge rules in scathing decision

Dan Mangan
PUBLISHED FRI, MAR 11 2022 1:46 PM EST
UPDATED FRI, MAR 11 2022 2:31 PM EST


Former President Donald Trump on Friday lost his effort to be allowed to countersue and seek financial damages from the writer E. Jean Carroll, who accuses him of raping her years ago in a New York City department store.

In his scathing decision rejecting Trump's effort, Manhattan federal court Judge Lewis Kaplan said there is good reason to believe that the request is a delaying tactic by the former president to further stall Carroll's defamation lawsuit against him.

Click Above Link For Full Story

106330761-1578670203337jean.jpg

E. Jean Carroll visits 'Tell Me Everything' with John Fugelsang in the SiriusXM Studios on July 11, 2019 in New York.
 

blackbull1970

The Black Bastard
Platinum Member
Isn’t North Carolina a GOP friendly state?

North Carolina investigating Trump aide Mark Meadows over voter fraud allegations

Dan Mangan
March 17, 2022


North Carolina authorities have opened an investigation into possible voter fraud by Mark Meadows related to his claim that his legal residence was a mobile home when he was serving as White House chief of staff to then-President Donald Trump, the state attorney general's office said Thursday.

"The allegations in this case involve potential crimes committed by a government official," wrote Macon County, North Carolina, District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch in a letter Monday to the attorney general's office asking that it designate agencies to investigate Meadows.

A spokesperson for Attorney General Josh Stein told CNBC "we have agreed to [Welch's] request" to take over the probe.

"We have asked the [State Bureau of Investigation] to investigate and at the conclusion of the investigation, we'll review their findings," said Nazneen Ahmed, Stein's spokesperson.

The probe was sparked by a New Yorker magazine article on March 6 that raised questions about the legitimacy of Meadows' voter registration in North Carolina in September 2020. Meadows said on the registration that he lived in a mobile home in Scaly Mountain, which measures 14-by-62 feet.

The New Yorker reported that the former Republican congressperson "does not own this property and never has," and that it was not clear if he had ever spent a single night there. Meadows' wife, Debbie, had rented the residence once in the past several years, according to the magazine.

The magazine noted that when Mark Meadows registered to vote on Sept. 19, 2020, he listed his move-in date for the following day at the mobile home.

State law requires voters to live at their registered address for 30 days before the election in which they vote. Lying on voter registrations is a felony.

Trump, who lost his bid for re-election in November 2020 to President Joe Biden, has falsely claimed since then that he was swindled out of a second term in the White House by widespread ballot fraud in several swing states.

Meadows was on the phone line with Trump when Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger in January 2021 to "find" enough votes in that state for him to overturn Biden's victory there.

The probe of Meadows by North Carolina authorities was first reported by The News & Observer newspaper.

Meadows was not in the office Thursday at the Conservative Partnership Institute in Washington, where he is a senior partner.

A CPI staffer said she would forward CNBC's request for comment to Meadows' spokesperson.

Meadows voted by absentee ballot by mail in North Carolina in the November 2020 presidential election. Trump barely won that state, by a margin of slightly more than 1%,"

In August 2020, Meadows in a CNN interview warned of the risk of fraud in mail voting. He and his wife reportedly voted in person in Virginia in the November 2021 gubernatorial election after registering to vote in that state in September 2021. The couple owns a condominium in Alexandria, Virginia.

District Attorney Welch, whose jurisdiction includes Scaly Mountain, in her letter Monday to AG Criminal Bureau Chief Leslie Cooley Dismukes, noted that the two had recently spoken about "the voter fraud allegations surrounding former Congressman and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows."

Welch asked that the AG's office "handle both the advisement of law enforcement agencies as to any criminal investigation as any potential prosecution of Mark Meadows."

The DA wrote that she was recusing herself from the case because she felt her office had a conflict of interest because Meadows was previously a congressperson for the 11th Congressional District, which includes Macon County.

Welch also noted that Meadows had donated to Welch's campaign for DA in 2014 and "appeared in several political advertisements endorsing my bid."

The DA wrote that, "Historically, I have requested the Attorney General's Office to handle prosecutions involving alleged misconduct of government officials."

"It is in the best interests of justice and the best interests of the people of North Carolina that the Attorney General's office handles the prosecution of this case," Welch wrote.

Donald-Trump-and-Mark-Meadows.webp
 

blackbull1970

The Black Bastard
Platinum Member
Trump 'guilty of numerous' felonies, prosecutor told Manhattan district attorney as he resigned from probe


Trump's lawyer, Ronald Fischetti, said it is his understanding that the criminal probe of Trump is a live investigation and that there remains a risk of indictment against him.

 

blackbull1970

The Black Bastard
Platinum Member
Trump sues Hillary Clinton, DNC for more than $70 million over 2016 election, 'spurious' Russia collusion claims

Dan Mangan
PUBLISHED THU, MAR 24 2022 2:27 PM EDT
UPDATED 6 MIN AGO


Former President Donald Trump on Thursday sued Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee and others for allegedly conspiring to "weave a false narrative" during the 2016 presidential election that Trump and his campaign were colluding with Russia.

Trump's RICO suit says that Clinton, who was his Democratic opponent in that election, and other defendants as part of the purported scheme falsified evidence, deceived law enforcement authorities and exploited access to "highly-sensitive data sources" in a way that "even the events of Watergate pale in comparison."

The Republican ex-president, who is highly litigious, filed the suit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida more than five years after defeating Clinton the race that was the subject of the supposed plot to harm his chances in the election.

It also comes three years after then-special counsel Robert Mueller said his investigation had found that the Trump campaign was "receptive" to help from Russia during his 2016 campaign.

Trump has claimed that Mueller's investigation, which was the continuation of an FBI probe into Trump campaign contacts with Russia during the 2016 race, was a witch hunt.

The lawsuit seeks more than $72 million in damages, an amount that is triple the $24 million in legal fees and other damages that Trump allegedly has accrued as a result of the defendants' purported conduct.

Trump's suit says that while the scheme was designed to "rig" the 2016 election, "When their gambit failed, and Donald J. Trump was elected, the Defendants' efforts continued unabated, merely shifting their focus to undermining his presidential administration."

The suit alleges violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, conspiracy, injurious falsehood, malicious prosecution, computer fraud and abuse, theft of trade secrets, and other claims.

In addition to Clinton and the DNC, the defendants include former DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Clinton campaign chief John Podesta, law firm Perkins Coie, research firm Fusion GPS, former FBI officials Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, and Christopher Steele, the ex-British intelligence agent who authored the notorious "Trump-Russia dossier" opposition research report before the election.

"The lawsuit filed today outlines the Defendants' nefarious plot to vilify Donald J. Trump by spreading lies to weave a false narrative that he was colluding with Russia," Trump's lawyer, Alina Habba, said in an emailed statement.

"For years, Hillary Clinton and her cohorts attempted to shield themselves from culpability by directing others to do their dirty work for them. This lawsuit seeks to hold all parties accountable for their heinous acts and uphold the principles of our sacred democracy," Habba said.

161009215111-17-second-presidential-debate-100916.jpg
 

blackbull1970

The Black Bastard
Platinum Member
GOP pollster says Republicans are mocking ‘child’ Trump

The Hill
April 12, 2022


Prominent GOP pollster Frank Luntz said in a recent interview that Republicans in private are mocking former President Trump and they are “tired of going back and rehashing the 2020 election.”

Luntz said he was not surprised by comments made by New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) that gained attention from the Gridiron Club’s annual dinner.

“He’s f—— crazy,” Sununu said of Trump earlier this month at the annual event, known for its roasts of politicians and other figures.

“I don’t think he’s so crazy that you could put him in a mental institution,” he added. “But I think if he were in one, he ain’t getting out.”

Luntz said that while the comments were made at a roast, many members of the Republican party feel the same way.

“I don’t know a single Republican who was surprised by what Sununu said. He said what they were thinking,” Luntz said to The Daily Beast. “They won’t say it [in public], but behind his back, they think he’s a child. They’re laughing at him.”

“That’s what made it significant,” he added, referring to Sununu’s comments.

Luntz added, “Trump isn’t the same man he was a year ago.”

“Even many Republicans are tired of going back and rehashing the 2020 election. Everybody else has moved on and in Washington everyone believes he lost the election,” the pollster said.

After Sununu’s comments at the dinner gained attention, he emphasized that his remarks were a joke.

“It’s all a joke. Look, I don’t think he’s crazy. It’s all a joke,” Sununu said.

“It’s all in fun, it’s all a joke, and anyone who’s trying to make this to be more than it is either seriously doesn’t understand what the Gridiron dinner is all about or just has to, you know, like I said, lighten up a little bit, get a sense of humor,” he added.

President Biden even appeared at the popular event via a video message.

Democrats rebel against leadership super PAC in expensive Oregon primary New York lt. gov. arrested on campaign finance fraud charges
“I get the sense even if I’m not at the dinner, I’m going to be on the menu,” the president said.

Sununu late last year announced that he would run for a fourth term as governor, despite pressure from the GOP to run for Senate.

“I’d rather push myself 120 miles an hour delivering wins for New Hampshire than to slow down, end up on Capitol Hill debating partisan politics without results. That’s why I am going to run for a fourth term,” Sununu said, speaking from Concord, N.H.

frank-luntz-gty-jt-180808_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg

GOP Pollster Frank Luntz
 

blackbull1970

The Black Bastard
Platinum Member
The Secret Service spent nearly $2 million at Trump properties

The Secret Service has spent nearly $2 million of taxpayer money at Trump properties, literally paying Donald Trump for the right to protect him and his family, according to government records obtained and analyzed by CREW.


636396969325573155-AP-TRUMP-YUMA-93298139.JPG
 

blackbull1970

The Black Bastard
Platinum Member
Trump Air Force One Design Grounded By Practically And Costs

With a failed airline among his qualifications to design a plane, Donald Trump's plans for Air Force One have been rejected for being impractical. The Biden administration will make the plane light blue again.

 

blackbull1970

The Black Bastard
Platinum Member
Kinzinger Says Won't Be 'Single Trump Supporter' in 10 Years: 'Like Nixon'

"I can get about as close as I can to guaranteeing that in about 10 years there's not going to have been a single Trump supporter that exists anywhere in the country.

It's like Nixon.

There were a lot of people that supported Nixon until he was out of office and then everybody was like 'Oh, nobody supported Nixon.' I figure that that's going to happen," Kinzinger added.



ap_21208569204317_slide-e4eb1107a865bf58f50b462cb9a87d6dca1abe41.jpg
 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
Kinzinger Says Won't Be 'Single Trump Supporter' in 10 Years: 'Like Nixon'

I don't know; Kinzinger might be right, but . . .

Nixon embarrassed the Right and right-wingers -- but Nixon's forced ouster didn't create the kind of racist right wing zeal in his wake as we are witnessing with Trump. Trump, on the other hand, has fueled and appears to be continuing to fuel the right-wing zealots starting with his January 6th outright seditious attempt to overthrow the government, the fall-out from which is still landing and could continue, quite possibly, into the next election ---hence, we could be seeing and hearing from the Trumpsters and their racist sentiments, for a while.

.
 
Last edited:

blackbull1970

The Black Bastard
Platinum Member
Trump considering announcing 2024 bid in fall ahead of midterms, source says

The former president told New York magazine in a post published Thursday that he's "already made that decision." What he hasn't settled on is the timing. "I would say my big decision will be whether I go before or after," he said, in reference to the midterm elections in November.

 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
The Secret Service spent nearly $2 million at Trump properties

FBI executes search warrant at Trump's Mar-a-Lago


CNN
By Kaitlan Collins, Dan Berman, Kevin Liptak,
Katelyn Polantz and Sara Murray, CNN

Updated 8:09 PM ET,
Mon August 8, 2022


The FBI executed a search warrant on Monday at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, as part of an investigation into the handling of presidential documents, including classified documents, that may have been brought to Florida, three people familiar with the situation say.

Trump confirmed that FBI agents were at Mar-a-Lago and said "they even broke into my safe."
"My beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents," he said in a statement Monday evening.


The former President was not in Florida at the time that the search warrant was executed.


The search began early Monday morning and law enforcement personnel appeared to be focused on the area of the club where Trump's offices and personal quarters are, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The Justice Department declined to comment to CNN, as did the White House. A White House official said it was not notified about the search.




.
 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
Tucker Carlson: Trump ‘obviously’ going to be indicted

The Hill
BY DOMINICK MASTRANGELO
08/16/22 11:16 AM ET

Fox News host Tucker Carlson predicted former President Trump will be indicted following a search at his Florida residence last week carried out by the FBI in connection with an investigation into classified information reportedly taken from the White House.

“There’s nothing to see here, that’s the line,” Carlson said on his show Monday, naming a number of elected Republicans who he predicted will “say the same thing when the Biden Justice Department or some other state agency under their influence finally does what you know they’re going to do, and that’s indict Donald Trump.”


“Obviously they’re going to do that,” Carlson continued. “Who knows how, maybe they’ll produce surveillance video from Mar-a-Lago, apparently they’ve already subpoenaed that.”

The Aug. 8 search was authorized by a federal judge, and while many elected Republicans who support Trump have suggested a political motivation, the White House said President Biden was unaware of the search beforehand. No evidence has been presented to suggest Biden had prior knowledge of the search.

Multiple news reports have revealed the search was executed in connection with classified documents reportedly taken from Trump’s White House without authorization. The FBI and Justice Department have not explicitly indicated Trump is the focus of a criminal investigation in the matter and have said little about the probe publicly.

Carlson’s comments are his first since the search warrant was executed a week ago, sparking a firestorm of speculation and political backlash from the former president’s defenders.

The incident has also led to an increase in threats to federal law enforcement in recent days and inspired Attorney General Merrick Garland, in rare public remarks, to push back on his department’s critics.

Cheney says she’s ‘thinking about’ running for president The Hill’s Morning Report — Cheney trounced; Murkowski advances
Trump, who has repeatedly attacked the Justice Department and FBI following the search, said the “temperature has to be brought down in the country,” hours after Steve Doocy, another Fox News host, implored the president to do so on air Monday morning.

Carlson also praised Trump’s call for calm on Monday.

“You can feel it, even Donald Trump feels it. Maybe for the first time in his life, Donald Trump seems sincerely interested in lowering the temperature, not only for his own stake, but for the country’s,” Carlson said. “He’s right. It’s not good. This could get very bad, very fast.”

Categories: Media, News
Tags: Donald Trump, FBI search warrant, Joe Biden, Mar-a-Lago, Merrick Garland, Steve Doocy, Tucker Carlson


.
 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
Fact Check: Did Liz Cheney Tell 'Evil Quagmire' Matt Gaetz 'Bring it On'?

(An intra-party fight; can it be used against the Trump Clan/Candidates in the upcoming Fall Primaries ?)

Newsweek
BY TOM NORTON ON 8/19/22 AT 4:07 AM EDT


1660904394680.png
Ousted Congresswoman Liz Cheney seemingly took to Twitter this week in a vicious rant calling Matt Gaetz an "evil Quagmire." However, the message wasn't all that it seemed. Right: Cheney at a news conference with other Republican members of the House of Representatives at the Capitol in Washington on July 21, 2020. Left: Gaetz speaks during a House Judiciary Subcommittee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC July 29, 2020.SAMUEL CORUM/GRAEME JENNINGS-POOL/GETTY IMAGES

A tweet sent on August 18, 2022, suggested that Liz Cheney had called Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz "evil Quagmire", daring him to make further attacks against her.


1660904665985.png
 

blackbull1970

The Black Bastard
Platinum Member
'I hope he disappears': Bill O'Reilly advises Trump to flee country before the midterms

David Edwards
October 3, 2022


Conservative podcaster Bill O'Reilly, a former Fox News host, said on Monday that he hoped former President Donald Trump "disappears" before the midterm elections.

The longtime Trump ally was asked how the former president could help Republicans win midterm elections.

"What do you think his role in the midterms is going to be?" podcaster Charkie Kirk wondered. "How do you think he factors into this midterm election?"

"I hope he disappears," O'Reilly stated, "because it doesn't do Republicans any good to have Donald Trump around the midterm elections."

O'Reilly predicted that the "bogus Jan. 6 Committee" would release its findings just weeks before election day.

"See, it's the independent [voters] that always make the difference now," he explained. "A lot of them don't like Trump. And the more Trump is in the news cycle, the less the Biden administration [and] Democratic Party's failures are focused on."

"So, if I were Trump, I'd, you know, be down in Honduras or something and take a couple of weeks," O'Reilly added. "Get out of the cycle!"

Watch the video below from Real America's Voice.

Click Above Link To View Video

o_reilly-and-trump-at-game-a.jpg
 
Top