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Raw Story
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[l] at 4/19/24 9:26am
Eagle-eyed New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman once again caught former President Donald Trump dozing off during a hearing related to his hush-money trial in New York on Friday.In an update posted to the New York Times' live blog of the proceedings, Haberman wrote that "Trump appears to have fallen asleep in court again," and then added that "it happened several times just now" as "his eyes were closed for extended periods and his head dropped down twice."Haberman also had some observations about Trump's appearance as he entered court on Friday."His hair is uncharacteristically messy," she wrote. "Like the wind hit it on the way into court."Multiple reporters this week have observed Trump nodding off during his criminal trial for allegedly falsifying business records related to his 2016 hush-money payments of adult film star Stormy Daniels.READ MORE: Busted: Paul Gosar campaign consultant linked to antisemitism and white nationalismTrump's sleeping through an event that could end with him becoming a convicted felon has led to widespread ridicule on the internet all week, as Twitter hashtags such as "#SleepyDon" and "#DonSnoreleone" have trended at various times.Although Trump appears to be subdued inside the courtroom, his behavior is markedly different outside of it, where he has gone on extended tirades against Judge Juan Merchan, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and even trial witnesses such as former "fixer" Michael Cohen and adult film star Stormy Daniels.Trump's trial related to hush-money payments is far from the only legal trouble he faces, and many legal experts have called the other charges that have been leveled against him — including allegedly trying to defraud the United States with a scheme to illegally stay in power and allegedly obstructing government efforts to retrieve top-secret government documents from his Mar-a-Lago resort — as significantly more serious.
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[l] at 4/19/24 9:15am
Reacting to an angry rant delivered by Donald Trump when he showed up for court on Friday morning, CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig noted the former president looked "frazzled," which could be a clue to prosecutors that they are getting to him after only three days in court.Speaking with host Kate Bolduan after the former president had already been admitted into the courtroom, where he will tried on 34 felony counts in the Stormy Daniels hush money trial, Honig noted that Trump seemed agitated as he addressed the press and listed off a series of grievances."Elie, from just watching how Donald Trump was in speaking to reporters before he went in, he was — he was definitely at least projecting that he was angry and frustrated, if he wasn't actually angry and frustrated," CNN's Bolduan prompted her colleague. "If you're a prosecutor and you're watching him act the way he did this morning, what do you think? Do you already think you are winning?"ALSO READ: A neuroscientist reveals how Trump and Biden's cognitive impairments are different"So he definitely looked frazzled," the legal analyst replied and then added, "I think that's a good word we can use for this.""If he's frazzled now, just wait until week three because I think what Donald Trump is learning is that it is enormously stressful to be on trial," he continued. "I've never even had, of course, the experience of being the defendant, I've just done it as a lawyer.""It's incredibly stressful," he elaborated. "It's long days, it's excruciating. It can be boring. We saw him nodding off during jury selection and it will get to him."And I think, if I'm the prosecutor — I'm not so into the head games in the psychology of it all — but I do think I would see someone who's perhaps fraying a bit at the edges and, who knows, that may lead to poor strategic decisions by Donald Trump or other behavior that could be self-destructive." Watch below or at the link. CNN 04 19 2024 09 33 00 youtu.be
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[l] at 4/19/24 8:35am
John Paulson, an American hedge fund billionaire, "one of the most prominent names in high finance" and a major backer of Donald Trump, saw one of his luxury car dealerships in Puerto Rico go up in flames this past weekend — for the second time in five months. And lawyers for Paulson's former business partner, Fahad Ghaffar, are suggesting that there's something sinister behind the fires. “Since [Ghaffar] was displaced in August last year, there have been two unprecedented fires at Porsche and Ferrari, and the business appears to literally be burning down,” his attorney, Marty Russo, told The Daily Beast. “It’s very concerning because Mr. Ghaffar invested $17 million for a convertible note which he has been forced to pursue in an ongoing federal securities fraud claim against John Paulson and PRV Holdings,” he added.Paulson said that a criminal investigation of the fires has been launched and he and his people were “actively collaborating with law enforcement agencies in their investigation as to the cause of the fire.”Also read: Trump warns 'Obama, Bush and Biden in big trouble' if his legal troubles don't vanishAs The Daily Beast points out, Ghaffar and Paulson are locked in a legal battle over Paulson's business empire involving three federal cases and three state-level ones. Ghaffar claims Paulson "ousted him from the auto dealership in August and failed to deliver his promised 50 percent stake. He also claims in a separate suit that Paulson booted him from his hotel business, in which Ghaffar had invested millions of his own money, after learning that his business manager stood to make more from the investment than he did," The Beast's report stated. Paulson says Ghaffar defrauded him out of $200 million "by running up personal expenses on his business accounts and doling out lucrative contracts to friends and family members."Paulson, who has raised around $50 million for Donald Trump, said through his attorneys that Ghaffar’s suits are “a sham designed solely to divert attention from his numerous criminal schemes detailed in Paulson’s complaint.”Despite the legal battle with his former business partner and a contentious divorce case with his estranged wife, who accuses him of hiding over a billion dollars from her during their marriage, he still has time to host another fundraiser for Trump at his Palm Beach home this month.
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[l] at 4/19/24 8:20am
Donald Trump's attacks on potential jurors and the court officials overseeing his so-called hush money trial have put his lawyers in a bad position going into a weekend where they need to prepare for the hearing to actually begin, a legal expert said Friday.According to CNN's Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig, a ruling by Judge Juan Merchan that kept Trump's lawyers from being provided a list of the first three witnesses to be called by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office is a major setback for his defense.At issue was Merchan agreeing with prosecutors that there are well-founded fears that the former president could put those witnesses' lives at risk if he knew their names and took to his Truth Social platform to publicize them.ALSO READ: Revealed: What government officials privately shared about Trump not disclosing financesAccording to the former federal prosecutor, that is a serious blow to Trump's lawyers who need to firm up how they will prepare for witnesses to be called on Monday or Tuesday, once the jury is seated."The thing for Donald Trump though, where he's suffering, is now the DA is refusing to give over to the defense lawyers the order of witnesses, and that's a big deal because if you're Donald Trump's team, you head into this weekend, you've seen their witness list, but there's dozens of names on that list," he explained."You need to prepare for whoever you're going to be cross-examining potentially on Monday or Tuesday and if the DA's office is unwilling to give you the order and the judge is unwilling to make them give you the order because they don't want Trump tweeting about them, then Donald Trump is sort of leaving his own lawyers adrift," he continued before pronouncing, "So there's a real consequence to that."Watch below or at the link. CNN 04 19 2024 09 04 10 youtu.be
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[l] at 4/19/24 8:13am
Donald Trump rattled off a series of social media posts demanding presidential immunity and threatening his predecessors before heading into the fourth day of his criminal trial Friday.The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments next week in Trump's appeal of his Washington, D.C., election subversion case, in which he claims to have broad immunity as a former president, and he issued what sounded like a threat to prosecute his immediate predecessors and his chief Democratic rival Joe Biden."If a President does not have Immunity, the Opposing Party, during his/her term in Office, can extort and blackmail the President by saying that, 'if you don’t give us everything we want, we will Indict you for things you did while in Office,' even if everything done was totally Legal and Appropriate," Trump posted on Truth Social. "That would be the end of the Presidency, and our Country, as we know it, and is just one of the many Traps there would be for a President without Presidential Immunity.""Obama, Bush, and soon, Crooked Joe Biden, would all be in BIG TROUBLE. If a President doesn’t have IMMUNITY, he/she will be nothing more than a 'Ceremonial' President, rarely having the courage to do what has to be done for our Country," the former president added. "This is not what the Founders had in mind! Protect Presidential Immunity. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"Trump has previously threatened to have Biden indicted if he wins a second term in the White House, although presidents don't have that authority, and has often called for the jailing of his political opponents dating back to his 2016 campaign against Hillary Clinton.ALSO READ: A criminologist explains why keeping Trump from the White House is all that matters"If immunity is not granted to a president, every president that leaves office will be immediately indicted by the opposing party," Trump posted in all-caps. "Without complete immunity, a president of the United States would not be able to properly function."Trump has been indicted by grand juries on 91 felony counts in four jurisdictions, including Manhattan, where he faces 34 charges related to the alleged falsification of business records to conceal his hush money payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election."Without Presidential Immunity, the Presidency will lose its power and prestige, and under some Leaders, have no power at all," Trump posted minutes before entering the courtroom. "The Presidency will be consumed by the other Branches of Government. THAT IS NOT WHAT OUR FOUNDERS WANTED!"
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[l] at 4/19/24 8:06am
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — a federal government agency created in 2011 during former President Barack Obama's first term — recently created a cap on credit card late fees.But on Wednesday, the Republican-controlled House Financial Services Committee voted to advance a bill that, if passed, would repeal it.Rolling Stone's Nikki McCann Ramirez reports that the CFPB "drastically reduces the caps on credit card late fees — from $30-$41 to $8."READ MORE:Bank overdraft charges may be capped at $3 as new Biden rule ends 'junk fee harvesting'Ramirez reports, "The legislation would also repeal the CFPB's ban on automatic adjustment of late fees due to inflation. In the Democratic-controlled Senate, where the bill is expected to fail, a similar repeal measure was introduced by Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee ranking member Tim Scott (R-SC) — who has recently devoted most of his energy to fawning over Donald Trump — and co-sponsored by 12 other Republicans."Liz Zelnick, director of the Economic Security & Corporate Power Program at the watchdog group Accountable.US, slammed MAGA Republicans as hostile to consumer protections.In an official statement, Zelnick complained, "The Committee should put consumers poised to save billions before their industry megadonors. Big bank CEOs that boast of billion-dollar profits after nickel and diming Americans with junk fees don't need more special treatment from the MAGA Congress."Ramirez notes that in October 2023, the Biden White House "announced a push to eliminate junk fees and increase rate transparency for consumers across various industries" — a push that, according to Ramirez, has been met with resistance from Republicans who are "hellbent on denying" President Joe Biden "any victory in an election year."READ MORE: 'Doomed': Republicans 'smoking themselves out' in upcoming vote to raise credit card fees"For all the time Republicans spend complaining about the economic struggles faced by everyday Americans," Ramirez writes, "they remain steadfast in their commitment to ensuring major corporations can continue squeezing their customers."READ MORE: New rule under Biden would save Americans $10 billion a year in credit card fees
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[l] at 4/19/24 7:59am
CNN's Kate Bolduan fact-checked Donald Trump's Friday morning rant outside the courtroom as he returns for Day Four of his criminal trial.The quadruple-indicted ex-president complained Friday morning about a gag order imposed on him by New York justice Juan Merchan that prohibits him from commenting publicly on witnesses and jurors in the case, and prosecutors argued that Trump has already violated that court order seven times since the start of the trial."The gag order has to come off, people are allowed to speak about me and I have a gag order, just to show how much more unfair it is, and the conflict has to end with the judge," Trump told reporters. "The judge has a conflict, the worst I've ever seen, and it has to end with the judge."The former president touted 32 printed-out articles and opinion columns he waved around outside the courtroom Thursday that show various conservative commentators agreeing with his views on the case, and he claimed the judge's order had limited his right to free speech.ALSO READ: 15 worthless things Trump will give you for your money"I have to be released from the gag order," Trump said. "They have taken away my constitutional right to speak, and that includes speaking to you. I have a lot to say to you and I’m not allowed to say it."Bolduan responded to the former president's claims immediately after the network cut away from his courthouse rant."He says he should be allowed to speak – he is allowed to speak," Bolduan said. "There are three categories of speech that forbid Trump to speak about – speaking publicly or directly about known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses in the case, that he's not allowed to speak specifically concerning their potential participation in the case. Then another one is speaking publicly or directly about prosecutors other than [Manhattan district attorney Alvin] Bragg in the case, about staff members of Bragg's office in the court and about family members of prosecutors' staffers or the court, and talking directly about the jurors and prospective jurors in the case.""He can attack Bragg all he wants," Bolduan added. "He can defend himself all he wants, he can say that he thinks the case is unfair all he wants, he can talk about what he calls a conflicted judge, though we can fact check that, all he wants. These are the three categories that are part of our the gag order, and he's got a lot of leeway outside of it."CNN's John Berman summed up her fact check, noting that the gag order covered only jurors, witnesses and family members of those involved in the case, and added another caveat."He continues to say this is a prosecution from the White House," Berman said. "That is not true at all. This is a New York State case, full stop."Watch the video below or at this link. - YouTube youtu.be
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[l] at 4/19/24 7:53am
Tesla is recalling 3,878 Cybertruck vehicles because of a defect that can cause unintentional vehicle acceleration, increasing crash risk, according to a US notice posted this week.Tesla notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on April 17 of the condition in which the accelerator pedal may become trapped on the Cybertruck, Elon Musk's futuristic take on the American pickup truck.If the accelerator pedal becomes trapped, "the performance and operation of the pedal will be affected, which may increase the risk of a collision," Tesla said in the notice.Tesla said it was not aware of any collisions or injuries related to the condition. The company will replace or rework the accelerator to address the issue, the company said.Musk has championed the Cybertruck, declaring at a launch event last November that "Finally, the future will look like the future!"But the vehicle's use of large flat plates of unbent stainless steel poses challenges in manufacturing. Musk has said it will take time to ramp up production, targeting 2025 as the year when output will reach 250,000 a year.Earlier this week, Tesla announced it would lay off more than 10 percent of its global workforce as it contends with rising competition among electric vehicle producers and slowing demand growth in some markets.© 2024 AFP
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[l] at 4/19/24 7:43am
In just three short days in a Manhattan courtroom, Donald Trump has already exhibited enough antics before prospective jurors that should have his legal team worrying that they have to do damage control with the seated jury in what is expected to be a six-week long trial.That is the opinion of MSNBC legal analyst Danny Cevallos, who claimed Trump's inattention and dozing off on the first day of jury selection is the least of the president's team's worries as he has become agitated and demonstrative in the following days.Admitting that juries are supposed to follow the evidence to arrive at a verdict, Cevallos stated it is human nature for jurors to keep an eye on the defendant's actions and demeanor during hearings.ALSO READ: 15 worthless things Trump will give you for your moneyAnd that is where Trump's ability to remain stoic when provoked puts him at a disadvantage."From the moment they walk into the courtroom for jury duty, citizens are watching the defendant," argued Cevallos. "They watch when defendants scribble on notepads. They watch when defendants confer with their lawyers. They watch just to see if the defendant 'looks' guilty — whatever that means."He then added that Trump's personality could make this dynamic even more extreme."When the defendant is Donald Trump, all eyes are on the former president, at all times," he wrote before adding, "And that’s where Trump has to be very careful — if he can. If he misbehaves at the defense table, the jury will be able to see it happen."Reflecting on Trump already being admonished by Judge Juan Merchan for grumbling at a juror, Cevallos pointed out, "If Trump appears bored, angry or impatient, jurors notice. When he mumbles under his breath, they notice. None of these things are good, either."Now as the trial commences as the jury is seated, the legal analyst stated it will be up to Trump's legal team to make sure the former president doesn't make their job harder."All the client has to do is sit there and look 'not guilty.' It’s easier said than done, though. The ideal criminal defendant would sit ramrod straight, take notes from time to time and maintain an expression of respectful curiosity," he continued before warning, "Most criminal defendants are not ideal defendants. And when defendants misbehave, juries punish."You can read more here.
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[l] at 4/19/24 7:25am
Former President Donald Trump on Friday ranted outside of a courthouse in Manhattan about the gag order that prevents him from attacking witnesses and jurors in his hush-money trial.Trump started off his rant by falsely claiming that President Joe Biden was directing all criminal prosecutions against him, despite the fact that the case currently being tried was brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and not the United States Department of Justice.After rehashing his usual complaints about "election interference," Trump pivoted to complaining about the gag order."The gag order has to come off," he declared. "People are allowed to speak about me but I have a gag order!"In fact, gag orders are quite common against criminal defendants in the United States to prevent them from trying to intimidate witnesses or tamper with the jury.READ MORE: Busted: Paul Gosar campaign consultant linked to antisemitism and white nationalismTrump then baselessly accused Judge Juan Merchan of having "the worst" conflict of interest he'd ever seen in a judge before once again bringing up the gag order."I should be allowed to speak!" he complained. "They've taken away my constitutional rights to speak... I have a lot to say to you and I'm not allowed to say it! And I'm the only one! Everyone else can say whatever they want about me, they can say anything they want! They can continue to make up lies and everything else! They lie... they're real scum!"He summed up his complaint by lamenting about the unfairness of everything."So why am I gagged?" he complained. "I'm only telling the truth! They're not telling the truth! The judge has to take off this gag order! It's very, very unfair! My constitutional rights have been taken away!"Watch the video below or at this link. 'I'm only telling the truth!' Trump whines about 'very unfair' gag order outside of court www.youtube.com
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[l] at 4/19/24 7:00am
Republicans in Louisiana are cracking down on the scourge of child laborers taking breaks for lunch.The New Orleans Advocate reports that the Louisiana House Labor and Industrial Relations panel on Thursday voted to repeal a law that mandates employers give underage workers time to take lunch breaks, while also passing a bill to cut the amount of time in which laid off workers can collect unemployment aid.That that's not all, as the panel also approved a bill that "would change how workers' compensation wages are calculated in ways that could reduce benefits received by some injured laborers," according to the New Orleans Advocate.The child labor law repeal is being pushed by Louisiana State Rep. Roger Wilder, who is the owner of multiple Smoothie King franchises and who claims that his own child employees are requesting to work without taking a break to eat something.ALSO READ: Revealed: What government officials privately shared about Trump not disclosing financesWilder also hit back at critics who say that his bill would allow the exploitation of children."Give me a break," he said. "These are young adults.”Louisiana is not the only state where Republican legislators in recent months have been waging a war on lunch breaks.A bill that began advancing through the Kentucky state legislature earlier this year would strip the rights to lunch breaks for workers in the state.That bill's sponsor, Kentucky GOP State Rep. Phillip Pratt, similarly blew off concerns that workers would be denied the right to eat lunch during their shifts unless employers were compelled to do so.“In today's work environment, to say someone's not going to offer you a lunch break is ludicrous,” Pratt said. “Trust me, you're going to offer lunch breaks, you're going to offer breaks, you're gonna do all that."
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[l] at 4/19/24 6:26am
Emergency rooms have been turning away pregnant women after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, despite federal mandates requiring a standard for their care. Federal law requires emergency rooms to treat or stabilize patients who are actively in labor and transfer them to another facility if they're unable to provide that standard of care, and medical facilities that accept Medicare must comply with that law – although the Supreme Court will hear arguments next week that could weaken those protections, reported the Associated Press.“No woman should be denied the care she needs,” said Jennifer Klein, director of the White House Gender Policy Council. “All patients, including women who are experiencing pregnancy-related emergencies, should have access to emergency medical care required under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act.”Complaints about hospitals turning away pregnant patients spiked in 2022, shortly after the ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned abortion rights, including the case of a woman who miscarried in the restroom of Sacred Heart Emergency Center in Houston, Texas, as her husband called 911 for help because staffers there refused to help.READ MORE: Busted: Paul Gosar campaign consultant linked to antisemitism and white nationalism“She is bleeding a lot and had a miscarriage,” the husband told first responders in his call, which was translated from Spanish in federal documents. “I’m here at the hospital but they told us they can’t help us because we are not their client.”Emergency crews arrived 20 minutes later and took the woman to another hospital, and 911 transcripts show they were confused by Sacred Heart staffers refusing to help the woman or answer questions about the gestational age of the fetus.“No, we can’t tell you, she is not our patient," a staffer said, according to first responders. "That’s why you are here.”Staffers at Person Memorial Hospital in Roxboro, North Carolina, told a pregnant woman who complained of stomach pain that they were unable to provide her with an ultrasound and failed to tell her that leaving without being stabilized was risky, and she gave birth on the way to a hospital that was 45 minutes away to a baby who did not survive.“They are so scared of a pregnant patient, that the emergency medicine staff won’t even look," Sara Rosenbaum, a George Washington University health law and policy professor. "They just want these people gone."President Joe Biden has vowed to enforce the federal law requiring hospitals that receive Medicare funds to provide stabilizing care, including abortions, and his administration has sued Idaho over its abortion ban, even in the case of medical emergencies, and the Supreme Court will hear arguments in that case starting Wednesday.The court will also hear a challenge in the coming months to the Food and Drug Administration’s rules for obtaining the abortion medication mifepristone."Doctors, not politicians, should determine what constitutes emergency care," said Xavier Becerra, secretary of Health and Human Services.
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[l] at 4/19/24 5:47am
MSNBC host Joe Scarborough couldn't stop from bursting out laughing on Friday morning after it was reported that Donald Trump's legal team told Judge Juan Merchan they were capable of controlling his outbursts on his Truth Social platform.The issue came up at the close of proceedings on Thursday in the New York City hush-money trial when Trump's lawyers made a request for the names of the first three witnesses Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office will call when the trial commences.That led to the prosecution balking by explaining they were concerned with the safety of those witnesses, which Judge Merchan agreed with while also expressing his own concerns.While speaking with MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin, as hosts Scarborough and Mike Brzezinski looked on, co-host Willie Geist reported, "Yesterday — toward the end of yesterday's proceedings — Trump's legal team asked prosecutors to provide the names of the first three trial witnesses. Prosecutors refused, explaining while they typically would turn over that information, they did not want to in this case, because Trump already has been posting online about potential witnesses."ALSO READ: 15 worthless things Trump will give you for your money"The judge said he could not blame prosecutors for that objection," he added. "Trump's attorneys offered to commit to the court that Trump would not post about any witnesses, but the judge responded, quote, 'I don't think you can make that representation.'"That led to much amusement from the panel with Scarborough heard off-camera laughing and Brzezinski blurting, "Oh, my god!""To, to say the least," a laughing Geist added, "Trump's attorneys say, that, 'Sure, we'll control him this time. he won't tweet or Truth Social about the jurors and the witnesses."Watch the video below or at this link. MSNBC 04 19 2024 06 32 09 youtu.be
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[l] at 4/19/24 5:30am
Prince Harry's lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch's British tabloid publisher over allegations of unlawful information gathering can proceed to a potential trial next year, a UK judge ruled Friday.In one of several claims he has brought against UK newspaper publishers, Harry, 39, alleges he was repeatedly targeted by journalists and private investigators working for The Sun tabloid.He has been joined in the lawsuit by dozens of other claimants.News Group Newspapers (NGN), its publisher, has denied accusations of illegal activity and had asked the High Court in London to delay a potential trial, provisionally due to start next January.It wanted a narrower-in-scope preliminary trial held to decide whether the cases have been brought too late and outside a legal time limit.But in a ruling Friday, judge Timothy Fancourt dismissed the request.He said there was a "plainly considerable risk" of a preliminary trial "increasing costs overall and delaying" a full trial by up to two years."That is unsatisfactory," the judge added.It comes two days after actor Hugh Grant settled his claim against NGN over allegations of unlawful information gathering, saying he wanted to avoid a potential legal bill of millions of pounds.While no details of the settlement were given, Grant said on social media he had been offered an "enormous sum of money" not to go to court.NGN said the claim had been settled "without admission of liability" and that it was "in both parties' financial interests not to progress to a costly trial".Harry, the younger son of King Charles III, this year settled a long-running lawsuit against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) after alleging its journalists were linked to deceptive and unlawful methods, including phone hacking.The prince is also bringing legal action against Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday.© 2024 AFP
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[l] at 4/19/24 5:21am
The U.S. House of Representatives moved one step closer to voting on a series of foreign aid bills that have been strongly opposed by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and other MAGA lawmakers, and MSNBC's Joe Scarborough said other Republicans are growing tired of their antics.The House Rules Committee got enough Democratic support to advance the funding bills, which includes additional aid to Ukraine, in the face of a motion to vacate against speaker Mike Johnson filed by Greene and supported by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), and the "Morning Joe" host compared the dynamic to his own time as a congressman."We were constantly pushing against [former House speaker] Newt Gingrich to get more, get more, get more when we were trying to get the budget balanced," Scarborough said. "You can push to a certain degree, and, at some point, you blow up the legislative process enough to get what you want, [but] everybody turns against you. I think that's what we're seeing here. There are a lot of people that have just had enough at the couple of back benchers that are controlling what they do when it comes to Ukraine funding. It looks like the speaker, who certainly should be applauded, I will say, for what he's now saying about Ukraine, what he's now saying about the United States' role in the world, something that Joe Biden has been saying for a really long time. I'm glad he's saying it."READ MORE: Busted: Paul Gosar campaign consultant linked to antisemitism and white nationalism"I'm also glad that we're getting to a point where a lot of these back benchers, you know, what they're doing is going to amount to sound and fury signifying nothing," Scarborough added. "They're going to get rolled."Greene and other GOP hardliners insisted that Ukraine aid be tied to funding for U.S. border security, but Scarborough noted that House Republicans had killed a Senate bipartisan border security bill because Donald Trump had opposed it."You have Republicans that have stepped in the way of getting anything done," Scarborough said. "The strongest words to use against the Republican House right now, come from Republicans in the House. [Rep.] Chip Roy's quote some time back saying that the House Republicans have done absolutely nothing, absolutely nothing – name anything that they've done. You have [Sen.] James Lankford saying that Donald Trump and Republicans killed the toughest border security bill ever. Then you've got the head of the Republican Intel Committee in the House saying that Republicans in the House are spewing Vladimir Putin's and Russian talking points. I mean, their own words are devastating against them."Watch the video below or at this link. - YouTube youtu.be
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[l] at 4/19/24 5:11am
The House Ethics Committee's investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has secured the testimony of a witness who claims she saw Gaetz at a cocaine-fueled party that was also attended by a then-17-year-old girl rumored to have had a sexual relationship with the Florida congressman.ABC News reports that the witness in question told investigators about a party in 2017 that featured drugs such as cocaine and MDMA that was attended by both Gaetz and the then-teenage girl."According to the statement provided to the committee, sources said the woman who made the statement... said she saw the then-minor naked at the party, which was also attended by adult men other than Gaetz, and that at the party there allegedly were bedrooms that were made available for sexual activities," reports ABC.READ MORE: Busted: Paul Gosar campaign consultant linked to antisemitism and white nationalismHowever, the statement does not confirm whether Gaetz had sexual relations with the girl at the party, nor does it say whether Gaetz used the illegal drugs that were present at the party.Gaetz has long denied having sex with a minor and a federal investigation into claims that the congressman committed sex trafficking was dropped without charges last year.However, there was enough evidence of potential wrongdoing that the House Ethics Committee decided to launch its own probe into Gaetz, who has repeatedly drawn the ire of his fellow Republicans for leading the charge to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) last year.In fact, notes ABC News, McCarthy himself has said that the ethics probe into Gaetz was the chief reason why the Florida congressman had a vendetta against him."I'll give you the truth why I'm not speaker," McCarthy said recently. "It's because one person, a member of Congress, wanted me to stop an ethics complaint because he slept with a 17-year-old."
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[l] at 4/19/24 5:11am
The House Ethics Committee's investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has secured the testimony of a witness who has confirmed Gaetz's presence at a cocaine-fueled party that was also attended by a then-17-year-old girl rumored to have had a sexual relationship with the Florida congressman.ABC News reports that the witness in question told investigators about a party in 2017 that featured drugs such as cocaine and MDMA that was attended by both Gaetz and the then-teenage girl."According to the statement provided to the committee, sources said the woman who made the statement... said she saw the then-minor naked at the party, which was also attended by adult men other than Gaetz, and that at the party there allegedly were bedrooms that were made available for sexual activities," reports ABC.READ MORE: Busted: Paul Gosar campaign consultant linked to antisemitism and white nationalismHowever, the statement does not confirm whether Gaetz had sexual relations with the girl at the party, nor does it say whether Gaetz used the illegal drugs that were present at the party.Gaetz has long denied having sex with a minor and a federal investigation into claims that the congressman committed sex trafficking was dropped without charges last year.However, there was enough evidence of potential wrongdoing that the House Ethics Committee decided to launch its own probe into Gaetz, who has repeatedly drawn the ire of his fellow Republicans for leading the charge to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) last year.In fact, notes ABC News, McCarthy himself has said that the ethics probe into Gaetz was the chief reason why the Florida congressman had a vendetta against him."I'll give you the truth why I'm not speaker," McCarthy said recently. "It's because one person, a member of Congress, wanted me to stop an ethics complaint because he slept with a 17-year-old."
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[l] at 4/19/24 4:57am
Joe Biden hopes to capitalize on Donald Trump being stuck in court as he hits the US presidential election campaign trail — and can't resist poking fun at his rival's predicament.While Trump was in his historic hush money trial this week, Biden embarked on a three-day swing through his birthplace, the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania.He visited his childhood home and campaigned with the Kennedys, while Trump complained about being in a "freezing" New York courtroom unable to campaign."Under my predecessor -- who's busy right now -- Pennsylvania lost 275,000 jobs," the 81-year-old Biden deadpanned in reference to his rival's situation, while his audience at a steelworkers' union laughed.It was the first time Biden had publicly acknowledged Trump's criminal trial since it got underway in New York on Monday, and a departure from his previous silence on the matter."Let’s call it the Trump's in the courtroom, Biden's in Pennsylvania strategy," former White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said.The Democrat has previously appeared keen to avoid the appearance of tipping the scales of justice, knowing it could give Trump ammunition for claims that he's the victim of a Biden-led witch-hunt.The White House said he was not following the trial, adding that his "focus is on the American people."But Biden's reference to it came amid clear counterprogramming as Trump spends four days a week in court.Trump's trial also comes as polls have shown support for the Democrat gradually rising since a fiery State of the Union speech in March, with the pair now level in public opinion.Biden has focused on attacking Trump on vulnerable issues such as abortion, while believing that his own economic message is starting to get through.Yet Trump still leads Biden in several battleground states in recent polls, meaning that the president's campaign needs to seize the moment.- 'Stormy' coverage -Trump has tried to make the most of things, too.The Republican himself angrily complained outside the Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday that he "should be right now in Pennsylvania and Florida...campaigning."But some of his supporters argue that the media circus around his criminal trial, the first for a former US president, gives him a ready made platform to get his message out.The split-screen effect of seeing the two rivals on news channels could also help, they say."Maybe the fact that Joe is on the campaign trail and Donald Trump has to sit in that courtroom... maybe that'll work to his advantage in the end because Joe makes a fool of himself every day," said Sean Hannity, a Trump ally and host on conservative Fox News.The trial could also fire up his base with a sense of grievance.Trump got to a campaign rally in Pennsylvania the weekend before the trial and heads this weekend to Wilmington in North Carolina, another key state the Biden campaign says it hopes to flip.The Biden campaign is however taking the fight to Trump's backyard. On Tuesday the president will travel to Tampa, Florida.Despite the state leaning solidly Republican since Trump won it in 2016, Biden's campaign has said it is now eyeing Florida, too.The Biden campaign is also taking less than subtle digs at Trump's legal woes.This week it said there had been "Stormy abortion ban coverage" for Trump -- a dig at the trial in which Trump is accused of falsifying business records to cover up an alleged extramarital sexual encounter with adult film actress Stormy Daniels to shield his 2016 election campaign from scandal.It spoke of Trump's "trials and tribulations" and mocked the former president as losing "in the court of public opinion"And Biden continued to mock Trump, including over the fact that his campaign is spending millions on legal bills, coupled with another three criminal indictments.In his Pennsylvania hometown of Scranton on Tuesday, Biden retold a joke about how a "defeated-looking guy" who was "drowning in debt" came up to him and asked for help."I said, 'I'm sorry, Donald, but I can’t help you,'" quipped Biden.
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[l] at 4/19/24 4:54am
Startled by nighttime pounding on his door, American political strategist Rick Wilson walked out in his underwear to find policemen with guns drawn. They were responding to yet another hoax, increasingly seen as a tool of intimidation in a crucial election year.In recent months, election workers, judges, and politicians -- on both sides of the aisle -- have been "swatted," a potentially deadly prank when a caller triggers a large law enforcement response after reporting a false violent crime.The shenanigans have stoked concern in the build up to the widely anticipated November rematch between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump that observers say is ridden with the threat of election violence, foreign influence, and disinformation."It's hard to have dozens of cops around the house with AR-15s banging on the door at three in the morning," said Wilson, a former Republican strategist and co-founder of the Lincoln Project.A previous swatting experience prompted Wilson to say "I'm being swatted" as he stumbled out of his Florida home with his hands in the air, a declaration that got the policemen to back down.Wilson told AFP he declared a $25,000 reward for information about the perpetrator but so far no one had come forward."The objective of swatting is to get people killed," he said.- 'Cowardly acts' -Several swatting incidents of political figures have followed a similar script, sparking suspicion that they are coordinated: A prankster calls the emergency hotline 911 to "confess" that he shot his wife or girlfriend and plans to kill himself.Those words are apparently enough to set off a police response.In January, Gabriel Sterling, a top Georgia election official, was swatted just hours after he posted online about multiple bomb threats to several state capitols around the country.It was triggered, he said, by a call to 911 falsely reporting a "drug deal gone bad" at his home."We should all refuse to allow bomb threats (and) swatting to be the new normal," Sterling said.Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said it was "deeply troubling" to see a rise in swatting."We expect heightened tensions as we head into a major presidential election," he said in a statement to AFP."We expect American citizens to engage in the democratic process -- not resort to cowardly acts of intimidation."The FBI said that last year it tracked about 600 swatting incidents in the country, adding the crime "seems to be growing."The number of swatting cases involving politicians and election officials -- not all of whom report the crime -- remains unclear, but a series of high-profile targets have prompted alarm.Those targeted in recent months include Tanya Chutkan, a judge overseeing a federal case involving Trump, special counsel Jack Smith -- who is overseeing the prosecution of the former president in two cases –- and Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.- 'Extremely difficult' -Swatting, which takes its name from the heavily armed SWAT teams often dispatched to tackle emergencies, first emerged in the early 2000s, according to the FBI. And it has been used to harass celebrities and the online gaming community has also targeted one another.But the threat appears to be growing as election workers gear up for a potentially volatile election.Swatting attacks that lead law enforcement to voting officials or polling locations have the potential to "disrupt the election process," potentially "decreasing confidence" in the democratic system, the nonprofit Center for Internet Security said in a report.A taskforce set up by the Justice Department in 2021 has reviewed more than 2,000 complaints of hostility, harassment, and threats to election officials, leading to dozens of investigations, according to US media.Several US states, including Georgia, have introduced legislation to toughen penalties against swatting.In January, lawmakers including Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida introduced legislation to impose penalties, including up to 20 years in jail if someone is seriously hurt in a swatting attack. The move came after Scott's home in Florida was swatted.But arrests have so far been rare.Experts say perpetrators were aided by technology including artificial intelligence tools such as text-to-voice programs that allowed them to mimic voices.Encrypted communication apps as well as VPNs, or virtual private networks, also made it harder to track them down."It's a computer-based crime," Justin Smith, a member of the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections, told AFP."The ability to track down these individuals is extremely difficult," he said, adding he encouraged election officials to notify law enforcement agencies where they reside to mitigate the risks.
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[l] at 4/19/24 4:49am
Joe Biden raised eyebrows when he hinted that cannibals on the island of New Guinea may have eaten his uncle's body after he was shot down during World War II.And the White House and official records indicated Thursday that -- as with many a family legend -- the facts may indeed be a bit different.Biden paid tribute to his uncle, 2nd Lieutenant Ambrose J. Finnegan, after visiting a war memorial during a campaign trip to the president's hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania on Wednesday.The 81-year-old president, who was aged one when his uncle died in 1944, reached out to touch Finnegan's name which was engraved on the monument."He got shot down in New Guinea, and they never found the body because there used to be a lot of cannibals, for real, in that part of New Guinea," Biden later told an audience of steel workers in Pittsburgh.Biden also repeated the story to reporters, adding that "he got shot down in an area where there were a lot of cannibals in New Guinea" and that the US government had recovered parts of the downed plane.The problem?His account of his uncle's death, and his possible cannibalization, differs from US defense records.The official Defense POW/MIA Accounting agency said that Ambrose Finnegan's plane was headed to New Guinea on a courier flight and was "forced to ditch in the ocean" off the island's coast "for unknown reasons."The aircraft hit the water hard and three crew members failed to emerge from the sinking wreck, while one survived and was rescued by a passing barge, it said on its website."An aerial search the next day found no trace of the missing aircraft or the lost crew members," it said.White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed that Ambrose Finnegan "lost his life when the military aircraft he was on crashed in the Pacific after taking off near New Guinea", not over land.But she defended Biden, saying it had been "incredibly emotional and important" to the president to be able to honor his uncle at the memorial.Biden "highlighted his uncle's story" to show support for veterans and draw a contrast with election rival Donald Trump, who reportedly disparaged military members killed in war as "losers" and "suckers" while president, she said.The issue is personal to Biden, whose elder son Beau was a veteran of the Iraq war and whose death from brain cancer the president attributes to military "burn pits" used to incinerate waste.Historically, cannibalism has been reported Papua New Guinea, the Pacific nation that occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, off the northern coast of Australia.
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[l] at 4/19/24 4:44am
Based on just three days in the courtroom where Donald Trump is facing 34 felony counts related to hush-money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election, campaign advisers and GOP consultants are already dealing with the crippling effect it is having on his 2024 presidential bid.Pointing to the four days a week the former president must be in the courtroom or face possible jailing, Trump's inner circle is watching President Joe Biden move about the country and raise massive amounts of campaign cash while the ex-president is limited to using his Truth Social platform and making proclamations on the courthouse steps.That has some in Trump's world worried when looking down the road at a trial that could last six weeks or more.ALSO READ: Revealed: What government officials privately shared about Trump not disclosing financesAccording to a report from the Daily Beast's Jake Lahut, "… it only took a few days to show that Trump’s hush money trial will be even more damaging, more constraining, and more significant than anyone expected.”While some within Trump’s campaign are saying the constant coverage of the Manhattan trial is giving the former president a platform with free press coverage every day, one longtime GOP strategist worried about the chaos and messaging problems it is creating“I had sort of underestimated just the giant time-suck this is going to be for him as a candidate,” Alex Conant explained before adding, “He could be raising six, seven figures pretty regularly at major-dollar events around the country... That’s literally what Biden is doing. So Trump’s fundraisers are probably frustrated that because he’s in New York, they can’t schedule that stuff.”Conant also warned that the clock is ticking while Trump cools his heels in court.“The most valuable commodity in any campaign is the candidate’s time,” Conant remarked. “It’s the only thing you can’t get more of. And the fact that he’s going to have to spend weeks in the courtroom is time his campaign isn’t going to get back.”You can read more here.

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