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4/24/2024

SOCIAL MEDIA/TRUMP BUSINESS: “Former president Donald Trump qualified for a bonus worth $1.2bn after shares in his social media company remained above a certain value despite falling sharply. 

Trump is poised to receive 36m additional shares in Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), owner of his Truth Social platform, under an ‘earn-out’ windfall which boosts the paper value of his stake in the business to about $3.7bn…

Trump’s shares in his social media company have offered him a financial lifeline as he faces about $500m in legal penalties after being found liable in civil fraud, defamation and sexual abuse cases. While he cannot sell his stock until September due to the terms of a lockup agreement, the shares’ fluctuating value have at times made him one of the world’s wealthiest people on paper.”

-Nick Robins-Early, “Trump to receive bonus worth $1.2bn for Trump Media stock performance,” April 24, 2024

4/24/2024

2020 ELECTION/MICHIGAN: “Former President Donald J. Trump was named as an unindicted co-conspirator on Wednesday in the investigation by the Michigan attorney general’s office into interference in the 2020 election.

Charges have already been brought in Michigan against 15 Republicans who acted as fake electors for Mr. Trump after President Biden defeated him in the state in 2020…

Whether Mr. Trump or any of his former aides or advisers face legal jeopardy in Michigan is unclear. Michigan is one of five swing states that are conducting investigations or prosecutions related to steps Mr. Trump and his allies took in trying to circumvent the will of voters after the 2020 election.”

-Danny Hakim, “Trump Named as Unindicted Conspirator in Michigan Election Interference Case,” nytimes.com, April 24, 2024

4/24/2024

ENDORSEMENT/UNION: “Joe Biden landed a major union endorsement Wednesday [April 24, 2024] from North America’s Building Trades Unions, whose leaders say the president has his infrastructure bill largely to thank for it. 

In making one of their earliest ever presidential endorsements, NABTU leaders are kickstarting an eight-figure organizing program to try to deliver their 250,000 members in the battlegrounds of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin for Biden…

Biden appeared at the union’s conference in Washington on Wednesday to officially get the nod – which union leaders also want to be seen as a stark rebuff of Trump, who eagerly solicited support from union members and leaders during his time in office, but, their leaders say, didn’t deliver.”

-Edward-Isaac Dovere, “Biden scores major union backing as its leaders attack Trump,” cnn.com, April 24, 2024

4/24/2024

2024 ELECTION/GOP: “Donald Trump suffered a blow in the Pennsylvania primary [for the 2024 election] on Tuesday [April 23, 2024], as tens of thousands of Republicans refused to vote for him despite being the presumptive GOP nominee.

The former president won the primary race in the key swing state with 83.5 percent of the vote, amounting to more than 786,000 votes…

Trump lost Pennsylvania to Biden in the 2020 election by just over one percent (80,555 votes).”

-Ewan Palmer, “Donald Trump Suffers Huge Vote Against Him in Pennsylvania Primary,” newsweek.com, April 24, 2024

4/24/2024

2024 ELECTION/IMMUNITY/LEGAL/SUPREME COURT: “Against the backdrop of a divisive 2024 presidential campaign, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday will take up the monumental question of whether a former president turned presumptive GOP nominee can be criminally prosecuted for his efforts to stay in power after the last election…

The outcome could determine whether Trump faces a federal trial this year on four felony counts pressed by special counsel Jack Smith, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and obstruction of an official proceeding, for his attempts to overturn the electoral vote count certifying Biden’s victory.

Trump, who has pleaded not guilty, is seeking to quash the case on the claim that as a former president he enjoys “absolute immunity” from criminal prosecution for any ‘official acts’ during his tenure. He is the first American president — current or former — to ever face criminal charges.”

-Devin Dwyer, “Supreme Court to take up Trump’s claim of ‘absolute immunity’ from criminal prosecution,” abcnews.go.com, April 24, 2024

4/23/2024

2020 ELECTION/LEGAL: “I am being accused of Election Interference in a trial being presided over by a Corrupt D.A. and a ridiculously Conflicted Judge, representing people who Rigged and Stole the 2020 Presidential Election, and paid millions of dollars for the Fake and Fully Discredited Russia Dossier…..And they’re after me because a bookkeeper marked down ‘Legal Expense’ in a Ledger when describing Legal Fees paid to a lawyer. What else would you call it? The Biden Thugs call it Falsifying Business Records. THIS FAKE CASE SHOULD BE DROPPED, IMMEDIATELY!”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, April 23, 2024

4/23/2024

LEGAL: “We have a Rigged Judge, who is working for the Democrat Party and refuses to terminate this “case,” which should have never been brought by Soft on Crime Alvin Bragg. Judge Merchan should immediately removed, and the Appellate Courts have to take over. That also applies to Corrupt Judge Engoron, who knew I did nothing wrong, and still fraudulently fined me $500 Million Dollars while having no knowledge of Valuation, Finance, or in any way what he was doing. Same with Judge Kaplan, who allowed a woman, who I have never met (celebrity photo line does not count!), and know nothing about, to get a lawless judgment of $90 Million Dollars. New York Justice is in shambles, and only the Appellate Courts can save it. A Republican doesn’t stand a chance – This is not Justice.…”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, April 23, 2024

4/22/2024

JOE BIDEN/SOCIAL MEDIA: “Just so everyone knows, especially the young people, Crooked Joe Biden is responsible for banning TikTok. He is the one pushing it to close, and doing it to help his friends over at Facebook become richer and more dominant, and able to continue to fight, perhaps illegally, the Republican Party. It’s called ELECTION INTERFERENCE! Young people, and lots of others, must remember this on November 5th, ELECTION DAY, when they vote! They also must remember, more importantly, that he is destroying our Country, and is A MAJOR THREAT TO DEMOCRACY!”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, April 22, 2024

4/22/2024

IMMUNITY/SUPREME COURT: “A PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES MUST HAVE FULL IMMUNITY, WITHOUT WHICH IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR HIM/HER TO PROPERLY FUNCTION. ANY MISTAKE, EVEN IF WELL INTENDED, WOULD BE MET WITH ALMOST CERTAIN INDICTMENT BY THE OPPOSING PARTY AT TERM END. EVEN EVENTS THAT ‘CROSS THE LINE’ MUST FALL UNDER TOTAL IMMUNITY, OR IT WILL BE YEARS OF TRAUMA TRYING TO DETERMINE GOOD FROM BAD. THERE MUST BE CERTAINTY. EXAMPLE: YOU CAN’T STOP POLICE FROM DOING THE JOB OF STRONG & EFFECTIVE CRIME PREVENTION BECAUSE YOU WANT TO GUARD AGAINST THE SELDOM SEEN ‘ROGUE COP.’ SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO LIVE WITH ‘GREAT BUT SLIGHTLY IMPERFECT.’ ALL PRESIDENTS MUST HAVE COMPLETE & TOTAL PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY, OR THE AUTHORITY & DECISIVENESS OF A PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES WILL BE STRIPPED & GONE FOREVER. HOPEFULLY THIS WILL BE AN EASY DECISION. GOD BLESS THE SUPREME COURT!”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, April 22, 2024

4/21/2024

LEGAL: “REMOVE THE GAG ORDER!!! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO HIDE???”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, April 22, 2024

4/21/2024

LEGAL: “Four years ago I was a very successful and popular President of the United States and, in November, went into an Election where I received more votes, by far, than any sitting President in the history of our Country. Unfortunately, the Election was Rigged and Stolen, and our once great Country has quickly become a Nation In Serious Decline. Tomorrow morning I report to a New York Criminal Court for a Trial on, somewhat ironically, ELECTION INTERFERENCE, ruled over by Crooked Joe Biden’s DOJ, before a Corrupt and Highly Conflicted Judge, a failed Soros funded District Attorney who didn’t want to bring this case, which could have been brought eight years ago, but wasn’t, in an almost completely Democrat District. Virtually every Legal Scholar and Expert says that there is NO CASE, NO CRIME, NO NOTHING! IT IS A SHAM THAT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT, EXCEPT TO TRY AND DAMAGE BIDEN’S POLITICAL OPPONENT, ME. SEE YOU TOMORROW MORNING!”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, April 22, 2024

4/20/2024

IMMUNITY: “IF IMMUNITY IS NOT GRANTED TO A PRESIDENT, EVERY PRESIDENT THAT LEAVES OFFICE WILL BE IMMEDIATELY INDICTED BY THE OPPOSING PARTY. WITHOUT COMPLETE IMMUNITY, A PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO PROPERLY FUNCTION!”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, April 20, 2024

4/20/2024

IMMUNITY: “Without Presidential Immunity, the Presidency will lose its power and prestige, and under some Leaders, have no power at all. The Presidency will be consumed by the other Branches of Government. THAT IS NOT WHAT OUR FOUNDERS WANTED!”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, April 20, 2024

4/18/2024

JOE BIDEN/UKRAINE: “Why isn’t Europe giving more money to help Ukraine? Why is it that the United States is over $100 Billion Dollars into the Ukraine War more than Europe, and we have an Ocean between us as separation! Why can’t Europe equalize or match the money put in by the United States of America in order to help a Country in desperate need? As everyone agrees, Ukrainian Survival and Strength should be much more important to Europe than to us, but it is also important to us! GET MOVING EUROPE! In addition, I am the only one who speaks for ‘ME’ and, while it is a total mess caused by Crooked Joe Biden and the Incompetent Democrats, if I were President, this War would have never started!”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, April 18, 2024

4/15/2024

LEGAL: “Former President Donald J. Trump seemed alternately irritated and exhausted Monday morning, as his lawyers and prosecutors hashed out pretrial motions before jury selection in his criminal case.

Even as a judge was hearing arguments on last-minute issues in a criminal case that centers on salacious allegations and threatens to upend his bid for the presidency, Mr. Trump appeared to nod off a few times, his mouth going slack and his head drooping onto his chest.”

-Maggie Haberman, “A Weary Trump Appears to Doze Off in Courtroom Ahead of Criminal Trial,” nytimes.com, April 15, 2024

4/12/2024

SOCIAL MEDIA: “I am so proud of Truth Social, because I believe it represents the Make America Great Again Movement, and it shows the Spirit and Love of our Country. If people who believe in putting America First and want to Make America Great Again, support TRUTH, we will be your Voice like never before, and a Real Voice is what our Country needs, because we are in decline, and must bring America to Greatness. Think of this as a Movement, the Greatest Movement in the History of our Country. We are going to Save our Country, and Make America Great Again, GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, April 12, 2024

4/12/2024

STOCK MARKET: “Donald Trump on Friday urged his followers to support his social media app Truth Social, as its parent company’s stock continues to sink lower…

It was not clear whether Trump was urging his supporters to use the app or buy shares in Trump Media, which started publicly trading on the Nasdaq last month.

The stock, which trades under the ticker DJT, shot up more than 50% in its March 26 debut but has tumbled lower in subsequent trading days.

Trump Media’s share price on Friday morning dipped below $30, a decline of more than $40 from its roaring start.”

-Kevin Breuninger, “Trump tries to boost support for Truth Social as DJT stock tanks,” CNBC.com, April 12, 2024

4/12/2024

CONGRESS: “Senate Republicans vented their frustration after former President Trump helped derail a compromise House bill to extend Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) authority, sending lawmakers scrambling to find a Plan B to keep the nation’s intelligence agencies from losing their ability to spy on adversaries and terrorists.

Republican senators are warning that the nation’s spy program is about to go ‘dark’ and that much of the intelligence that goes into President Biden’s daily briefing could be lost, putting the nation at risk for surprise attacks.”

-Alexander Bolton, “Senate Republicans furious over Trump trying to derail FISA bill,” thehill.com, April 12, 2024

4/12/2024

LEGAL: “If former President Donald Trump is convicted on all counts in his New York criminal hush money trial that begins April 15, he could theoretically face more than a decade in prison.

But most legal experts who spoke to USA TODAY said such a dramatic outcome is unlikely. Instead, he would likely be sentenced to something between probation and four years in prison. And he would probably still be out, free to campaign for president as the presumptive or actual 2024 Republican nominee, while his all-but-certain appeal was pending.”

-Aysha Bagchi, “Donald Trump could face prison time if he is convicted in upcoming NY hush money trial,” usatoday.com, April 12, 2024

4/12/2024

LEGAL: “A New York judge on Friday tossed one of former President Trump’s final remaining pathways to avoid his imminent hush money trial, rejecting his bid to delay the proceedings over ‘prejudicial’ pretrial media coverage.

Judge Juan Merchan ruled that Trump’s trial will go forward Monday with jury selection, rejecting defense arguments that the barrage of media coverage around the trial has prejudiced potential jurors.”

-Zach Schofield and Ella Lee, “Judge rejects Trump bid, rules hush money trial will begin on Monday,” April 12, 2024

4/11/2024

JOE BIDEN: “Crooked Joe Biden and his crew of Hacks and Thugs, led by Merrick Garland and Deranged Jack Smith, are working overtime to try to illegally intimidate and harass respected Federal Judge Aileen Cannon. They are calling her terrible names, wrongfully threatening her with Impeachment, and disrespecting her, all because they want her to act like the dishonest, politically biased, and conflicted Judges in New York, and not like the fair and impartial Judge that she is. These Persecutors are using Third World tactics in a corrupt ploy to ‘play the ref.’ However, no matter how hard he tries, Deranged Jack Smith will never be Coach Bobby Knight, a Basketball Legend for all time, who led the last undefeated team in College Basketball. Coach Knight would always “play the refs,” but not to change the last call, to change the next one….

The Weaponization of Law Enforcement, the Harassment of Fair Judges, and rampant Election Interference cannot be allowed to continue. We have to end the Witch Hunts, win the most important Election in our History on November 5th, and Make America Great Again!”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, April 11, 2024

4/3/2024

CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS/LEGAL: “In an unusual order, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon had asked prosecutors and defense lawyers to formulate proposed jury instructions for most of the charges even though it remains unclear when the case might reach trial. She asked the lawyers to respond to two different scenarios in which she appeared to accept the Republican ex-president’s argument that he was entitled under a statute known as the Presidential Records Act to retain the sensitive documents he is now charged with possessing.

The order surprised legal experts and alarmed special counsel Jack Smith’s team, which said in a filing late Tuesday that the 1978 law — which requires presidents to return presidential records to the government upon leaving office but permits them to retain purely personal ones — has no relevance in a case concerning highly classified documents like the ones Trump is alleged to have stored at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.”

-Eric Tucker, “Prosecutors in Trump’s classified documents case sharply rebuke judge’s unusual and ‘flawed’ order,” apnews.com, April 3, 2024

4/3/2024

LEGAL: “After weeks of uncertainty, former President Trump posted a $175 million bond in his New York civil fraud case Monday with the help of little-known California billionaire Don Hankey.

Hankey’s Knight Specialty Insurance Co. underwrote Trump’s bond, allowing the former president to move forward with his appeal of the case and preventing New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) from seizing his properties…

Trump’s lawyers told a New York appeals court last month that, despite ‘diligent efforts,’ it would be ‘impossible’ to secure the full bond [$464 million] due to lack of cash on hand. The court ultimately reduced the bond to $175 million.”

-Julia Shapero, “Meet the ‘subprime auto king’ who arranged Trump’s $175 million bond,” thehill.com, April 3, 2024

4/3/2024

APPRENTICE/SOCIAL MEDIA: “Donald Trump is suing two co-founders of Trump Media, claiming they should lose their shares of the company for mismanaging his social media site.

The men, Wes Moss and Andy Litinsky, had already filed a suit against Mr Trump in February to prevent him from reducing their 8.6% stake in the firm.

They pitched the idea of Truth Social following the Capitol riot, after Mr Trump was banned from Twitter, now X.

Their shares are currently valued at around $600m (£477m).

Both co-founders met Mr Trump as contestants on NBC’s The Apprentice reality show.”

-Madeline Halpert, “Trump sues Truth Social co-founders over alleged mismanagement,” bbc.com, April 3, 2024

4/3/2024

IMMUNITY/LEGAL/SUPREME COURT: “A judge on Wednesday [April 3, 2024] rejected Donald Trump’s bid to delay his April 15 hush money criminal trial until the Supreme Court rules on presidential immunity claims he raised in another of his criminal cases — spurning another of the former president’s ploys to put off the historic trial indefinitely. Several more are pending.

Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan declared the request untimely, ruling that Trump’s lawyers had ‘myriad opportunities’ to raise the immunity issue before they finally did so last month, well after a deadline for pretrial motions had already passed.”

-Michael R. Sisak, “Judge rejects Donald Trump’s request to delay hush-money trial until Supreme Court rules on immunity,” yahoo.com, April 3, 2024

4/2/2024

JOE BIDEN: “Thank you to professor Jonathan Turley for exposing the horrendous decision made by a corrupt New York State Judge, Arthur Engoron, on the ‘I will get Trump’ worst in the Nation A.G., Letitia James, unfair case against me. I just posted a $175,000,000 Bond just for the right to Appeal this travesty of a case, which I won at the Appellate Division, but this Judge refuses to accept- A FIRST. He is a whacked out nut job who just made up a number out of thin air, just like he did on the value of Mar-a-Lago. Businesses won’t enter New York because of this decision, and many are fleeing. Think of it – I had to pay an enormous sum for the right to Appeal the ridiculous decision of a CROOKED Judge and A.G. This is Election Interference, and it all comes directly from Joe Biden and the White House. An attack, along with ALL OF THE OTHERS, on his political opponent, ME!”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, April 2, 2024

4/2/2024

DOJ/JOE BIDEN/LEGAL: “Please remember, ALL of these Lawsuits, Charges, and Indictments that have been brought against me have been orchestrated and coordinated by Crooked Joe Biden, the White House, and the DOJ, as an ATTACK ON CROOKED’S POLITICAL OPPONENT, ME. This has never happened before in our Country. MAGA2024!”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, April 2, 2024

4/2/2024

BORDER/JOE BIDEN: “UNDER CROOKED JOE BIDEN WE HAVE BECOME A THIRD WORLD NATION. OUR BORDERS ARE GONE, OUR LEGAL SYSTEM IS WEAPONIZED, OUR ELECTIONS ARE CORRUPT. IT DOESN’T GET ANY WORSE THAN THAT!!! MAGA2024”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, April 2, 2024

4/2/2024

LEGAL/NEW YORK: “I had to pay New York State in order to appeal a corrupt decision by a biased, crooked and highly overturned judge. It’s supposed to be the other way around – you appeal before you pay. Is a crooked New York Judge allowed to make you pay for the ‘privilege’ of appealing a wrongful & corrupt decision??? NOT IN AMERICA!!!”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, April 2, 2024

4/2/2024

VOTING: “Who are all those voters registering without a Photo ID in Texas, Pennsylvania, and Arizona??? What is going on??? DJT”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, April 2, 2024

3/31/2024

HOLIDAY/LEGAL: “HAPPY EASTER TO ALL, INCLUDING CROOKED AND CORRUPT PROSECUTORS AND JUDGES THAT ARE DOING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO INTERFERE WITH THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2024, AND PUT ME IN PRISON, INCLUDING THOSE MANY PEOPLE THAT I COMPLETELY & TOTALLY DESPISE BECAUSE THEY WANT TO DESTROY AMERICA, A NOW FAILING NATION, LIKE ‘DERANGED’ JACK SMITH, WHO IS EVIL AND ‘SICK,’ MRS. FANI ‘FAUNI’ WADE, WHO SAID SHE HARDLY KNEW THE ‘SPECIAL’ PROSECUTOR, ONLY TO FIND THAT HE SPENT YEARS ‘LOVING’ HER, LONG BEFORE THE GEORGIA PERSECUTION OF PRESIDENT TRUMP BEGAN (AND THEREBY MAKING THE CASE AGAINST ME NULL, VOID, AND ILLEGAL!), AND LAZY ON VIOLENT CRIME ALVIN BRAGG WHO, WITH CROOKED JOE’S DOJ THUGS, UNFAIRLY WORKING IN THE D.A.’s OFFICE, ILLEGALLY INDICTED ME ON A CASE HE NEVER WANTED TO BRING AND VIRTUALLY ALL LEGAL SCHOLARS SAY IS A CASE THAT SHOULD NOT BE BROUGHT, IS BREAKING THE LAW IN DOING SO (POMERANTZ!), WAS TURNED DOWN BY ALL OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES, AND IS NOT A CRIME. HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, April 2, 2024

3/27/2024

JOE BIDEN/KAMALA HARRIS/LEGAL: “Judge Juan Merchan, who is suffering from an acute case of Trump Derangement Syndrome (whose daughter represents Crooked Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, and other Radical Liberals, has just posted a picture of me behind bars, her obvious goal, and makes it completely impossible for me to get a fair trial) has now issued another illegal, un-American, unConstitutional ‘order,’ as he continues to try and take away my Rights. This Judge, by issuing a vicious ‘Gag Order,’ is wrongfully attempting to deprive me of my First Amendment Right to speak out against the Weaponization of Law Enforcement, including the fact that Crooked Joe Biden, Merrick Garland, and their Hacks and Thugs are tracking and following me all across the Country, obsessively trying to persecute me, while everyone knows I have done nothing wrong!”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, March 27, 2024

3/27/2024

LEGAL: “Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday [March 27, 2024] at the New York judge who put him under a gag order ahead of his April 15 hush-money criminal trial, suggesting without evidence that the veteran jurist was kowtowing to his daughter’s interests as a Democratic political consultant. The former president objected in particular to what he claimed was her posting of a social media photo showing him behind bars…

The gag order, which prosecutors had requested, bars Trump from either making or directing other people to make public statements on his behalf about jurors and potential witnesses in the hush-money trial… It also prohibits any statements meant to interfere with or harass the court’s staff, prosecution team or their families.

It does not bar comments about [Judge] Merchan or his family, nor does it prohibit criticism of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the elected Democrat whose office is prosecuting Trump.”

-Michael R. Sisak, “Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in New York hush-money criminal case,” apnews.com, March 27, 2024

3/26/2024

2024 ELECTION/JOE BIDEN: “I’m not running to terminate the ACA, AS CROOKED JOE BUDEN DISINFORMATES AND MISINFORMATES ALL THE TIME, I’m running to CLOSE THE BORDER, STOP INFLATION, MAKE OUR ECONOMY GREAT, STRENGTHEN OUR MILITARY, AND MAKE THE ACA, or OBAMACARE, AS IT IS KNOWN, MUCH BETTER, STRONGER, AND FAR LESS EXPENSIVE. IN OTHER WORDS, MAKE THE ACA MUCH, MUCH, MUCH BETTER FOR FAR LESS MONEY (OR COST) TO OUR GREST AMERICAN CITIZENS, WHO HAVE BEEN DECIMATED BY BIDEN, HIS RECORD INFLATION, BAD ECONOMY, AFGHANISTAN CATASTROPHE, AND JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING ELSE. CROOKED JOE BIDEN IS, BY FAR, THE WORST PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES! MAGA2024”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, March 26, 2024

3/26/2024

MEDIA: “What boss or executive would allow a man or woman, in this case Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd, who was fired for dismal performance coupled with horrendous television ratings, to publicly SCOLD them as to their weakness & stupidity in hiring Ronna McDaniel. Actually, they should be scolded for hiring ‘Sleepy’ for Meet the Fake Press, and keeping him on so long despite his poor performing skills, bad ratings, and bias. The sick degenerates over at MSDNC are really running NBC, and there seems nothing Chairman Brian Roberts can do about it. Watching Chuck Todd, of all people, viciously giving Roberts a piece of his small mind, and then berating him for hiring Ronna without his, or the other lunatics, approval, was just a step too far. Brian’s great father would have fired Chuck Todd, and all the rest of these losers, on the spot. Perhaps Brian still will. If I knew Ronna was going to troubled MSNBC, I would have advised her to change her name back to Romney, she would have had a better chance!”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, March 26, 2024

3/26/2024

SOCIAL MEDIA/STOCK MARKET/TRUMP BUSINESS: “Buoyed by legions of avid supporters, Donald Trump made a bubbly debut on the Nasdaq stock exchange Tuesday.

Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group soared like helium from the opening bell and maintained most of those gains until late in the trading day when a selloff brought Trump’s namesake social media company closer to earth with a closing market value of nearly $8 billion, on par with ride-hailing company Lyft and online marketplace Etsy.

It was also an epic trading day for Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee and Trump Media’s largest shareholder. Shares rose as high as $79.38 before flagging at the end of trade to close at $57.99, close to their low of the day.”

-Bailey Schulz and Jessica Guynn, “DJT had a good first day: Trump’s Truth Social media stock price saw rapid rise,” usatoday.com, March 26, 2024

3/25/2024

LEGAL/NEW YORK: “Judge Engoron has refused to obey the decision of the Appellate Division relative to the Statute of Limitations. This is a confrontation between a Judge and those that rule above him – A very bad situation in which to place New York State and the Rule of Law! Engoron has disrespected the Appellate Division and its very clear and precise ruling. He should be made to do so, and at the same time, release the GAG ORDER. This is the 5th time in this case that he has been overturned, a record. His credibility, and that of Letitia James, has been shattered. We will abide by the decision of the Appellate Division, and post either a bond, equivalent securities, or cash. This also shows how ridiculous and outrageous Engoron’s original decision was at $450 Million. I DID NOTHING WRONG, AND NEW YORK SHOULD NEVER BE PUT IN A POSITION LIKE THIS AGAIN. BUSINESSES ARE FLEEING, VIOLENT CRIME IS FLOURISHING, AND IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THIS BE RESOLVED IN ITS TOTALITY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. THANK YOU!”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, March 25, 2024

3/25/2024

ISRAEL: “Former President Donald Trump appeared to blame Israel for antisemitism, saying Israel made a ‘big mistake’ in its response to Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7 and is ‘losing a lot of support’ from around the world. But he also noted that he would have responded ‘very much the same’ as Israel did against such an attack.”

-Soo Rin Kim, Lalee Ibssa, and Oren Oppenheim, “Trump appears to blame Israel for antisemitism, says Israel ‘made a very big mistake’ and is ‘losing a lot of support,'” abcnews.go.com, March 25, 2024

 

3/23/2024

JOE BIDEN: “At what point are the actions of a sitting President, using LAWFARE against his opponent for purposes of Election Interference, considered ILLEGAL? I believe, as do various highly respected legal scholars, that Crooked Joe Biden has long since crossed over that very sacred threshold!!!”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, March 23, 2024

3/22/2024

LEGAL: “Arthur Engoron is a Rogue Judge who was intimidated by the big, nasty, and ugly mouth of Leticia James, considered by many to be the WORST Attorney General in the U.S. She is a Low IQ individual who campaigned for Governor, using my name, and got TROUNCED. She and her PUPPET Engoron, who valued Mar-a-Lago at $18,000,000 when it is worth 50 to 100 times that amount, have destroyed all business prospects for New York State, that is already dying, or dead. But have no fear —When I become the 47th President, we will MAKE NEW YORK GREAT AGAIN!”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, March 22, 2024

3/20/2024

2020 ELECTION/2024 ELECTION/LEGAL: “Attorneys for Donald Trump asked a judge on Tuesday evening [March 19, 2024] to stay proceedings in various civil cases that seek to hold the former president liable for damages stemming from the Jan. 6 riot, once again seeking to starve off the legal consequences of his actions in the aftermath of his 2020 election loss as he runs for the White House again [in the 2024 election].”

-Daniel Barnes and Ryan J. Reilly, “Donald Trump asks to pause Jan. 6 lawsuits as his criminal case lingers,” nbcnews.com, March 20, 2024

3/20/2024

LEGAL/NEW YORK: “New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday urged an appeals court not to believe Donald Trump’s recent assertion that he is unable to secure a bond for more than $450 million to satisfy the civil business-fraud judgment against him…

If Trump does not post a bond as he appeals the civil judgment against him, James’s office could begin the process of seizing his assets — including major New York properties such as 40 Wall Street and Trump Tower.”

-Shayna Jacobs, “N.Y. attorney general questions Trump’s claim that he can’t get a bond,” nytimes.com, March 20, 2024

3/20/2024

DEMS/RELIGION/SEBASTIAN GORKA: “This week, former U.S. President Donald Trump said that Jews who vote for Democrats ‘hate their religion’ and “everything about Israel” during a podcast appearance with his former adviser, Sebastian Gorka.”

-Emily Tamkin, “What to Really Take From Trump’s Latest Comments About Jews,” slate.com, March 20, 2024

3/19/2024

LEGAL: “Former President Donald Trump on Monday sued ABC, ABC News and host George Stephanopoulos, claiming comments made by Stephanopoulos during a recent interview were defamatory.

In the interview, Stephanopoulos asked Rep. Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican, about the two juries that awarded the writer E. Jean Carroll a combined $88.3 million in damages stemming from her claim that Trump sexually abused her decades ago and committed defamation in denying the attack…

In Trump’s complaint, he accuses Stephanopoulos of acting ‘with actual malice or with a reckless disregard for the truth,’ and claims that Stephanopoulos ‘knows that these statements are patently and demonstrably false.'”

-Graham Kates and Katrina Kaufman, “Trump is suing ABC News and George Stephanopoulos for defamation. Here’s what to know about his claim.,” cbsnews.com, March 19, 2024

 

3/19/2024

IMMUNITY/SUPREME COURT: “Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers on Tuesday [March 19, 2024] issued a blistering declaration to the Supreme Court about Trump’s controversial assertion of sweeping immunity to criminal prosecution.

In particular, Trump’s legal team claimed that if the high court were to find that former presidents do not hold ‘absolute immunity for criminal prosecution for official acts’ then future presidents could be effectively blackmailed.”

-Brent D. Griffiths, “Trump tells the Supreme Court that if he doesn’t have ‘absolute immunity from criminal prosecution’ future presidents could be blackmailed,” businessinsider.com, March 19, 2024

3/19/2024

OHIO/RALLY: “Republican Donald Trump has launched his general election campaign not merely rewriting the history of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, but positioning the violent siege and its failed attempt to overturn the 2020 election as a cornerstone of his bid to return to the White House.

At a weekend rally in Ohio, his first as the presumed Republican Party presidential nominee, Trump stood onstage, his hand raised in salute to the brim of his red MAGA hat, as a recorded chorus of prisoners in jail for their roles in the Jan. 6 attack sang the national anthem.

An announcer asked the crowd to please rise ‘for the horribly and unfairly treated January 6th hostages.’ And people did, and sang along.

‘They were unbelievable patriots,’ Trump said as the recording ended.”

-Lisa Mascaro, Mary Clare Jalonick and Jill Colvin, “Trump is making the Jan. 6 attack a cornerstone of his bid for the White House,” apnews.com, March 19, 2024

3/19/2024

TRUMP PEOPLE: “Former Donald Trump adviser Peter Navarro, who was convicted of contempt of Congress last year, is set to surrender Tuesday at a federal Bureau of Prisons facility in Miami to begin serving his four-month sentence…

Navarro, who was closely involved in Trump’s attempts to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss in the lead-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, was convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the House committee investigating Jan. 6.”

-Carla Kakouris-Solarana and Ryan J. Reilly, “Ex-Trump adviser Peter Navarro reports to prison on contempt of Congress conviction,” nbcnews.com, March 19, 2024

3/19/2024

LEGAL/NEW YORK/TRUMP BUSINESS: “Donald Trump cannot find a private company to guarantee the $464m (£365m) he has been ordered to pay in a New York civil fraud case.

The former president must either pay the full amount in cash or secure a bond to avoid having assets seized.

If he is unable to do so by 25 March, he faces the prospect of some of his real estate assets being seized by the state’s attorney general.

Mr Trump said that securing a bond of that size was ‘practically impossible’.”

-Madeline Halpert, “Trump bond: Lawyers say he is unable to get $464m guarantee in New York fraud case,” bbc.com, March 19, 2024

3/5/2024

CRIME/LEGAL: “The share of Americans who say that Mr. Trump committed serious federal crimes, steadily on the rise since the fall of 2022, has declined since December, the latest New York Times/Siena College poll found.

Voters across the political spectrum are now less likely to say that Mr. Trump acted criminally. Democrats are 7 percentage points less likely to say that they think Mr. Trump committed crimes, while the share of political independents who said the same is down 9 percentage points. Republicans have remained relatively stable, only ticking down one point since the end of last year.”

-Ruth Igielnik and Maggie Haberman, “Fewer Voters Think Trump Committed Crimes, Polls Show,” nytimes.com, March 5, 2024

3/5/2024

LEGAL/NEW YORK: “Former President Donald Trump told Fox News on Tuesday [March 5, 2024] he doesn’t ‘worry about money,’ after he was asked how close he is to securing the roughly $454 million he owes to the state of New York for civil fraud…

Forbes currently estimates Trump has about $413 million in cash and liquid assets, about 15% of his $2.6 billion net worth. That number is part of a broader estimated $640 million in personal assets owned by Trump, including homes, aircraft, pension and cryptocurrency holdings.”

-Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, “Trump Claims He’s Not Worried About $454 Million Bond In Civil Fraud Case: ‘I Have A Lot Of Money,'” forbes.com, March 5, 2024

3/4/2024

IMMUNITY/JOE BIDEN/NEW YORK: “The widespread, radical attack against me, my family, and my supporters has now devolved to new, un-American depths, at the hands of a DERANGED New York State Judge, doing the bidding of a completely biased and corrupt “Prosecutor,” Letitia James, who ran for office based on a ‘GET TRUMP’ platform, before even knowing anything about me. This action is a refutation of my status as the leading Candidate for President of the United States, including with a substantial lead over Joe Biden. It is a terrible reminder that the Radical Left Democrats will stop at nothing in trying to prevent me, and the American people, from winning the 2024 Presidential Election. Regardless of Party, we cannot let this happen in the United States of America!…

Without Immunity, the Presidency, as we know it, will no longer exist. Many actions for the benefit of our Country will not be taken. This is in no way what the Founders had in mind. Legal Experts and Scholars have stated that the President must have Full Presidential Immunity. A President must be free to make proper decisions. His mind must be clear, and he must not be guided by fear of retribution!”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, March 4, 2024

3/4/2024

JOE BIDEN: “GOOD MORNING North Dakota! Today, you are going to send a big signal to the entire world that THIS IS TRUMP COUNTRY—and you are going to send a message straight to Crooked Joe Biden that we are coming like a freight train this November.

I would truly be honored to have your vote. TOGETHER we’re going to defeat Crooked Joe Biden, the WORST President in the HISTORY of our Country—and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, March 4, 2024

3/4/2024

LEGAL: “Donald Trump’s lawyers warned Monday [March 4, 2024] that a gag order sought by New York prosecutors ahead of his March 25 hush-money criminal trial would amount to unconstitutional and unlawful prior restraint on the former president’s free speech rights.

Trump’s lawyers urged Judge Juan Manuel Merchan to reject the request, which prosecutors said was prompted by his ‘long history of making public and inflammatory remarks’ about people in his legal cases, as well as a spike in threats tied to his rhetoric.”

-Michael R. Sisak, “Donald Trump’s lawyers fight DA’s request for a gag order in his hush-money criminal case,” apnews.com, March 4, 2024

3/4/2024

2024 ELECTION/COLORADO/SUPREME COURT: “The Supreme Court ruled Monday [March 4, 2024] that former President Donald Trump should appear on the ballot in Colorado in a decision that follows months of debate over whether the frontrunner for the GOP nomination violated the ‘insurrectionist clause’ included in the 14th Amendment.”

-CNN Staff, “READ: Supreme Court’s opinion keeping Trump on Colorado ballot,” cnn.com, March 4, 2024

3/3/2024

IMMUNITY/SUPREME COURT: “The Supreme Court will address the historic question of Presidential Immunity. Without Presidential Immunity, the President cannot function, as his Political Opponents will blackmail and extort him with the threat of wrongful prosecution at every turn. I look forward to presenting my case to the Supreme Court.”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, March 3, 2024

3/3/2024

DOJ: “We’re in the middle of an Election. We have Super Tuesday coming up very shortly. According to Justice Department guidelines, they shouldn’t be prosecuting me: ‘Federal prosecutors and agents may never select the timing of any action, including investigative steps, criminal charges, or statements, for the purpose of affecting any election, or for the purpose of giving an advantage or disadvantage to any candidate or political party.’ THIS IS ELECTION INTERFERENCE, AND SHOULD BE STOPPED IN THE COURTS!”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, March 3, 2024

Posted in DOJ

3/1/2024

LEGAL/NEW YORK: “Crooked New York State Judge Arthur Engoron, at the demand of an even more Crooked Attorney General, Letitia James, despite GREAT AND VERY CONSERVATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (WITH A FULL DISCLAIMER CLAUSE THAT ENGORON REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE!), RULED THAT I SHOULD PAY AN EXORBITANT FINE DESPITE DOING NOTHING WRONG. THE ONLY FRAUD WAS ENGORON’S VALUATION OF MAR-A-LAGO FOR A TINY FRACTION OF WHAT IT REALLY WORTH. NO CRIME, NO VICTIM, ONLY PROFITS AND SUCCESS. A TOTAL MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE, COMPANIES FLEEING NEW YORK!”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, March 3, 2024

3/1/2024

JOE BIDEN: “REMEMBER, these are not legitimate Indictments of me, these are Crooked Joe Biden Indictments of ME, his Political Opponent! It is merely a continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt of all time!”

-Donald Trump, Truth Social, March 3, 2024

2/16/2024

ABORTION/JOE BIDEN: “President Joe Biden’s campaign and abortion rights advocates ripped into former President Donald Trump on abortion Friday following a report that he has given private signals in favor of a national ban on abortions after 16 weeks of pregnancy that would include exceptions in cases of rape, incest and when the woman’s life is in danger.

During his presidential campaign, Trump has steered clear of taking a public position on a prospective national ban — which would require congressional approval — but The New York Times reported Friday that he has indicated behind closed doors that he likes the idea of prohibiting abortion after 16 weeks in most cases.”

-Natasha Korecki, Jonathan Allen and Kristen Welker, “Trump campaign scrambles over abortion ban report as Democrats seize the moment,” nbcnews.com, February 16, 2024

2/16/2024

IMMUNITY/LEGAL/SUPREME COURT: “Lawsuits seeking to hold Donald Trump personally accountable for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol can move forward after the former president chose not to take his broad immunity claim to the Supreme Court.

Trump had a Thursday deadline to file a petition at the Supreme Court contesting an appeals court decision from December that rejected his immunity arguments, but he did not do so.”

-Lawrence Hurley, “Trump opts against Supreme Court appeal on civil immunity claim over Jan. 6 lawsuits,” nbcnews.com, February 16, 2024

2/16/2024

LEGAL/NEW YORK/TRUMP BUSINESS/TRUMP FAMILY: “A New York judge on Friday handed Donald J. Trump a crushing defeat in his civil fraud case, finding the former president liable for conspiring to manipulate his net worth and ordering him to pay a penalty of $355 million that could wipe out his entire stockpile of cash.

Justice Engoron barred Mr. Trump for three years from serving in top roles at any New York company, including his own Trump Organization. He also imposed a two-year ban on the former president’s adult sons and ordered that they pay more than $4 million each. One of them, Eric Trump, is the company’s de facto chief executive, and the ruling throws into doubt whether any member of the family can run the business in the near term…

‘Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological,’ [the judge] said.”

-Jonah E. Bromwich and Ben Protess, “Trump Ordered to Pay $355 Million and Barred From New York Business,” nytimes.com, February 16, 2024

2/15/2024

MEDIA/TRUMP BUSINESS: “US regulators have finally given the green light to a controversial merger between Truth Social owner Trump Media & Technology Group and a blank-check company. The blessing from the Securities and Exchange Commission removes the last major obstacle holding back the deal.

The merger, if approved by shareholders, would pave the way for Trump Media to become a publicly-traded company — one where Trump will own a dominant stake that could be worth billions.”

-Matt Egan, “Donald Trump just got the green light to return to Wall Street,” finance.yahoo.com, February 15, 2024

2/8/2024

CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS/JOE BIDEN: “Special counsel Robert Hur noted the differences between investigations into President Joe Biden’s and former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents in a section of his report on Thursday…

‘Most notably, after being given multiple chances to return classified documents and avoid prosecution, Mr. Trump allegedly did the opposite,’ the report said. ‘According to the indictment, he not only refused to return the documents for months, but he also obstructed justice by enlisting others to destroy evidence and then to lie about it.’ […]

Trump wrote on Thursday that the Hur report is indicative of ‘a two-tiered system of justice and selective prosecution.'”

-Alec Hernández and Megan Lebowitz, “What’s the difference between the Trump and Biden classified documents investigations?,” nbcnews.com, February 8, 2024

2/8/2024

2024 ELECTION/NANCY PELOSI/SUPREME COURT: “The Supreme Court heard arguments on Thursday pertaining to whether states can throw Donald Trump off the 2024 presidential ballots if they determine he violated the 14th Amendment…

Trump lawyer Jonathan Mitchell rejected the notion that the violent assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, qualified as an insurrection.

‘This was a riot,’ he said. ‘It was not an insurrection.’ […]

Trump disagrees, apparently.

‘They kept saying about what I said right after the insurrection,’ he said outside Mar-a-Lago after arguments concluded in Washington, D.C. ‘I think it was an insurrection caused by Nancy Pelosi.'”

-Ryan Bort, “Trump Says Jan. 6 Was an Insurrection,” rollingstone.com, February 8, 2024

2/6/2024

2024 ELECTION/IVANKA/PAC/TRUMP FAMILY: “A political fundraising group controlled by Donald Trump has spent millions of dollars on law firms representing his adult children for their personal legal problems.

The group, called Save America PAC, spent a combined $2.3 million in 2023 for two law firms that represented Ivanka Trump, his eldest daughter, according to a Business Insider review of Federal Election Commission records.

The PAC spent an additional $5.3 million on the law firm Robert & Robert, which represented his three eldest children — Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump, and Donald Trump, Jr. — as well as the Trump Organization in an array of lawsuits that have no apparent relation to Trump’s campaign to retake the presidency in the 2024 election.”

-Jacob Shamsian, “Donald Trump paid more than $2.3 million in donor money to law firms helping Ivanka Trump with her legal problems last year,” businessinsider.com, February 6, 2024

 

2/6/2024

2020 ELECTION/IMMUNITY: “Donald Trump does not have presidential immunity and can be prosecuted on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election, a US court has ruled.

Mr Trump had claimed in the landmark legal case that he was immune from criminal charges for acts he said fell within his duties as president.

But Tuesday’s unanimous ruling in Washington DC struck down that claim.

It is a setback for Mr Trump who has for years cited presidential immunity while battling multiple cases.

‘We cannot accept former President Trump’s claim that a president has unbounded authority to commit crimes that would neutralise the most fundamental check on executive power – the recognition and implementation of election results,’ the three-judge appeals court panel wrote in its opinion.”

-Sam Cabral, “Donald Trump does not have presidential immunity, US court rules,” bbc.com, February 6, 2024

2/4/2024

2024 ELECTION/COLORADO/SUPREME COURT: “On Thursday, the nation’s highest court is scheduled to hear arguments over whether Trump can remain on the ballot in Colorado, where the state’s Supreme Court ruled that he violated Section 3.

It’s the first time in history that the nation’s highest court has heard a case on Section 3, which was used to keep former Confederates from holding government offices after the amendment’s 1868 adoption. It fell into disuse after Congress granted an amnesty to most ex-rebels in 1872…

After Jan. 6, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, also known as CREW, in Washington was focused on Trump’s impeachment and other possible legal penalties against those who participated in the Capitol attack before exploring other remedies.”

-Nicholas Riccardi, “Here’s how 2 sentences in the Constitution rose from obscurity to ensnare Donald Trump,” abcnews.go.com, February 4, 2024

1/26/2024

LAWSUIT: “A Manhattan federal jury said Friday that Donald Trump has to pay $83.3 million for defaming E. Jean Carroll.

The breakdown of the award is $65 million in punitive damages and $18.3 million in compensatory damages.

This was Carroll’s second trial against the former president, after a jury last year found him civilly liable for sexually assaulting the writer and for defaming her. That jury awarded $5 million in damages.”

-Jordan Rubin, “E. Jean Carroll jury decides Trump must pay $83.3 million,” MSNBC.com, January 26, 2024

1/23/2024

2024 ELECTION/NATIONAL SECURITY: “After breezing through his usual lines about wanting to build a border wall and to ‘drill baby, drill’ for oil, former President Donald Trump has been adding a new refrain to his speeches — a promise to build something like Israel’s Iron Dome, but better and over the entire U.S.

‘We’ll build an Iron Dome over our country, a state-of-the-art missile defense shield, and it’s all made in the USA,’ Trump said Sunday at a rally in New Hampshire. ‘I think it’s time that we have one.'”

-Alex Seitz-Wald, “Trump has long promised a ‘beautiful’ wall. Now he’s pledging ‘the greatest dome ever.’,” nbcnews.com, January 23, 2024

1/23/2024

2024 ELECTION/NEW HAMPSHIRE/NIKKI HALEY: “Donald Trump extended his commanding lead in the race for the Republican presidential nomination by winning the New Hampshire primary, but failed to knock rival Nikki Haley out of the White House contest. 

Trump had just over 53 per cent of the votes counted at 9:30pm Eastern Standard Time, while Haley held just under 46 per cent. With votes still to be counted the exact margin of his victory will only be known later in the evening…

Despite Trump’s back-to-back victories, Haley was defiant on Tuesday night, insisting the race was ‘not over’ and touting the next contest in South Carolina, where she served two terms as governor — though she still trails the former president by double digits in recent polls. “

-Lauren Fedor and James Politi, “Donald Trump wins New Hampshire primary but Nikki Haley vows to fight on,” ft.com, January 23, 2024

1/23/2024

2024 ELECTION/NEW HAMPSHIRE: “Donald Trump has won the New Hampshire primary, likely cementing his place as the Republican presidential nominee.

The win over Nikki Haley, who had briefly threatened to rein in the former president, suggests there will be a smooth path to the GOP nomination for Trump, who also won easily in the Iowa caucuses last week.”

–Adam Gabbatt and Joan E Grevein, “Donald Trump wins Republican primary in New Hampshire,” theguardian.com, January 23, 2024

1/22/2024

2024 ELECTION/NIKKI HALEY: “As the last major challenger in Donald Trump‘s way to the Republican nomination, Nikki Haley is hoping New Hampshire voters feel so strongly about keeping the former president away from the White House that they turn out to support her in large numbers.

‘America does not do coronations,’ Haley said at a VFW hall in Franklin, joined by her daughter and son-in-law. ‘Let’s show all of the media class and the political class that we’ve got a different plan in mind, and let’s show the country what we can do.'”

-Steve Peoples, Holly Ramer, Mitchell L. Price, and Jill Colvin, “Haley hopes to stop Trump’s march to nomination in New Hampshire: ‘America does not do coronations’,” apnews.com, January 22, 2024

1/19/2024

2024 ELECTION/NEW HAMPSHIRE/NIKKI HALEY: “A few days away from next week’s critical New Hampshire primary, Nikki Haley is intensifying her criticism of former President Donald Trump and drawing a contrast between their approaches to governing. 

The former ambassador to the United Nations is characterizing the nomination contest as a two-person race, and she and her campaign are focused on targeting Trump. 

‘Trump says things. Americans aren’t stupid to just believe what he says,’ Haley told reporters Thursday during a campaign stop in Hollis, New Hampshire. ‘The reality is — who lost the House for us? Who lost the Senate? Who lost The White House? Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Donald Trump.'” 

-Nidia Cavazos, “Nikki Haley goes on offense against Trump days before New Hampshire primary,” January 19, 2024

1/19/2024

2024 ELECTION/NIKKI HALEY: “Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina endorsed Donald Trump Friday ahead of next week’s New Hampshire primary, the latest sign the Republican party is rallying around the former president’s candidacy after his historic Iowa win.

The decision marks a major blow to Scott’s fellow South Carolinian Nikki Haley, the former U.N. ambassador who is banking on a strong showing in New Hampshire to keep her presidential hopes alive…

‘We need a president who sees Americans as one American family, and that’s why I came to the very warm state of New Hampshire to endorse the next president of the United States, President Donald Trump,’ Scott said.”

-Meg Kinnard, Jill Colvin, and Jonathan J. Cooper, “Tim Scott endorses Donald Trump ahead of New Hampshire Republican primary,” apnews.com, January 19, 2024

1/18/2024

2024 ELECTION/COLORADO: “Former President Donald Trump on Thursday urged the Supreme Court to reverse a decision from Colorado’s top court that found he is disqualified from holding the presidency under a Civil War-era provision of the Constitution, calling on the justices to ‘put a swift and decisive end’ to efforts to keep him off the ballot.”

-Melissa Quinn, “Trump urges Supreme Court to reject efforts to keep him off ballot, warning of ‘chaos’ in new filing,” cbsnews.com, January 18, 2024

1/16/2024

2024 ELECTION: “Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy suspended his bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination on Monday and endorsed former President Donald Trump after finishing a distant fourth in Iowa’s leadoff caucuses.

Ramaswamy said he made the decision after determining there was no path forward for him in the race, ‘absent things that we don’t want to see happen in this country.’…

Ramaswamy told supporters gathered at a Des Moines hotel that Trump ‘will have my full endorsement for the presidency.'”

-Bill Barrow, “Vivek Ramaswamy suspends his 2024 Republican presidential bid and endorses rival Donald Trump,” apnews.com, January 16, 2024

1/16/2024

2024 ELECTION/IOWA: “Former President Donald Trump scored a record-setting win in the Iowa caucuses on Monday with his rivals languishing far behind, a victory that affirmed his grip on the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

In what was the lowest-turnout caucus in a quarter-century, participants endured life-threatening cold and dangerous driving conditions to meet in hundreds of schools, churches and community centers across the state. But those who ventured out delivered a roughly 30-point win for Trump that smashed the record for a contested Iowa Republican caucus with a margin of victory exceeding Bob Dole’s nearly 13-percentage-point victory in 1988.”
-Steve Peoples, Thomas Beaumont and Hannah Fingerhut, “Trump notches a commanding win in the Iowa caucuses as DeSantis edges Haley for second place,” apnews.com, January 16, 2024

1/16/2024

LEGAL: “Donald Trump shook his head in disgust Tuesday as the judge in his New York defamation trial told would-be jurors that an earlier jury had already decided the former president sexually abused columnist E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s.

Trump left court before opening statements, jetting to a New Hampshire political rally as Carroll’s lawyer accused the Republican presidential front-runner of using ‘the world’s biggest microphone’ to destroy her reputation and turn his supporters against her. Trump’s lawyer contended that Carroll has never been more famous and that she is blaming him for ‘a few mean tweets from Twitter trolls.'”

– Larry Neumiester, Michael R. Sisak and Jake Offenhartz, “Trump glowers and gestures in court, then leaves to campaign as sex abuse defamation trial opens,” apnews.com, January 16, 2024

1/15/2024

2024 ELECTION/IOWA: “In some ways, Iowa’s Republican caucuses were practically over before they began, with Donald Trump cultivating a deep network of support over three presidential runs. 

About 7 in 10 Iowans who caucused for Trump on Monday night said they have known all along that they would support a man who has remade the Republican Party through his ‘Make America Great Again’ political movement. Trump was carried to victory by the majority of caucusgoers who say they back it, a sign of his growing influence in a state that denied him a victory eight years ago.”
-Josh Boak, “Most Trump supporters in Iowa caucuses say they knew they’d support him all along, AP VoteCast shows,” pbs.org, January 15, 2024

1/14/2024

2024 ELECTION/IOWA: “Former President Donald Trump made a final plea for supporters Sunday afternoon to show up in the frigid cold to caucus for him, revisiting familiar lines of attack against his political opponents while tempering expectations of his predicted margin of victory.

‘You can’t sit home,’ Trump said. ‘If you’re sick as a dog … even if you vote and then pass away, it’s worth it.'”

-Galen Bacharier and Anthony Robledo, “‘It’s worth it’: Donald Trump urges voters to caucus for him amid punishing cold,” usatoday.com, January 14, 2024

1/12/2024

2024 ELECTION/CAMPAIGN: “Weather continues to impact the schedule of presidential candidates heading into the Iowa caucuses as former President Donald Trump has now canceled three out of his four in-person commit to caucus rallies.

Instead, Trump will hold a series of telerallies and is still expected to go forward with his in-person appearance at his commit to caucus rally in Indianola, Iowa.

‘I’ll get there sometime around Saturday night or something, one way or the other I’m getting there. You have the worst weather I guess in recorded history, but maybe that’s good because our people are more committed than anyone else,’ Trump said in a video message posted on X shortly after his campaign announced the schedule adjustments.”

-Lalee Ibssa and Soo Rin Kim, “Former President Donald Trump cancels 3 of his 4 weekend campaign events,” abcnews.com, January 12, 2024

1/11/2024

LEGAL: “Donald Trump returned to Manhattan Supreme Court on Thursday for the last day of his fraud trial, lashing out at the judge and the attorney general who brought the case.

A judge has already determined that Trump family members and executives fraudulently inflated assets to secure favourable loans.

But the trial will determine damages.

New York Judge Arthur Engoron has said he will issue a final written ruling in the case by the end of the month.

The outcome could be stiff penalties that may challenge the famous family’s legacy after it built its fortune in New York real estate.”

-Madaline Halpert, “Donald Trump’s New York fraud trial wraps up, with millions of dollars on the line,” bbc.com, January 11, 2024

1/11/2024

LEGAL: “Barred from giving a formal closing argument, Donald Trump wrested an opportunity to speak in court at the conclusion of his New York civil fraud trial Thursday, unleashing a barrage of attacks in a six-minute diatribe before being cut off by the judge.

In an extraordinary move for any defendant, Trump not only sought to make his own summation but then brushed past a question from the judge about whether he would follow rules requiring him to keep his remarks focused on matters related to the trial.

‘I am an innocent man,’ Trump protested. ‘I’m being persecuted by someone running for office, and I think you have to go outside the bounds.'”

-Michael R. Sisak and Jennifer Peltz, “Donald Trump defies judge, gives courtroom speech on tense final day of New York civil fraud trial,” apnews.com, January 11, 2024

1/10/2024

LEGAL: “The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s civil fraud case will not allow the former president to speak during closing arguments in the trial on Thursday after Trump refused to say that he’d stick to the facts of the case and not engage in any attacks.

Trump had requested to deliver part of the arguments himself, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation. But Judge Arthur Engoron denied the request Wednesday after a contentious back and forth with Trump’s lawyers about certain preconditions the judge wanted him to meet.”
-Adam Reiss and Dareh Gregorian, “Judge in New York fraud trial will not allow Trump to deliver part of closing arguments himself,” nbcnews.com, January 10, 2024

1/9/2024

2024 ELECTION/JOE BIDEN: “President Biden’s reelection campaign bashed former President Trump on Tuesday after he said he hoped the U.S. economy would crash in the next 12 months, arguing he doesn’t care about people.

‘Donald Trump should just say he doesn’t give a damn about people, because that’s exactly what he’s telling the American people when he says he hopes the economy crashes. In his relentless pursuit of power and retribution, Donald Trump is rooting for a reality where millions of Americans lose their jobs and live with the crushing anxiety of figuring out how to afford basic needs,’ campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodríguez said.”

-Alex Gangitano, “‘He doesn’t give a damn about people:’ Biden campaign hits Trump comments on economy crashing,” thehill.com, January 9, 2024

1/9/2024

LEGAL: “A federal appeals court panel strongly suggested Tuesday that it would reject Donald Trump’s claims of immunity from criminal charges related to his effort to subvert the 2020 election.

With Trump looking on, the three judges expressed deep skepticism of his contention that a president could not be prosecuted — even for assassinating a rival or selling military secrets — if he were not first impeached and convicted by Congress.

‘I think it’s paradoxical to say that his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed allows him to violate criminal law,’ said Judge Karen Henderson, a George H.W. Bush appointee.”
-Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein, “Trump’s immunity claim gets frosty reception at appeals court,” politico.com, January 9, 2024

1/8/2024

2024 ELECTION/JOE BIDEN: “Former President Donald Trump on Monday suggested that if he is re-elected he would have President Joe Biden indicted, a day before an appeals court hears arguments on his claim that presidential immunity protects him from prosecution for his role in the Jan. 6 attack.

In a post to his Truth Social platform early Monday, Trump said he plans to attend oral arguments on his presidential immunity claim before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Tuesday, and claimed that it was his obligation as president to find voter fraud.

‘Of course I was entitled, as President of the United States and Commander in Chief, to Immunity. I wasn’t campaigning, the Election was long over,’ he wrote. ‘I was looking for voter fraud, and finding it, which is my obligation to do, and otherwise running running our Country.'”

-Summer Concepcion, “Trump suggests that, if re-elected, he would have Biden indicted,” nbcnews.com, January 8, 2024

1/7/2024

2024 ELECTION/ILLINOIS/JANUARY 6/JOE BIDEN: “Joe Biden’s 2024 election campaign has lambasted former president and most likely Republican opponent Donald Trump for failing to sign a loyalty oath in the state of Illinois, in which candidates pledge against advocating an overthrow of the government.

The Biden campaign was responding to an investigation by the Illinois news outlets WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times, which reported that Trump sidestepped signing the McCarthy-era voluntary pledge that is part of the midwestern state’s package of ballot-access paperwork submitted by 2024 electoral candidates last week.

That omission came days before the third anniversary of the January 6 insurrection, for which Trump has been indicted for his alleged role in efforts to overturn Biden’s 2020 election victory. It is a departure from 2016 and 2020, when Trump signed the voluntary oath.”

-Betsy Reed, “Donald Trump did not sign Illinois pledge not to overthrow government,” theguardian.com, January 7, 2024

1/7/2024

LEGAL: “A judge late Saturday said former President Donald Trump’s lawyers can’t present legal arguments to a jury assessing damages at a defamation trial on a jury’s conclusion last year that he didn’t rape a columnist in the mid-1990s.

U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan made the determination in an order in advance of a Jan. 16 trial to determine defamation damages against Trump after a jury concluded Trump sexually abused columnist E. Jean Carroll but did not find evidence was sufficient to conclude that he raped her.

Trump, speaking in Iowa on Saturday as the Republican frontrunning presidential candidate in advance of a Jan. 15 primary, criticized the judge as a ‘radical Democrat’ and mocked E. Jean Carroll for not screaming when she was attacked. ‘It was all made up,’ he said.”

-Associated Press, “Judge blocks Trump lawyers from arguing about columnist’s rape claim at upcoming defamation trial,” apnews.com, January 7, 2024

1/6/2024

WAR: “Former president Donald Trump suggested Saturday at a campaign event here that the U.S. Civil War ‘could have been negotiated,’ a remark that drew criticism from historians as well as political opponents.

‘The Civil War was so fascinating, so horrible,’ Trump said. ‘So many mistakes were made. See, there was something I think could have been negotiated, to be honest with you. I think you could have negotiated that. All the people died, so many people died. You know, that was the disaster.'”

-Marianne LeVine, “Trump says Civil War ‘could have been negotiated.’ Historians disagree,” washingtonpost.com, January 6, 2024

1/5/2024

2024 ELECTION/WYOMING: “A Wyoming district court judge dismissed a lawsuit aiming to remove former President Donald Trump and Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis from [2024] election ballots, sparking celebration from Wyoming Republican Secretary of State Chuck Gray…

Retired lawyer Tim Newcomb filed a lawsuit in November, Newcomb v. Chuck Gray, with the Albany County District Court to remove Trump and Lummis from future ballots, arguing that they are ‘traitors’ under a clause in the 14th Amendment in relation to Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters breached the U.S. Capitol.”

-Emma Colton, “Wyoming judge dismisses effort to bar Trump from ballot,” foxnews.com, January 5, 2024

1/5/2024

2024 ELECTION/COLORADO/SUPREME COURT: “The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to review a politically explosive decision from Colorado’s top court that found former President Donald Trump ineligible for the presidency and would leave him off the state’s primary ballot, stepping into a high-stakes legal showdown that could have major ramifications for the 2024 presidential election…

At the center of the dispute is the Constitution’s so-called insurrection clause, a Civil War-era provision that bars a person who has sworn an oath to defend the Constitution and then engages in insurrection from holding public office.”

-Melissa Quinn, “Supreme Court agrees to hear Colorado case over Trump’s 2024 ballot eligibility,” cbsnews.com, January 5, 2024

1/5/2024

2024 ELECTION/IOWA: “Former President Donald Trump urged his supporters Friday evening not to be complacent in the face of a commanding polling lead as he kicked off the sprint to the Iowa caucuses with his first events of the election year.

‘Ten days from now, the people of this state are going to cast the most important vote of your entire lives,’ Trump told several hundred supporters gathered in Sioux Center. He implored them to turn out on caucus night, warning, ‘Bad things happen when you sit back.'”

-Hannah Fingerhut, Jill Colvin, and Steve Peoples, “Trump returns to Iowa 10 days before the caucuses with a commanding lead over the Republican field,” apnews.com, January 5, 2024

1/5/2024

2024 ELECTION/JOE BIDEN: “The value Americans place on democracy is the ‘most urgent question of our time,’ President Joe Biden said during a speech kicking off his 2024 campaign in Pennsylvania on the eve of the third anniversary of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol – launching an impassioned political attack on his likely opponent Donald Trump that painted a sharp distinction between how the nation’s first and 45th presidents ended their terms.

‘Donald Trump’s campaign is about him, not America. Not you. Donald Trump’s campaign is obsessed with the past, not the future. He’s willing to sacrifice our democracy, put himself in power,” Biden said.'”

-Michael WIlliams, “Biden makes impassioned argument Trump could destroy American democracy as he opens 2024 campaign,” cnn.com, January 5, 2024

1/5/2024

2024 ELECTION/JANUARY 6TH/JOE BIDEN: “President Joe Biden will place the defense of democracy at the center of his reelection bid on Friday in what will resemble an unofficial campaign kickoff.

Using the anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection to frame the stakes of the 2024 campaign, the president will draw upon the history of the Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, setting Friday to argue that his likely rematch with Donald Trump will be a seismic test of the republic’s foundation, according to senior Biden advisers who offered a preview of the speech.

‘Democracy is not a sideline issue: It is a sacred cause,’ said one of the advisers, granted anonymity as part of the ground rules during a call with reporters. ‘When major events occur, people render the judgments in national elections. Voters won’t forget Jan. 6.'”

-Jonathan Lemire, “Biden aims for a Donald Trump-George Washington contrast,” politico.com, January 5, 2024

1/5/2024

2024 ELECTION/COLORADO/SUPREME COURT: “The Supreme Court said Friday it will decide whether former President Donald Trump can be kept off the ballot because of his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, inserting the court squarely in the 2024 presidential campaign.

The justices acknowledged the need to reach a decision quickly, as voters will soon begin casting presidential primary ballots across the country. The court agreed to take up Trump’s appeal of a case from Colorado stemming from his role in the events that culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Underscoring the urgency, arguments will be held on Feb. 8, during what is normally a nearly monthlong winter break for the justices. The compressed timeframe could allow the court to produce a decision before Super Tuesday on March 5, when the largest number of delegates are up for grabs in a single day, including in Colorado.”
-Mark Sherman and Nicholas Riccardi, “The Supreme Court will decide if Donald Trump can be kept off 2024 presidential ballots,” apnews.com, January 5, 2024

1/5/2024

2020 ELECTION/JANUARY 6TH/LEGAL: “Donald Trump and his legal team are attempting an ‘overreach’ in their latest legal filings trying to have Special Counsel Jack Smith held in contempt ahead of the federal election trial, according to an attorney.

 

Joyce Vance, a former federal prosecutor and legal analyst, was reacting to the former president’s lawyers asking a judge to hold Smith and his team of federal prosecutors in contempt for moving forward with the election case despite it currently being suspended pending appeal.

 

Trump has pleaded not guilty to four charges as part of Smith’s investigation into alleged criminal attempts to overturn the 2020 election results and the events that led to the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Trump is attempting to have the case dismissed while arguing he is immune from prosecution because the allegations against him took place while he was in office.”

-Ewan Palmer, “Donald Trump Has ‘Overplayed His Hand’—Attorney,” newsweek.com, January 5, 2024

1/4/2024

CORRUPTION/FOREIGN AFFAIRS: “Former President Donald Trump unconstitutionally profited from the presidency during his tenure in the White House, reaping millions of dollars for his business empire from foreign governments, House Democrats allege in an extensive report.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released a 156-page report Thursday morning accusing Trump of exploiting the presidency to financially benefit himself and members of his family. Trump’s businesses, according to the report, received at least $7.8 million from corrupt and authoritarian governments including China, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The report is the culmination of a nearly seven-year investigation. It says records and documents obtained by House Oversight Democrats reveal ‘a stunning web of millions of dollars in payments made by foreign governments and their agents directly to Trump-owned businesses, while President Trump was in the White House.’ “

-Ken Tran, “Trump received millions of dollars from foreign governments while president, House Democrats allege,” usatoday.com, January 4, 2024

1/4/2024

2024 ELECTION/ILLINOIS: “A group of Illinois voters wants former President Donald J. Trump removed from the Illinois Primary election in March.

CBS 2’s Andrew Ramos reports a petition filed this week asks for a hearing with the Illinois State Board of Elections to keep the former president off the ballot on March 19.

The group – Steven Daniel Anderson, Charles J. Holley, Jack L Hickman, Ralph E Cintron, and Darryl P. Baker – says Mr. Trump is not qualified to hold office because he violated Section 3 of the Constitution’s 14th amendment, known as the Insurrectionist Disqualification Clause. The five men are being represented by a voting rights organization called Free Speech for People. “
-Andrew Ramos, “Voters seek to have Donald Trump removed from Illinois Primary ballot,” cbsnews.com, January 4, 2024

1/3/2024

2024 ELECTION/COLORADO/MAINE: “Former President Donald Trump sued Maine’s secretary of state Tuesday for disqualifying him from the state’s [2024 election] primary ballot because of his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, opening another legal front in the saga over whether voters in some states will be barred from selecting the Republican front-runner.

Election officials and courts in several states are considering whether Trump’s actions on Jan. 6 disqualified him under a Reconstruction-era provision of the 14th Amendment known as the insurrection clause. Only two states − Maine and Colorado − have decided Trump should be removed from this year’s primary ballots.”

-John Fritze and David Jackson, “Donald Trump sues after he was disqualified from Maine ballot, opening new front in insurrection fight,” usatoday.com, January 3, 2024