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US Monthly Headline News September 2023 - Page 1
Story by Jan Wolfe

A bail bond business owner charged along with former President Donald Trump in a sweeping Georgia election-interference case pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges on Friday, becoming the first of Trump’s 18 co-defendants to strike a deal with prosecutors.

The deal prosecutors cut with Scott Hall, who had previously pleaded not guilty to racketeering and other criminal charges, could help Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis bolster her case against the other defendants, who include Trump-aligned lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell.

Hall agreed to cooperate with the district attorney’s office as part of his plea deal, in which Willis agreed to drop the racketeering charge against him. Hall pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with election duties.

Hall, who is 59 years old, entered the guilty plea during an impromptu court hearing on Friday afternoon before Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who is overseeing the sprawling racketeering case. He negotiated a recommended sentence with Willis’s office, which will include five years of probation, a $5,000 fine, 200 hours of community service and writing a letter of apology to the citizens of Georgia. McAfee adopted that recommended sentence, allowing Hall to avoid the threat of prison time.
Story by Rebecca Shabad and Dareh Gregorian

WASHINGTON — Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., a vocal advocate of gun-control measures who was known for trying to find common ground with Republicans during her three decades in the Senate, has died, according to a source familiar. She was 90.

Feinstein, the oldest member of the Senate, the longest-serving female senator and the longest-serving senator from California, announced in February that she planned to retire at the end of her term. She had faced calls for her resignation over concerns about her health.

After she announced her retirement, President Joe Biden hailed his former Senate colleague, calling her “a passionate defender of civil liberties and a strong voice for national security policies that keep us safe while honoring our values.”
by Alex Gangitano

President Biden’s reelection campaign called former President Trump’s speech in Michigan “incoherent” and said that workers aren’t buying his attempts to woo them. “Donald Trump’s low-energy, incoherent ‘speech’ at a non-union factory in Michigan was a pathetic, recycled attempt to feign support for working Americans. Americans have seen him try this before and they aren’t buying it,” Biden campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz said.

Trump gave an address in Michigan as counterprogramming to Wednesday’s GOP debate, where he called out what he views as a flawed and failing auto industry under the Biden administration. He criticized the White House on policies on China and electric vehicles and argued that employees are worse off under Biden.

Trump gave the address in Michigan, ground zero for strikes launched this month by the United Auto Workers (UAW). The former president sees blue-collar voters as a constituency he can win from Biden in a rematch of their 2020 presidential race; Trump won Michigan in 2016 before losing it to Biden in 2020.
Brian Bushard | Forbes Staff

Former president Donald Trump, along with his sons Eric and Don Jr., harshly criticized a New York judge’s determination this week that Trump and the Trump Organization committed fraud by inflating the value of their assets, including the family’s iconic Mar-A-Lago estate—doubling down on their claims that the property is worth more than $1 billion.

The former president slammed New York Judge Arthur Engoron, calling him “unhinged” and a “political hack judge” in a tirade on his social media platform Truth Social, lauding Mar-A-Lago as “the most spectacular parcel of real estate in Palm Beach, and perhaps all of Florida,” arguing the estate is “worth, perhaps, 100 times more than he values it.”

Eric Trump on X also decried the ruling and speculated the property is “worth we’ll [sic] over a billion dollars making it arguably the most valuable residential property in the country,” while Don Jr., wrote: “If Mar-A-Lago is worth $18 million . . . I’ll take 10 please!!!”
Story by Maya Boddie

NBC News correspondent Ali Vitali shared Tuesday a part of her recent interview with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, in which she asked him about whether he believes United States Senator Bob Menendez (R-NJ) should resign following his September 22, 2023 indictment on bribery and corruption charges.

Vitali took to X (formerly Twitter) to write, "NEW: Speaker McCARTHY's talked about a 'two-tiered system of justice' that only targets Republicans. I asked if the indictment of *Dem. Sen. Menendez changed his mind on that: 'I don't know about this case. That doesn't mean every action they're going to take is political."

The NBC journalist also shared a screenshot of a portion of her Q&A with the speaker, which reads: VITALI: Mr. Speaker, my non-government funding question is, can I get your reaction to — if you have any more faith in the Department of Justice since the indictment of Senator [Bob] Menendez (R-NJ). Do you still think it's political?"

MCCARTHY: "Look, I've watched their political actions taken before. I don't know about this case. That doesn't mean every action they're going to take is political. But I've watched them use political plays many times before. I think the country has problem."
ABC News

Former President Donald Trump submitted "fraudulent valuations" for assets that were then used by himself, his eldest sons and his business to obtain better loan and insurance terms, a judge in New York decided Tuesday before ordering the cancelation of the company's business certificates in New York.

The judge's determination came as he granted partial summary judgment in New York Attorney General Letitia James' multimillion-dollar civil fraud lawsuit. Judge Arthur Engoron cites "false and misleading square footage" of Trump's Fifth Avenue apartment among other faulty valuations. The judge immediately canceled all of the defendants' business certificates in New York, and ordered that they must recommend no more than three potential independent receivers to manage the dissolution of the canceled LLCs within 10 days.

The move severely restricts Trump's ability to conduct business in New York going forward. The judge said Trump and the other defendants have a "propensity to engage in persistent fraud," severely undercutting the defense Trump will offer when the case goes on trial next month.

Engoron wrote in his order that Trump, his adult sons, Eric and Don Jr., and the other defendants fraudulently inflated the value of properties including Trump's Mar-A-Lago estate in Florida and his own triplex apartment in New York City, as well as 40 Wall Street, Trump Park Avenue, multiple golf courses, and an estate in upstate New York.
Supporters herald his love for journalism and credit him for saving British newspapers. Critics believe Murdoch debased rather than rescued the industry.
By Alexander Smith

LONDON — In July 1995, Tony Blair was so popular in Britain that he was considered prime minister-in-waiting a full two years before his crowning election. Yet, he still felt it necessary to fly 25 hours to the other side of the world to make his case to one man: Rupert Murdoch. Blair’s trip to Hayman Island, an Australian resort off the Great Barrier Reef — and return to London the next day — is emblematic of the singular, and critics would say pernicious, sway Murdoch has held over leaders in Britain and in his native Australia for decades.

“I wouldn’t have been going all the way around the world” if it “hadn’t been a very deliberate and, again, very strategic decision that I was going to go and try and persuade them,” Blair told a 2012  public inquiry into media ethics, recalling his Hayman Island trip where he addressed the media mogul’s News Corp. conference. “The minimum objective was to stop them tearing us to pieces, and the maximum objective was, if possible, to open the way to support.”
Opinion by Rex Huppke, USA TODAY

Hello, I am a House Republican. As America hurtles toward a government shutdown, I and my fellow GOP colleagues would like to say that, in our defense, we really didn’t know “governing” would be one of our job requirements.

It sounds like an un-fun activity and, as we’ve made abundantly clear via myriad tweets and Fox News appearances, we think government is bad and we want nothing do with it, except for the parts where we get to yell into TV cameras and share devastating Hunter Biden memes. Those parts are great!

On Thursday, we made it impossible for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy – who we voted into power but also hate and now want to remove – to advance a military funding bill that usually passes with bipartisan support. It’s the second time in a row we did that! Why? Mainly for the lulz, but also because we kind of want the government to shutdown so former President Donald Trump will like us and so we can look tougher when we’re yelling into the TV cameras.
Story by Candy Woodall, USA TODAY

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., has been indicted and charged with corruption for the second time in 10 years. Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, were indicted "in connection with their corrupt relationship with three New Jersey businessmen," according to a statement on X, formerly Twitter, from the U.S. attorney in New York. They are charged with conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right.
By Kristin Wilson, Haley Talbot, Clare Foran and Melanie Zanona, CNN

CNN — Speaker Kevin McCarthy sent his House members home for the week without a clear plan to avoid a looming government shutdown after hardliners in the Republican conference once again scuttled his spending plans, delivering an embarrassing floor defeat for GOP leadership for the second time this week.

The Republican leader slammed his far-right flank for wanting to “burn the place down,” after conservatives dramatically bucked McCarthy and GOP leadership on a procedural vote over a Pentagon funding bill, throwing the House into total paralysis. And now, members are not set to return to session until Tuesday as the possibility of a shutdown at the end of next week appears ever more likely.

“It’s frustrating in the sense that I don’t understand why anybody votes against bringing the idea and having the debate,” McCarthy told reporters. Thursday’s failed vote marked yet another blow to McCarthy, who is under pressure and has faced threats of an ouster. The defense funding bill that was derailed typically garners widespread bipartisan support, a sign of how even usually uncontroversial issues have become mired down in Republican infighting.
Travis Gettys

Another batch of emails obtained from John Eastman shows Donald Trump's lawyers were counting on U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to help them disrupt Joe Biden's election win, and their certainty raises new questions about his wife's role in the scheme.

Trump attorney Kenneth Chesebro wrote Dec. 31, 2020, that Thomas would be "our only chance to get a favorable judicial opinion by Jan. 6" on a challenge to election results in Georgia, whose circuit court he oversees, and Washington Post reporter Jacqueline Alemany wondered on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" why he and Eastman felt so confident about the justice's willingness to assist.
Raw Story TV

Eight emails including correspondence between Trump lawyers Kenneth Chesebro, John Eastman and others became public Wednesday via a Dropbox link attached to public court documents.

The emails reveal Trump’s attorneys crafting a scheme in which they appeared to believe U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas would agree to block certification of the 2020 presidential election results, even if just temporarily, to allow the public to doubt the results were legitimate.

Overturning Biden's win required delaying the Jan. 6 congressional certification, and it's clear from the emails that Eastman and other Trump lawyers viewed Thomas as a likely ally. Eastman clerked for Thomas and was in contact with his wife, Ginni Thomas, as she was pushing to overturn Biden's victory. But Justice Thomas also handles emergency Supreme Court appeals from Georgia, and Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro focused on that power in a series of Dec. 31, 2020, emails.
Story by David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Wednesday, where he was forced to educate Republicans on a wide variety of topics, from climate change to not needing passports to fly domestically, to subsidies for oil and gas companies. In one heated back-and-forth, U.S. Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA), who has been fighting a subpoena from Special Counsel Jack Smith, blamed Secretary Buttigieg specifically for “killing” the auto industry by supporting electric vehicles.

“I don’t know if you can justify or how you justify forcing my constituents to pay for EVs [electric vehicles] and EV infrastructure for coastal elites and wealthy people, but somehow you do,” Rep. Perry told Secretary Buttigieg. “Well, I need to point out that wealthy people were specifically excluded from the Inflation Reduction Act,” Buttigieg replied. “Well,” Perry replied. “Do you dispute that two-thirds of EV owners, are owned by people over 100,000, that make over 100,000?”
Story by Michael Luciano

Mere hours after some House Republicans reported progress on a proposal to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the month, Donald Trump demanded they use the opportunity to “defund” Special Counsel Jack Smith and his team. Smith is prosecuting Trump in federal court in Florida and Washington, D.C., where the former president will stand trial over his retention of government documents and his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, respectively.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has had his hands full trying to get his own conference to agree on a proposal to keep the government funded beyond Sept. 30. Hardline Republicans such as Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) have demanded the House pass 12 individual single-subject spending bills rather than one large omnibus package that funds the entire federal government.
Story by Aaron Blake

Conservative efforts to downplay the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and allege the political “weaponization” of the government seem to ratchet up with each passing week. But rarely have they reached such a fever pitch, at least at the official level, as they did Wednesday with Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.).

During a House Judiciary Committee hearing featuring Attorney General Merrick Garland, Spartz both suggested that the scene at the Capitol on Jan. 6 was actually something of an innocent family affair and also seemed to compare the U.S. government to the Soviet KGB.

“There probably were some people that came on January 6th here, you know, that had bad intent,” Spartz allowed. “But a lot of good Americans from my district came here because they are sick and tired of this government not serving them. They came with strollers and the kids, and there was [a] chaotic situation because the proper security wasn’t provided.”
Story by David McAfee

Rupert Murdoch, chairman of Fox Corp., was reportedly compared to a "mafia boss" in his attempts to avoid being held accountable in a defamation suit. The comparison came from a hearing in a $2.7 billion defamation case which has endangered the news outlet, reports said. The attorney who made the comparison noted that Murdoch and his son, Lachlan, were trying to avoid punishment for actions of their henchman, according to Bloomberg's report.

"The analogy was made by a lawyer for Smartmatic Corp., an international voting machine company that claims Fox News and its parent company damaged its reputation by airing false claims that it rigged the 2020 election against Donald Trump," the outlet reported Wednesday. "Fox Corp. agreed to pay $787.5 million in April to another voting-machine company, Dominion Voting Systems Inc., to resolve similar claims minutes before the start of a trial."
By Jeremy Herb and Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN

CNN — Attorney General Merrick Garland forcefully rebuked congressional Republicans who have accused the Justice Department of political bias as he opened a contentious House Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington on Wednesday. “I am not the president’s lawyer,” Garland said in his opening statement. “I will also add that I am not Congress’s prosecutor. The Justice Department works for the American people.”

He said that the Justice Department’s job is “to pursue justice, without fear or favor” and not to “do what is politically convenient” or “take orders from the President, from Congress, or from anyone else about who or what to criminally investigate.”

Garland delivered the statement as he faces vitriol from Republicans, who accuse him of failing to protect the department from politicization, and dissatisfaction from Democrats, who say the department has been too timid in going after former President Donald Trump.
 
Story by Alex Griffing

Jeffrey Clark, a top Trump Justice Department official, indicted alongside Donald Trump and 17 others in Fulton County, Georgia related to their efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election told a court Monday he acted at Trump’s direction.

After the 2020 presidential election, Clark “drafted a letter to top Georgia officials declaring that the agency had reason to doubt the legitimacy of the state’s election only after he was pressed to do so by then-president Donald Trump, Clark’s lawyer told a skeptical federal judge Monday,” reported the Washington Post.

The indictment against Clark specifically mentioned the letter in tying him into the larger conspiracy alleged by Georgia prosecutors. “They say he was acting outside of his lane. The president put it in his lane,” Clark’s lawyer Harry MacDougald told the court as part of his argument that Clark’s case should be moved to federal court.
The jet was left in autopilot mode so there’s a possibility it could still be airborne somewhere over South Carolina, a spokesman at Joint Base Charleston told NBC News.
By Chantal Da Silva

A U.S. fighter jet’s stealth abilities appear to be working too well, with authorities forced to ask the public for help finding an F-35 that went missing somewhere over South Carolina when the pilot ejected due to a “mishap.” Joint Base Charleston, an air base in North Charleston, said it was working with Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort to "locate an F-35 that was involved in a mishap" on Sunday afternoon.

The pilot was able to safely eject from the aircraft, an F-35B Lightning II jet, and was taken to a local medical center in stable condition, the air base said in a Facebook post at around 5:35 p.m. ET. The jet was left in autopilot mode when the pilot ejected from the aircraft, so there’s a possibility it could still be airborne, Jeremy Huggins, a spokesman at Joint Base Charleston, told NBC News over the phone.
By Caroline Linton

Austin, Texas — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was acquitted Saturday in the GOP-controlled state Senate on all 16 articles of impeachment, which included counts of bribery, dereliction of duty and disregard of official duties. Paxton, who has been suspended since May, when he was impeached by the Texas House, was reinstated as attorney general on Saturday.

Although more than 60 Republicans in the Texas House crossed party lines in May to impeach Paxton, his hold on the state Senate remained solid, and only two Republicans voted to remove him from office on any of the counts. After the vote, Paxton called the impeachment a "sham" in a statement posted to social media. He said he was "grateful for the state senators who followed the law and refused to overturn an election."
Story by Tom Boggioni

The war between Republican House members and the Department of Justice ramped up on Friday morning when a senior FBI agent showed up for an interview with House investigators accompanied by two attorneys which led to threats of calling Capitol police.

According to a report from the Washington Post's Jaqueline Alemany and Devlin Barrett, agent Elvis Chan showed up to testify in a closed-door meeting and immediately incurred the wrath of an investigator working for House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan (R-OH).

The report notes Chan was called in because he is allegedly "involved with a Justice Department effort to censor conservative voices on social media. The Post is reporting that Chan was accompanied by both his personal lawyer as well as a Justice Department lawyer which set off sparks and led to the Capitol police threat.
Joseph Lysikatos

Recently, MSNBC aired a video that suggests that Roger Stone, a seasoned Republican strategist, had been actively plotting ways to overturn the 2020 presidential election results even before Joe Biden’s win was announced. Here’s the full story.

Exclusive Video Unveils Roger Stone’s Election Scheme
On Wednesday, the political world was once again rocked when MSNBC’s The Beat broadcast an exclusive video clip suggesting that Roger Stone, a veteran GOP operative, had actively schemed to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

Pre-Election Manipulation Uncovered
What’s even more astonishing? This occurred before Joe Biden was declared the victor.

The Source of the Footage
This startling footage was initially sourced by Christoffer Guldbrandsen, a Danish filmmaker, as part of his soon-to-be-released documentary, A Storm Foretold.
The direct messages represent a “minuscule proportion” of the total data provided by the company, prosecutors said in a newly unsealed court filing.
By Daniel Barnes and Rebecca Shabad

WASHINGTON — The social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, turned over 32 direct messages from former President Donald Trump's account on the platform to special counsel Jack Smith's office, according to court filing unsealed Friday.

Prosecutors from the special counsel's office revealed the number of messages in a memo filed before a D.C. federal appeals court earlier this year, according to the filing. The social media company was forced to turn over the records after receiving a search warrant in January from Smith's office.

Smith's office filed the memo after Twitter appealed a lower court’s decision that forced the company to comply with the search warrant and an accompanying order that barred Twitter from informing Trump or his lawyers about the warrant.

The warrant itself was also unsealed Friday. It shows prosecutors were also looking for all accounts and usernames associated with Trump's account, and all devices that were used to login to the account.
U.S. Attorney David Weiss was appointed special counsel in the case last month.
By Lucien Bruggeman

President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden has been indicted by special counsel David Weiss on felony gun charges. The charges bring renewed legal pressure on the younger Biden after a plea agreement he struck with prosecutors imploded in recent months.

The younger Biden has been charged with two counts related to false statements in purchasing the firearm and a third count on illegally obtaining a firearm while addicted to drugs. The two counts of making false statements carry sentences of up to 10 years and five years, respectively, while the possession charge carries a sentence of up to 10 years.
Milla

Trump’s “Big Lie Two” is gaining momentum, and it is “more insidious and dangerous” than the first one
The so-called Trump’s “Big Lie Two,” as Michael Tomasky described it, is even more “insidious and dangerous,” and it gives the former president an advantage before his numerous trials.

What is “Big Lie Two”
Michael Tomasky of The New Republic explained that the initial “Big Lie,” still present, was that Trump won the 2020 elections despite n

It is more believable
Unlike the elections, which happened over three years ago and are now only vital for Trump’s trials, the second “Big Lie,” as Tomasky stated, is “more insidious and dangerous.” The reason is simple: it is tied to the present and the future, and more people believe in it.
The fugitive was recaptured in southeastern Pennsylvania on Wednesday morning.
By Morgan Winsor

A convicted murderer who had eluded capture for nearly two weeks after escaping from a Pennsylvania prison was apparently planning to flee to Canada. In interviews with authorities hours after his capture on Wednesday, Danelo Cavalcante allegedly revealed his plan to steal a car at gunpoint and drive to the U.S.-Canada border.

"He stated he intended to carjack somebody in the next 24 hours and that he was going to head north to Canada," Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Robert Clark told ABC News later Wednesday. Authorities initially believed the 34-year-old fugitive may have been attempting to return to his native Brazil, where he faces charges in a separate slaying that took place in 2017.
Story by Brad Reed

An aggrieved billionaire this week lamented that workers had grown lazy during the coronavirus pandemic and that many of them needed to be made unemployed for the situation to improve. The Australian Financial Review reports that Tim Gurner, the founder and CEO of the Gurner Group, expressed dismay at the current state of his country's labor force.

"People decided that they didn't really want to work so much anymore through COVID and that has had a massive issue on productivity," he said. "They have been paid a lot to not do too much in the last few years, and we need to see that change."
Story by Ed Mazza

Conspiracy theorist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) was called out on social media on Monday after she gave secession yet another shout-out. “If the Biden admin refuses to stop the invasion of cartel led human and drug trafficking into our country, states should consider seceding from the union,” wrote Greene, a close ally of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

She also called Biden’s border policies “traitorous” in her message on X (formerly Twitter), which she posted on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Greene has made similar calls in the past. On President’s Day, she called for a “national divorce” “We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government. Everyone I talk to says this,” she wrote in a post that many Democrats and Republicans alike united to condemn.
Story by Alex Griffing

One of the sixteen fake electors indicted this summer in Michigan told the court in a filing Monday that she acted “at the direction” of former President Donald Trump and his attorneys. The court filing was submitted by lawyer Paul Stablein on behalf of his client Amy Facchinell and on Tuesday local media called it “one of the strongest connections yet between the efforts of the 16 Republicans in Michigan who are now facing felony charges and Trump.”  In July, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) indicted the sixteen fake electors on multiple counts over their role in trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election in that state — they all face serious prison sentences if convicted.

“These defendants are alleged to have met covertly in the basement of the Michigan Republican Party headquarters on December 14th, and signed their names to multiple certificates stating they were the ‘duly elected and qualified electors for President and Vice President of the United States of America for the State of Michigan.’” “That was a lie,” she added. “They weren’t the duly elected and qualified electors. And each of the defendants knew it.”
ABC News

Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced Tuesday House Republicans will move ahead with an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. "Today, I am directing our House committee to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden," McCarthy said at the U.S. Capitol. "This logical next step will give our committees the full power to gather the full facts and answers for the American public," he added. "That's exactly what we want to know -- the answers. I believe the president would want to answer these questions and allegations as well."

McCarthy said House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer, House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan and House Ways and Means Committee chairman Jason Smith will lead the inquiry. "I do not make this decision lightly," the speaker said. "Regardless of your party, or who you voted for, these facts concern all Americans." McCarthy has made it clear there will be a vote for an impeachment inquiry, but as of now he doesn't appear to have the votes to open one.
Story by David Rufful

The Democrat-led political witch hunt known as the “January 6 Committee” issued a subpoena to former White House aide Peter Navarro of the Trump administration. After refusing to comply, a jury in Washington, D.C. found Navarro guilty of two counts of criminal contempt of Congress. Trump responded to the conviction by saying “only China is celebrating.” As a result, he faces a maximum sentence of a year in prison and fines of up to $100,000.
Story by Henrik R

Donald Trump, the four-time indicted former President, got more than he bargained for when he showed up at the Cy-Hawk football game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Iowa State Cyclones. While some cheered, others booed, making it crystal clear that not everyone in Iowa was thrilled to see him. Before the game even kicked off Trump got mocked, when a plane flew over Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa, with a banner that read, "Where's Melania?" Talk about a sky-high diss! The banner was impossible to ignore and quickly became the talk of the town. Melania Trump, the former First Lady, has been conspicuously absent from Trump's campaign events, opting to stay in Florida with their son, Barron.
Story by The Net Worth Of

Trump’s Post-2020 Election Donation Funds May Be Frozen
Reports suggest that former President Donald Trump’s post-2020 election donation funds may be frozen as Special Counsel Jack Smith investigates the fundraising behind Trump’s Save America political action committee (PAC). The investigation is rooted in concerns over the utilization of funds raised by the PAC and the possibility of misrepresentation during the fundraising process. Andrew Weissmann, former FBI general counsel, commented on the ongoing inquiries and their potential implications. On MSNBC, Weissmann outlined a potential scenario wherein the investigation might lead to “pretrial forfeiture.” This measure could result in freezing the funds in question, rendering them inaccessible.

“We Build the Wall”
The situation poses a challenge for Trump, as significant sums were reportedly allocated for legal fees for him and other individuals connected to him. The prospect of pretrial seizure orders could apply if the funds were obtained through fraud. However, the government would need to confirm such claims. The investigation could reach much further than Donald Trump. It could extend to the PAC itself or individuals at lower levels, ultimately resulting in civil and criminal forfeiture actions.
By Michael Luciano,

A federal judge denied Mark Meadows’ request to remove his criminal case to federal court on Friday. The former chief of staff to Donald Trump was indicted last month in Fulton County, Georgia, along with Trump and 17 others over their efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state. Attorneys for Meadows argued his post-election activities were done in accordance with his role as a federal official, and therefore his case should be moved to federal court. Judge Steven C. Jones rejected that claim.
By Luc Cohen and Jack Queen

(Reuters) -A Georgia grand jury recommended criminal charges against Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham and other allies of Donald Trump as part of its investigation into efforts to overturn Trump's 2020 presidential defeat, said a report released on Friday.

None were ultimately charged when Georgia prosecutors filed a sweeping criminal case against Trump and 18 alleged co-conspirators. The special grand jury recommended charges against Graham as well as Georgia's two U.S. senators at the time, Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, the report said. Like Trump, all are Republicans.
Story by Tom Boggioni

Social media legal experts piled on Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis fired off a multi-page letter to the House Judiciary chairman, essentially telling him to butt out of her investigation into tampering in the 2020 presidential election.

On Thursday, the prosecutor who indicted Donald Trump and 18 alleged co-conspirators on racketeering charges (RICO) slapped down Jordan's attempts to "interfere" with her investigation, and curtly explained to him that he has no idea what he is talking about when it comes to the law – even accusing him of spreading "misinformation."

With regard to her filing under the RICO statute, Willis made a point of reminding the blustery Ohio Republican that he never passed the bar after attending law school, writing that he can still continue his education by purchasing legal expert John Floyd's RICO book "for the non-bar member price of $249."
By Kara Scannell, CNN

CNN — A federal judge ruled that the jury hearing E. Jean Carroll’s defamation lawsuit will only need to decide how much money Donald Trump will have to pay her, after the judge found the former president was liable for making defamatory statements. The finding is a significant blow to Trump, who is facing numerous criminal indictments and civil lawsuits – many of them coming to a head as he embarks on a presidential campaign.

Judge Lewis Kaplan said that a federal jury’s verdict earlier this year against Trump will carry over to the defamation case set to go to trial in January involving statements Trump made in 2019 about Carroll’s sexual assault allegations. Carroll, a former magazine columnist, alleged Trump raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store in the mid-1990s and then defamed her when he denied her claim.
By Euronews with AP

Tarrio, who led the neofacist Proud Boys group as it became a force in mainstream Republican circles, had pleaded with the judge for leniency. Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was sentenced Tuesday to 22 years in prison for orchestrating a failed plot to keep Donald Trump in power after the Republican lost the 2020 election, capping the case with the stiffest punishment that has been handed down yet for the US Capitol attack.

Tarrio, 39, pleaded for leniency before the judge imposed the prison term topping the 18-year sentences given to Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and one-time Proud Boys leader Ethan Nordean for seditious conspiracy and other convictions stemming from the 6 January 2021 riot.

Tarrio, who led the neofacist group as it became a force in mainstream Republican circles, lowered his head after the sentence was imposed, then squared his shoulders. He raised his hand and made a “V” gesture with his fingers as he was led out of the courtroom in orange jail garb.
Story by Steve Helling

Alex Murdaugh’s Former Law Partner Says Request for New Murder Trial Is ‘Complete Poppycock’
'I predict this won’t go far at all,' the disgraced South Carolina attorney's former colleague said of a motion filed alleging jury tampering

Alex Murdaugh’s former law partner is calling his request for a new murder trial due to alleged jury tampering "complete poppycock." “Alex thinks he’s so slippery that he can’t comprehend that he’s been nailed to the wall,” Murdaugh's former partner at Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrick told The Messenger.

“So they come up with this nonsense in an attempt to play the victim. I predict this won’t go far at all. Because it’s absurd." Earlier this year, Murdaugh, 55, was handed down two consecutive life sentences without the possibility for parole in the fatal shootings of his wife Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and their son, Paul Murdaugh, 22, at the family's sprawling estate in Moselle, S.C., in June 2021.
Story by Ed Mazza

The same Fox News hosts and commentators defending Donald Trump now after his combined 91 felony indictments in four different cases were singing a very different tune in 2016, as highlighted by a new MSNBC supercut video. When Hillary Clinton was running against Trump, multiple voices on the right-wing network cried out that the nation couldn’t handle a president under investigation.

“We cannot have a country led by a president subject to ongoing criminal investigations, potential indictment, and never-ending hearings,” Jeanine Pirro said in a segment that’s still available on Fox News’ YouTube channel. Pirro dismissed the charges against Trump as “a bunch of theater” and “a legal thing” in the video that aired on Sunday on “The Mehdi Hasan Show.”
Story by Maria Linsley

A proposed Texas law, nicknamed the “Death Star law” and supported by Republican Governor Greg Abbott, has been deemed unconstitutional by a Texas judge due to its effects on local ordinances and regulations.

The New Law
In June, Governor Abbott signed a law that caused a lot of controversy as it stopped cities in Texas from making their own rules in areas like government, finance, and work.

A New Name
The law was given the name “Death Star” law because some critics thought it gave too much power to the state government and made it harder for cities run by Democrats to make progress.

Abbott’s View
In response to criticism about the law, Governor Abbott said, “Texas small businesses are the backbone of our economy. Burdensome regulations are an obstacle to their success.” and “I signed HB2127 to cut red tape & help businesses thrive.”
By Sarah Fortinsky

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Sunday said he believes the argument some legal experts are making that former President Trump is disqualified from holding elected office again because of the 14th Amendment is “valid,” adding that the part of the Amendment that bans those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding elected office “fits Donald Trump to a T.”

In an interview on MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki,” Schiff noted that the 14th Amendment does not say someone must be convicted of insurrection in order to be banned from holding elected office — only that they must have engaged in insurrection.

“I think it is a valid argument. The 14th Amendment, Section 3 is pretty clear. If you engage in acts of insurrection or rebellion against the government, or you give aid and comfort to those who do, you are disqualified from running,” Schiff said when asked about his thoughts on the legal argument. “It doesn’t require that you be convicted of insurrection. It just requires that you have engaged in these acts.”
by Hanna Trudo

Vivek Ramaswamy is leaning into economic populist messaging as he looks to distinguish himself from the other Republican primary contenders in the presidential contest.

He’s talking about “revolution” and labels his opponents “super PAC puppets.” He applauds small-dollar donations and calls his campaign a “grassroots uprising.” He criticizes the mainstream media and praises anti-establishment figures on both the right and left.

Parts of Ramaswamy’s rhetoric echoes that of insurgent figures across the political spectrum, including former President Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), raising questions about whether this playbook will equate to a similar rise in popularity for the Republican upstart.

As the young tech investor aims to shake up the GOP primary, progressives want no association with him. They see him as Trumpian in style and substance and denounce any crossover between his campaign and their favorite figures on the left.
Delilah Gray

Despite multiple indictments and quite a few ongoing trials, the details about former US President Donald Trump’s cases have been kept mostly under wraps. However, his Georgia election fraud case may turn that upside down. In fact, this case may be his most public one yet because of a judge’s recent ruling.

Per the BBC, Judge Scott McAfee has ruled that, like most court proceedings in Fulton County, Trump’s will be livestreamed and televised, with the hearings being instantly available on Fulton County Court’s YouTube channel.
The top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell, 81, has suffered high-profile lapses but Democrats are reluctant to question his age when Joe Biden, 80, is America’s oldest president
David Smith in Washington

The question was simple: what are your thoughts about running for re-election in 2026? “Oh,” said Mitch McConnell with a half-chuckle, a mumble and then: silence. The most powerful Republican in the US Senate stared into space and said nothing for more than 30 seconds.

It was the second time in little more than a month that 81-year-old McConnell had frozen while speaking to reporters. But there were few voices in the Democratic party calling on him to step down. The question of age is one that both party establishments in America have cause to avoid.

Democrat Joe Biden, 80, is the oldest president in American history. Republican Donald Trump, 77, is the second oldest and current frontrunner for the party nomination in 2024. The Senate, average age 64, has one of the oldest memberships of any parliamentary body in the world. It is small wonder that dealing with America’s drift into gerontocracy is not top of its agenda.

“Both political parties are pulling their punches,” said Frank Luntz, a political consultant who has worked on many Republican campaigns. “Democrats have been quiet about McConnell because they know their own party is run by someone who has the same challenges McConnell has.”

by Sarah Fortinsky

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said on Sunday that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was in “good shape” when they spoke Saturday afternoon, following the second time in recent weeks that the GOP leader appeared to freeze up while speaking to reporters on Wednesday.

In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Rounds doubled down on his confidence in McConnell’s ability to lead the party in the chamber and underscored a point made by the Capitol physician, attributing the apparent health-related doubts to moments of lightheadedness stemming from a concussion the 81-year-old senator suffered earlier this year.

“I spoke with Mitch yesterday afternoon. I told him I was going to be doing an interview and I wanted to personally touch base with him before I did that. He was in good shape. He was direct. He said, you know, I had that concussion and he said, they warned me that I would be lightheaded in the future and that I’ve got to be aware of it. He said, it happened twice, he said, it just so happens I’m doing it in front of reporters. But he felt good yesterday,” Rounds said.
At least one death after severe weather that flooded streets, prompted various water rescues and shut down portion of I-15
Guardian staff and agencies

Las Vegas residents on Sunday were drying out after two days of heavy rainfall that flooded streets, prompted various water rescues, shut down a portion of Interstate 15 south of the city and possibly resulted in at least one death.

The National Weather Service in Las Vegas issued a severe weather outlook for the region, warning of strong winds and hail as the storm activity leaves eastern Clark county.

The heavy rainfall over the past couple of days resulted in 24 water rescues, including more than 30 vehicles stranded in water and about a dozen people rescued from standing or moving water, according to Las Vegas Fire & Rescue.
The situation is considered stable, according to the Minnesota Department of Corrections
Andrea Vacchiano By Andrea Vacchiano Fox News

A Minnesota prison was placed on emergency lockdown on Sunday after about 100 prisoners refused to return to their cells, authorities say.

The Minnesota Correctional Facility – Stillwater houses roughly 1,200 inmates, and around 100 inmates participated in the group protest. A spokesperson told the Associated Press that the reason for the prisoners' refusals "remains unclear."

The Minnesota Department of Corrections told FOX 9 Minneapolis that the prison's staff members were removed from common areas. A Special Operations Response Team was also deployed to handle the crisis.

Two prison officers were in a secure control area as of Sunday afternoon, and have been in contact with authorities.
By Nouran Salahieh and Emma Tucker, CNN

CNN — Authorities are investigating a death at the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert as thousands of people remain trapped on site after heavy rains inundated the area and created thick, ankle-deep mud which sticks to campers’ shoes and vehicle tires. Attendees were told to shelter in place in the Black Rock Desert and conserve food, water and fuel after a rainstorm swamped the area, forcing officials to halt any entering or leaving of the festival.

“A little over 70,000 people,” remained stranded Saturday, Sgt. Nathan Carmichael, with the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office, told CNN Sunday morning. Some people have left the site by walking out but “most of the RVs are stuck in place,” he said. On Sunday morning, event organizers said roads remained closed as they were “too wet and muddy” and more uncertain weather was likely on the way. While some vehicles were able to leave, others got stuck in the mud, organizers said on the event’s website. “Please do NOT drive at this time,” they added. “We will update you on the driving ban after this weather front has left the area.”
By The Associated Press

Jimmy Buffett, whose sun-drenched songs celebrated life by the shore, died of a rare, aggressive skin cancer, according to a statement on his website. Buffett, 76, had Merkel cell cancer, according to the statement, which was posted after initial news of his death emerged Saturday. The statement also disclosed where the “Margaritaville” singer died: at his home in Sag Harbor, New York, near the Hamptons.
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