"Where you can find almost anything with A Click A Pick!"
Go to content
Donald J. Trump After the White House - Page 7
Story by Rohan M.

Published Phone Call Exposes Trump’s Personal Participation in 2020 Election Interference
A recording of a November 2020 phone call between then-President Donald Trump, RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, and two Michigan Republican officials has been reviewed by the Detroit News. It shows just how involved Trump was in attempting to overturn the 2020 election, in which he was defeated by President Joe Biden.

Concerning Comments
“We’ve got to fight for our country,” Trump said on the recordings of the call, which were made by a person present with the two Michigan election officials. “We can’t let these people take our country away from us,” the former President continued.

The Players Involved
Trump was speaking to Monica Palmer and William Hartmann, two Republican members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers. He was attempting to convince them not to sign the certification of the 2020 presidential election.
Story by Jordan Andrews

Donald Trump, a leading figure in Republican polls, incorrectly stated that a U.S. soldier had died, exaggerating the injuries from an attack in northern Iraq.

The attack left one soldier critically injured and two others wounded, prompting retaliatory airstrikes by the United States against an Iran-backed armed group.
The former president says his acquittal by the Senate in his second impeachment trial, for inciting insurrection, bars any prosecution on similar grounds.
By Adam Liptak

There is almost nothing in the words of the Constitution that even begins to support former President Donald J. Trump’s boldest defense against charges that he plotted to overturn the 2020 election: that he is absolutely immune from prosecution for actions he took while in office.

A federal appeals court will hear arguments on the question next week, and the panel will consider factors including history, precedent and the separation of powers. But, as the Supreme Court has acknowledged, the Constitution itself does not explicitly address the existence or scope of presidential immunity.

In his appellate brief, Mr. Trump said there was one constitutional provision that figured in the analysis, though his argument is a legal long shot. The provision, the impeachment judgment clause, says that officials impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate are still subject to criminal prosecution.
Story by Rey Harris

Washington DC - A new report has revealed how Donald Trump and his allies apparently plotted to fly their "fake elector" ballots to the nation's capitol ahead of the certification of the 2020 presidential election results. Audio recordings and messages obtained by CNN newly detail the plan, which reportedly began two days prior to January 6, 2021 - the day Vice President Mike Pence was set to certify the election results.

The most important of these include testimony given by former Trump attorney Kenneth Chesebro, who agreed to a plea deal in October, admitting to conspiracy to file false documents. As a part of his deal, Chesebro has been cooperating with prosecutors in the Georgia election interference case and others in Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin, where investigators are looking into allegations of questionable fake elector certificates used in their states in 2020.
Story by David McAfee

New audio recordings released by CNN revealed that ex-Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro had lots of grievances with the ex-president's campaign, but it also points to potentially new defendants, according to an ex-prosecutor. Joyce Vance did an in-depth dive on the new evidence from CNN, which put together a timeline of what happened to fake elector ballots before Jan. 6, 2021. The article the outlet put out included some already reported information, as well as new audio recordings, former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance said on Friday. "None of this makes sense," Vance wrote while walking through the new evidence.

"It suggests some of the folks he worked with, who avoided indictment in Fulton County, may have some culpability—we’ll get to that," Vance wrote. "Several of them have reportedly spoken with either federal or state prosecutors, or both and remained silent since, possibly suggesting cooperation in the real sense of that term. But none of this is exculpatory for Chesebro." One individual whom Vance highlights is Matthew Morgan, a lawyer who joined Vice President Pence’s office in 2017, she says.
David Sharp, Associated Press

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s top election official could face an impeachment attempt in the state Legislature over her decision to keep former President Donald Trump off the Republican primary ballot.

At least one Republican lawmaker has vowed to pursue impeachment against Democratic Secretary of State Shenna Bellows despite long odds in the Democratic-controlled Legislature.

Bellows said Friday that she had no comment on the impeachment effort, but said she was duty-bound by state law to make a determination on three challenges brought by registered Maine voters. She reiterated that she suspended her decision pending an anticipated appeal by Trump in Superior Court.

“Under Maine law, I have not only the authority but the obligation to act,” she said. “I will follow the Constitution and the rule of law as directed by the courts,” she added.
Story by Matthew Chapman

Following the report that former President Donald Trump tried to pressure canvassers in Michigan to block certification of election results, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson wrote a dire warning about the threat the former president still poses in The Daily Beast.

"For me, the lowest moment in the post-election battle to protect Michigan’s accurate and legitimate election results in 2020 was not when armed protestors stormed my home," wrote Benson. "It wasn’t when a gathering of Trump supporters showed up to Michigan’s State Capitol demanding to be let in as the state’s 'true slate of electors' when we all were sheltered in the State Senate Chambers finalizing the electoral college. It wasn’t even when Rudy Giuliani came to town to headline a sham legislative hearing filled with lies about our elections. No, the most challenging time for me was the night of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers meeting."
Story by Steve Reilly

A federal appeals court on Wednesday issued a new, unredacted version of its decision upholding the partial gag order in the Washington, D.C.-election subversion case against Donald Trump, revealing security concerns by state and local officials.

A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Dec. 8 issued the ruling in a 68-page order on Dec. 8, but with certain information redacted, or blacked out, on three of its pages. The material which was redacted, and is now public, mostly pertains to descriptions of security concerns from public officials who had been targeted by Trump or his supporters.

One newly-unredacted sentence discusses how a state official avoided "commenting on most things publicly" because it was "the safest thing to do" after the former president tweeted about him. Another section describes an episode in which a local government official "had to evacuate his home when one of the then-President's supporters posted the official's address online."
Story by Zoe Wilson

During then-President Donald Trump’s last days in office, a 10-inch-thick binder of unprocessed Russian intelligence, which had been brought from the CIA, disappeared after it was last observed at the White House, as per CNN’s report on Friday. The news of Russia’s attempt to help Trump win the 2016 election has not been discovered since Trump stepped down more than two years ago.

According to sources, the binder held unprocessed information gathered by the US and NATO allies about Russians and Russian operatives. This information included sources and techniques that contributed to the US government’s conclusion that Russian leader Vladimir Putin aimed to aid Trump in his victory during the 2016 election. The intelligence was so sensitive that lawmakers and congressional aides with top secret security clearances were only able to review the material at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

The previously unreported incident was so concerning that intelligence officials briefed Senate Intelligence Committee leaders last year about the missing materials and the government’s efforts to retrieve them, according to the sources.In the two-plus years since Trump left office, the missing intelligence does not seem to have been located.
By David Faris Associate Professor, Roosevelt University

Now that the Colorado Supreme Court has used the 14th Amendment to bar former President Donald Trump from the state's primary and presidential ballot, the real action begins. With multiple lawsuits winding their way through other state courts, the U.S. Supreme Court is going to have to step in and resolve the matter one way or the other. And while a reversal of Colorado's ruling is more likely than not, we should not assume that the 6-3 conservative majority, which no longer needs him to pursue its reactionary ideological project, will rescue Trump from doom.

The substance of the case is straightforward. Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, ratified in the aftermath of the Civil War, bars from holding "any office, civil or military" individuals "who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof."
Story by Chris Strohm and Greg Stohr

(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump is ineligible to serve as US president because of his actions inciting the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol, Colorado’s highest court found, in an unprecedented ruling that’s headed for the US Supreme Court.

Colorado’s Supreme Court issued the ruling Tuesday, barring Trump from the state’s primary ballot, but stayed the decision to allow the former president to appeal, which his campaign said he plans to do. He has until Jan. 4, under the state court’s ruling.

The ruling was the first to say that Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results render him ineligible to run again under a post-Civil War-era provision of the US Constitution that bans insurrectionists from holding public office.

“President Trump’s direct and express efforts, over several months, exhorting his supporters to march to the Capitol to prevent what he falsely characterized as an alleged fraud on the people of this country were indisputably overt and voluntary,” according to the 4-3 ruling from the court. All seven justices were appointed by Democratic governors.
Story by Alex Griffing

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (R-MY) was asked on Tuesday to weigh in on former President Donald Trump saying immigrants are “poisoning the blood” of our country – a remark that apparently hit close to home for the Kentucky Republican.

“Are you comfortable with your party’s leading presidential candidate referring to immigrants as people who are poisoning the blood of our country?” CNN’s Manu Raju asked McConnell during a Capitol Hill press conference.

“Well it strikes me that didn’t bother him when he appointed Elaine Chao Secretary of Transportation,” McConnell replied, referring to his wife.
Story by Adam Rawnsley

Donald Trump's plans to give himself sweeping powers on "day one" of a new administration include sending vast numbers of U.S. troops - potentially "hundreds of thousands" - to close the southern border and to help build a new network of immigrant detention camps, three people familiar with the situation tell Rolling Stone.

Trump and some of his lieutenants have repeatedly stated that any second administration must treat migrant crossings as a "war" on American soil. During Trump's first term, officials and attorneys had thwarted similar plans for a military police force at the border due to legal fears, according to former top officials such as Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.

Now, the former president is determined to surround himself with aides and MAGA-friendly lawyers who can make such draconian policies "perfectly legal" in a potential second term, two sources close to Trump say. While a second Trump administration is far from certain, groups like the American Civil Liberties Union are nonetheless preparing for a possible blitz of orders involving military authorities should he win, lawyers and activists say.
Story by Colby Hall

Highly sensitive and classified material regarding Russian election interference in 2016 has mysteriously disappeared, according to a CNN report that seems straight out of a spy novel. Further, former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson is almost certain that former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows took the binder home with him, per her testimony to the House Select Committee on January 6th.

CNN reports:
A binder containing highly classified information related to Russian election interference went missing at the end of Donald Trump’s presidency, raising alarms among intelligence officials that some of the most closely guarded national security secrets from the US and its allies could be exposed, sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

Its disappearance, which has not been previously reported, was so concerning that intelligence officials briefed Senate Intelligence Committee leaders last year about the missing materials and the government’s efforts to retrieve them, the sources said. In the two-plus years since Trump left office, the missing intelligence does not appear to have been found.
Is that legal for Trump’s defense fund has spent more on Mar-a-Lago than on legal services?

Story by Alex Henderson

In July 2023, allies of Donald Trump established the Patriot Legal Defense Fund to help the former president and 2024 GOP presidential frontrunner pay down his legal bills. Trump was already facing two criminal indictments at the time, and that number increased to four the following month.

According to a report by the Daily Beast's Roger Sollenberger published on December 12, however, the Patriot Legal Defense Fund "appears to have placed its spending priorities in a strange place: Mar-a-Lago."

"New tax filings show Trump's legal defense fund raising about $1.6 million over the last six months and spending less than $30,000," Sollenberger explains. "But more notable than how little the legal defense group has spent is what they didn't spend it on — namely, legal services — as well as what they paid for: a party at Mar-a-Lago…. While the fund can accept unlimited donations from both individuals and corporations, its first periodic financial report, submitted to the Internal Revenue Service on Wednesday, indicates a phlegmatic start, with only about $1.6 million in receipts."
Story by By Jason Beeferman

NEW YORK — The chairman of an Austrian political party founded by ex-Nazis, the conservative Twitter star behind the anti-trans Bud Light backlash and former President Donald Trump all walked into a bar.

Seriously.

On Saturday night in Manhattan, amid butler-delivered bellinis, sequined ball gowns and a five-course French service meal, characters from all corners of the Republican Party’s MAGA faction gathered for “a night of dinner, drinking, and love of country.”

Donald Trump, the club’s 111th Annual Gala Keynote speaker, delivered.

“We want to liberate America because we’re in a country that's in a lot of pain right now, a lot of hurt,” Trump told the crowd, during his 80-minute long speech. “This campaign is on a righteous crusade to rescue our nation from a very corrupt political class.”

Story by David McAfee

Donald Trump is not in the same "league" as Hitler, yet the former president is using the infamous dictator's playbook, a political science expert said. Barbara Walter, a political science professor at the University of California at San Diego, appeared on MSBC's Ayman, where she was asked about the former president's comments suggesting he wants to be a dictator "only on day one."

"This is classic wannabe dictator behavior. We see this again and again and again. People who want power, especially people who thrive on it and love the attention -- they often advertise what their intentions are," Walter said. "They don't sneak around. But Trump's entire playbook has been to identify weakness, attack weakness. And he has been quite successful in doing that. "
by: The Associated Press

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — As Donald Trump faces growing scrutiny over his increasingly authoritarian and violent rhetoric, Fox News host Sean Hannity gave his longtime friend a chance to assure the American people that he wouldn’t abuse power or seek retribution if he wins a second term.

But instead of offering a perfunctory answer brushing off the warnings, Trump stoked the fire.

“Except for day one,” the GOP front-runner said Tuesday night before a live audience in Davenport, Iowa. “I want to close the border, and I want to drill, drill, drill.”
Story by Tom Boggioni

A redacted portion of a Jack Smith filing submitted to Judge Tanya Chutkan hints that the Department of Justice has "compelling" evidence that links Donald Trump to the 2020 election violence.

Citing the notice the special counsel had to file under the Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b) that previews evidence the DOJ will bring to trial, former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance noted the redacted portion that follows the disclosure of an "agent" of Trump, also described as an unnamed campaign official who was in contact with a campaign lawyer in Detroit encouraging "rioting and other obstruction at the TCF Center where the vote count was taking place."

As Vance noted, what makes the revelation even more damaging is that the plea for disruption came after the former president became aware that he was losing. Pointing out the redaction appears to be hiding "something in the substance of their testimony," Vance suggested it could be a bombshell when presented in court.
Danny KEMP

Could a second Donald Trump presidency slide into dictatorship? A sudden spate of dystopian warnings has got America talking about the possibility less than a year before the US elections.

Dark scenarios about what could happen if the twice-impeached Republican former president wins in 2024 have appeared in the space of a few days in major US media outlets that include The Washington Post, The New York Times and the Atlantic.

Grim predictions also came from top Republican Trump critic Liz Cheney, who said that the country is "sleepwalking into dictatorship" and that she is weighing a third-party presidential run of her own to try to stop him.

Together, they paint a bleak picture of an angrier yet more disciplined Trump than during his first spell in the White House, one who would wreak vengeance on his perceived enemies and possibly try to stay in power beyond the two-term US limit.
Story by Sean O'Driscoll

Donald Trump has continued to target two Black election workers even after they were the subject of "vile and racist" threats from his supporters, a prosecutor has filed in court. Trump listed one of them as being among the "monsters" who had stolen the 2020 election and "doubled down" on his attacks after the pair testified before the January 6 committee, the court filings show.

Mother and daughter, Ruby Freeman and Wandrea "Shaye" Moss were falsely accused of using suitcases of ballots to add votes for President Joe Biden at an Atlanta voting center during the 2020 presidential election. The prosecutor's filing shows for the first time that prosecutors intend to introduce evidence about Freeman and Moss into the Trump election fraud trial. Allegations that Trump's comments prompted racist abuse could be bad news for the former president. His trial will be before a jury in Washington, D.C.
Story by Alex Griffing

Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin reported live from a mass border crossing on Tuesday in Arizona after a large hole was cut in the border fence that was built there in 2019. Fox anchor Bret Baier began the segment, saying, “Bill Melugin is live in Lukeville with more. Bill, good afternoon. What are you seeing there?” “Good afternoon to you. We’re seeing a lot of frustration from these migrants out here who feel that Border Patrol has taken too long to pick them up and get them out of this area. We’ll show you a live look at the scene right here,” Melugin reported, adding:
Story by Kelly McClure

During a signature revved up speech delivered in Iowa on Saturday, Donald Trump said the quiet part out loud — as the expression goes — during a key moment of the campaign event, declaring, "We've been waging an all-out war on American democracy," and the internet is having a field day with it.

The slip-up took place as he was, per usual, railing against the 2020 election results, singing his own praises as "an outsider" who was elected to "stand up to those liars, looters, losers, crooks," faulting Democrats for not putting America first, which he feels that he did for the four years he was in office.

The Morning Joe panel continues its discussion on The Atlantic's new issue on the dangers of a second Trump term, and Joe Scarborough highlights the dangers of Trump's current rhetoric.

American democracy sits at a crucial crossroads, argues Darrell West, vice president of Governance Studies at Brookings and author of the new Brookings Press book, “Power Politics: Trump and the Assault on American Democracy.” The rise of extremism and a decline of confidence in trusted institutions have created the perfect storm for illiberalism and authoritarianism to take root. While it is easy to blame Donald Trump for the sad state of our democracy, Trumpism is almost certainly likely to outlast Trump himself.  Donald Trump’s presidency merely exposed existing cracks in our democracy that are built into the foundations of elections, political institutions, and information ecosystem. ”Power Politics” is filled with a clear delineation of the problems and possible remedies for the threats drawn from West’s extensive experience in the D.C. policy world. West urges us to act now to protect our democracy—and provides a roadmap for how to strengthen our political system and civil society.

The House voted to expel Rep. George Santos, ending the New York Republican’s tenure in Congress. MSNBC’s Ari Melber breaks down the expulsion vote. (Check out The Beat's playlist: https://msnbc.com/ari Connect with Ari Melber:
By Katelyn Polantz and Holmes Lybrand, CNN

Washington CNN — Former President Donald Trump can be sued in civil lawsuits related to the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot in a long-awaited, consequential decision from the federal appeals court in Washington, DC. The decision will have significant implications for several cases against Trump in the Washington, DC, federal court related to the 2020 election. The decision arises out of lawsuits brought by Capitol Police officers and Democrats in Congress.

The opinion, written by Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan, states that not everything a president does or says while in office is protected from liability. The president “does not spend every minute of every day exercising official responsibilities,” the opinion said. “And when he acts outside the functions of his office, he does not continue to enjoy immunity. … When he acts in an unofficial, private capacity, he is subject to civil suits like any private citizen.”

The decision to allow the January 6 lawsuits against Trump to proceed was unanimous among the three judges on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Greg Katsas concurred with the decision, and Judge Judith Rogers concurred in part. Trump will still be able to seek additional appeals on the issue, if he chooses.
Story by Rachel Weiner, Spencer Hsu, Devlin Barrett

On Dec. 30, 2020, Jeffrey Clark was nervous. He had just been told that Donald Trump was “very happy” with him. “I’m praying,” the Justice Department official told Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), who less than two weeks earlier had arranged for Clark to meet the president. “And wonder if I’m worthy or ready.” “You are the man. I have confirmed it,” Perry replied. “God does what he does for a reason.”

The text exchange, briefly made public as part of a court dispute over special counsel prosecutors’ access to Perry’s phone, illuminates the extent of Perry’s involvement in the machinations that have led to criminal charges against both Clark and Trump over their attempts to prevent President Biden from taking office. The U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. Circuit said that a district court judge needed to individually review roughly 2,000 communications to decide which ones were “speech or debate” — falling under a clause that grants members of Congress immunity from criminal investigation in their official capacities. But the same appellate panel on Wednesday exposed many of those messages by unsealing that lower court judge’s 51-page opinion, previously available only with heavy redactions.
Kevin Breuninger

A New York appeals court Thursday reinstated a gag order on Donald Trump in the former president’s $250 million civil business fraud trial. The order bars Trump from making public statements about the staff of Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron, who is presiding over the ongoing trial.

Engoron had imposed the gag order on Trump, and later expanded it to cover his attorneys, after they repeatedly targeted the judge’s principal law clerk, Allison Greenfield.

Engoron has said his chambers have been “inundated” with threats and harassment against him and his staff during the trial. An official who monitors threats for the New York Court System’s Department of Public Safety told the appeals court in a sworn statement that Trump’s comments about Greenfield have prompted “hundreds” of threatening messages, many of which were antisemitic.
Story by Tony Diver

Donald Trump has been accused of using his company’s funds to pay his tax and legal bills, in breach of a court ruling that requires him to notify a financial auditor before withdrawing cash. The former president reportedly moved $40 million (£31.5 million) from the Trump Organisation into a personal bank account in three cash transfers across ten months of financial statements, The Daily Beast reported.

Mr Trump has been ordered to notify Barbara S Jones, a former federal judge, before withdrawing more than $5 million from his trust, in an attempt to regulate the Trump Organisation’s business practices. Ms Jones has notified a New York State court that Mr Trump moved the money out of his businesses account to pay a $29 million tax bill and a $5 million penalty from the E Jean Carroll lawsuit.

In that case in May, Mr Trump was ordered to pay Ms Carroll damages for sex abuse and defamation. The restriction on the former president’s financial activities was imposed by Arthur Engoron, the judge in his New York civil fraud trial, in the run-up to a judgment that could see him fined $250 million and barred from operating businesses in the city.
Story by Joseph Ellis

Ex-President Donald Trump has been identified as one of the top global threats for 2024 by The Economist. Reports indicate that his allies are screening potential followers and planning to expand his power in the U.S. government if he wins in 2024.

Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat warns that Trump’s actions are reminiscent of authoritarian regimes, including plans for mass detentions and expansion of psychiatric institutions. “Yeah, well, you know, Trump is an autocrat, not a Democrat,” Ben-Ghiat said.

“What he is doing here is straight out of the history of authoritarianism. it is not just the content of what he wants to do, mask importation’s mass detentions, and also if you get into it, he says he wants to expand psychiatric institutions, to put people in there.”
Story by David McAfee

Donald Trump on Saturday heard boos when he arrived at the South Carolina "Palmetto Bowl." He also reportedly saw billboards telling him that he lost. Trump attended the bowl at least in part to show up his GOP rival Nikki Haley at her alma mater, but it appears things didn't go exactly as planned for the former president. He was met with two billboards saying, "You lost. You’re guilty. Welcome to Columbia, Donald," according to the Messenger's report.
By Lee Moran

A new book reports that former President Donald Trump made disparaging comments about evangelical Christians during the 2016 Republican primary.

The then-candidate described evangelicals backing rival Republican hopeful Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) as “so-called Christians” and “some real pieces of shit,” The Atlantic’s Tim Alberta wrote in his upcoming “ The Kingdom, The Power, And The Glory: American Evangelicals In An Age Of Extremism .”

The Guardian shared the detail from the book on Thursday ahead of its Dec. 5 release.

Trump was sent “into a spiral” and speculated “there was a conspiracy among powerful evangelicals to deny him the GOP nomination” after he drew ridicule for flubbing on what was his favorite Bible verse ― saying “Two Corinthians” instead of “Second Corinthians,” per Alberta. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins then endorsed Cruz.
Story by Amy Lewis

The question at hand diverges from the broader discussion about the impact of the MAGA movement on the United States and the world. Instead, the primary objective here is to delve into the specific aspects adversely affected by MAGA, shedding light on the unfortunate consequences it has brought about for countless individuals. It is worth noting that some of these repercussions are undeniably heart-wrenching, highlighting the profound and often painful effects of this movement on people’s lives.

Personal Safety
An individual shared their perspective, revealing, “The MAGA thing just made me look at people differently, more cynically.” They elaborated on this shift in outlook by mentioning, “I’m skeptical of people” and how they often perceive them as selfish or evil. This commentary underscores the profound impact of the MAGA movement on this person’s perception of others, leading to a heightened sense of cynicism and suspicion in their interactions with fellow individuals.
Story by Kunal Dey

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: In a disturbing turn of events, the New York judge presiding over former President Donald Trump's civil fraud trial, Arthur Engoron, and his law clerk have reportedly been subjected to a barrage of harassing messages deemed "serious and credible" by court security. The onslaught reportedly began on October 3, shortly after Trump levied unfounded allegations against Judge Engoron's law clerk on social media.

Security concerns prompt gag order
Charles Hollon, a court officer-captain assigned to the Judicial Threats Assessment unit of the Department of Public Safety, revealed in a sworn statement that threats against the judge and his clerk have "increased exponentially" since Trump's inflammatory post.

According to NBC News, Trump posted a message on Truth Social identifying Engoron's principal law clerk and claimed she was in a relationship with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the Democrat Senator from New York.
Story by J.D. Wolf

Trump painted his political opponent as “communists, Marxists, fascists, and radical left thugs.” These are all common attacks Trump uses for Democratic and judicial opponents. Trump claimed “threats from outside forces” are “far less sinister, dangerous, and grave, than the threat from within.” Trump is claiming his political opponents are a greater threat than terrorists and extremists who wish to kill Americans. In a way, Trump is implying his fight is more challenging than the foreign adversaries veterans have fought. After echoing Hitler in his Veterans Day post on his social media account, Trump then made near verbatim comments during his rally on Saturday in Claremont, New Hampshire.

Today, especially, in honor of our great veterans on Veterans Day, we pledge to you we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists, and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country that lie and steal and cheat on elections and will do anything possible, they'll do anything, whether legal or illegally, to destroy America and to destroy the American dream. The real threat is not from the radical right, the real threat is from the radical left, and it's growing every day, every single day. The threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous and grave than the threat from within. Our threat is from within.
Trump continues boosting extreme accounts
J.D. Wolf

Over the last day, Trump has continued amplifying QAnon accounts on Truth Social. Trump has some favorites that he promotes to his millions of loyal followers. Trump is regularly boosting fringe accounts to his MAGA base.

Trump shared content from user "FruitSnacks," who previously posted an image of Trump with a "Q+" graphic on his suit and a claim that the January 6th riot was staged by the government. Reminder, Trump was president on January 6th.

Trump shared posts complaining about his indictment and calling government leaders "traitors" from account "Lara47," who uses the QAnon slogan WWG1WGA, "Where We Go One, We Go All."  
Story by Alex Roman

The global stage, with its complex web of alliances, rivalries, and diplomatic nuances, witnessed a multitude of reactions and responses to the presidency of Donald Trump. World leaders from various corners of the Earth held diverse perspectives on the 45th President of the United States, reflecting the intricate tapestry of international relations. In this exploration, we delve into the intriguing tapestry of opinions that emerged during Trump’s tenure, shedding light on the dynamic and ever-evolving landscape of global politics and diplomacy.

Angela Merkel (Former German Chancellor)
Merkel praised Trump’s leadership qualities while acknowledging policy differences, highlighting the significance of diplomatic relations between powerful nations with varying perspectives and the need for cooperation despite ideological disparities.

Emmanuel Macron (French President)
Macron maintained a pragmatic yet often contentious relationship with Trump, emphasizing the importance of diplomacy and bridge-building in international politics, even amidst disagreements.

Justin Trudeau (Canadian Prime Minister)
Frequent disagreements with Trump, particularly on trade and climate issues, underscored the significance of maintaining strong cross-border relations and navigating differences between neighbors.
Story by Lauren Irwin

Tech billionaire Peter Thiel, who previously supported former President Trump, said the Trump administration was “crazier” and “more dangerous” than he expected, in a recent interview.

Thiel, the billionaire venture capitalist who co-founded PayPal, has been a vocal supporter and financial advocate for Trump. In an interview with The Atlantic published Thursday, Thiel said he is not giving money to the former president — or any other candidate — in the 2024 presidential campaign.

“Voting for Trump was like a not very articulate scream for help,” he said. Thiel told The Atlantic that he had hoped Trump’s election would force a national reckoning, that someone needed to tear things down before the country could rebuild.

“There are a lot of things I got wrong,” he said. “It was crazier than I thought. It was more dangerous than I thought,” Thiel continued. “They couldn’t get the most basic pieces of the government to work. So that was — I think that part was maybe worse than even my low expectations.”
Story by Tommy Christopher

CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins extended her interview with former Trump attorney Jim Trusty to smack down his claim of a “two-tiered justice system” — by citing the prosecutions of Democratic figures like Hunter Biden and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ).

Trusty represented Trump in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into classified documents under the Espionage Act — until shortly after former President Donald Trump announced his own indictment.

On Thursday night’s edition of CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins, Collins told Trusty — who remains a Trump loyalist since his departure — that she was prepared to let him go until he dropped an aside about Trump being treated unfairly:
By Katherine Fung

Former President Donald Trump was caught in a lie during his Monday testimony, telling prosecutors he was too "busy in the White House" to be involved in the preparing of his 2021 financial statements, even though he had already been succeeded by Joe Biden.

Asked about whether he was involved in the 2021 valuations of his properties, Trump defended himself by telling prosecutor Kevin Wallace, "I was so busy in the White House. My threshold was China, Russia, and keeping our country safe." Wallace followed up by asking, "Just to clarify, you weren't president in 2021, correct?" to which Trump replied, "No, I wasn't."
By Ella Lee

The Trump Organization’s skewed financial statements may have cost banks more than $168 million in interest, according to an expert witness hired by the New York attorney general’s office. Michiel McCarty, chairman and CEO at the investment bank M.M. Dillon & Co., testified Wednesday to his “lost interest calculations” for banks that handed out loans to the Trump Organization. His calculations determined that across four Trump Organization assets, banks lost out on just over $168 million in interest.

The assets — 40 Wall Street, Trump’s Chicago hotel, the Old Post Office-turned-hotel and Trump’s golf course in Doral, Fla. — each lost banks tens of millions of dollars in interest across nearly a decade, according to McCarty’s assessment. Judge Arthur Engoron already found Trump, the Trump Organization and several executives — including Trump’s adult sons — liable for fraud before the trial began, ruling that New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) had proved the crux of her case.

On Day 5 of Donald Trump's fraud trial in New York, former Trump Org official Jeffrey McConney was grilled on the stand about the loose methods used to evaluate the worth of Trump's real estate holdings, resulting in grossly inflated numbers. Kristy Greenberg, former federal prosecutor, discusses with Alex Wagner.
By Geoff Bennett, By Ali Schmitz

Former President Trump was in court Monday for a civil fraud trial over his real estate dealings. The judge already ruled on one of the arguments from prosecutors last week, saying Trump and his executives fraudulently inflated the value of real estate holdings. The judge still has to weigh in on other claims in the suit. Geoff Bennett discussed the case with Russ Buettner of The New York Times.
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!!!”
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.
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 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 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.
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.
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.”
Trump mocked during football game: Plane appears with 'shocking' banner
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.
Trump's PAC Funds on Thin Ice: Shocking Investigation Reveals Potential Misuse of Post-Election Donations!
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 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.
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.”
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.”
Story by Tom Boggioni

The recent release by New York Attorney General Letitia James of a Donald Trump deposition transcript showed him to not be at the top of his game as he rambled during some of his answers and occasionally went off on unrelated tangents.

That is the opinion of MSNBC's Hayes Brown who compared the former president's demeanor and focus, revealed in official transcripts, in previous cases where he was forced to sit and answer questions under oath.

As Brown wrote for MSNBC, Trump's deposition, which is central to James' $250 million civil lawsuit against the Trump Organization on accusations of fraud, could hardly have gone worse for the former president because he couldn't control himself.

"Given the stakes, Trump should have been on his best behavior," argued Brown. "But the 479-page document, which was unsealed Thursday, is Trump in rare form. He’s combative. He’s rambling. Gone is the canny, and even shrewd, person we’ve seen at other points," he wrote before adding that the early excerpts "gave a taste of how unhinged the deposition was."
Tom Winter and Zoë Richards and Lisa Rubin and Adam Reiss and Jonathan Dienst

Former President Donald Trump routinely overstated his personal net worth to financial institutions, by as much as $2.2 billion one year, New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office alleged in a filing Wednesday.

The figures, tucked into a 100-page motion for partial summary judgment, are the latest details in the sweeping $250 million civil lawsuit James brought against Trump, some of his eldest children and the Trump Organization last year. The lawsuit alleges efforts spanning 10 years to inflate Trump's personal net worth to attract favorable loan agreements.

In court papers filed Wednesday in state Supreme Court, prosecutors asked the court to rule in favor of the attorney general’s office on only the first cause of action they brought against Trump last year, which argued that the former president and some Trump Organization employees used financial statements as a “vehicle” to fraudulently inflate his net worth by billions of dollars annually from 2011 to 2021.
Tom Boggioni

Appearing on MSNBC's "The Katie Phang Show," Guardian reporter Hugo Lowell claimed Donald Trump might have avoided being hit with violations of the Espionage Act if it had not been reported that he shared highly sensitive government documents with friends at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

According to Lowell, who has been reporting that the documents may have been hidden from Trump lawyer Evan Corcoran, a new report that Trump left documents laying about and might have shown them to others makes it more likely he'll face more severe charges if that is true.
Story by Gideon Rubin

Donald Trump directed one of his co-defendants, a Georgia Republican, to sign false papers claiming to be a legitimate elector in the 2020 election, according to a new court filing. Trump and more than a dozen others were indicted in Fulton County for a purported conspiracy to undermine the 2020 election. Part of that overall alleged scheme was the fake elector plot.

"Shawn Still, a Georgia Republican charged alongside former President Donald Trump in a racketeering conspiracy to subvert the 2020 election, says he signed false papers claiming to be a legitimate presidential elector at Trump’s direction."

"Mr. Still, as a presidential elector, was also acting at the direction of the incumbent president of the United States,” his attorney Thomas Bever said Thursday. “The president’s attorneys instructed Mr. Still and the other contingent electors that they had to meet and cast their ballots on Dec. 14, 2020.”
The former president’s booking photo is unprecedented. And that’s just the beginning of its significance.
By Vanessa Friedman

As soon as it was taken, it became the de facto picture of the year. A historic image that will be seared into the public record and referred to for perpetuity — the first mug shot of an American president, taken by the Fulton County, Ga., Sheriff’s Office after Donald J. Trump’s fourth indictment. Though because it is also the only mug shot, it may be representative of all of the charges.

As such, it is also a symbol of either equality under the law or the abuse of it — the ultimate memento of a norm-shattering presidency and this social-media-obsessed, factionalized age.

“It’s dramatically unprecedented,” said Sean Wilentz, a professor of American history at Princeton University. “Of all the millions, maybe billions of photos taken of Donald Trump, this could stand as the most famous. Or notorious.” It is possible, he added, that in the future the mug shot will seem like the ultimate bookend to a political arc in the United States that began decades ago, with Richard Nixon’s “I am not a crook.”
Story by Matt Hladik

Former President Donald Trump's mugshot and booking information from Fulton County in Georgia were released on Thursday night. According to the documents, Trump's official height is 6-foot-3 and his weight is 215 pounds. There are many people who aren't buying the second number. Some members of the sports world took to Twitter immediately following the release of the measurements to jokingly compare Trump to several prominent quarterbacks. "6'3". 215 lbs. #ItsAllAnIllusion," said Michelle Beadle.
By Leinz Vales, Aditi Sangal, Adrienne Vogt, Maureen Chowdhury, Matt Meyer, Elise Hammond and Tori B. Powell, CNN, CNN staff

Trump booked in Fulton County, the fourth time this year he has faced criminal charges. Here's what we know. Donald Trump became the first former president with a mug shot when he was placed under arrest at the Fulton County jail on Thursday evening. Trump was booked on 13 counts stemming from his efforts to reverse Georgia’s 2020 election results — including racketeering, conspiracy charges and soliciting a public official to violate their oath of office. It is the fourth time this year the former president has faced criminal charges.

Here’s what to know about the historic day:
What happened: The former president, wearing a dark blue suit and red tie, arrived at the Fulton County jail at around 7:30 p.m. ET. After he surrendered, he was placed under arrest and booked on more than a dozen charges. Jail records listed him at 6 foot 3 inches tall and weighing 215 pounds, with blue eyes and blond or strawberry hair. His booking number was P01135809. A mug shot was also taken.
Donald J. Trump News   Find out more about the real Donald j. Trump and the Mueller investigation. Is Donald j. Trump a traitor? Was there collusion with the Russians? Did the trump campaign collude or conspire with Putin and the Russians? Trump is the king of fake news alternative facts. Donald Trump is a liar. Donald Trump is a racist. Find out more about trump the Mueller investigation Russia. Learn about don the con trump and Russia. Find out about the trump Russia Putin connection. Find out more about don the con, con man don and learn about the trump university, trump foundation, trump Russia, Russian collusion, money laundering, Trump the money launder and more…      
Looking for more information on Donald J. Trump (aka Don the Con, aka Don the Snake, aka Two face Donnie, aka The Don, aka Criminal Don). Here you can find information on lawsuits against Trump, Trump’s time is the white house, Trump Administration scandals and corruption, Trump before the white house, Trump’s Enablers, Flunkies, Minions and Sycophants, Trump Impeachments, Trump Insurrection, Trump Insurrection Videos, Trump Is a Crook, Trump Is Threat To National Security, Trump Russia Affair, Trump-Ukraine Affair, Trump vs. Trump, how Trump runs his properties and more. Find out if Trump is filling his pockets with foreign money and your tax dollars. Find out if Trump is a good a businessman or a bad businessman and how viral, nasty and disgusting Trump properties are. Find out if Trump is a crook and/or a conman. Find out if Trump lies about his lies and more.

The more you know the better informed you will be to make your own determination on the real Donald J. Trump (aka Don the Con, aka Don the Snake, aka Two face Donnie, aka The Don, aka Criminal Don). Find out all you can about Donald J. Trump, for some you may find he is not the man you thought he was, for others you may be proven right, for others you may find he is far worse than you thought he was.
Polls:  Your opinion matters take one of our free online polls. Free surveys, free polls, free trump polls, polls on trump. Take one of our free polls. Free polls, free on-line surveys Polls for trump polls for democrats polls for republicans. Dems polls and gop polls survey free online survey surveys survey junkie opinions opinion and more… Take a free trump poll. Find free online polls online trump polls online trump poll. Find donald trump polls, donald j trump polls. Polls for trump polls for democrats polls for republicans. Dems polls and gop polls survey free online survey surveys survey junkie opinions opinion and more…   
Your opinion matters take one of our free online polls:
Take one of our Polls
Take one of our Donald J. Trump Polls
Some of Donald J. Trump's Twitter Hashtags: A Small list of Donald J. Trump’s more infamous twitter hashtags #Trump, #TrumpTraitor, #TrumpIsATraitor, #TraitorTrump, #RemoveTrump, #TrumpIsAMole, #TrumpRussia, #TrumpRussianAsset, #TrumpPutin, #TrumpPutinsPunk, #DonTheCon, #LockHimUp, #TrumpFullofBs
See what people really think about Donald J. Trump.
Back to content