Trump supporters and conspiracy theory - Part 2

[Rick Plant]

Jan. 6 panel will reveal bombshell evidence against Trump in six public hearings -- starting and ending in prime time



The House Select Committee investigating the January 6th Capitol riots will hold six public hearings next month to reveal evidence that Donald Trump and his allies broke the law in their efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

A draft schedule shows the first and last of those hearings would be staged in television prime time, and the panel's attorneys will explain the unlawful scheme by the former president and his allies to reverse his election loss up to and including the Jan. 6 insurrection, reported The Guardian.

“We want to paint a picture as clear as possible as to what occurred,” said committee chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS). “The public needs to know what to think. We just have to show clearly what happened on Jan. 6.”

The panel has already accused Trump of breaking multiple federal laws in his attempt to remain in the White House, and the hearings -- starting and ending with 8 p.m. hearings on June 9 and June 23 -- will explain how investigators reached those conclusions.

The select committee will also stage 10 a.m. hearings on June 13, 15, 16 and 21.

A committee member will lead each of the hearings, but top investigative lawyers who understand the evidence will primarily question the witnesses, most of whom have been subpoenaed, and they will also present texts, photos and videos detailing the attempt to overturn the presidential election.

The hearings will cover the White House-led effort to send fake electors to Congress, seize voting machines and delay the certification of Joe Biden's election win, and they will also address the "Stop the Steal" rally organized by Ali Alexander that led to the Capitol riot.

The panel also intends to show why Trump deliberately misled rallygoers by saying he would march with them to the Capitol and why he resisted requests to call them off after his supporters became violent.

The final hearing will connect Trump's political plan for Jan. 6 with violence carried out by the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, which the Select Committee believes will show the former president led a criminal conspiracy, and they believe the evidence is so compelling that they may rearrange the schedule to present those findings first.

https://www.rawstory.com/jan-6-investigation-2657371721/

[Rick Plant]

Allen Weisselberg drubbed in Manhattan DA filing after trying to scapegoat Michael Cohen for his indictment



In the just-released 129-page court filing from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, prosecutors go through the claims made by Trump Org. CFO Allen Weisselberg as a reason to escape any accountability for his involvement in tax fraud.

This is part of the ongoing investigation on whether the Trump Org. falsified tax documents and loan information over many years.

Weisselberg's argument against the DA is predicated on the idea that Michael Cohen testified to the grand jury about Weisselberg as part of his revenge campaign. However, Cohen never testified to the grand jury.

Ironically, the case references the hush-money payments facilitated by Weisselberg and former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen -- though Cohen's name is redacted, Cohen told Raw Story.



"Weisselberg testified in a federal grand jury in connection to federal campaign finance charges stemming from the so-called 'hush money' payments that Weisselberg and [redacted] facilitated on the eve of a national presidential election, on behalf of then-candidate Trump, in order to quash a story about Trump’s extra-marital affair with an adult-film actress," the DA's documents say, confirming the affair of adult film star Stormy Daniels.

In the second count of the filing, the prosecutors reject Weisselberg's claim that they learned all of their information from the federal government in an effort to charge Weisselberg. The problem, the prosecutors explain, is they actually didn't. They say that even if they did get the information from Cohen, it didn't violate anything because it involves completely different and unrelated cases.

"A defendant (who was granted immunity in a separate, unrelated investigation years earlier) cannot even claim that the person against whom he gave immunized testimony has, in turn, testified in the subsequent case against the defendant," the document says.

In the third point, prosecutors reply to the claim that Cohen's vengeance against Weisselberg is what is leading the court to go after him. Here again, Cohen's name is redacted.

"First, Weisselberg’s argument that [Cohen] was tainted by a desire to obtain revenge against Weisselberg because Weisselberg’s immunized testimony led to [Cohen's] indictment and conviction finds no non-speculative support in the record," said the documents. "To advance his argument, Weisselberg asks this Court to infer that [Cohen] was aware of the fact of the federal testimony; assumed, without knowing, that it reflected negatively on him; and then essentially retaliated against Weisselberg by 'cooperating' with the Office’s investigation."

They explain that they took copious notes at every interview, but at no point could Weisselberg point to evidence that proves Cohen has it out for him.

"On the contrary, when asked about his motivation for providing information to investigators, [Cohen] rejected the idea that he was motivated by anger at Weisselberg’s testimony, and explained that he 'didn’t want to be a scapegoat for [Trump’s] dirty deeds,'" said the document.

They noted that Cohen has a book, has done many interviews, and operating his own podcast and the only thing that Weisselberg can point to that illustrates Cohen is out to destroy him are a few tweets prior to the indictment -- and none of them show a "vengeful motive for Cohen" to speak to the prosecutors about him.

At one point in the court document, the DA notes that Weisselberg has a record of the grand jury testimony and at no point does Cohen appear.



“Weisselberg fails and fails miserably in his vengeful witness defense in the fact that I never testified before the grand jury against him," said Cohen in a statement to Raw Story. "Mr. Shinerock’s opposition papers clearly demonstrate that the Trump methodology of lying and blaming others only works for Trump; all others get jail time."

“This might be the right time for Weisselberg to think about cooperating," he added.

https://www.rawstory.com/allen-weisselberg-michael-cohen-manhattan/

[Rick Plant]

Here comes the next big thing for right wingers to try and use to continue their war on public school education.

‘Social and Emotional Learning’ (SEL) is going to become the new ‘CRT.’

Don’t say I didn’t warn you ahead of time.

[Rick Plant]

Building the “Big Lie”: Inside the Creation of Trump’s Stolen Election Myth
https://www.propublica.org/article/big-lie-trump-stolen-election-inside-creation

[Rick Plant]

Trump's former White House physician facing House ethics probe



Trump White House Physician turned far-right MAGA Republican Congressman Ronny Jackson may have unlawfully used thousands of dollars in campaign funds to buy memberships at a private Texas dinner club, a non-partisan federal watchdog office revealed Monday, Forbes reported.

The non-partisan Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), a ten-member board that is not comprised of members of Congress (and not to be confused with the House Committee on Congressional Ethics), issued a report stating:

“Rep. Ronny Jackson’s campaign committee, Texans for Ronny Jackson, reported campaign disbursements that may not be legitimate and verifiable campaign expenditures attributable to bona fide campaign or political purposes. If Rep. Jackson converted campaign funds from Texans for Ronny Jackson to personal use, or if Rep. Jackson’s campaign committee expended funds that were not attributable to bona fide campaign or political purposes, then Rep. Jackson may have violated House rules, standards of conduct, and federal law.”

The House Committee on Ethics in a statement said it “will review the matter.”



https://ethics.house.gov/press-releases/statement-chairman-and-ranking-member-committee-ethics-regarding-representative-ronny

[Rick Plant]

Manhattan DA urges judge to proceed with case against Trump Org and its CFO, says they stole more in taxpayer dollars than most New Yorkers earn in a year



The Manhattan district attorney’s fraud case against Donald Trump’s family real estate business and its long-serving bookkeeper should move forward, prosecutors urged a judge in lengthy court filing Monday.

The filing comes in answer to a February motion by the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, to have felony charges against them dismissed. Both have pleaded not guilty to a June 2021 indictment alleging they dodged income tax on more than $1.7 million over 15 years and other financial crimes.

“This case, at its core, is ordinary,” wrote Assistant District Attorney Solomon Shinerock. “It arises from the fact that Allen Weisselberg violated the basic imperative that all New Yorkers faithfully report and pay tax on their income.”

Weisselberg’s lawyers have argued charges against him stem from evidence provided by Trump’s convicted former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who has an ax to grind because of Weisselberg’s testimony against him in a 2018 federal probe.

But the 129-page filing by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office says state prosecutors had never “seen or been briefed on the contents of Weisselberg’s testimony” against Cohen to the feds.

Regardless, Cohen wasn’t the source of information used to bring charges against Weisselberg, the filing stated.

“Indeed, the claim that (Cohen) sparked this Investigation as part of a vendetta resulting from Weisselberg’s immunized testimony is incorrect,” the filing states. “And, regardless of (Cohen’s) feelings towards Weisselberg ... the Investigation that led to this Indictment, and the information used to obtain that Indictment, are the result of sources completely independent of (Cohen).”

Shinerock also insisted New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat conducting a parallel civil investigation into the Trump Organization, didn’t influence the DA bringing a case against the CFO. He said neither office was aware the other was investigating Weisselberg in early 2021.

The filing notes it was an article published in Bloomberg on Nov. 2, 2020 about Weisselberg’s alleged off-the-books benefits that set off the criminal investigation.

Weisselberg’s ex-daughter-in-law Jennifer Weisselberg previously told The News about living in a rent-free corporate apartment overlooking Central Park on the Trump Org’s dime with her ex-husband, Barry Weisselberg, who managed Trump’s Wollman ice-rink, and their children from 2005 to 2011. She said her former father-in-law funded virtually every aspect of the family’s lives with Trump Org money, including Columbia Grammar and Prep school tuition, sleepaway camp fees and rental cars.

Shinerock wrote the compensation Weisselberg personally directed his employees to pay toward his personal expenses was significant.

The so-called fringe benefits “amounted to more than most New Yorkers can expect to earn in a given year: rent, utilities, and garage expenses at a luxury apartment building in Manhattan, private school tuition for multiple family members, leases for luxury cars for both Weisselberg and his spouse, large amounts of unreported cash, and ad hoc expenses such as electronics and furniture,” reads the filing.

The Trump Organization and Weisselberg “carefully recorded the value of these items and subtracted them from the amount they reported to tax authorities,” the filing states.

Weisselberg and the Trump Organization lawyers did not respond to requests for comment.

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/manhattan/ny-manhattan-da-opposition-omnibus-weisselberg-trump-org-jennifer-cohen-20220523-mjykw5kxrrejtfl3txjq3huueq-story.html

[Rick Plant]

Tough night for Donnie as he lost all 3 elections in Georgia. His "endorsements" mean nothing as Republican voters completely ignored him and voted for the candidates he hates because they refused to steal Georgia for him in 2020.

Trump's Georgia grudgefest flops as Republican voters also re-nominate attorney general



Donald Trump suffered a humiliating loss in Georgia as he sought to punish state Republicans who did not go along with his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Trump lost the high-profile gubernatorial race as Gov. Brian Kemp defeated former Sen. David Perdue. It was the third week in a row a Trump-endorsed candidate lost a gubernatorial race.

That was not the only race Trump lost on Tuesday.

"Georgia’s Republican attorney general has defeated a GOP primary challenger who entered the race with the backing of former President Donald Trump. Unofficial election returns show Attorney General Chris Carr winning the Republican nomination over John Gordon, who largely campaigned on Trump’s baseless allegations of widespread election fraud," the Associated Press reported Tuesday evening.

NBC News also projected that Carr won the race.

Trump called Carr the “Do Nothing” attorney general when he endorsed Gordon.

"As everyone in the Great State of Georgia is aware, Carr did absolutely nothing to stop the 2020 Presidential Election Fraud which, as facts have shown, and are showing, was rampant. He spent more time hunting those people who fought for the truth than he did those who cheated in the Election. Chris Carr was a disaster every step of the way. He wasn’t looking for Election Integrity, but rather, an easy way out," Trump argued.

Trump promised Gordon would "never let you down!"

Read more here:

https://news.yahoo.com/georgia-gov-kemp-defeats-trump-backed-challenger-former-sen-perdue-in-gop-primary-004712220.html