Trump supporters and conspiracy theory - Part 2

[Rick Plant]

More evidence that Trump campaign knew claims of vote-stealing in major cities was bogus.





The motherlode of Meadows texts obtained by CNN includes this one from Marjorie Taylor Greene on Jan. 17 in which she says multiple colleagues advocated for Trump to declare martial law.

NOTABLY: Greene said last week under oath she could not recall whether she advocated this position with Trump, Meadows or anyone else. Text shows she encouraged Meadows to communicate the position of colleagues to Trump but appears here to have it both ways by saying she wasn't sure.

[Rick Plant]

Meadows aide testified that GOP lawmakers knew Jan. 6 scheme not ‘legally sound’ but pushed to overturn election anyway



Testimony from a former aide to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows helped provide context to the back-channel communications her boss had with Republican members of Congress after Donald Trump's election loss.

A new trove of text messages Meadows exchanged with Trump's allies and family members between the election and Joe Biden's inauguration discussing various schemes to keep the former president in office, and former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson told the House select committee that she recalled at least 11 members of Congress discussing a plan to have vice president Mike Pence throw out the election results, reported the New York Times.

“They felt that he had the authority to — pardon me if my phrasing isn’t correct on this, but — send votes back to the states or the electors back to the states,” Hutchinson told congressional investigators.

Hutchinson testified that the members of Congress appeared to support a plan promoted by conservative attorney John Eastman that has been widely described as a coup attempt, and she told investigators that at least three of the GOP lawmakers -- Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) and Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) -- were present when White House lawyers said the alternate electors scheme was not "legally sound."

However, she said, Meadows allowed the plan to move forward despite doubts about its legality.

The newly revealed text messages show Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) was an early supporter of that scheme, which he conceded was "highly controversial," and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) promoted the strategy up to Jan. 5, 2021, in a text message to Meadows.

Hutchinson also testified that Perry backed the plan to encourage Trump supporters to march on the Capitol, and she said no one present objected to the proposal, and the former Meadows aide made clear those members of Congress were “inclined to go with White House guidance” about sending a crowd to the Capitol as lawmakers certified the election results.

Some members of Congress spoke at the Trump rally that preceded the Capitol riot, amplifying the former president's lies about election fraud and using fiery language steeped in Revolutionary War rhetoric.

“Today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking *ss,” said Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL), who wore body armor to the Ellipse rally. “Are you willing to do what it takes to fight for America?"

Read more here: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/26/us/politics/jan-6-texts-mark-meadows.html

[Rick Plant]

Trump Must Pay $10K a Day for Refusing to Turn Over Evidence

Donald Trump continues to stall handing evidence to the New York attorney general. Now he’s being penalized for it.



Former President Donald Trump must pay a $10,000 fine every day until he turns over evidence to New York’s attorney general, after a state judge on Monday ran out of patience with Trump’s persistent refusal to abide by the law.

New York Judge Arthur F. Engoron has overseen the AG’s nearly two-year battle to squeeze evidence out of the Trump Organization in the state office’s ongoing investigation into alleged bank fraud at the company. The judge issued his order in court this morning and said contempt was appropriate because of “repeated delays and failures of Mr. Trump.”

“Mr. Trump, I know you take your business seriously. And I take mine seriously,” Engoron said.

AG Letitia James is reaching what could be the final stages of her Trump Organization investigation over the way the company has, for years, routinely inflated property values—something her investigators have deemed a scheme to dodge taxes and defraud banks.

In February, the judge ordered Trump and two of his adult children—executives Ivanka Trump and Don Jr.—to testify at a deposition. Although they continue to fight that on appeal, Trump himself was still obligated to turn over records.

Trump missed the March 3 deadline, got an extension to the end of that month, and still hasn’t turned over a page. Earlier this month, the AG’s office asked the judge to intervene.

“It’s been pulling teeth to get documents,” Kevin C. Wallace, an assistant attorney general, said in court.

Meanwhile, Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, castigated this “a political crusade.”

“The attorney general’s fact finding endeavor has continued to expand and grow in unreasonable and burdensome ways,” she said in court. “This is truly a fishing expedition.”

The Trump Organization is turning over final batches of evidence that investigators say they must review before deciding whether to formally sue the company for violations of state business laws. While the law enforcement effort is merely civil in nature, this parallel investigation has largely fueled the criminal probe led by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

The AG’s actions are now of paramount importance, given that the Manhattan DA’s investigation appears to be falling apart. A grand jury convened to consider indicting Trump on criminal charges is set to have its term expire at the end of this week, and prosecutors have not been allowed to seek an indictment because of reluctance from the new DA who inherited the investigation, Alvin Bragg Jr.

If the AG’s office does take action against the Trump Organization, it’ll do so under New York executive law § 63(12), which allows the law enforcement agency to essentially kill any business that engages in “repeated fraudulent or illegal acts.” If she prevails, the Trump family’s corporate empire might also have to pay monetary damages.

The fight over evidence has been long and nasty. From the time the AG’s probe started in March 2019, while Trump was still at the White House, state investigators met stiff resistance from the Trump Organization. The AG made its effort public in August 2020, when it initially asked the court to intervene. Trump’s other adult executive son, Eric, was forced to testify behind closed doors—but merely dodged questions by pleading the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination nearly 500 times.

Fast forward to January this year, when the AG’s office revealed in court documents the myriad of ways the Trump Organization had altered property values—including coming up with numbers that had no basis in reality—what James later called “significant evidence” of fraud. One glaring example highlighted by investigators was the way Trump allegedly valued Trump Tower on New York City’s Fifth Avenue on official financial statements by asserting that his three-floor palatial apartment there was 30,000 square feet, even though in reality it was a third of that.

In the aftermath, the company’s long-time accountants at Mazars USA suddenly ditched them and disavowed past work it had done for Trump.

In court on Monday, Trump’s personal attorney tried to make the case that Trump shouldn’t be held in contempt of court for not turning over evidence because the AG’s office gave him a loophole: only turn over documents your company hasn’t already turned over.

Habba asserted that the company was already delivering records. However, the Trump Organization has not finished turning over paperwork, so investigators are still missing some evidence.

The judge’s principal law clerk, Allison R. Greenfield, zeroed in on what she identified as a contradiction.

“How can you affirm they’ve all been produced but on the other end say they’ll be produced later?” Greenfield asked.

Habba then chalked up the situation to “miscommunication” with the AG’s office, saying “this amounts to a very large misunderstanding.” The lawyer explained how she recently flew south to Trump’s personal estate at Mar-a-Lago in South Florida, where the twice-impeached former president assured her personally that he didn’t have any records about his property valuations (among other reasons, because he allegedly doesn’t text or email).

That surprised the judge and the attorney general’s lawyers, because Habba hadn’t asserted any of that in legal paperwork before the hearing.

“The problem is nothing is on the record,” Greenfield told Habba. “We wouldn't have to be here today if you'd just provided an affidavit.”

“There is a difference between saying something and saying something under oath,” the judge noted.

“Donald Trump does not believe he's above the law,” Habba said. “He doesn’t have anything more to give. My client is an honest person, much to the dismay of people in this room.”

But the attorney general’s lawyers stressed that even sworn documents wouldn’t be enough, because investigators want to see the files themselves.

“We know Mr. Trump has two cell phones… the only way is to have the phones imaged and searched,” said assistant attorney general Andrew S. Amer. “We certainly know he tweets.”

“We don’t have cooperation. It impacts every other aspect of the investigation. We are being hampered in our efforts to have a complete investigation, because we don't have evidence from the person who sits at the top of this organization,” Amer said.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-must-pay-dollar10k-a-day-for-refusing-to-turn-over-evidence-in-new-york-attorney-general-case

[Rick Plant]

Trump admission in never-before-seen deposition could provide incriminating evidence

Donald Trump's iron-like grip on his family business may come back to haunt him in a New York investigation into the Trump Organization.

"In a lawsuit’s never-before-seen testimony, Donald Trump admitted to personally overseeing the compensation of an executive whose corporate perks have been under scrutiny by the Manhattan district attorney, potentially strengthening the case against the former president and his company for tax fraud," The Daily Beast reported Tuesday. "Trump’s sworn testimony was filed in New York state court on Tuesday, as part of a lawsuit against the Trump Organization over the way its security guards manhandled protesters outside Trump Tower in 2015."

In the Oct. 18, 2021 deposition, Trump was asked about Matthew Calamari, Sr., the Trump Organization bodyguard who rose to become the company's chief operating officer.

When asked who has "authority" over Calamari's compensation, Trump repeatedly said, "It would be me."

"That would potentially make Trump personally responsible for any tax dodging scheme, and more importantly, is useful evidence in the grand jury investigation that has yet to produce an indictment against him," The Beast reported. "For months, three sources familiar with the Manhattan DA’s investigation have told The Daily Beast that investigators have been probing the way Calamari was paid off-the-books with allegedly untaxed perks, such as an extravagant corporate apartment at the Trump Park Avenue in New York City’s expensive midtown and a Mercedes-Benz. Prosecutors went as far as having Calamari’s son—corporate security director Matt Calamari Jr.—receive total immunity for potential crimes and testify before a grand jury."

Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg was indicted in a different "fringe benefits" case.

"In Calamari’s case, Manhattan DA investigators have been asking about the corporate perks since at least February 2021, according to one witness who was interviewed by prosecutors. It was clear to several witnesses that prosecutors had hoped to leverage a long-standing feud between the Calamari and Weisselberg families, a Shakespearean drama over who’s more loyal to the boss," The Beast reported. "Prosecutors could present these newly available statements to the grand jury as additional evidence tying Trump to whatever illegal payment scheme the DA’s office is alleging took place at the Trump Organization."

The older Calamari was worked for Trump for four decades, after Trump was impressed by watching Calamari tackle hecklers at the 1981 U.S. women's semifinal tennis match.


Trump Admits He Oversaw Pay for Executive Who Got Fishy Perks

Trump said in a just-released deposition that he personally oversaw the pay of the Trump Organization’s chief operating officer. That could be a problem for him.



In a lawsuit’s never-before-seen testimony, Donald Trump admitted to personally overseeing the compensation of an executive whose corporate perks have been under scrutiny by the Manhattan district attorney, potentially strengthening the case against the former president and his company for tax fraud.

Trump’s sworn testimony was filed in New York state court on Tuesday, as part of a lawsuit against the Trump Organization over the way its security guards manhandled protesters outside Trump Tower in 2015.

According to a transcript of the Oct. 18, 2021, deposition, Trump repeatedly asserted that he—and only he—oversaw the way Matthew Calamari Sr. was paid for his work as the family company’s chief operating officer.

“It would be me,” Trump repeatedly said, when asked who had “authority” over Calamari’s compensation.

That would potentially make Trump personally responsible for any tax dodging scheme, and more importantly, is useful evidence in the grand jury investigation that has yet to produce an indictment against him.


Matthew Calamari in 2017.

“That statement sounds as though it is adverse to Trump’s pecuniary interests, and therefore is admissible against him. Even though it’s made out of court and is hearsay,” said John Moscow, a renowned former prosecutor who spent 33 years at the Manhattan DA’s office.

For months, three sources familiar with the Manhattan DA’s investigation have told The Daily Beast that investigators have been probing the way Calamari was paid off-the-books with allegedly untaxed perks, such as an extravagant corporate apartment at the Trump Park Avenue in New York City’s expensive midtown and a Mercedes-Benz. Prosecutors went as far as having Calamari’s son—corporate security director Matt Calamari Jr.—receive total immunity for potential crimes and testify before a grand jury.

The circumstances are similar to the “fringe benefits” case that prosecutors have launched against the Trump Organization and its former chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, who were indicted last summer for tax fraud. Both were charged with criminal tax fraud, and Weisselberg faces trial this upcoming summer for receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in corporate perks in lieu of on-the-books, taxed salary.

Weisselberg received a luxury apartment and tuition for his grandchildren’s costly private school.

In Calamari’s case, Manhattan DA investigators have been asking about the corporate perks since at least February 2021, according to one witness who was interviewed by prosecutors. It was clear to several witnesses that prosecutors had hoped to leverage a long-standing feud between the Calamari and Weisselberg families, a Shakespearean drama over who’s more loyal to the boss.

However, formal charges have yet to materialize against the elder Calamari. And prosecutors late last year indicated they had no current plans to indict him, according to his defense lawyer, Nicholas Gravante.

Prosecutors could present these newly available statements to the grand jury as additional evidence tying Trump to whatever illegal payment scheme the DA’s office is alleging took place at the Trump Organization. It would be a rare feat in a place like New York, where the court rules are far more strict than most other venues.

In most states and in the federal judicial system, grand juries can consider evidence that’s deemed hearsay, otherwise defined as statements made out of court. (The downside is that those jurors can’t observe a person’s physical demeanor or gestures to gauge how to accurately interpret what they’re saying.) Meanwhile, grand juries in New York typically only consider something if a witness comes in person and testifies under oath.

However, three former prosecutors told The Daily Beast that New York allows for a narrow exception: hearsay is allowed if a person is essentially self-incriminating.

“Statements made in a civil deposition are admissible in a criminal proceeding against the person who made the statement. That’s why people can invoke their Fifth Amendment protections against self-incrimination at civil proceedings as well as criminal,” said Adam Kaufmann, a partner at the law firm of Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss who previously served as chief of the Manhattan DA’s investigative division.

In this case, Trump did not stay quiet. And the Trump Organization actually boasted about how forthcoming their boss was at this deposition.

“President Trump answered every single question that was asked of him at his deposition today. There was not a single question he did not answer,” Trump spokesperson, Amanda Miller, told The Daily Beast at the time.

The civil case at hand was sparked by Trump’s own June 2015 speech announcing his presidential run, when then-candidate Trump referred to Mexicans as “rapists” and “killers.” Queens resident Efrain Galicia and others decided to protest on the public New York City sidewalk outside Trump Tower to highlight the racism in those statements. Videos show how company security guards ripped their signs away and punched Galicia when he tried to get it back. Galicia and others sued on Sept. 9, 2015.

Fast forward five years to Oct. 18, 2021, and the former president is now sitting in Trump Tower for a sworn deposition.

Galicia’s lawyer, Benjamin N. Dictor, questioned Trump about the incident and the various security guards who handled it. But the Monday morning session took a turn when Dictor repeatedly asked about Calamari, who once served as Trump’s personal bodyguard.

Trump recalled how he hired Calamari after watching him tackle hecklers at a 1981 tennis match, describing how the security guard rose through the ranks over the years and eventually came to manage several company properties.



Dictor asked Trump who at the company made the decision to increase Calamari’s compensation with various promotions.

“I imagine it was primarily me,” Trump responded.

The attorney asked different versions of the question three more times, and the answer remained the same. Dictor even got Trump to admit that he alone had the power.

“Has there ever been a time from the time Mr. Calamari has hired until Sept. 3, 2015 when any other employee of the Trump Organization had authority over Mr. Calamari’s compensation?” Dictor asked.

“It’s a specific question, but I would say that if the children would have gotten together and recommended it, that would have been fine, too, you know. No, but generally it would be me,” Trump said. “I’m the owner.”

A Trump spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-admits-he-oversaw-pay-for-executive-matthew-calamari-who-got-fishy-perks

[Rick Plant]

Text messages reveal Republican Scott Perry wanted NSA to investigate Trump’s election fraud fantasies: CNN



Yet more text messages are being reported that document Republican efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election as former President Donald Trump sought to hold onto power despite losing to Democrat Joe Biden.

"Newly obtained text messages and recent court filings fill in significant gaps about the key role a little-known Pennsylvania Republican congressman played at almost every turn in scheming to reverse or delay certification of the 2020 election. The texts, which were among those selectively provided by Donald Trump's former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to the House select committee, show Rep. Scott Perry pushing to have the nation's top intelligence official investigate baseless conspiracy theories and working to replace the US acting attorney general with an acolyte willing to do Trump's bidding," CNN reported Tuesday.

Previous reporting on Meadows' text messages has shed new light on the actions of Donald Trump, Jr., Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), former Energy Secretary Rick Perry, and Ginny Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

"From an Intel friend: DNI needs to task NSA to immediately seize and begin looking for international comms related to Dominion," Perry texted to Meadows on Nov. 12.

In the hours following the attack on the U.S. Capitol, Perry led the effort to reject Pennsylvania's electoral votes, for which he was blasted the next day in the York Dispatch.

"If Perry truly believes that the election that returned him to the Capitol for a fifth term was illegal and the results should be overturned, he does have a personal recourse. He can and should resign. Immediately," the editorial board wrote. "How can anyone who says that the votes that put him into his office, the votes that allowed him voice on the House floor during one of the most important functions Congress has, overseeing the orderly transfer of power to a new presidential administration, were accepted under unconstitutional means and produced an illegitimate outcome, and then keep that office?"

The editorial board wrote that Perry "cannot be trusted to represent the people of the 10th District, the people whose votes he was so willing to cast aside in the service of a demagogue of a president who just hours earlier had incited a mob to force their way into the U.S. Capitol building."


CNN Exclusive: Meadows’ texts reveal new details about the key role a little-known GOP congressman played in efforts to overturn election

Washington
CNN
 —
Newly obtained text messages and recent court filings fill in significant gaps about the key role a little-known Pennsylvania Republican congressman played at almost every turn in scheming to reverse or delay certification of the 2020 election.

The texts, which were among those selectively provided by Donald Trump’s former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to the House select committee, show Rep. Scott Perry pushing to have the nation’s top intelligence official investigate baseless conspiracy theories and working to replace the US acting attorney general with an acolyte willing to do Trump’s bidding.

“From an Intel friend: DNI needs to task NSA to immediately seize and begin looking for international comms related to Dominion,” Perry wrote to Meadows on November 12, just five days after the election was called for Joe Biden.

In the text, which has not been previously reported, Perry appears to be urging Meadows to get John Ratcliffe, then-Director of National Intelligence, to order the National Security Agency to investigate debunked claims that Dominion voting machines were hacked by China.

Perry, a five-term congressman, is a retired Brigadier General with nearly 40 years of military service, including flying combat missions in Iraq. Given his extensive background, he is likely familiar with the inner-workings of government intelligence.

Perry has thus far declined to voluntarily cooperate with the House select committee, and in a previous statement has called the committee illegitimate.

Perry on Tuesday refused to answer several questions from CNN at the Capitol about his texts to Meadows.

It’s unclear whether Meadows responded to Perry’s November 12 text. A source familiar with the situation tells CNN that Meadows did not approach Ratcliffe about what Perry was asking.

Last year, the Senate singled out Perry for his role in promoting Trump’s election fraud conspiracies. The Meadows texts provide new details into his efforts behind the scenes. In particular, the texts show how Perry, now the head of the House Freedom Caucus, was one of the most vocal advocates for recruiting top government officials to investigate baseless claims of voter fraud.

Perry wrote to Meadows again on November 12 claiming that “the Brits” orchestrated a conspiracy to manipulate voting machines in the US and that then-CIA Director Gina Haspel was helping cover it up.

“And Gina is still running around on the Hill covering for the Brits who helped quarterback this entire operation,” Perry texted. “DNI needs to be tasked to audit their overseas accounts at CIA - and their National Endowment for Democracy. “

More than a month later, Perry texted Meadows a YouTube link detailing another conspiracy theory: that votes were changed by Italian satellites.

“Why can’t we just work with the Italian government?” Perry wrote. According to the text logs, Meadows does not appear to have responded to that message, emails released by the Senate Judiciary Committee last year show he did forward the same video link to then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen hours later.

Rosen subsequently refused to look into the claim further and said he would “not be giving any special treatment to Giuliani or any of his ‘witnesses,’ ” an email discussion between the acting attorney general and top DOJ officials emails show.

“Pure insanity,” another former DOJ official, Richard Donoghue, responded to Rosen about the claim.

New court filing

A new court filing also reveals how Perry played a key role in strategizing with Trump allies about throwing out electoral votes in states Trump lost.

In testimony released on Friday, former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson told House investigators about Perry’s role in White House strategy sessions.

“Mr. Perry is one that immediately jumps to mind as me recalling him physically being there and then pushing back,” Hutchinson said, describing how the Pennsylvania Republican clashed with Trump’s White House counsel over whether the plan for states to submit alternate slate of electors was legally sound.

On November 21, Meadows also went through Perry in order to get in touch with local lawmakers in his state.

“Can you send me the number for the speaker and the leader of PA Legislature. POTUS wants to chat with them,” Meadows wrote to Perry.

More than a month later, Perry texted Meadows stressing a need for urgency as January 6 and Biden’s inauguration were quickly approaching.

“Mark, just checking in as time continues to count down. 11 days to 1/6 and 25 days to inauguration. We gotta get going!” he wrote to Meadows on December 26.


Rep. Scott Perry speaks as Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies before the House Committee On Foreign Affairs, March 10, 2021.

On five occasions, according to the text messages reviewed by CNN, Perry texted Meadows to request the conversation move to the encrypted messaging app “Signal” or to alert Meadows to a message he sent on the encrypted platform.

Such a move could put the exchange out of the committee’s reach because Signal does not collect or save user data, making it more difficult to provide that information to outside entities, including law enforcement and congressional investigators, even under subpoena.

The committee has previously released a January 5 text message Meadows received from an unidentified member of Congress saying, “Please check your signal.”

CNN has now confirmed that message came from Perry.

Enlisting Justice Department officials

The texts also show that Perry acted as a conduit between Meadows and Justice Department attorney Jeffrey Clark, a relatively obscure official who emerged as a central figure in Trump’s election gambit after the former President nearly named him as acting attorney general days before the US Capitol riot.

The messages draw a direct link between Perry, Clark and the Trump White House-led effort to enlist the Justice Department to help overturn the election.

Starting in late December, after top Justice Department officials refused to intervene in the election process on Trump’s behalf, Perry repeatedly pushed Meadows to install Clark in a top position at the department and give him the “authority to enforce what needs to be done,” the texts show.

"Mark, you should call Jeff. I just got off the phone with him and he explained to me why the principal deputy won’t work especially with the FBI. They will view it as as not having the authority to enforce what needs to be done,” Perry texted Meadows on December 26, days before the heated Oval Office meeting where Trump raised the idea of replacing the then-acting attorney general with Clark.

“I got it. I think I understand. Let me work on the deputy position,” Meadows responded.

Nearly a week later Perry texted Meadows again about Clark.

“Please call me the instant you get off the phone with Jeff,” Perry wrote to Meadows on January 2, referring to Clark.

In January 2021, Perry admitted to being the link between Trump and Clark.

“Throughout the past four years, I worked with Assistant Attorney General Clark on various legislative matters. When President Trump asked if I would make an introduction, I obliged,” Perry said in a statement to a local Pennsylvania outlet in January 2021.

Perry’s role in the pressure campaign against Justice Department officials in December 2020 was detailed in a Senate Judiciary report released last year. But the report also acknowledged that its findings were incomplete, listing Perry as one of three Trump allies whose connections to January 6 required further investigation by the House select panel. The committee has asked Perry to talk with them voluntarily, but Perry has so far refused.

“I stand with immense respect for our Constitution, the Rule of Law, and the Americans I represent who know that this entity is illegitimate, and not duly constituted under the rules of the US House of Representatives,” Perry wrote in a statement on Twitter declining the panel’s request in December.

California Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a Democratic member of the committee that’s investigating the insurrection, told CNN they have not ruled out issuing subpoenas to lawmakers, including Perry. Lofgren noted that because Perry swore to uphold the Constitution as a member of Congress, he’s “legally obliged” to talk to the committee.

“We could do a variety of things to try and compel, but the main thing is he should come in and not try and hide the truth,” Lofgren said. “We need to get to the bottom of this to protect our Constitution and system of government.”

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/26/politics/mark-meadows-texts-scott-perry-key-role-overturn-election/index.html

[Rick Plant]

NY AG nearly done unraveling Trump's 'Russian nesting doll' as lawsuit deadline nears



The New York attorney general's office is nearly finished with a civil investigation into the Trump Organization.

Investigators say they're almost done unraveling the "Russian nesting doll" of the company's assets, but prosecutors told a court they still want to search two of Donald Trump's cell phones and two of his longtime assistant Rhona Graff's computers, reported CNN.

"The process is near the end," said Kevin Wallace, a senior enforcement counsel for the state attorney general.

The office hired a third-party firm to search the real estate company's files, and investigators have identified 151 custodians, or people or entities, that might have documents sought by the attorney general, but Wallace said they're focused on only the "most important" pieces of information because the deadline to file a lawsuit is Saturday under the statute of limitations.

The tolling agreement reached with the Trump Organization ends this week, the attorney general's office still would have several weeks to decide its next step in the investigation.

New York state Judge Arthur Engoron held Trump in civil contempt and fined him $10,000 a day for failing to comply with a subpoena issued by the attorney general's office, but he also asked investigators what was taking them so long and where their probe was headed.

"Given the upcoming end of the tolling agreement we will likely need to bring some kind of enforcement action in the near future to preserve our rights," Wallace said.

The attorney general's office has agreed to meet with attorneys for the Trump Organization to discuss possible resolutions to the case, which has for years hung over the former president, who called the investigation a witch hunt and blasted attorney general Letitia James as a "racist."

Court filings show the attorney general's office believes the company made misleading statements and omissions in financial statements in filings with lenders and insurers to gain tax benefits, but Trump and his children have not cooperated with investigators -- despite a court order to comply with subpoenas issued by James.

"The company relies more on its people than its systems," Wallace told the court, noting the Trump Organization moved millions of dollars through 500 entities using varied accounting systems.

Wallace pointed to Trump's golf course in Jupiter, Florida, which was purchased in 2012 for $5 million and bundled in a financial statement with a $2 billion bucket of club assets, but supporting documents showed the company valued the course at $46 million without explanation.

"These issues repeat across clubs," Wallace said. "Each of these assets is like a Russian nesting doll."

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/27/politics/trump-ny-investigation/index.html

[Rick Plant]

Three key texts show Mark Meadows knowingly participated in Trump's conspiracy to steal the election



Newly revealed text messages show Mark Meadows stood by at least three times as Donald Trump spread what he knew to be lies about the 2020 election.

The texts reveal at least three episodes where the former White House chief of staff knowingly kept silent or helped the former president attempt to overturn his election loss, and there may be even more evidence of wrongdoing that hasn't been turned over to congressional investigators, according to The Bulwark columnist Will Saletan.

"We’ve known for a long time, based on audits, investigations, and court reviews, that Donald Trump’s allegations about massive fraud in the 2020 presidential election are false," Saletan wrote. "We also know, based on firsthand accounts from Trump’s former aides, attorneys, and political allies, that Trump’s advisers repeatedly told him the allegations were false. That leaves two possibilities: Either Trump is lying, or he’s trying to overthrow the government based on an impenetrable delusion. Take your pick."

Thousands of texts Meadows exchanged with Trump's allies and children suggest that he knew early on the fraud allegations were false, because campaign spokesman Jason Miller described claims about ballot-box stuffing in Philadelphia as wildly implausible in a Nov. 6, 2020, text to the chief of staff, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.

"Meadows, Kushner, Ivanka Trump, and others knew from Miller’s text message that these assertions were mathematically absurd," Saletain wrote. "But as the president smeared the city and the election, they said nothing."

A contact in Florida asked Meadows on Nov. 20, 2020, about fraud claims involving Dominion Voting Systems, and he said he was "not that confident" about the allegations and made the same point the following day to Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas.

"Trump’s advisers knew that the allegations were unsubstantiated and that [campaign attorney Sidney] Powell, when asked for substantiation, had refused to supply it," Saletan wrote. "Nevertheless, Trump continued to smear Dominion on Twitter, suggesting that it had 'shifted' enough votes to swing the election. In a Fox News interview, the president said of Dominion’s vote-counting technology: 'These machines are controlling our country. So it was a rigged election.'"

"Meadows knew these smears were baseless," Saletan added. "But he said nothing."

Kushner alerted Meadows on Dec. 4, 2020, to a fact check of Trump claims about ballot fraud in Atlanta, which the former president continued to allege at a rally the following day, in a Dec. 22 White House speech and a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call with Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger -- who he begged to "find" exactly enough votes to overturn his loss there.

"Meadows wasn’t a bystander to this phone call," Saletan wrote "He orchestrated and supervised it. When Raffensperger explained to Trump that the suitcase story was false — that the video Trump had seen was 'sliced and diced,' that the unedited video discredited Trump’s story, and that a Georgia state audit had 'proved conclusively' there was no triple-counting of ballots, as Trump had alleged — Meadows stepped in not to correct Trump, but to twist Raffensperger’s arm."

The former chief of staff pressed Raffensperger to investigate claims they both knew to be false “in the spirit of cooperation and compromise,” and Saletan said the texts tell a damning tale about Meadows and other Trump advisers.

"As President Trump told the public one fake story after another about election fraud — stories that eventually led to a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol, in an attempt to block the democratic transfer of power — the president’s advisers knew, and privately admitted to one another, that his stories weren’t true," he wrote.


The Most Damning Part of the Meadows Texts
He knew the president was lying. And he kept helping to spread the lies anyway.



We've known for a long time, based on audits, investigations, and court reviews, that Donald Trump’s allegations about massive fraud in the 2020 presidential election are false. We also know, based on firsthand accounts from Trump’s former aides, attorneys, and political allies, that Trump’s advisers repeatedly told him the allegations were false. That leaves two possibilities: Either Trump is lying, or he’s trying to overthrow the government based on an impenetrable delusion. Take your pick.

Now we’re compiling similar evidence against Mark Meadows, who was Trump’s chief of staff during the election. He, too, knew Trump’s accusations were false. And instead of telling the truth, Meadows helped spread the lies.

The latest evidence comes from a batch of more than 2,000 text messages, revealed by CNN that were sent to or from Meadows between November 3, 2020, and January 20, 2021. Three of the exchanges are particularly instructive: one in early November of that year, another in late November, and a third in early December.

On November 6, 2020, Jason Miller, Trump’s campaign spokesman, sent a group text to Meadows and a few other people in Trump’s inner circle, including Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. Miller’s text explained why the Trump team’s accusations of ballot-box stuffing in Philadelphia were wildly implausible, based on trend data and statewide data:

In 2016, POTUS received 15.5% of the vote in Philadelphia County. Today he is currently at 18.3%. So he increased from his performance in 2016. In 2016, Philadelphia County made up 11.3% of the total vote in the state. As it currently stands, Philadelphia County only makes up 10.2% of the statewide vote tally. So POTUS performed better in a smaller share. Sen. Santorum was just making this point on CNN – cuts hard against the urban vote stealing narrative.

What did Meadows and others in the Trump campaign do with this information? Apparently, nothing. On November 7, the day after Miller sent his text, Trump announced a press conference in Philadelphia. At the press conference, Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, accused the city’s Democrats of rigging the election. “It took a couple of days” after the election “to produce enough ballots” to put Joe Biden ahead of Trump in Pennsylvania, Giuliani told reporters. “Could some of those ballots have been manufactured in advance by the Democrat machine of Philadelphia? Wouldn’t be the first time they did it.”

Trump followed the press conference with multiple tweets and a White House speech in which he alleged fraud, corruption, ballot stuffing, and “illegal activity” in Philadelphia. In a Fox News interview, the president argued that Democratic “cheating” in Philadelphia had changed the statewide vote count by a whopping 5 percent. (With nearly 7 million ballots cast in Pennsylvania, 5 percent would have been more than 340,000 ballots worth of “cheating.”)

Meadows, Kushner, Ivanka Trump, and others knew from Miller’s text message that these assertions were mathematically absurd. But as the president smeared the city and the election, they said nothing.

On
November 20, 2020, two weeks after Miller sent that text, Meadows got another message, this time from a contact in Florida. The message asked about allegations that Dominion Voting Systems, an election technology company, had committed fraud against Trump in computing the results. In response, Meadows admitted he was “not that confident” in the allegations. On November 22, when Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, asked Meadows why Trump’s legal team was distancing itself from attorney Sidney Powell—who had been promoting the allegations against Dominion—Meadows wrote back: “She doesn’t have anything or at least she won’t share it if she does.”

So Trump’s advisers knew that the allegations were unsubstantiated and that Powell, when asked for substantiation, had refused to supply it. Nevertheless, Trump continued to smear Dominion on Twitter, suggesting that it had “shifted” enough votes to swing the election. In a Fox News interview, the president said of Dominion’s vote-counting technology: “These machines are controlling our country. So it was a rigged election.”

Meadows knew these smears were baseless. But he said nothing.

On December 4, 2020, Meadows got another text message. This one came from Kushner, and it alerted Meadows to an article that fact-checked a false story Trump was telling about Georgia. Trump’s story was that election workers in Atlanta had been caught on video using a suitcase full of ballots to inflate Biden’s vote tally and steal the election. The fact check explained that the video had been misrepresented and that the story was false.

The next day, December 5, Trump went to Georgia and accused Democrats of rigging the state’s vote count. He focused on the suitcase story, accused the poll workers of a “crime,” and said they had manufactured enough votes to swing the state. He repeated the debunked story again in a December 22 speech at the White House and then again in a phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on January 2, 2021. In the phone call, Trump pressed Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to award the state to Trump.

Meadows wasn’t a bystander to this phone call. He orchestrated and supervised it. When Raffensperger explained to Trump that the suitcase story was false—that the video Trump had seen was “sliced and diced,” that the unedited video discredited Trump’s story, and that a Georgia state audit had “proved conclusively” there was no triple-counting of ballots, as Trump had alleged—Meadows stepped in not to correct Trump, but to twist Raffensperger’s arm. Meadows urged the secretary of state, “in the spirit of cooperation and compromise,” to “look at some of these allegations to find a path forward that’s less litigious.”

That's three episodes in which Meadows, knowing that Trump was spreading falsehoods about the election—as confirmed by Meadows’ own text messages—either kept silent or collaborated in the deception. Meadows has withheld other text messages from congressional investigators, so we have no idea how many other incriminating records he’s hiding.

But we know enough to say this: As President Trump told the public one fake story after another about election fraud—stories that eventually led to a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol, in an attempt to block the democratic transfer of power—the president’s advisers knew, and privately admitted to one another, that his stories weren’t true.

https://www.thebulwark.com/the-most-damning-part-of-the-meadows-texts/