Trump supporters and conspiracy theory - Part 2

[Rick Plant]

This is who Wyoming just voted for. Another MAGA extremist QAnon loon that worships Donald Trump as a cult leader.

Harriet Hageman

[Rick Plant]

Trump Org could be ‘extinguished’ and he could lose liability protections for his properties: tax expert



Donald Trump may lose his Trump Organization empire following the disposition of a legal case in Manhattan.

Longtime Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg pleaded guilty on Thursday to 15 charges stemming from a tax avoidance scheme at the former president's company.

Weisselberg attorney Nicholas Gravante Jr. told The New York Times, "rather than risk the possibility of 15 years in prison, he has agreed to serve 100 days."

CNN's Erin Burnett interviewed Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Cay Johnston about Weisselberg agreeing to testify in the Trump Organization trial. Johnston, who has taught taxes at Syracuse Law, is one of the few journalists who has obtained parts of Trump's tax returns.

"What happens to the Trump Organization, to the real estate company here, when this is all said and done?" Burnett asked.

"Well, it's possible in this case or the Letitia James civil case, that the Trump Organization at the top will be extinguished," Johnston replied.

"Donald can still own his properties, but own them directly and the liability shield from having a corporation goes away," he explained. "So something horrible happens, his liability personally goes way up. This is bad news for him."

"Now that Weisselberg has confessed that he's a thief, a felon, a serial felon, there may be difficulty with banks and trying to get any new financing," Johnston noted.

Watch:

[Rick Plant]

Here's more lies from the GOP.

This is coming from the Official GOP Twitter account but it's the same phony talking points that the right wing media pushes on a daily basis to their gullible base.


GOP @GOP

Americans are seeing a historic border crisis that Joe Biden created.
#BidenBorderCrisis

https://twitter.com/GOP/status/1560267022339952641


GOP @GOP

Border Patrol agents have made about 1.82 million arrests at the southern border in the government’s fiscal year so far.

https://twitter.com/GOP/status/1559791133647052800


These are the garbage talking points right wingers push all day long.

First of all, Biden did not "create a border crisis". He was handed a border crisis by Criminal Donald who made a disaster out of our southern border. You can easily see the date from the article below.

Second, all those arrests prove Biden's border policy is working because illegals are not making it into the United States since they are being arrested. The GOP tries to pathetically gaslight people into thinking arrests are "bad".

That's what the GOP does....lies, gaslights, and pushes conspiracy theories.

So, you can see the article directly below is dated April 5, 2019. Biden was not in office in 2019. So, he did not "create a border crisis" in which the Official GOP Twitter account lied about above. Criminal Donald was in office in 2019 and he failed to fix the border crisis HE created and handed off to Biden along with the rest of his disasters.

See how the GOP lies? Donnie created the border crisis but right wingers lie using projection accusing Biden instead when he wasn't even in office in 2019. The GOP exists to lie and cover up for Criminal Donald. Absolutely pathetic.

For 4 years Criminal Donald failed to achieve a border security policy with Mexico. He claimed he would make Mexico pay for a  wall. Mexico laughed at him and mocked him refusing to pay for anything. Donnie failed miserably.

Just a few weeks ago, President Biden met with the Mexican President and easily got him to pay $1.5 Billion for border security.

President Biden did what Donnie could never do. So, when you see the GOP lie accusing President Biden of "not securing the border" you will know it's already been secured as Mexico is paying to secure the border thanks to President Biden.

                 
Yes, There’s a Crisis on the Border. And It’s Trump’s Fault.
April 05, 2019
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/04/05/border-crisis-donald-trump-226573/

Mexico agrees to provide $1.5 billion to help U.S. manage migrants on southern border
The agreement was discussed Tuesday when Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador met with President Joe Biden at the White House.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/mexico-agrees-provide-15-billion-help-us-manage-migrants-southern-bord-rcna37889

[Rick Plant]

'Smart strategy': CNN's Elie Honig explains how DOJ has made it easier to nail Trump

CNN legal analyst Elie Honig on Friday laid out how the United States Department of Justice had made it easier to potentially prove that former President Donald Trump violated the Espionage Act by stashing away top secret government documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

In breaking down newly released documents related to the Mar-a-Lago search, Honig zeroed in the fact that the DOJ is saying it has evidence of willful retention of classified documents.

"As a prosecutor you don't shoot for the highest possible statute, you don't have to go right to the James Bond stuff if there is an easier way to get there," he said. "And this, the description of the crime that we now see in this document willful retention of national defense information, that's the easiest way to prove it. That's smart strategy."

Honig emphasized, however, that the DOJ did not name Trump specifically as the person who may have willfully retained documents, he said it's hard to imagine anyone else at Mar-a-Lago being guilty of this crime, as Trump is the one who "calls the shots."

"It would shock me if it was anybody but Donald Trump," he emphasized.

Watch the video below:

[Rick Plant]

DOJ 'concerned something nefarious was going on' with Trump and top-secret documents: WaPo reporter



The Department of Justice believes former President Donald Trump may have been up to "something nefarious" by stashing top-secret government documents at his private resort in Florida.

FBI agents searched Mar-A-Lago last week and seized 11 sets of documents the National Archives had been seeking for more than a year, and Washington Post reporter Amber Phillips told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that recent court filings showed investigators were interested in more than simply getting those papers back.

"Step back and try to think about this because there is a lot going on, and it's all heating up right now," Phillips said. "I think we're right to be talking about this Mar-A-Lago raid a lot, and that's because the FBI agents had to go out there and spell out examples of crimes they think Trump or his allies committed in Trump's residence, and a judge agreed that there is possible cause. I mean, it's right there. This is pretty serious."

"Now the question that I have and legal experts have that I talk to have said is, did the FBI just want the documents badly enough to go in there and get them and then they're done, or do they think there was some kind of misuse, and yesterday's hearing, I thought, in court, reading a little bit of the tea leaves underscored that the FBI and the Justice Department are concerned that something nefarious was going on," Phillips added. "There is still an ongoing case, we'll mess up our prosecution if we keep this going. That is the No. 1 case to follow, and after that there is another Justice Department investigation into Jan. 6 that has hundreds of defendants, and they're looking into President Trump's words and actions regarding the Electoral College votes, and we could talk more about that in a minute. But it is a big one."

Watch the video below:

[Rick Plant]

Federal judge denies Lindsey Graham's latest 'unpersuasive' attempt to evade grand jury subpoena



For the second time this week a federal judge has denied U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham‘s attempt to evade a grand jury subpoena requiring him to testify in the investigation of Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, calling his legal argument “unpersuasive.”

U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May Friday afternoon responded to Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis’ request to order the GOP Senator from South Carolina to appear before the Special Purpose Grand Jury (SPGJ).

“Senator Graham’s arguments are entirely unpersuasive,” Judge May writes, as Politico’s Kyle Cheney notes, “and they do not even demonstrate a ‘substantial case on the merits.’ As an initial matter, Senator Graham takes issue with the Court’s recognition that his sole request-to quash the subpoena in its entirety–was built largely (if not entirely) on the premise that Senator Graham will only be questioned about the phone calls, which Senator Graham characterizes as legitimate legislative factfinding exercises and thus completely protected by the Speech or Debate Clause.”

“Instead, Senator Graham maintains that he believes that the ‘other topics’ will simply be used as a ‘backdoor’ for questioning him about the phone calls,” the judge adds. “The problem for Senator Graham is that the record thoroughly contradicts his suggestion that the District Attorney and grand jury simply wish to use questions on other topics as a ‘backdoor’ to asking him about the legislative fact- finding on the phone calls.”

Judge May found Sen. Graham had “no basis” to claim he should not be ordered to testify, and ordered him to testify on August 23.

“The Court finds no basis for concluding that its holdings as to these issues are likely to be reversed on the merits,” Judge May wrote. “Holding otherwise would allow any sitting senator to shield all manner of potential criminal conduct occurring during a phone call merely by asserting the purpose of the call was legislative fact-finding-no matter whether the call subsequently took a different turn.”

Graham still has other avenues to use to try to evade the lawful subpoena.

As Politico’s Kyle Cheney, who broke this development notes, “the question of a stay rests with the appeals court, which received Graham’s case yesterday.”

Judge May appears to strongly agree with DA Willis’ assessment. The judge writes, “the public interest is well-served when a lawful investigation aimed at uncovering the facts and circumstances of alleged attempts to disrupt or influence Georgia’s elections is allowed to proceed without unnecessary encumbrances.”

In her motion Friday morning Willis wrote, “Senator Graham insists that he seeks to delay his appearance before the Special Purpose Grand Jury not just for his own sake, but also for the sake of the separation of powers, federalism, and ‘for the People.’”

“The Special Purpose Grand Jury, however, is the People,” Willis eloquently explained, “a collection of citizens called together to perform their civic duty on behalf of their neighbors and families. They have sacrificed their time, effort, energy, and attention for months in order to investigate matters that affect themselves, their community, and the nation as a whole. The District Attorney asks that this Court deny Senator Graham’s motion in order that he, for a single day, can assist them in that great task without further delay. The People have requested Senator Graham’s testimony and stand ready to receive it. All that is left is for the Senator to meet them.”

https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1560687983304609793

[Rick Plant]

Appeals court orders release of key memo Bill Barr used to justify refusal to prosecute Trump in Mueller probe



The Department of Justice must release a full copy of a March 2019 memo supporting then-attorney general William Barr's conclusion that Donald Trump should not be prosecuted in the Russia investigation.

The District of Columbia Circuit court affirmed a 2021 decision by U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordering the release of the Justice Department memo, which concluded the former president should not be prosecuted for obstruction of justice by special counsel Robert Mueller.

"The court determined that the Department had failed to carry its burden to show the deliberative-process privilege applied," the appeals court found. "In particular, the court held that the Department had not identified a relevant agency decision as to which the memorandum formed part of the deliberations. The Department’s submissions, the court explained, indicated that the memorandum conveyed advice about whether to charge the President with a crime. But the court’s in camera review of the memorandum revealed that the Department in fact never considered bringing a charge."

"Instead, the memorandum concerned a separate decision that had gone entirely unmentioned by the government in its submissions to the court — what, if anything, to say to Congress and the public about the Mueller Report," the court added.

Jackson's ruling two years ago accused Barr of being “disingenuous” when describing Mueller’s findings and found the DOJ was not candid about the purpose and role of the memo, which was prepared by the department's Office of Legal Counsel.

“Not only was the Attorney General being disingenuous then, but DOJ has been disingenuous to this Court with respect to the existence of a decision-making process that should be shielded by the deliberative process privilege,” she wrote. “The agency’s redactions and incomplete explanations obfuscate the true purpose of the memorandum, and the excised portions belie the notion that it fell to the Attorney General to make a prosecution decision or that any such decision was on the table at any time.”

AFP



Trump legal adviser ordered to testify in 2020 election interference probe



A judge in Colorado on Tuesday ordered a legal adviser for former President Donald Trump’s campaign to travel to Georgia to testify before a special grand jury that’s looking into whether Trump and others illegally tried to influence the 2020 election in Georgia.

Judge Gregory Lammons in Fort Collins, Colorado, made the decision after holding a hearing on a request from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to compel testimony from attorney Jenna Ellis. Prosecutors are interested in Ellis’s role in helping to coordinate and plan legislative hearings in Georgia and others states where false allegations of election fraud were pushed, according to testimony in court.

Fulton County prosecutors have purchased plane tickets and made a hotel reservation in preparation for Ellis to testify on Aug. 25.

The investigation, prompted by a January 2021 phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, began early last year. During that call, Trump suggested Raffensperger could “find” the votes to overturn his narrow election loss in the state. It has become clear since the special grand jury was seated in May that the focus of the investigation extends well beyond that call.

Willis last month filed petitions with the judge overseeing the special grand jury seeking to compel testimony from seven Trump associates and advisers, including Ellis, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and former New York mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani. Because they don’t live in Georgia, she had to use a process that involves getting a judge in the state where they’re located to order them to appear before the special grand jury in Atlanta.

Giuliani, who’s been notified he’s a target of the investigation, is set to testify before the special grand jury on Wednesday. Graham’s subpoena orders him to testify on Aug. 23, but he has said he’ll appeal a judge’s Monday order declining to quash his subpoena.

In the petition seeking Ellis’s testimony, Willis identified her as “an attorney for the Trump Campaign’s legal efforts seeking to influence the results of the November 2020 election in Georgia and elsewhere.”

https://news.yahoo.com/trump-legal-adviser-ordered-testify-222057033.html