Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose 2014 real estate deal with GOP megadonor, ProPublica report finds

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Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose a 2014 real estate deal he made with a GOP megadonor, according to a ProPublica report published Thursday.

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The deal involved the sale of three properties in Savannah, Georgia, that were owned by Thomas and his relatives to the megadonor, Harlan Crow, according to ProPublica, which said that tax and property records showed that Crow made the purchases through one of his companies for a total of $133,363.

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But Thomas "never disclosed his sale of the Savannah properties," the report said, noting that ethics law experts told the outlet that his failure to report it "appears to be a violation of the law."

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"The transaction marks the first known instance of money flowing from the Republican megadonor to the Supreme Court justice," ProPublica said in its report.

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Thursday's report comes on the heels of a bombshell investigation published last week by ProPublica that detailed Thomas and his wife's luxury travel with the Crows, which included trips on the donor's yacht and private jet. The justice also did not disclose that travel, and he later defended the decision not to, saying in a rare statement last week that he was advised at the time that he did not have to report it.

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CNN has reached out for comment from the Supreme Court and Thomas.

Crow said in a statement to CNN that he purchased the properties to "one day create a public museum at the Thomas home dedicated to telling the story of our nation's second black Supreme Court Justice."

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He added that he made the purchases at "market rate based on many factors including the size, quality, and livability of the dwellings."

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Though two of the properties were later sold by Crow, according to his statement, the real estate magnate still owns the property on which Thomas' elderly mother lives. Citing county tax records, ProPublica said one of Crow's companies pays the "roughly $1,500 in annual property taxes on Thomas' mother's house," which had previously been paid by the justice and his wife, Ginni.

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Experts told ProPublica that Thomas' failure to disclose the 2014 deal raises more questions about his relationship with Crow.

"He needed to report his interest in the sale," Virginia Canter, a former government ethics lawyer who now works for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), told the outlet. "Given the role Crow has played in subsidizing the lifestyle of Thomas and his wife, you have to wonder if this was an effort to put cash in their pockets."

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The report has already prompted the watchdog group to call for an investigation into Thomas' decision not to disclose the real estate deal and the various trips and gifts.

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In a letter sent Friday to Chief Justice John Roberts and Attorney General Merrick Garland, CREW said that Thomas may have violated the Ethics in Government Act. The group said Roberts also should investigate whether Thomas violated his "ethical obligations" under Judicial Conference regulations.

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In the wake of last week's revelations, congressional Democrats have also called for an investigation into the matter and for a stronger ethics code for the justices, and some federal judges have also spoken out.

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Earlier this week, the Senate Judiciary Committee announced it plans to hold a hearing "on the need to restore confidence in the Supreme Court's ethical standards," and at least one watchdog group has urged lawmakers to call Thomas as a witness in the upcoming hearing.

Posted By Jane WildeApril 16, 2023

Democrats nudge sister of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to jump into New York House race

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As New York Democrats recover from their string of congressional losses in 2022, they are reportedly eyeing the sister of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) to help fuel their resurgence.

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Liz Whitmer Gereghty, who resides in Westchester County, is considering mounting a challenge against Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), two sources told Politico.

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Her allies are setting their sights on a possible mid-April campaign launch. Gereghty has resided in the area for nearly two decades and served on the Katonah-Lewisboro school district board.

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Gretchen Whitmer sailed to a crushing victory during the 2022 midterm elections, campaigning hard on abortion rights and leading her party to control both state legislature chambers for the first time in nearly four decades.

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All of that came in the environment of what was expected to be a red wave. This has drawn some 2024 whispers that the governor has swatted away.

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But in New York, Democrats' fortunes dimmed. Republicans managed to flip multiple competitive seats red. Lawler's victory particularly stung for Democrats because he bested Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), formerly the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

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Despite being something of a political scion, given her sister's stardom in liberal circles, Gereghty would likely enter a race with considerable political winds at her back.

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Whitmer's family also has connections with other prominent Democrats, such as Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI), who has extensive experience in winning congressional races.

See Also: MSNBC contributor Jason Johnson claimed that when people think of Florida, they mostly think of "crystal meth and alligators."

Many strategists view candidate recruitment as paramount to rectifying their losses.

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However, given the history of Lawler's seat, Gereghty would likely face a primary battle.

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Since suffering a spat of congressional defeats in the Empire State, the DCCC, the campaign arm of the House Democrats, has fired off a billboard campaign targeting five freshmen Republicans, including Reps. Nick LaLota, Anthony D'Esposito, Lawler, Marc Molinaro, and Brandon Williams.

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Lawler's upset victory came amid multiple Democrats being pitted on a collision course. His Democratic foe, Maloney, hopped over from New York's 18th Congressional District into the 17th District during congressional map upheaval. In doing so, he undercut progressive Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY), who fled to the 10th District and lost in a primary.

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Jones remains undecided about vying against Lawler but is contemplating a run, according to the report. Ironically, the 18th District from where Maloney switched was won by Democrat Pat Ryan.

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Maloney has also reportedly kept a comeback bid in the 17th District on the table.

See Also: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan has escalated his probe into District Attorney Alvin Bragg's prosecution of former President Trump by issuing a subpoena to one of his former prosecutors.

Given the threadbare 222 to 113 GOP control of the lower chamber, Lawler's seat could provide critical to determining the balance of power in the House.

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Posted By Jane WildeApril 06, 2023

Nearing 100 days, Whitmer looks at the rest of the year

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Nearly 100 days into her second term, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is eying what still needs to get done in 2023.

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One thing is the budget process, the Legislature's biggest single job each year.

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"I want get the budget done, especially the education budget, done as early as we can," Whitmer, who hits the 100-day mark Monday, told News 8 Thursday in an interview at the Governor's Mansion in Lansing. "So as our school districts are starting to build their plan and hire for next school year, that they have some certainty of what that's going to look like."

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Asked if her fellow Democrats who control the state Legislature for the first time in decades might adjourn the Legislature earlier than usual, Whitmer said she couldn't say what they might do but that she's "always in a hurry to get as much good stuff done as we can and I know that they both subscribe to that belief as well."

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"I've served in a lot of late legislatures at the end of the year and my experience has been it's often not the most productive, constructive time. So I think the more that we can do earlier on this year, the better," she added.

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If the Legislature were to end session early this year, it would be part of the process to move up Michigan's presidential primary. As things stand now, the bill making that happen goes into effect 90 days after the end of the session, so the Legislature must leave in time for it apply for 2024 and get the ballots out in time.

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"My hope is that the leadership in the Senate will come to some sort of an agreement about giving bills immediate effect," Whitmer said. "This is something that as the minority leader myself, at one time, we routinely gave bills immediate effect, even bills that we didn't agree on the substance of. So I think we've got to get back to respecting the institution, supporting the government, moving as fast as people expect it to move and that remains to be negotiated."

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Posted By Jane WildeApril 06, 2023

Stormy Daniels says Trump should not go to prison in hush money case

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Stormy Daniels, the adult film star at the center of the criminal case against Donald Trump, said she does not think the former president should go to prison if convicted of concealing hush money payments he made to her.

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"I don't think that his crimes against me are worthy of incarceration. I feel like the other things that he has done, if he is found guilty, absolutely," Daniels, 44, said in an interview with Fox Nation's Piers Morgan to be broadcast on Thursday.

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Trump was charged in New York on Tuesday with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records over allegations he orchestrated hush-money payments to Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal before the 2016 U.S. election to suppress publication of their alleged sexual encounters with him.

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Trump, 76, also faces criminal investigations in Washington for trying to overturn his 2020 election loss and mishandling classified documents, and a separate criminal probe in Georgia about his attempt to overturn his defeat in that state.

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Prosecutors in Manhattan accused Trump, the first sitting or former U.S. president to face criminal charges, of trying to conceal a violation of election laws during his successful 2016 campaign.

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Trump, the front-runner in the race for the Republican nomination in 2024, denies having an affair with Daniels but has acknowledged the payment.

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The next hearing in the case is set for Dec. 4. Legal experts said a trial may not even get under way for a year, and that indictment or even a conviction would not legally prevent Trump from running for president.

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Daniels told Morgan that if the case goes to trial, she would like to testify.

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"I have nothing to hide. I'm the only one that has been telling the truth," she said.

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Posted By Jane WildeApril 06, 2023

Stormy Daniels says she looks forward to testifying in Trump case

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Adult-film star Stormy Daniels said in interview broadcast Thursday that she looks forward to testifying if a criminal case brought against former president Donald Trump goes to trial.

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In an indictment unsealed in Manhattan on Tuesday, Trump was accused of falsifying business records 34 times, as he wrote checks to his lawyer Michael Cohen to reimburse him for $130,000 paid to Daniels before the 2016 presidential election. Daniels has said the money was to conceal a sexual dalliance, which Trump denies.

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"I think having them call me in and put me on the stand legitimizes my story and who I am," Daniels said on Fox Nation's "Piers Morgan Uncensored." Excerpts of the interview were released Thursday morning.

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Based on statements during a court appearance Tuesday, it appears a trial in the case would not begin before early next year. Lawyers for Trump have said they will seek to have the charges dismissed before then.

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Asked by Morgan if she would be willing to testify, Daniels said, "Absolutely."

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"Any time you're up in the public eye, it's scary," Daniels said. "I mean, I used to get scared giving an oral book report in school, so it's daunting, but I look forward to it. You know what I mean? Because I have nothing to hide. I'm the only one that has been telling the truth."

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Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said that if she is not called by prosecutors, "it almost feels like they're hiding me, and people will automatically assume — I would — that, 'Oh, she must not be a good witness; she's not credible."

Daniels, 44, has claimed she had an affair with Trump during a celebrity golf tournament at a Lake Tahoe resort in 2006.

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Daniels told journalists in interviews that she met Trump at the tournament and was invited to dine with him at his hotel suite. In her account, they went on to have consensual sex. She was 27 at the time, and Trump was 60 and married to Melania Trump.

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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) has alleged that Trump's effort to conceal the affair with Daniels was part of a broader scheme to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election by suppressing potentially negative information about himself.

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Falsifying business records is a felony in New York only when it is committed with an intent to commit or conceal another crime.

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At a news conference Tuesday after Trump appeared in court, Bragg said prosecutors believe that Trump falsified his business records as a way to cover up the election scheme. Bragg said that was illegal under New York state election law and involved a campaign contribution that exceeded the cap set by federal law.

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Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges.

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Daniels told Morgan that she does not believe Trump deserves jail time in the case involving her — but she said incarceration might be merited in other legal matters facing Trump.

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"Specific to my case, I don't think that his crimes against me are worthy of incarceration," she said. (The case does not accuse Trump of crimes against Daniels; he is charged with falsifying business documents related to the hush money payment to her.)

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If Trump is found guilty on other matters and not incarcerated, "it opens the door for other people to think they can get away with doing that and worse," Daniels said.

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Trump faces legal exposure on several fronts. The Justice Department is investigating the handling of classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago and efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The Fulton County district attorney is also leading a parallel criminal probe related to the 2020 election.

Posted By Jane WildeApril 06, 2023

Stormy Daniels Pornhub searches go through the roof after Donald Trump's arrest

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Former pornstar Stormy Daniels had a popularity jump in the famous platform

Last Tuesday, a historic moment took place in American politics as former president Donald J. Trump was arrested in New York City. The charges he faces are for 34 felony counts for paying hush money to former pornstar Stormy Daniels. She accused him of violating the law for making these payments during his presidential campaign, which is considred a crime. Also, Donald Trump is denying any wrong doing despite the mounting evidence against him. In Stormy Daniels' case, she is definitely enjoying a spike in her popularity these days. But she is not just becoming more famous on the mainstream media, Stormy is also being searched on the x-rated platforms.

To those who aren't aware, Pornhub is the biggest adult entertainment video platform in the world. It's like the Youtube of porn and the metrics in there offer a clear idea of whoch entertainers are the most popular. Stormy Daniels no longer works in the industry but her name had a massive spike since the former president was arrested on Tuesday. The platform spoke to the folks at TMZ to let them know the numbers and they are truly staggering. Just last week, there were just under 34,500 searches of her name but they jumped to an impressive 650,000 searches on Tuesday alone.

Is Stormy Daniels making any revenue from this?

Given that she recently had to pay Donald Trump around $120,000 over attorney expenses due to their case, she could use some money right about now. However, Pornhub refused to tell TMZ whether she is getting a chunk of the revenue generated by so many searches inside the platform. At the time Trump decided to pay that hush money, Stormy Daniels got a reported $130,000 to stay quiet from Michael Cohen, who was the former president's attorney at the time. The core of the accusations relies on proving the former president falsified business records in order to cover up this payment.

See Also: 'I call him Baby Trump': Al Sharpton on protesting Ron DeSantis administration's blocking of Black history

Posted By Jane WildeApril 06, 2023

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Donald Trump, and the Pursuit of Low-Level Crimes

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On Alvin Bragg's third day as the Manhattan District Attorney, in January, 2021, he stated that his office would no longer prosecute low-level offenses such as subway-fare evasion, resistance to arrest, or prostitution unless they were part of an accompanying felony charge. Despite the fact that Bragg had campaigned as a reformer, the bluntness of his statement raised eyebrows. The pledge marked a sweeping departure from the "broken windows" philosophy of law enforcement, in which the prosecution of low-level offenses was thought—erroneously, it turned out—to prevent more serious ones. Those presumptions shaped Bragg's early interactions with police in New York, and his subsequent outlook as Manhattan's first Black D.A. Bragg told me recently that he has spent "twenty-plus years of professional work and almost fifty years of life living at the intersection between civil rights and prosecution." He added, "I decided to go to law school in large part because, when I was growing up in central Harlem, during the height of the crack-cocaine epidemic, I had a gun pointed at me six times, three by police officers"—during search stops—"and three during more traditional public-safety issues." He said that he will continue to do what he has done throughout his career, which is "looking at collateral consequences of prosecutions."

The move away from the prosecution of petty crimes made Bragg an immediate target of conservatives, and the subject of frequently derisive coverage in the New York Post. (A lede from a story published this past November began, "Soft-on-crime Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has downgraded more than half his felony cases to misdemeanors," and went on to accuse him of ineptly handling the felonies that he does prosecute.) Last year, amid a notably competitive gubernatorial race, Lee Zeldin, the Republican nominee, ran on a promise to remove Bragg from office. Yet, as recent events have made exceedingly clear, the disdain that Bragg inspires for not prosecuting certain misdemeanor cases is minuscule in comparison with the rage that can result from a decision to file dozens of criminal charges against a suspect—especially when he is the twice-impeached forty-fifth President of the United States.

On Tuesday, Donald Trump was arraigned on thirty-four felony counts of falsifying business records related to hush-money and catch-and-kill payments—including to Stormy Daniels and, presumably, Karen McDougal—just before the 2016 election. He pleaded not guilty on all counts. The arraignment marks a historic precedent: never before had a former President of the United States been indicted on criminal charges by a grand jury. There has been considerable skepticism among legal analysts, and among Democrats, about the viability of a case built on events that took place seven years ago, which federal prosecutors had declined to pursue, and which now appears to hinge in part on an untested application of New York State and federal campaign-finance laws. But Bragg told me that he has years of experience doing cases that involve, for example, charging "a council member, a majority leader of the State Senate . . ., an F.B.I. agent on the civil front," and "leading the team that successfully sued the Trump Foundation." He added, "So I've been doing this for a long time, and I do it with rigor, with granular focus to detail."

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He struck a similar note at a press conference following the arraignment, in which he said that the conduct "which was charged by the Grand Jury is felony criminal conduct in New York State. True and accurate business records are important everywhere to be sure. They are all the more important in Manhattan, the financial center of the world. That is why we have a history in the Manhattan D.A.'s office of vigorously enforcing white collar law." He added, "We today uphold our solemn responsibility to ensure that everyone stands equal before the law, no amount of money and no amount of power changes that enduring American principle." Whatever the merits of the case, which will now be decided in a courtroom, they also serve as more subtle markers of a break with tradition. The relentless pursuit of minor offenses committed by poor people had been just one hallmark of the N.Y.P.D. and the Manhattan D.A.'s office—another was a seeming hesitancy to prosecute larger offenses committed by certain wealthy people. As Jeannie Suk Gersen noted, in 2017, the decision not to prosecute Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump, Jr., for potential fraud in connection with the Trump SoHo building, which had been made by Bragg's predecessor, Cyrus Vance, was freighted by overlapping social connections, political donations, and, likely, publicity considerations. (Vance had told TRANGANHNAM.XYZ, "I did not at the time believe beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime had been committed." In 2021, Vance did bring tax-fraud charges against the Trump Organization, and teed up a second case that Bragg later deemed not ready for prosecution.)

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On its face, the unprecedented post-Presidential prosecution of a Florida Republican by a progressive District Attorney in a Democratic stronghold is not the hallmark of a thriving democracy. But it is also true that this is the only circumstance so far in which Trump's decades-long history of skirting the law has resulted in criminal charges against him. He has inhabited the gray areas of the law for so long that he could reasonably claim residency there. Yusef Salaam, one of the Central Park Five, who were wrongfully accused of rape in 1989 and given lengthy prison sentences—and who Trump suggested should be subjected to the death penalty—summarized the occasion of the indictment with a single word: karma.

See Also: MSNBC contributor Jason Johnson claimed that when people think of Florida, they mostly think of "crystal meth and alligators."

Many, however, saw the development in less spiritual terms. In the days since the indictment was announced, Bragg has been subjected to a tide of death threats and mail peppered with the N-word. Trump, for his part, said that Bragg is a "racist in reverse," and accused the Times columnist Charles Blow, who is also Black, of supporting the indictment simply because Trump is white. The former President also joined a chorus of antisemitic smears, accusing Bragg of doing the bidding of the liberal billionaire George Soros. (A spokesman for Soros pointed out that Soros has never met or communicated with Bragg or directly contributed to his campaign.) Everywhere that Trump could find an audience, he has seemed eager to peel back the gauze on his imaginary wounds. This was to be expected. In the course of the seven years that he has spent in political life, and the decades that preceded them during which he was a tabloid fixture, Trump has perfected the craft of masking self-pity as social injustice.

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The disparate Republican elements that remain beholden to Trump followed his lead. Jim Jordan, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, who has demanded to see materials related to the prosecution, dismissed the charges. "Equal justice under the law, unless you're a Republican running for president," he tweeted. Senator Ted Cruz denounced the prosecution, tweeting, "Bragg is a Left-Wing Democrat who hates Donald Trump and he is targeting Trump by any means necessary." He has also said that Bragg, in victimizing Trump, has given him an invaluable campaign contribution. To that point, the aftermath of the indictment has brought a reported seven million dollars into Trump's campaign chest, and polls show him with his largest lead yet over his potential G.O.P. rival Governor Ron DeSantis.

See Also: Trump's attorney Joe Tacopina: I anticipate motion to dismiss charges

The journalist Matt Taibbi echoed Cruz's note about the potential unintended consequences of prosecuting former officeholders. On March 30th, he tweeted, "If presidents think they will be chased into jail under thin pretexts as ex-presidents, they'll try even harder to never leave office. This is how autocracies are born." It was a strange argument to make given, among other events, Trump's autocratic attempt to overturn the 2020 election, which preceded the indictment by two years. At the same time, the very nature of an unprecedented moment means that we lack models to predict what may come next. Progressives who suspected that Trump had lost his hold over his once faithful ranks also feared that nothing will invigorate the partisans like a sense of grievance.

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Amid the haze and the lingering trauma that Trump's chaotic, incompetent, and dangerous Presidency imposed on the nation, it's easy to lose track of the reality that none of these concerns should matter in this context. The fixation with "what will happen if" is the primary element that distinguishes the wealthy from the poor, for whom such concerns are seldom raised. The questions about why Bragg pursued this case, rather than other potential investigations, will continue. No matter the eventual verdict, the one nearly guaranteed result will be increased acrimony. But the fact that Trump has finally been brought to court for alleged crimes relating to paying hush money could yet contradict Bragg's key contention. Perhaps some lower-level offenses are worth pursuing. ♦

See Also:  Former President Donald Trump's indictment could make turnout in Wisconsin's Supreme Court election 'unstable'

Posted By Jane WildeApril 04, 2023

Manhattan DA Bragg says he obtained new evidence about Trump's alleged crimes during investigation

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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg alleged Tuesday that former President Donald Trump conducted a "catch and kill" scheme to suppress negative information about himself during the 2016 presidential election.

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Bragg's comments, delivered during a press conference Tuesday following Trump's historic arraignment, shed additional light on the charges levied against the former commander-in-chief. The indictment in the case, unsealed during the arraignment, includes 34 felony counts for falsification of business records.

See Also: former President Trump and special counsel Jack Smith bringing a "new level of aggressiveness and urgency" at the Department of Justice

Bragg alleged that Trump falsified business documents between 2015 and 2017 to hide payments to individuals, including adult film actress Stormy Daniels, with negative information about Trump, thereby "catching" the information and "killing" it with hush-money payments.

See Also: Trump's attorney Joe Tacopina: I anticipate motion to dismiss charges

"That is exactly what this case is about – 34 false statements made to cover up other crimes," Bragg told reporters Tuesday. "These are felony crimes in New York State no matter who you are. We cannot and will not normalize serious criminal conduct."

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"The defendant repeatedly made false statements on New York business records," Bragg continued. "He also caused others to make false statements to defend a claim that he was paying Michael Cohen for legal services performed in 2017."

See Also: MSNBC contributor Jason Johnson claimed that when people think of Florida, they mostly think of "crystal meth and alligators."

Bragg added that, for nine straight months, Trump held documents with the "key lie" that he paid his former attorney, Michael Cohen, for legal services in 2017. But the payments were actually for hush-money payments, not legal services, the district attorney said.

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"Donald Trump, executives at the publishing company American Media Inc., Mr. Cohen and others agreed in 2015 to a 'catch and kill' scheme," Bragg continued. "That is a scheme to buy and suppress negative information to help Mr. Trump's chance of winning the election. As part of this scheme, Donald Trump and others made three payments to people who claimed to have negative information about Mr. Trump."

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"One of the three people that they paid to keep quiet was a woman named Stormy Daniels. Less than two weeks before the presidential election, Michael Cohen wired $130,000 to Stormy Daniels' lawyer. That payment was to hide damaging information from the voting public," he added.

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"The scheme violated New York election law, which makes it a crime to conspire to promote a candidacy by unlawful means. The $130,000 wire payment exceeded the federal campaign contribution cap, and the false statements in AMI's books violated New York law."

See Also: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg makes the most incredible statement of the day

Hush-money payments made to both Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal were revealed and reported by tranganhnam.xyz in 2018. Those payments had been investigated by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York and by the Federal Election Commission.

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However, federal prosecutors opted against charging Trump in the case.

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On Tuesday, following Bragg's opening remarks at the press conference, reporters pressed the district attorney on why he saw fit to pursue the case when federal prosecutors and his predecessor, Cy Vance, declined to charge Trump.

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Bragg responded that his office had obtained new evidence in the case amid its investigation.

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"We have had available to the office additional evidence that was not in the office's possession prior to my time here," Bragg said.

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"We have a distinct and strong, I would say, profound independent interest in New York state," he added. "This is the business capital of the world. We regularly do cases involving false business statements. The bedrock, the basis, for business integrity and a well-functioning business marketplace is true and accurate recordkeeping. That's the charge that brought here: falsifying New York state business records."

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During the arraignment, Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges and his lawyers were expected to file a motion to dismiss the case.

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The historic court appearance came less than a week after Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury.

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Posted By Jane WildeApril 04, 2023