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How Trump is distorting what happened to Jaleel Stallings to attack Kamala Harris



On Tuesday, the Trump campaign accused Vice President Kamala Harris of encouraging people in 2020 to bail out of jail a St. Paul man who tried to kill Minneapolis cops five days after George Floyd’s police murder.

Trump’s “war room” posted on X that Harris raised money to bail Jaleel Stallings out of jail after he was “charged with the attempted murder of two police officers” alongside a photo of Harris laughing and Stallings’ mug shot.

“Kamala Harris is radically liberal and dangerously incompetent,” the post said.

It’s true that Stallings was charged with attempted murder, but the Trump campaign fails to mention that Stallings was acquitted by a jury of all charges and one officer involved in the incident later pleaded guilty to felony assault on Stallings, and apologized to him.

On the night of May 30, 2020, Stallings was standing in a parking lot on Lake Street with a few others when suddenly shots rang out from a white cargo van that had been slowly creeping down the street before coming into view from behind a building. Two rounds were fired at the group.

Stallings was hit in the chest with what he thought was a bullet. He immediately drew his pistol and fired back at who he thought might be white supremacists that the governor had warned were fanning the flames of protest. He later testified that he purposely missed, aiming low, toward the front of the van, hoping to scare off whoever had shot at him.

Suddenly members of a SWAT team piled out of the unmarked van yelling, “Shots fired!” Stallings realized they were police, dropped his gun and lay face down on the pavement, arms spread-eagle, videos show.

He’d been shot with one of the plastic projectiles the SWAT team had been firing at people out past a curfew as police struggled to get control of the city amid protests, arson and riots. Even though they were firing “less lethal” projectiles, under MPD policy, officers weren’t supposed to target a person’s head, neck, throat or chest “unless deadly force is justified,” because they could cause permanent damage or death.

Thinking someone had just tried to shoot them, the officers beat Stallings bloody for 30 seconds, and beat and Tasered his acquaintance for two minutes. Stallings was hospitalized with a fractured eye socket. Stallings is clearly beaten and bloody in his jail mug shot, but he had a weird smile on his face. He later said he was just happy to be alive.

Then-Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman released a statement painting Stallings as a would-be cop killer.

Two years later, Freeman would say the cops lied about what happened, and called the case “justice run amok.” But immediately after the incident, the case made national headlines based on charging documents that said Stallings fired at a uniformed SWAT team.

The case made headlines again when the Minnesota Freedom Fund paid $75,000 cash to get Stallings out of jail. He had no prior criminal record.

After Biden campaign officials donated to the Freedom Fund, then-President Donald Trump’s War Room used the case to raise money, tweeting that “Jaleel Stallings is a would-be cop killer who was in jail for firing at police during ‘peaceful protests.’ Now he’s free thanks in part to Biden campaign officials who donated to pay bail fees.”

And then everybody moved on, until Stallings went to trial a year later.

Stallings’ attorney Eric Rice obtained the officers’ body camera videos, which told a different story than what police and prosecutors had told the public.

Months after the trial, the Reformer was the first to report that Stallings had been exonerated. He’d claimed self-defense, and after a five-day trial, was acquitted by a jury of eight charges, including two counts of attempting to murder police officers.

The city later settled a civil lawsuit with Stallings for $1.5 million, and another lawsuit filed by his acquaintance, who’d been beaten and tasered, for $645,000.

And yet Stallings continues to be tarred and used for political gain.

U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota posted on X Monday that Harris once supported “a bail fund for Minnesota criminals who should have stayed behind bars.”

The Trump campaign followed suit Tuesday with its post highlighting Harris’ June 1, 2020 post encouraging people to donate to the Minnesota Freedom Fund. Spurred on by celebrities like Seth Rogen, Steve Carrell and Harris, the tiny bail fund was overwhelmed with over $30 million in donations, which it used to bail out over 2,000 people as part of its goal of ending the cash bail system in which only people without money have to sit in jail awaiting trial, often at the expense of jobs, housing and family support.

The bail fund was established in 2016 by a University of Minnesota grad student, Simon Cecil, and due to its meager resources initially focused on bails of up to $1,000.

The bail fund has been excoriated for bailing out a twice-convicted rapist and a man who was charged with second-degree murder three weeks after his release, but stands by its decision to bail out Stallings over four years ago.

“We’re really proud of having paid for (Stallings),” spokesperson Noble Frank said last year.

Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Minnesota Reformer maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor J. Patrick Coolican for questions: info@minnesotareformer.com. Follow Minnesota Reformer on Facebook and X.

Fox News invites Kamala Harris to presidential debate at urging of Donald Trump



Following Donald Trump's suggestion, Fox News proposed hosting a debate between the former president and Vice President Kamala Harris in September.

After Harris became the de facto Democratic presidential nominee, Trump hinted he would back out of a pre-planned debate on ABC News. In a Truth Social post, Trump said the debate should be moved to Fox News.

"Now that Vice President Kamala Harris is the presumptive Democratic nominee, FOX News Media is amending our proposal for a debate this cycle," the network wrote in a letter to both campaigns on Wednesday. "We propose to host the debate in the state of Pennsylvania on Tuesday, September 17, just as early voting is getting underway there and in other key battlegrounds."

Fox News put forward Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum as the "best choices" to moderate the debate.

Exclusive: Harris? Newsom? Whitmer? GOP delegates dish on who they want Trump to face

"In recognition of FOX News Media's capabilities and reputation, we cordially extend an invitation to all concerned parties to discuss our proposal," the letter said.

‘Never heard anything so ridiculous’: Lawmaker mocked over effort to impeach Kamala Harris



Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) introduced articles of impeachment against Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday, following a House GOP caucus meeting in which members frantically strategized over how to stop momentum for Harris' newly kicked-off presidential campaign.

The impeachment articles proclaim that Harris has committed high crimes and misdemeanors through "incompetence" in her role as "border czar" (a position she has never actually had) and then proceed to cite several anecdotes of women killed by unauthorized migrants, as well as the fact that over 50 million fentanyl pills were seized by DEA in 2022 (even though seizures indicate the law is being enforced, and even though most of it is seized during border crossings at checkpoints, often from U.S. citizens.)

Nowhere in the resolution does it list a purported act of misconduct or abuse of power by Harris — something that was noticed by commenters on social media who roundly ridiculed the measure.

Read also: AOC introduces impeachment resolutions against Justices Alito and Thomas

"Ogles claims in this resolution that Harris is the 'designated border czar,' a nonexistent position that Biden did not name her to," wrote immigration law expert Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, providing a link to the White House announcement on the subject. "Here is the primary source. Biden is clear that Harris agreed to lead the admin's diplomatic 'root causes' strategy only."

"These idiots need a new bag of tricks. This is so tiresome," wrote "Mrs. Betty Bowers," the satirical Christian fundamentalist persona of Canadian comedian Deven Green.

"What a stupid move," wrote the account @TisMoreorLess.

"This is great in that it shows just how panicked they are," wrote the account @SundaeDivine.

"I've never heard anything so ridiculous," wrote the account @sandiechill.

"They have nothing except their own embarrassment at this point," wrote the account @J_Pauselius.

"The Republican party is the political retribution party. They've done nothing for the American people," wrote the account @DenisonBarbs.

Ogles, who has come under fire for embellishing his political resume before being elected and has faced an ethics complaint over his campaign finances, is no stranger to pushing politically charged show bills. Last month, he vowed to introduce a "No Juicing Joe" bill that would have required President Joe Biden to disclose whenever he takes a "mind-altering stimulant."

Read excerpts of the impeachment resolution below or at the link here.

‘Homesick’ MAGA rioter who tried to claim asylum in Ireland arrested on return to U.S.



Wisconsin Trump supporter Paul Kovacik tried to flee the country and claim asylum in Ireland — only to grow homesick, return to America, and promptly get arrested.

In a legal filing flagged by Politico's Kyle Cheney it was revealed that Kovacik late last year fled to Dublin to claim asylum shortly before he was to begin what was supposed to have been a 90-day prison sentence.

However, it seems that Kovacik couldn't last more than seven months in a foreign country.

"On June 19, 2024, Kovacik decided to voluntarily return to the United States from Ireland," the court filing states. "Kovacik advised that he... had recently decided to voluntarily withdraw his asylum claim and return to the United States because he felt 'homesick.'"

ALSO READ: Harris leads Trump in first poll taken since Biden quit

Kovacik then flew into Minneapolis, where he was "promptly arrested" and taken to Hennepin County Jail before being transferred to a prison in Chicago where he is currently serving his original 90-day prison sentence.

However, even after getting out of jail, he may get additional time, as the court filing states that "there is probable cause to believe that" he broke the law that "makes it a crime to fail to surrender for service of a sentence pursuant to a court order."

Major donor believes Democrats ‘squandered’ chance to draft party’s next ‘Lebron James’



A big-time donor for President Joe Biden thinks the Democrats missed a big opportunity by passing the ball to Vice President Kamala Harris without a convention, and he won’t be funding her run.

John Morgan, a Florida attorney and major donor for previous Democratic candidates, shared his views with Fox News host Neil Cavuto on Tuesday afternoon on why he’s not giving the Democratic presidential nominee any money.

“Harris brings a lot of great things to the table,” Morgan said. “Is she the best messenger? Is she the best person? Is her way the best way to go forward? And for me, I don’t think so.”

He compared the convention process to a fantasy basketball draft, noting that any smart player’s top draft should be a no-brainer.

“We would pick Lebron James,” Morgan said. “We had that type of opportunity but they seem to be squandering it by taking a lesser pick.”

Read also: ‘I’m out’: Major Biden donor reveals why he’s not backing Kamala Harris

Cavuto pressed Morgan on who he thinks his party’s Lebron James is, and he listed off several party favorites: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Witmer – noting that a vetted combination of star players would be the strongest choice.

But that ship has sailed, Morgan said, adding that whoever she picks as a running mate is irrelevant at this point.

“The deal is done. I don’t think there’s anything more that can be done,” Morgan said. “People vote for president, they don't vote for vice president.”

Watch the clip below or at this link.

‘By hell, she’s impressive’: Kamala Harris gets thumbs up for energetic Wisconsin speech



Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a speech before an enthusiastic crowd in Milwaukee on Tuesday that earned plaudits from many progressive political observers — as well as relief about the contrast she delivers between herself and both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.

Harris, who was endorsed by Biden on Sunday after he announced that he would be dropping out of the 2024 race, delivered a fiery address that touched on themes ranging from voting rights to reproductive freedoms to gun safety.

Writing on Twitter, many progressives took immediate note of the jolt of energy she had injected into the campaign.

"Elections are about all kinds of things, but I think a happy person talking about the future fits the moment better than an angry old man yelling about the past," argued Slate columnist Zachary Carter.

Watching Kamala Harris speaking in Wisconsin... By hell she’s impressive," wrote British broadcaster and media personality Carol Vorderman. "And she’s going to win … she’s energizing the young voters and has no fear of the fight."

RELATED: Harris leads Trump in first poll taken since Biden quit

NYU Law professor Chris Sprigman, meanwhile, praised Harris for delivering "a smiling, warm, positive affect, combined with coherent, declarative sentences in plain English."

"The election is going to be hard-fought," he added. "But God what a relief."

"So glad Harris is going with a future-focused message against Trump," commented Pod Save America host Tommy Vietor. "That's been missing to date imo. This is a Janet Jackson election: what have you done for me lately?"

Political reporters who watched the event also took notice of the new energy delivered by Harris.

"Hard to overstate how hyped the crowd is," wrote Politico Playbook's Eugene Daniels. "Very different vibe than usual."

"The contrast between Harris's speech and the speeches we've been hearing Biden give all year was striking," wrote New York Times reporter Peter Baker. "At none of the Biden speeches I've covered lately was the case made against the other side this sharply defined and delivered nor has there been this kind of energy."

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