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Trump’s ‘revenge’ meltdown plans leak for White House Correspondents’ Dinner: report
President Donald Trump is preparing to throw a scripted tantrum at the White House Correspondents' Dinner this year, reported The Daily Beast on Wednesday.
"Donald Trump will launch a 'revenge' attack on the White House media when he confronts them in person at a Washington dinner on Saturday night — then flee before there can be revenge," said the report. "He is expected to target publications that he has accused of writing negatively about his administration and his war with Iran, in particular, according to sources."
This would track with his recent rants on Truth Social, where he has accused of the media of rigging reports about the Iran war to make it look like it's going worse than it actually is.
After he is done with his speech, said the report, he is skipping on the rest of the ceremony — in large part because he doesn't want to stick around for an award being given to a story that revealed his closeness to deceased financier and accused child trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
"Trump will leave the White House Correspondents’ Association event after making his speech, so he will miss the presentation of press awards — one of which would be certain to embarrass him," said the report. "He has told aides he has no intention of still being in the International Ballroom at the Washington Hilton when the Wall Street Journal is honored with the Katherine Graham award for its scoop about a bawdy letter Trump allegedly wrote for Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday card."
The president sued WSJ over that reporting, alleging that the birthday letter was not authentic. This month, a federal judge tossed out that suit.
‘Massive cover up’ fears raised as House panel splits on clemency for Ghislaine Maxwell
Ghislaine Maxwell's condition to testify under oath — but only under the condition of clemency — has split House Oversight and Government Reform Committee members over whether President Donald Trump should grant her that pardon, Rep. James Comer (R-KY) told Politico on Wednesday.
Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's co-conspirator, was deposed by the committee and invoked her Fifth Amendment right to decline to answer the group's questions. Trump is the only one with the power to pardon her, something he has not yet ruled out.
Comer told Politico that he did not favor a pardon for Maxwell, a former confidant to the late financier and convicted child sex offender. When asked whether striking a deal with Maxwell could provide useful testimony, Comer did not share who on the panel supported granting her clemency.
"A lot of people do," Comer said.
"My committee’s split on that," Comer said. "I don’t speak for my committee."
"I think it looks bad," he added. "Honestly, other than Epstein, the worst person in this whole investigation is Maxwell."
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) said that Democrats on the committee collectively oppose a pardon for Maxwell.
"That would be a huge step backwards, and, quite frankly, so disrespectful to the survivors," he said in an interview. "She is a known abuser. She is a known liar."
"If the DOJ or Oversight Republicans are out there trying to negotiate some sort of pardon that is... not only a huge slap in the face to this investigation, to anyone, to the American public," Garcia said. "It’s a part of a massive cover up."
‘Wah, wah, wah:’ AOC scoffs at GOP whining over gerrymandering
WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, had strong words for Republicans complaining about the gerrymandering in Virginia that voters approved on Tuesday, with strong support from her party.
"Wah, wah, wah," Ocasio-Cortez told Raw Story on Wednesday, mimicking a whining baby and laughing in response to a question from reporter Matt Laslo. "Democrats have attempted and asked Republicans for 10 years to ban partisan gerrymandering, and for 10 years, Republicans have said, 'no.'"
Laslo was asking Ocasio-Cortez to respond to complaints from the GOP that it would be unconstitutional for Democrats to have a 10-1 congressional majority in Virginia, which the gerrymandering ballot measure would make possible. A Virginia circuit court judge blocked the vote-approved redistricting on Wednesday, however.
Still, Ocasio-Cortez saw no problem with Democrats supporting gerrymandering after years of opposing it when done on the Republican side. For AOC, the GOP "wanted to start this," and the Democrats are just fighting back.
"What they're mad at is they're accustomed to a Democrat Party that rolls over, doesn't fight and takes everything sitting down," Ocasio-Cortez said. "What they're mad at right now is that we are here in a new day."
She mentioned Republican gerrymandering in North Carolina and Texas, where Democrats lost seats. Trump's call for Texas Republicans to gerrymander arguably kicked off what's now seen as a redistricting arms race.
"We have been asking the Democratic Party to stand up and fight, and now they did," AOC continued. "Now the Republican Party doesn't like the fact that they are fighting against someone who actually will stand up for the American people."
Ocasio-Cortez said she would "welcome" working with the Republicans to pass a ban on partisan gerrymandering.
"We have the bill right here to end this all today," she said, smiling. "But they don't want to because they like pursuing and continuing to enact an unfair electoral landscape."
Judge Cannon ‘resents’ having to protect witnesses against Trump: Former prosecutor
Judge Aileen Cannon appears to "resent" having to take steps to protect witnesses against former President Donald Trump from threats in his Mar-a-Lago classified documents case, former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance told MSNBC's Joy Reid on Tuesday.
This comes after Cannon, a South Florida judge appointed by Trump himself, agreed to protect the names of certain government witnesses against Trump — after special counsel Jack Smith demanding protection for several witnesses he warned would be vulnerable.
"Aileen Cannon seems to be trying to protect herself from getting this case taken from her by the 11th Circuit," said Reid. "She's ruled for Jack Smith, his request to redact the names of some two dozen government witnesses that Trump wanted to reveal in public versions of one of his big filings. It seems to be a very big deal, but it also seems to be self-protective on her part."
ALSO READ: A criminologist explains why Judge Cannon must step away from Trump trial immediately
"You know, every time we find an issue where Judge Cannon rules for Jack Smith, I feel like putting it in air quotes, because here, even though she rules for him, she does it after really criticizing him for behavior that's just not objectionable by a prosecutor," said Vance. "She seems to have the view that he was dilatory in filing and did it in an irresponsible fashion. The reality is that Smith will still have to justify all of these redactions of the names of witnesses from public view."
The idea that a judge would find this a burden is astonishing, she continued.
"Look, every judge has an obligation to protect the integrity of their courtroom, to protect witnesses and jurors who are engaging in public service when they participate in the criminal justice system," Vance said. "It's just unthinkable that a judge would not be very careful with the safety and security of those people, and yet this judge almost seems to resent having to protect them, simply because it's the special prosecutor that's asking for that."
Watch the video below or at the link here.
Joyce Vance says Aileen Cannon "resents" protecting witnesses www.youtube.com
Jack Smith’s ‘flashy’ charge to blame for Trump election interference trial delay: Op-ed
Special counsel Jack Smith is to blame for the ongoing delay in former President Donald Trump's federal election interference case, according to Washington Post columnist Jack Willick.
Willick laid into Smith for bringing a "flashier" charge he believes allowed Trump to cry presidential immunity and take that claim all the way to the Supreme Court.
"Smith — apparently fearful that the Supreme Court might recognize some presidential immunity for official acts — says that allegations of Trump’s 'private misconduct are more than sufficient to support the indictment,'" writes Willick.
"Then why insist in the first place on charging Trump for official conduct, inviting a Supreme Court showdown over the scope of immunity?"
ALSO READ: A neuroscientist reveals how Trump and Biden's cognitive impairments are different
The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments on April 25.
Their ruling effectively puts on hold the Washington D.C. federal case, in which Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges linked to his actions between the November 2020 election and the U.S. Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump's argument — that commanders in chief must enjoy absolute immunity to effectively lead the nation — stands in stark opposition to Smith's contention that presidents must be bound by the law they have sworn to uphold.
But Willick argues Smith blundered, first in delaying to bring charges against Trump then opting to connect those charges to official acts.
"This holdup is on the Justice Department," Willick writes. "Biden’s Justice Department bet instead on a flashier but less strategic approach," he writes. "The resulting appellate delays were predictable."
Willick notes time is of the essence in Smith's case as Trump could conceivably kill it should he regain the White House in 2025.
"If Trump makes it to November without a Jan. 6 conviction," Willick concludes, "he’ll have Jack Smith to thank."
‘Only means to get to the truth’: Prosecutor doubles down on Trump investigation demand
New York Attorney General Letitia James doubled down Tuesday on her demand that the judge in former President Donald Trump's $464 million civil fraud trial allow her to investigate him after his former CFO pleaded guilty to perjury, court records show.
The Attorney General's office Tuesday filed a quick reply to Trump and Allen Weisselberg's attorneys sharp rebuttal to her demand for leeway to investigate from Justice Arthur Engoron.
"It is clear that Defendants and their counsel are completely incapable of independently disclosing any impropriety," wrote Senior Enforcement Counsel Kevin Wallace. "Outside certification is the only means to get to the truth."
The filing, first reported by MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin, arrives one day before Weisselberg is expected to face sentencing to perjury counts linked to his testimony in Trump's civil fraud trial.
ALSO READ: No, Donald Trump, fraud is not protected by the First Amendment
"James has doubled down on her request that Judge Engoron investigate why documents that go to the heart of Allen Weisselberg's admitted perjury during the civil fraud trial were not turned over," Rubin explained. "[James is] insisting that any fraud on the court during a concluded trial is nonetheless within the court's power to investigate."
The former president's attorneys have pushed back against this demand, calling it "extraordinary and wholly improper."
Weisselberg pleaded guilty to lying under oath in the course of his testimony during the New York civil fraud trial against Trump.
During that trial, he claimed to have never seriously considered the square footage of Trump Tower, but Forbes turned up emails from years ago in which he was explicitly defending Trump's claims about the area of the property, directly undercutting his claims.
The fraud case centered on Trump's falsification of the value of his properties, for the purposes of manipulating his tax liability and the terms of loans he got from banks. Trump has always maintained he did nothing wrong, but Engoron found him liable for more than $450 million in the case.
Trump is currently appealing that decision, and was allowed by a higher court to have his bond reduced to $175 million while he appeals.
Peter Navarro’s prison records suggest no early release for RNC convention
Former President Donald Trump's onetime White House adviser Peter Navarro could remain in a federal lockup during the Republican National Convention, prison records show.
The Federal Bureau of Prison official listing on Monday showed Navarro is set to be released on July 17, according to its online inmate tracker. The date, first reported by CBS correspondent Scott MacFarlane, is an initial record of when he's set for release and it could change.
The Republican Convention begins in Milwaukee on July 15.
The Bureau of Prisons record shows Navarro's inmate number at a low-security federal correctional facility in Miami is 04370-510.
ALSO READ: 11 ways Trump doesn’t become president
Navarro was sentenced to four months in prison after he refused to comply with a subpoena from the House Select Jan. 6 Committee. The former trade adviser claimed then-President Donald Trump invoked executive privilege to prevent him from testifying.
If Navarro is freed on the set date, he would miss most of the Republican convention, which begins on July 15. But he could attend the convention's final day on July 18.
Trump canceled a rally in Arizona because his campaign was too broke: report
Former President Donald Trump is facing mounting financial difficulties in his campaign — to the point where he is reportedly being forced to triage which states he can afford to hold rallies in.
According to a new CNN report, Trump was planning to hold a rally in Arizona last weekend, on the same day he rallied in Ohio to support his endorsed Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, but backed out at the last minute.
"On Wednesday, Biden was in Arizona to announce $8.5 billion going toward a new Intel chip processing plant outside of Phoenix, returning to a state he visited twice in the second half of last year," reported Edward Isaac-Dovere and Kristen Holmes.
"Trump had been looking at a trip to the state – which went for Biden by just 10,457 votes in 2020 – for last weekend, the same day as his Ohio rally. But those plans were scrapped after clinching the presidential nomination, with two sources citing a desire to save money and attend a more politically advantageous event in Ohio rallying for Moreno."
Moreno went on to easily win the GOP nomination in Ohio, beating state Sen. Matt Dolan and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose. He will face off against Sen. Sherrod Brown, the only remaining Democrat in a major statewide office.
ALSO READ: Racism, arrests, extreme MAGA love: Meet Lauren Boebert’s primary opponents
The Trump campaign is being significantly outraised by the Biden campaign and has faced other complications, including warnings from the Federal Election Commission to stop accepting illegal contributions, as Raw Story exclusively reported last month.
It comes at a moment when the former president has faced intense personal financial struggles, including a pair of legal judgments for $83.3 million and $464 million, respectively — the latter of which he is struggling to raise bond for and could lead to Trump Organization assets and properties being seized by the state of New York.
Whoopi Goldberg dabs tears from eyes at thought of Trump being unable to pay his debts
Whoopi Goldberg began a Wednesday segment of "The View" pretending to shed tears for Donald Trump after his lawyers told a New York court he didn't actually have the money to pay his bills.
"I'm so sorry," she said, pretending to be emotional. "So, as it turns out, you-know-who says he cannot come up with the cash to cover his $400 million-plus bond in his New York fraud case."
"You need a tissue?" asked colleague Joy Behar, pulling a purse-sized packet from her pocket.
The panel questioned why Trump has so much support from millionaires and billionaires, but no one is rushing to put up a bond for him. One of those people is his own son-in-law, Jared Kushner, the hosts said.
"That was surprising Jared is not going to give him part of his $2 billion cache he probably got only because he worked in the Trump administration," said Sunny Hostin. "But I will say this, to reiterate: the reason people will not lend him money is because he is notorious for stiffing people who work for him."
"Who loses money on casinos?" asked Behar.
"Because he had three casinos together, two to three, and his actuary said they would cannibalize each other. He did it anyway; 100 contractors weren't paid because of it and lost their homes and livelihoods. It happened in 2016." said Hostin.
ALSO READ: House Republican giggles over Hitler praise — and admits he never listens to Trump
"There is no way anybody is going to lend money to him, and I can't wait to see the chains on trump tower on Fifth Avenue. I'm kind of excited about it."
Former Trump White House communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin brought up Fox hosts who are also unwilling to help him.
"Can we talk about some of these folks at Fox News who are raging that billionaires are not stepping up to give the money to Trump?" she asked. "One of them was Mark Levin, somebody who refers to himself as 'the great one,' so that tells you all you need to know about him. [He] has a reported net worth of $50 million, but he's not ponying up" [for Trump].
See the panel discussion in the video below or at the link here.
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Trump’s ‘revenge’ meltdown plans leak for White House Correspondents’ Dinner: report
President Donald Trump is preparing to throw a scripted tantrum at the White House Correspondents' Dinner this year, reported The Daily Beast on Wednesday.
"Donald Trump will launch a 'revenge' attack on the White House media when he confronts them in person at a Washington dinner on Saturday night — then flee before there can be revenge," said the report. "He is expected to target publications that he has accused of writing negatively about his administration and his war with Iran, in particular, according to sources."
This would track with his recent rants on Truth Social, where he has accused of the media of rigging reports about the Iran war to make it look like it's going worse than it actually is.
After he is done with his speech, said the report, he is skipping on the rest of the ceremony — in large part because he doesn't want to stick around for an award being given to a story that revealed his closeness to deceased financier and accused child trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
"Trump will leave the White House Correspondents’ Association event after making his speech, so he will miss the presentation of press awards — one of which would be certain to embarrass him," said the report. "He has told aides he has no intention of still being in the International Ballroom at the Washington Hilton when the Wall Street Journal is honored with the Katherine Graham award for its scoop about a bawdy letter Trump allegedly wrote for Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday card."
The president sued WSJ over that reporting, alleging that the birthday letter was not authentic. This month, a federal judge tossed out that suit.
‘Massive cover up’ fears raised as House panel splits on clemency for Ghislaine Maxwell
Ghislaine Maxwell's condition to testify under oath — but only under the condition of clemency — has split House Oversight and Government Reform Committee members over whether President Donald Trump should grant her that pardon, Rep. James Comer (R-KY) told Politico on Wednesday.
Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's co-conspirator, was deposed by the committee and invoked her Fifth Amendment right to decline to answer the group's questions. Trump is the only one with the power to pardon her, something he has not yet ruled out.
Comer told Politico that he did not favor a pardon for Maxwell, a former confidant to the late financier and convicted child sex offender. When asked whether striking a deal with Maxwell could provide useful testimony, Comer did not share who on the panel supported granting her clemency.
"A lot of people do," Comer said.
"My committee’s split on that," Comer said. "I don’t speak for my committee."
"I think it looks bad," he added. "Honestly, other than Epstein, the worst person in this whole investigation is Maxwell."
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) said that Democrats on the committee collectively oppose a pardon for Maxwell.
"That would be a huge step backwards, and, quite frankly, so disrespectful to the survivors," he said in an interview. "She is a known abuser. She is a known liar."
"If the DOJ or Oversight Republicans are out there trying to negotiate some sort of pardon that is... not only a huge slap in the face to this investigation, to anyone, to the American public," Garcia said. "It’s a part of a massive cover up."
‘Wah, wah, wah:’ AOC scoffs at GOP whining over gerrymandering
WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, had strong words for Republicans complaining about the gerrymandering in Virginia that voters approved on Tuesday, with strong support from her party.
"Wah, wah, wah," Ocasio-Cortez told Raw Story on Wednesday, mimicking a whining baby and laughing in response to a question from reporter Matt Laslo. "Democrats have attempted and asked Republicans for 10 years to ban partisan gerrymandering, and for 10 years, Republicans have said, 'no.'"
Laslo was asking Ocasio-Cortez to respond to complaints from the GOP that it would be unconstitutional for Democrats to have a 10-1 congressional majority in Virginia, which the gerrymandering ballot measure would make possible. A Virginia circuit court judge blocked the vote-approved redistricting on Wednesday, however.
Still, Ocasio-Cortez saw no problem with Democrats supporting gerrymandering after years of opposing it when done on the Republican side. For AOC, the GOP "wanted to start this," and the Democrats are just fighting back.
"What they're mad at is they're accustomed to a Democrat Party that rolls over, doesn't fight and takes everything sitting down," Ocasio-Cortez said. "What they're mad at right now is that we are here in a new day."
She mentioned Republican gerrymandering in North Carolina and Texas, where Democrats lost seats. Trump's call for Texas Republicans to gerrymander arguably kicked off what's now seen as a redistricting arms race.
"We have been asking the Democratic Party to stand up and fight, and now they did," AOC continued. "Now the Republican Party doesn't like the fact that they are fighting against someone who actually will stand up for the American people."
Ocasio-Cortez said she would "welcome" working with the Republicans to pass a ban on partisan gerrymandering.
"We have the bill right here to end this all today," she said, smiling. "But they don't want to because they like pursuing and continuing to enact an unfair electoral landscape."
