donald trump
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As former president Donald Trump is facing the strong possibility of being indicted, three Black prosecutors are notably at the forefront of the fight to hold him accountable for his misdeeds.
On Saturday morning (March 18), Trump declared on social media that he would be indicted as early as Tuesday (March 20), referring to the grand jury being convened in New York investigating his hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels as a violation of election law. His words placed a huge spotlight on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is overseeing the case. Bragg is one of three Black lawmakers, recently spotlighted by Capital B News, who stand out for their efforts to have the former president answer for a slew of alleged crimes.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has been steadfast in filing cases through her office against the policies of Trump’s administration. Her office filed a $250 million civil fraud lawsuit against the Trump Organization last September. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her office have also dominated national coverage as they are weighing an indictment against Trump and his cronies for attempting to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden in Georgia during the 2020 election. Her meticulous investigation has led observers to speculate that a decision is expected within the next few weeks, and a grand jury has already recommended multiple indictments for his allies.
Each prosecutor carries a long and robust career as well as a reputation for being tough as nails. Their work has earned them the ire of Republicans on the state and federal levels. GOP legislators in Georgia introduced a bill earlier this year that would create a committee to discipline elected local prosecutors or force them out. “I’m tired, and I’m just going to call it how I see it,” Willis said of the bill, noting that the number of minority prosecutors in Georgia went from five to 14 in 2020. “I, quite frankly, think the legislation is racist. I don’t know what other thing to call it.”
Bragg has been severely criticized for his policies since taking office, which are in tune with the movement for more progressive and ethical reform of the criminal justice system. Trump has repeatedly demonized Bragg, calling for his arrest. Bragg has remained silent publicly, but in an internal memo said that his office “will continue to apply the law evenly and fairly.” And James has also been under fire for her investigations into Trump and his affairs with Eric Trump calling her “the most corrupt attorney general in New York History” and “an embarrassment to prosecutors across this country.”
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Donald Trump defiantly alerted his legion of supporters last weekend that the Manhattan DA’s investigation will ultimately lead to his arrest today (March 21) and called for protests in his honor. On Twitter, the former president’s name is trending with high-ranking GOP members and conservative pundits making a mad scramble to defend the beleaguered business mogul.
Donald Trump, 76, still holds massive sway among Republican Party voters and many of his supporters in elected positions continue to revere him. The seemingly blind support for Trump by GOP and talking heads suggest that they believe in his chances to win back the White House in 2024 despite the mounting allegations of wrongdoing and general image mismanagement.
Over the weekend, Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social and predicted his Tuesday arrest while using some of the charged wording that eventually got him elected and transformed the political fabric of the country in just one presidential term. If indicted, Trump would be the first former U.S. president to have a criminal case brought against them.
The Manhattan DA’s case is centered on Trump and his handlers paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Previous investigations into Trump’s alleged wrongdoings, including impeachment. conspiring with Russia, and tampering with election results, galvanized his supporters to rally around him at a higher clip than expected.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other GOP officials believe that the Manhattan DA’s case is politically motivated and is an attempt to bring Trump down to size as he’s reportedly leading in polls according to their side. Trump is seen to be the GOP frontrunner for the presidential nomination alongside Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
On Twitter, we’ve managed to collect opinions from all sides of the debate and we should state that Donald Trump has not been charged as of yet. When details emerge, we’ll be sure to report on the matter.
Check out the reactions below.
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3. Gotta Move That Goalpost
4. Hard To Make Goals When The Post Keeps Moving
6. Oh, Kevin
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Details from a recent deposition of conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch show him admitting that he knew Fox News hosts were pushing disinformation about the 2020 presidential election.
According to reports, Murdoch made the admission during a deposition last month as part of a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit brought against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems. “They endorsed,” he said when asked directly about those false claims supporting former President Donald Trump’s claim that the election was “stolen” made by Sean Hannity, Lou Dobbs, Maria Baritromo, and Jeanine Pirro.
“I would have liked us to be stronger in denouncing it in hindsight,” he continued, saying that he could’ve stopped the further advancement of those false claims about Dominion through appearances by Rudy Giuliani on Fox News programs, “But I didn’t.”Part of Dominion’s lawsuit alleges that the upper-level execs at Fox News allowed the deception to take place because of their fears that viewers would then leave them behind and turn to competitors such as Newsmax and OANN who were more avid supporters of Trump.
The 91-year-old was pressed by lawyers representing Dominion if he doubted Trump’s claims. “Yes. I mean, we thought everything was on the up-and-up.”, he said. He followed that up by denying that the network was fully behind endorsing those falsehoods. “Not Fox,” he said. “No. Not Fox.” Dominion has alleged that whatever pushback was present was lukewarm, even suggesting that Trump took some direction from what the network was dictating in terms of his actions.
The filing is the latest damning revelation from the case that the voting system brought against Fox News, with a monthlong trial set for April 17th by a Delaware court judge. The evidence accumulated bolsters Dominion’s claims of defamation to hold up even by the merits of the Supreme Court. Lawyers for Fox on Monday (February 27th) said that they felt that much of what Dominion cited as evidence was relevant. “Dominion’s lawsuit has always been more about what will generate headlines than what can withstand legal and factual scrutiny,” their statement read. Legal observers feel that Murdoch’s testimony under oath makes it more likely that Fox News will look to settle the suit out of court.
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A former Twitter employee revealed that Donald Trump and his administration had requested the company remove tweets from Chrissy Teigen bashing him, among others.
On Wednesday (Feb. 8th), a House Oversight Committee was convened by the Republican majority to investigate their allegations of censorship by the social media company against the GOP. But when questioned by Democratic members of the committee, the former Twitter employees appearing before the committee confirmed that former President Donald Trump and his White House staff routinely requested tweets to be removed – with one from media personality Chrissy Teigen being highlighted.
Anika Collier Navaroli, a former employee-turned-whistleblower, confirmed that in 2019, the Trump White House contacted Twitter about Teigen’s tweet where she called Trump a “p—-y a— b——h” in response to remarks he made about her and John Legend, her husband. When questioned by Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), she went on to say that they “reached out to ask that this tweet be removed” and that her team had to review if it violated Twitter’s “insults policy”. They ultimately determined it wasn’t a violation, so it remained up.
When questioned again about the Tiegen tweets and Trump’s demands by Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL), who quoted the tweet, Navaroli elaborated. “This fell under the policy for abusive behaviors, and we evaluated it under our ‘insults’ policy,” she said. “At that time, up to three insults were allowed. It was our job to determine how many insults were included within that phrase.”
Navaroli had also testified earlier that Twitter actually worked to change its policies on more than one occasion to not take action on tweets from Trump – showing that the company had actually worked to be more favorable to him and other right-wingers. This greatly differed from the GOP’s attempts at claiming they were being “censored” by the platform, and a Rolling Stone article published during the hearing showed that Twitter kept a ‘database’ of GOP requests to censor posts bashing them.
She provided an example under questioning by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) in reference to a tweet he made about her and fellow congresswomen Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Presley, and Rashida Tlaib to “go back” to the “crime-infested places from which they came”. Navaroli testified that her assessment that the tweet violated company policies was overruled by former trust and safety head Del Harvey. “So much for bias against right-wing on Twitter,” Ocasio-Cortez replied.
Twitter executives testified in front of Congress on Wednesday (Feb. 8) during a hearing on the social media platform’s handling of the Hunter Biden laptop controversy, where Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio and others inquired about requests from the government and the Joe Biden campaign about taking down particular tweets.
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At one point during the hearing, Democratic Rep. Gerald Connolly of Virginia brought up a 2019 situation to Anika Collier Navaroli, a former policy official at Twitter, in which the Trump administration had sent the company a request to remove a tweet from none other than Chrissy Teigen.
It all started on Sept. 8, 2019, when Donald Trump attacked John Legend and Teigen, referring to them as “musician @johnlegend, and his filthy mouthed wife,” after an online spat between the former president and the couple about a criminal justice reform law.
In response, Teigen called Trump a “p—- a– b—-.”
….musician @johnlegend, and his filthy mouthed wife, are talking now about how great it is – but I didn’t see them around when we needed help getting it passed. “Anchor”@LesterHoltNBC doesn’t even bring up the subject of President Trump or the Republicans when talking about….— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 9, 2019
Flash forward to 2023, and Navaroli confirmed that the White House did indeed ask Twitter to remove the Tweet, as it was a “derogatory statement directed towards the president.”
No one was more excited to hear the explicit tweet said aloud during the hearing than Teigen herself, who took to Instagram to share a clip of the moment with the caption, “I don’t know how to go on after this.”
See the model and author’s post here.
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The deposition video of former President Donald Trump was released, showing him repeatedly invoking the Fifth Amendment before New York Attorney General Letitia James – an action he previously belittled as something for “the mob”.
The video, released on Tuesday (January 31st) by CBS News, is from his appearance before New York Attorney General Letitia James’s office last August. James is heard introducing herself at the outset of the video before Trump delivers a rambling opening statement lasting seven minutes. “Anyone in my position not taking the Fifth Amendment would be a fool – an absolute fool,” he began.
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Trump continued: “I once asked, ‘If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?’” – a reference to his infamous 2016 presidential campaign speech where he bashed attorneys for opponent Hilary Clinton. “Now I know the answer to that question. When your family, your company, and all the people in your orbit have become the targets of an unfounded politically motivated witch hunt supported by lawyers, prosecutors, and even the fake news media, you really have no choice.” He’d go on to trash the attorney general repeatedly as well.
Afterward, he stated: “Under the advice of my counsel and for all of the above reasons, I respectfully decline to answer the questions under the rights afforded to every citizen under the United States Constitution.” Kevin Wallace, the senior enforcement counsel in James’ office asked if that included the Fifth Amendment. “Yes,” Trump answered.
Trump would go on to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights more than 400 times during the four hours of questioning in the deposition. Journalist Shawn Peirce highlighted a montage created by BBC News which compiled the multiple times that the former president invoked the Fifth Amendment.
The release of the video adds more trouble to Trump’s plate. It coincided with attorneys for James’ office requesting the judge overseeing the $250 million lawsuit filed against Trump, his children, and his business for committing “staggering” financial fraud last September to place sanctions on them for making frivolous arguments in their written responses to the suit.
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A newly disclosed financial statement from the 2020 presidential campaign of Ye aka Kanye West shows a hefty sum paid out to white supremacist Nick Fuentes.
According to reports, the committee for the rapper’s 2020 presidential campaign submitted end-of-year financial documents that were required by the Federal Election Commission on Monday (Jan. 30). The filing revealed that the committee paid Fuentes $14,719. The payments were classified as reimbursement for travel expenses.
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When contacted by reporters, the 24-year-old confirmed that it was “incurred by myself and the team when I relocated to LA in November to do work for Kanye 2020.” The first payment, which was $9,000, was given on the same date as his trip to Mar-A-Lago with Ye to see former President Donald Trump.
The filing also showed that Ye paid a large amount to Milo Yiannopoulous, the former Breitbart writer and far-right personality. According to the records from the campaign committee, Yiannopoulous was paid $50,000 in total. Almost $10,000 of that amount ($9,955) was for what is described as a “Domain Transfer.” The remainder – $40,000 – was for “Campaign Wrap Up Services” which was paid out to Yiannopoulous in the middle of December before he was fired.
Another noteworthy finding from the documents from the committee reports that Ye received no donations at all in 2022. This contrasts with their disclosure that they still had $228,000 in their funds as last year came to a close.
The news comes as Ye has been relatively quiet on the political front. He detached himself from Fuentes after a media run with shocking moments such as delivering antisemitic comments and defending Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler while appearing with Fuentes on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ show.
His proclivity to run with members of the far-right is still intact, as Ali Alexander is now on the team for his 2024 presidential campaign. Alexander is a rabid election denier and has been implicated for his role in the events leading up to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021.
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Former President Donald Trump will be allowed back on Facebook and Instagram, after a ruling by their parent company Meta to reinstate his accounts after two years.
The decision was announced Wednesday (Jan. 25) in a statement posted to Meta’s website. Trump was banned from the social media platforms Jan. 7, 2021—the day after a mob of his supporters had stormed the U.S. Capitol causing a riot. That decision was made due to high concerns that his posts could run the risk of inciting more violence. Twitter and YouTube also suspended his accounts that week.
“The public should be able to hear what their politicians are saying — the good, the bad, and the ugly — so that they can make informed choices at the ballot box,” said Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs in the statement.
“But that does not mean there are no limits to what people can say on our platform.” The statement goes on to say that Trump faces sterner penalties for any future violations, which would result in another suspension of up to two years depending on how severe the infraction is.
The move comes as Twitter reinstated Trump’s account late last year after tech billionaire Elon Musk acquired the platform. American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Anthony D. Romero said that the decision was “the right call” given Trump’s position as a political figure.
“While the government cannot force platforms to carry certain speech, that doesn’t mean the largest platforms should engage in political censorship,” he remarked. In a post to the right-wing social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote that the “de-platforming” he experienced should “never again happen to a sitting President, or anybody else who is not deserving retribution!”
But there are many more who criticized Meta’s decision, claiming that it illustrates a double standard when it comes to high-profile people. Democratic lawmakers and disinformation experts cite that Trump still presents a danger with his rhetoric, especially as he campaigns for the White House in 2024.
“The Capitol community is still picking up the pieces from the Jan. 6 insurrection that Trump ignited, and now he is returning to the virtual scene of the crime,” said Illinois congresswoman Jan Schakowsky in a statement.
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Donald Trump had more explaining to do this week. A photo he took with an alleged ex-mob boss has raised some questions.
As spotted on Crooks & Liars, the former President of the United States is again under fire for a picture that shows him with Joseph Salvatore “Skinny Joey” Merlino. The man in question is an Italian-American mobster and reputed former boss of the Philadelphia crime family. Earlier this month, the politician and the made man took a flick together at the Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach with another unidentified man; all three flashed Trump’s signature “thumbs up” hand sign.
Naturally, the photo has since gone viral prompting speculation why Donald was seen being chummy with an admitted member of the La Cosa Nostra. The Inquirer followed up with Donald Trump’s team and they deny he knows Merlino. “President Trump takes countless photos with people. That does not mean he knows every single person he comes in contact with” a spokesperson said. Merlino also tells The Inquirer that Trump “had no idea” who he was and that there were several people on line waiting to meet him.
Merlino was convicted of several RICO charges including racketeering, illegal gambling and extortion, in 2001. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison. Since his release from prison in 2011, the FBI and organized crime reporters believe he continues to run the Philadelphia–South Jersey Mafia. Merlino disputes this, saying he has retired from a life of crime. As of 2015, Merlino divides his time between south Florida and Philadelphia.
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Donald Trump was a guest speaker at the memorial service for Diamond aka Lynette Hardaway of Diamond & Silk infamy. The appearance had all the signs of a grift, with Cheeto perplexing sentient humans when he said he didn’t know Silk all that well, despite like…reality
It was Trump who revealed that Diamond had passed away a couple of weeks ago. Although a cause of death was not revealed, it was widely reported that she had been recently hospitalized with COVID-19.
At the memorial service, her sister Silk aka Herneitha Rochelle Hardaway insinuated that she passed away due to complications from the vaccine.
[record scratch]
This is where we point out that the Diamond & Silk buffoons were fierce anti-vaxxers. So Silk’s commentary has many wondering if despite Diamond’s rhetoric, was she vaccinated anyway?
Of course, this is all conjecture. But what is a fact is that at the same memorial service, Trump said that he didn’t know Silk as well as Diamond. “I knew Diamond, but I didn’t know Silk at all. I just learned about Silk. You’re fantastic,” said Agent Orange. “You’re going to carry on beyond anybody’s wild imagination.”
This is the same Diamond & Silk who worked as a duo—and the latter even said Trump treated them like family, akin to his own children, just before he went on stage. .
You really can’t make this stuff up. Needless to say, Twitter is going in, and it’s glorious. Did we mention My Pillow guy Mike Lindell spoke?
See the best slander in the gallery.