Alvin Bragg

Manhattan Prosecutors Tell Trump He's On Tape With Witness

Prosecutors in Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial have notified the ex-president’s attorneys they have a recording of him and a witness. The notification comes in the form of an automatic discovery form, CBS News reports, which “describes the nature of the charges against a defendant and a broad overview of the evidence that prosecutors will present at Trump’s preliminary hearing or at trial.”

CBS reports prosecutors have handed the recording over to Trump’s legal team.

It’s not known who the witness is, nor are any details known publicly about what the conversation entails, or even if it is just audio or if it includes video.

According to the article’s author, CBS News’ Graham Kates, via Twitter, prosecutors say they also have recordings between two witnesses, a recording between a witness and a third party, and various recordings saved on a witness’s cell phones.

Trump is facing 34 felony counts in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case related to his allegedly unlawful attempt to hide hush money payoffs to a well-known porn star by falsifying business records to protect his 2016 presidential campaign.

See the discovery form above or at this link.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Experts Predict Charges After Report On Trump's Handling Of Documents

Experts Predict Charges After Report On Trump's Handling Of Documents

Citing a just-published Washington Post report, top legal experts are predicting the Justice Department (DOJ) will charge Donald Trump, and those charges will include obstruction of justice and violations of the Espionage Act.

The Washington Post reported on Thursday afternoon that the ex-president had classified documents unprotected in his Mar-a-Lago office, showed classified documents to people visiting his office, and held a “dress rehearsal” for moving documents around even before receiving a DOJ subpoena, and before the FBI executed a search warrant to retrieve classified and top secret documents.

“Two of Donald Trump’s employees moved boxes of papers the day before FBI agents and a prosecutor visited the former president’s Florida home to retrieve classified documents in response to a subpoena — timing that investigators have come to view as suspicious and an indication of possible obstruction, according to people familiar with the matter,” The Washington Post report reads.

“Trump and his aides also allegedly carried out a ‘dress rehearsal’ for moving sensitive papers even before his office received the May 2022 subpoena, according to the people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a sensitive ongoing investigation.”

“Prosecutors in addition have gathered evidence indicating that Trump at times kept classified documents in his office in a place where they were visible and sometimes showed them to others, these people said.”

Ryan Goodman, an NYU School of Law professor of law, and international and national security law expert, pointed to that last sentence from the Post and wrote, “I expect this will result in Espionage Act charges. Dissemination is key.”

MSNBC anchor and legal contributor Katie Phang, responding to the Post report, tweeted one word in all-caps: “OBSTRUCTION.”

But Goodman goes even further.

“The reported facts are now far beyond just an obstruction case,” he says. “Willfully disseminating to third parties is also easily distinguishable from Pence, Biden, other instances in which DOJ has declined to prosecute.”

Goodman adds: “Trump’s reported conduct of RETAINING classified documents is already more serious than average case in which Justice Department DOES indict. COMMUNICATING or TRANSMITTING classified documents to third parties is considered much more egregious.”

Further dissecting the Post’s report, Goodman finds an “interesting detail.”

“A second employee who helped Walt Nauta move boxes into storage room a day before FBI visit on June 3,” he writes. “The next day… ‘the employee helped Nauta pack an SUV ‘when former president Trump left for Bedminster.'”

That, Goodman suggests, points to both obstruction and willful retention.

Former U.S. Attorney and former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Harry Litman, a frequent MSNBC guest, pointed to the portion of the Post’s report that said Trump showed classified documents to others.

“That could be a whole new crime if evidence is solid,” he said on Twitter.

Attorney, author, and former diplomat Norm Eisen, a board chair of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a former White House Special Counsel, and former co-counsel for Trump’s first impeachment, also weighed in.

“I helped draft the classified document handling rules that Trump violated,” Eisen said via Twitter.

“And I know this,” he added. “He’s gonna get charged if he was part of a dress rehearsal for moving the boxes & if he showed classified docs as WaPo reports.”

Meanwhile, Goodman’s earlier remarks also build on his prior claims.

Earlier this week he said that Special Counsel Jack Smith had struck “gold” after obtaining the contemporaneous notes of a Trump attorney who counseled the ex-president on his possibly unlawful removal, retention, and refusal to return hundreds of classified documents from the White House.

“Special Counsel Smith strikes gold,” tweeted Goodman, himself a former special counsel at the Department of Defense, and the founding co-editor-in-chief of Just Security, an NYU website on U.S. national security law and policy.

“Moving boxes of documents the *day before* the FBI and DOJ came to visit?” observed former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti. “It’s easy to see why Special Counsel Jack Smith and his team are very suspicious. It sure looks like an indictment in the Mar-a-Lago investigation is likely.”

The government watchdog CREW simply responded to the Post’s report, saying, “This is a big one.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Ron DeSantis

Trolled By Biden, 'DeSaster' Blows His Campaign Launch On Twitter Spaces

Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantis attempted to launch his 2024 presidential campaign on Twitter Spaces with Elon Musk, but failed as the social media’s live audio platform repeatedly crashed.

The event was supposed to begin at 6:00 PM ET, but started late, never seemed to get off the ground, and sometime around 6:20 just abruptly ended.

The mockery of both Musk and DeSantis was widespread.

Presidential historian Michael Beschloss weighed in several times.

“Is Twitter audio conking out because DeSantis has gotten cold feet about running for President?”

“DeSantis announcement still crashing after fifteen minutes–not an inspiring harbinger of his leadership competence as President.”

“It’s twenty minutes in, and still the DeSantis announcement is crashing–anyone have a metaphor to suggest?”

Twitter seemed to be fueled by massive mockery.

“The DeSantis live event on Twitter has already featured reverb, audio cutting out, chatter from the participants as they scramble to fix audio problems, and now another extended period of silence,” reporter Jamie Dupree tweeted. “‘The servers are straining somewhat’ as someone whispers in the background.”

That someone appears to have been Musk.

Attorney Brad Moss appeared to mock both Musk and his SpaceX Starship explosion last month that reportedly “spread particulate matter for miles.”

“Elon’s products usually blow up so this is nothing new,” Moss tweeted.

Democratic political strategist Tom Bonier summed it up as Twitter appeared to pull the plug: “And just like that, the DeSantis launch ended. Without ever really beginning.”

But Musk tried again, and with a far smaller audience, according to the counter on the app, about 205,000 listening. The second time the technical aspects seemed to work better.

Host David Sacks asked DeSantis why he chose to launch his campaign on Twitter Spaces, and the Florida governor replied that just as he bucked convention during the COVID pandemic, he decided to not follow the crowd in launching his campaign.

DeSantis did not mention his coronavirus statistics, including Florida ranking third in total cases and deaths, and in the top 10 for per capita cases and deaths.

Even before the first attempt failed, the Biden Campaign was quick to capitalize on the mayhem, tweeting a link to donate, saying, “This link works.”

But even once the second attempt was live, the discussion was widely panned.

Veteran Republican presidential campaign strategist Stuart Stevens tweeted, “As presidential announcements go, this is the three stoned guys who couldn’t get a date in their dorm room on Saturday night version.”

SiriusXM host Michelangelo Signorile, a veteran journalist, observed, “DeSantis could have had millions of people watching as he launched if he did this on TV. Instead he got 100k listening to whiny rich guys on this broken down app, which malfunctioned at the start. And many of those people listening are just here for the train wreck.”

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes concluded, “I’m sorry but this is an ASTOUNDINGLY HUMILIATING degree of incompetence. Unspinnable failure. Total and complete. Fully public.”

Making clear DeSantis has made enemies nationwide, the DC Public Library tweeted, “We have better audio and don’t ban books.”

By the end, “#DeSaster” was trending on Twitter.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

James Comer

Comer Admits Purpose Of Biden 'Investigation' Is To Elect Trump (VIDEO)

House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Comer (R-KY) appears to have admitted to actually weaponizing the federal government for political gain.

Rep. Comer, Republican of Kentucky, appeared to tell Fox News early Monday morning that his investigations into Hunter Biden are actually designed to help Donald Trump win the 2024 presidential election.

“We have talked to you about this on the show, about how the media can just not ignore this any longer. In an op-ed in The Washington Post, it says, ‘Millions Flowed to Biden Family Members. Don’t Pretend It Doesn’t Matter,’” said Fox News host Ashley Strohmier, as HuffPostreported Monday. “So do you think that because of your investigation, that is what’s moved this needle with the media?”

“Absolutely. There’s no question,” Comer replied, sounding very similar to Kevin McCarthy in 2015 (below) when the GOP House leader admitted the Benghazi investigations were designed to hurt Hillary Clinton in the polls. “You look at the polling, and right now Donald Trump is seven points ahead of Joe Biden and trending upward, Joe Biden’s trending downward. And I believe that the media is looking around, scratching their head, and they’re realizing that the American people are keeping up with our investigation.”

Comer citied one recent poll, but many polls show President Joe Biden beating Donald Trump, and overall, while it is still very early, the polls are very close.

“Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right?” McCarthy had said. “But we put together a Benghazi Special Committee, a Select Committee ― what are her numbers today?” McCarthy told Fox News at the time. “Her numbers are dropping, why? Because she’s untrustable. But no one would have known any of that had happened.”

HuffPost notes that “in reality, despite House Republicans’ efforts to portray Biden as hopelessly corrupt, the committee didn’t present any evidence in its hearings that directly implicated Biden.”

Watch Comer below or at this link.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

George Santos

'Tacit Endorsement': McCarthy And House Republicans Stop Santos Expulsion

House Republicans on Wednesday blocked a resolution filed by Democrats to expel U.S. Rep. George Santos (R-NY), recently criminally indicted on 13 federal felony charges. Instead, following Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy’s continued support for the serial liar and admitted thief who is believed to be the target of additional investigations, Republicans unanimously voted to send the resolution to the House this Committee, where is is widely expected to sit with no further action taken.

That move to block and send the resolution to committee was per McCarthy’s recommendation. Santos is already facing an alleged Ethics Committee investigation that was announced March 2.

The final vote was 221-204. Several Democrats who sit on the Ethics Committee voted present, and their votes would not have changed the outcome.

One week ago Wednesday, Santos surrendered to authorities and was charged with “seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives,” The New York Times reported.

The move to send the resolution to the Ethics Committee, which McCarthy publicly announced was his preference, is believed by House insiders to mean it will sit there and no further action will be taken. Not expelling Santos, while many Democratic voters see as a stain on the Republican Party, is effectively seen as the cost of maintaining a minuscule majority by GOP voters.

House insider Aaron Fritschner, deputy chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), explained the vote as a “Republican motion to protect George Santos from expulsion from the House for financial crimes,” noting it “passe[d] as all Republicans stand in solidarity with George Santos and vote to block the expulsion resolution.”

Fritschner posted a photo of Santos celebrating the holidays last year with House GOP Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, who filed the motion to block Democrats’ resolution.

The New York Times on Wednesday noted by voting to send the resolution to committee, Republicans’ “actions also may be construed as a tacit endorsement of Mr. Santos’s remaining in Congress as he faces ethical and legal inquiries.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

When Divorce Papers Arrived, Boebert's Enraged Husband Let Dogs Loose

When Divorce Papers Arrived, Boebert's Enraged Husband Let Dogs Loose

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) has filed for divorce from her husband of twenty years, The Daily Beast reported on Tuesday.

But things went south when he was served with the paperwork.

"The April 25 filing seeks to dissolve her marriage to Jayson Boebert, with whom she shares four sons. An affidavit of service, also obtained by The Daily Beast, indicated that Jayson Boebert appeared to be caught off guard by the court proceedings," the outlet explained. "He chased away a process server with an expletive-laden tirade and let his dogs loose when he was served with the divorce papers, the affidavit said."

Jayson, the Beast also learned, was "cleaning a gun and drinking a 'tall glass of beer'" when the process server arrived. They recalled that "I tried to hand him [Jayson] the documents but did not take them. He started yelling and using profanities, and told me that I was trespassing, and that he was calling the Sheriff's Office. I told him I was leaving the documents on the chair outside of the door, he closed the door then let the dogs out."

Boebert, meanwhile, said in a statement that "it is with a heavy weight on my heart that I have filed for divorce from my husband" and "am grateful for our years of marriage together and for our beautiful children, all of whom deserve privacy and love as we work through this process. I’ve always been faithful in my marriage, and I believe strongly in marriage, which makes this announcement that much more difficult. This is truly about irreconcilable differences.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

George Santos

House Democrats File Resolution To Expel 'Liar And Criminal' Santos

Several House Democrats have just filed a resolution to expel disgraced and indicted Rep. George Santos (R-NY), and they say they will force a full vote on the House floor this week.

U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) has filed the resolution, which simply reads, “Resolved, That, pursuant to Article I, Section 5, Clause 2 of the Constitution of the United States, Representative George Santos, be, and he hereby is, expelled from the House of Representatives.”

“George Santos is a fraud and a liar, and he needs to be expelled by the House,” Garcia said in a statement, pointing to the 13 federal criminal charges Santos is facing.

Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman reports, “The motion is privileged so House Republicans have two days to schedule the vote. Two-thirds majority is required to expel Santos.”

In a statement Rep. Garcia's office says, “Congressman Garcia was joined by fellow LGBTQ+ freshmen Congressman Eric Sorensen (IL-17) and Congresswoman Becca Balint (VT-AL) on the House floor during introduction. Both Sorensen and Balint are original co-sponsors of the original resolution. Congressman Garcia is the original author of the bill.”

Garcia also says, “I’m starting the process of forcing a floor vote on our resolution to expel George Santos from the U.S. House of Representatives. Republicans will now have a chance to demonstrate to the American people that an admitted liar and criminal should not serve in Congress.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Tommy Tuberville

'I Call Them Americans': Alabama Senator Defends White Nationalists In Military

Far-right Republican U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, already under fire this week for blocking 184 top U.S. Armed Forces nominations and promotions to protest the Biden administration’s support of women in the military accessing abortion, is drawing more outrage after declaring support for white nationalists in the U.S. military.

“Democrats are attacking our military, saying we need to get out the white extremists or white nationalists, people that don’t believe in our agenda,” Sen. Tuberville told Alabama Public Radio WBHM, as AL.com reports. “We cannot start putting rules in there for one type and one group and make different factions in the military because that is the most important institution in the United States of America and [to] our allies is a strong hard-nosed killing machine, which is called our military.”

WBHM’s Richard Banks asked Tuberville, “You mentioned the Biden administration trying to prevent white nationalists from being in the military. Do you believe they should allow white nationalists in the military?”

“Well,” Tuberville replied, “they call them that. I call them Americans.”

During the 5-minute WBHM interview, Tuberville also attacked transgender women playing women’s sports.

“Given all the initiatives you’re working on in the Senate, why put so much focus on this topic? Compared to other issues that affect Alabamians?” asked Banks.

Tuberville first won in 2020 with the endorsement of Donald Trump, defeating Democratic U.S. Senator Doug Jones. He is an election denier who minimized the January 6, 2021 insurrection, and who voted to oppose certifying the election for President Joe Biden.

Also Monday, Tuberville claimed the entire nation is affected by transgender women and girls playing sports.

“It’s gonna affect everybody all over the country and the problem they’re having in the next couple of weeks is Joe Biden has, he’s legislating from the White House and he’s basically doesn’t care about women’s sports and timeline,” Tuberville falsely claimed, apparently unaware that as President, Biden has the constitutional authority to mandate how and under what requirements federal dollars are spent.

“He’s gonna take a sledgehammer to it because this next couple of weeks, he’s going to executive order any school in 2023, starting this year, if you do not abide by his law in terms of males playing against women in sports, you will lose your federal funding.”

WBHM added several fact-checks to Tuberville’s false statement, including one for his claim about white nationalists in the military.

Although Tuberville apparently supports white nationalists in the military, WBHM reports: “Concerns about white nationalists in military ranks extend before Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. For instance, an October 2020 Pentagon report to Congress detailed the military’s efforts to keep extremists, particularly fascists, out of the military.”

Last fall, just before the election, at a Trump rally in Nevada, Tuberville made racist remarks.

“The Democratic Party, they have the majority, they could stop this crime today. They said, some people say ‘well, they’re soft on crime.’ No, they’re not soft on crime, their program, they want crime. They want crime because they want to take over what you got. They want to control what you have. They want reparations because they think the people that do the crime are owed that. Bullsh*t,” he said. “They are not owed that.”

On Tuesday, after news of Donald Trump being found liable for sexual assault and defamation, among other allegations, in a civil court trial that also ordered him to pay $5 million to E. Jean Carroll, Tuberville defended the ex-president.

HuffPost senior politics reporter Igor Bobic had tweeted, “GOP Sen. Tuberville says the NY verdict against Trump ‘makes me want to vote for him twice.'”

The Alabama Senator responded with a simple tweet suggesting he is all-in on Donald Trump:

100% #MAGA,” Tuberville wrote.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Ivanka Trump with former president Donald Trump at the White House

Trump Family Fails To Surrender Documents In $250M New York Fraud Case

New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office was forced to request the state Supreme Court judge overseeing her $250 million fraud case against Donald Trump help resolve the failure of the ex-president, his three eldest adult children, and the Trump Organization to hand over documents required for discovery.

James’ office (OAG) notably “singled out ‘an unexplained drop-off in emails for Ivanka Trump’ as one of the more significant issues,” reports Forbes.

The Attorney General also asked Judge Arthur Engoron to require the Trumps to complete a “compliance affidavit.”

“OAG believes this proposed order is necessary given Defendants’ failure to preserve, collect and produce documents and materials in a timely and transparent fashion,” the letter reads. “While we have recently begun receiving documents responsive to our discovery demands, Defendants have provided no timeline for the completion of their production, and more concerningly have not answered questions about the custodians, sources and means used to undertake their production.”

“For months,” the letter continues, her office “has been seeking an explanation for gaps in the productions made by the Trump Organization. Many of these issues date back to the underlying investigation that preceded this action and involved the collection and search of devices and databases.”

The letter also claims the Trumps have “either ignored the inquiries, provided non-substantive responses, or passed the buck to counsel no longer engaged in the case.” She is asking “for Defendants to provide sworn certifications detailing the process they followed for preserving, searching and producing documents in response to OAG discovery notices.”

James’ office also points to a letter from September of last year in which she expressed concern over Ivanka Trump’s drop in production of documents.

“In the first nine months of 2014, Ms. Trump is on an average of 1,218 emails per month. That drops to just 299 emails in October 2014 with an average of 242 emails through December 2015. In 2016 she averages just 37 emails per month.”

As CNBC explains, the New York Attorney General’s suit “accuses Trump of repeatedly overstating the values of his assets in statements to banks, insurance companies and the IRS in order to obtain better loan and tax terms.”

Separately, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg last month charged Donald Trump with 34 felony violations related to his alleged hush money payoff to a porn star. The charges, Bragg’s office announced last month, are “for falsifying New York business records in order to conceal damaging information and unlawful activity from American voters before and after the 2016 election.”

Trump is also being investigated by a Georgia District Attorney for his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. He is being investigated by the Justice Department’s special counsel for his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, and for his retention and refusal to return, even after being subpoenaed, hundreds of documents with classified markings removed from the White House and stored at his Mar-a-Lago residence and resort.

Trump’s attorneys are also currently in court fighting a civil lawsuit brought by journalist E. Jean Carroll, who alleges the ex-president raped her in the 1990s, then defamed her when he denied her claims.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Marjorie Taylor Greene

'Disgusting Filth': Outrage Erupts Over Margie's Mean Attack On Stepmoms

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) says that women who are stepmothers are not real mothers, because they are not a child’s “biological” parent.

The Georgia Republican delivered that claim during a congressional hearing on Wednesday to a woman who happens to be the head of the nation’s second-largest teachers’ union, and who also happens to be a lesbian: Randi Weingarten.

“Miss Weingarten,” Rep. Greene asked, “Are you a mother?”

“I am a mother by marriage,” Weingarten replied. “And my wife is here with me. So I’m really glad that she’s here.”

“By marriage,” Greene noted. “I see.”

During her allotted five minutes of questioning, Greene spent nearly the entire time not asking questions, but attacking Weingarten over a wide range of topics. Among them, Weingarten tweeting she supported Twitter suspending Greene for spreading COVID misinformation, which Greene tried to imply meant Weingarten did not support the First Amendment. She also railed against the teachers’ union chief for submitting a plan to the CDC on how to protect students, teachers, and staff during the COVID crisis.

But she began and ended her time belittling Weingarten’s motherhood.

Greene sternly told Weingarten, “you have no business advising the CDC what the medical guidelines were for school closures, because now we have a nation of schoolchildren who suffered because of it. The problem is people like you need to admit that you’re just a political activist. Not a teacher, not a mother, and not a medical doctor.”

Weingarten, who never professed to be a medical doctor, is both a mother and a teacher.

Many over the past 24 hours have taken Greene’s attack as an attack on parents who adopt, and on adopted children.

They are well within their rights to do so.

In July 0f 2022, just after the U.S. Supreme Court revoked a woman’s right to choose – a move supported by the right who insisted adoption is the answer to unwanted pregnancies – Greene referred to adoptive parents as “fake,” as Newsweek reported.

“Children are in the greatest danger in America today because traditional family values are being destroyed—the idea that mom and dad together, not fake mom and fake dad, but the biological mom and biological dad, can raise their children together and do what’s right for their children,” she said.

Greene at the time was blasted by adopted children and their parents on social media.

“I don’t tweet politics nor usually care about the rantings of a moron. But as part of a family where we are blessed to have adopted members, her referring to non-biological parents as ‘fake mom and fake dad’ is too offensive to ignore,” wrote Philadelphia sports radio host Glen Macnow, as Newsweek noted.

And now, Greene is again declaring non-biological parents not real parents – and not parents at all.

Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) unleashed on his Republican colleague.

“My mom and dad adopted me at birth and they are my parents. Fuck you and your bigoted questions,” he tweeted at Rep. Greene.

“Marjorie Taylor Greene doesn’t think you’re a mother if you adopt children. I am adopted and this hurts. I love my mom,” tweeted a political science student.

“I was adopted at 3 days old. I only have one Mother as far I’m concerned. She raised me, nurtured me & is my best friend to this day. She is 94 & the roles have reversed. Giving birth alone does not make you a mother. I am highly offended by Marjorie Taylor Greene’s ignorance,” wrote a Twitter user.

“As the single mother of adopted daughters, yet one more reason to find Marjorie Taylor Greene a poor excuse for a human being,” wrote another.

“If my mother were alive today, she’d cross the street twice to kick Marjorie ‘Tuesday’ Green’s ass. She was not a ‘biological’ mother. Rather, she was a loving woman who adopted my brother and I, gave us a home & a life. That’s a mother,” wrote a tech CEO.

“My mom died last year. She adopted me when I was six months old. She wasn’t perfect, but she was the best parent anyone could have asked for. She was my mom. Marjorie Taylor Greene can unkindly go fuck herself,” tweeted a photographer.

“Marjorie Taylor Greene, I would like to let you know as an adopted child I think that you are a piece of crap,” wrote another Twitter user.

“I was adopted and raised by the two most amazing people I could have been,” wrote another Twitter user. “Marjorie Taylor Greene is … the worst human being on Congress right now, which is saying something. Every word she utters offends me as a human being and as an American. She must be removed!!”

Many more, who did not identify themselves as adopted children or adoptive parents, also blasted Greene.

Among them, MSNBC anchor and legal analyst Katie Phang, who tweeted: “What disgusting filth from MTG. It’s unconscionable to go after amazing people like @rweingarten and countless others who provide unconditional love and support for their children, regardless of whether they’re the biological parents.”

Also, political commentator and think tank CEO Sally Kohn, who posted a video clip of Greene and wrote: “Here is the moment where Marjorie Taylor Greene suggested that Randi Weingarten — and EVERYONE who has step children or adopted children — are not real parents. Just nasty and offensive — not to mention wrong!”

Watch Rep. Greene below or at this link:

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Mike Pence

In 'Historic' Grand Jury Appearance, Pence Testifies On Trump's Coup Attempt

Mike Pence, the former vice president, spent over seven hours testifying before Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith’s grand jury investigating the January 6, 2021 insurrection and former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Pence is now the highest-ranking Trump official to testify before the special counsel’s grand jury.

His testimony, which former Defense Department Special Counsel Ryan Goodman is describing as “historic,” comes just one day after a federal appeals court rejected Trump’s attempt to block his former vice president from testifying.

Calling it a “significant development in the special counsel’s probe,” NBC News reports Pence’s SUVs entered a Washington, D.C. federal courthouse at 9:00 AM and left at 4:30 PM. Politicocalls it “an extraordinary flashpoint in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s probe.”

“Pence could provide critical insights on Trump’s thinking in the days leading up to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6. The former vice president published a memoir and Wall Street Journal opinion article detailing several of his interactions with Trump, but some details were left vague. Special counsel Jack Smith’s team is particularly interested in Trump’s efforts to try to block the certification of the election, NBC News previously reported.”

The New York Times’ Michael Schmidt on MSNBC said Pence has been “trying to avoid this for six years, dating back to when he was a key witness in the Mueller investigation but his lawyer … was able to get him out of having to go in” to testify.

Former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance, before news broke that Pence had testified, on Thursday afternoon mused, “Pence’s insistence on protecting his role as President of the Senate from scrutiny when he answers questions before a grand jury forces consideration of what he wants to protect. Is it conversations with Senators about what they expected/wanted to happen on 1-6?”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Donald Trump

'Extremely Painful': Carroll Describes Alleged Trump Rape In Graphic Testimony

Journalist and writer E. Jean Carroll in dramatic testimony Wednesday told a jury that in the mid-1990s Donald Trump raped her, which she described as “extremely painful,” and said he lied about it when she made the accusation public.

“I’m here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he said it didn’t happen. He lied and shattered my reputation and I’m here to try to get my life back,” Carroll told the jury, The Washington Post reports.

She says that the attack, and later his denial, have harmed her. Carroll and Trump did not know each other prior to the alleged assault, although she said she had seen him around town and at a party in the 1980s.

Describing how they met, in Manhattan’s luxury goods store Bergdorf Goodman, Carroll said it was “such a funny New York scene.”

“He said, ‘You’re that advice lady’ and I said ‘you’re that real estate tycoon,'” she told the jury, NBC News reports. “He was very personable.”

She says Trump suggested they go to the lingerie section on Bergdorf’s sixth floor.

“She said she willingly went with him,” NBC adds, “when he said he wanted to go there to find a gift for another woman.”

Trump was married to Marla Maples at the time, and reportedly mistook Carroll for his ex-wife when shown a photo during discovery.

“I’m a bored advice columnist. I love to give advice, and here was Donald Trump asking me for advice about buying a present,” Carroll told the jurors. “It was a wonderful prospect for me.”

NBC News reports Carroll “said that she ‘didn’t think anything about what was about to happen’ because the door was open when he motioned her toward the dressing room.”

“Trump then ‘shut the door and shoved me against the wall,’ Carroll said. ‘I pushed him back and he thrust me back against the wall, banging my head.'”

“‘He put his shoulder against me and held me against wall,’ she testified. Carroll broke down in tears as she recalled Trump penetrating her during her testimony.”

“I couldn’t see anything was happening but I could certainly feel that pain,” she said.

According to the Post, Carroll “called it ‘extremely painful’ when he forced his fingers inside of her. ‘It was a horrible feeling because he put his hand inside of me and curved his finger,’ she said.”

Trump has denied the accusations.

Watch MSNBC’s update on the trial below or at this link.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Dan Patrick

Texas Official Boasts Of 'Bringing Prayer Back To Classrooms'

Texas far-right Republican Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick is lauding two just-passed state Senate bills which mandate the Ten Commandments be prominently displayed in every public school classroom and that public schools be allowed to create times specifically devoted so people can pray or read the Bible or other religious works.

In theory, both bills could be challenged by civil rights attorneys as unconstitutional, and Patrick’s praise of the legislation might make any case against them stronger.

“I believe that you cannot change the culture of the country until you change the culture of mankind,” Patrick said in a statement, The Texas Tribune reports. “Bringing the Ten Commandments and prayer back to our public schools will enable our students to become better Texans.”

Patrick, who has control over what legislation is voted on in the Texas legislature, appears to be revealing his intent to put prayer back into public school classrooms, which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional in 1962.

“The state cannot hold prayers in public schools, even if participation is not required and the prayer is not tied to a particular religion,” the legal website Oyez explains.

Republican State Sen. Phil King “said during a committee hearing earlier this month that the Ten Commandments are part of American heritage and it’s time to bring them back into the classroom. He said the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for his bill after it sided with Joe Kennedy, a high school football coach in Washington state who was fired for praying at football games. The court ruled that was praying as a private citizen, not as an employee of the district,” the Tribune reports.

But just as with prayer in schools, the Supreme Court decades ago also ruled that putting the Ten Commandments in public schools is unconstitutional.

Earlier this month, when the Texas bill was before the state Senate’s Education Committee, we reported that in 1980. the U.S. Supreme Court in Stone v. Graham ruled 5-4 that a Kentucky state law violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. That law, as Oyez notes, “required the posting of a copy of the Ten Commandments in each public school classroom,” just as the proposed Texas bill, SB 1515, does.

The Ten Commandments bill is opposed by John Litzler, general counsel and director of public policy at the Texas Baptists Christian Life Commission, who “said at the committee hearing that the organization has concerns about taxpayer money being used to buy religious texts and that parents, not schools, should be having conversations about religion with their children.”

“I should have the right to introduce my daughter to the concepts of adultery and coveting someone’s spouse,” Litzler said. “It shouldn’t be one of the first things she learns to read in her kindergarten classroom.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell

As GOP Senators Consider Replacing McConnell, He Promises To Return

GOP Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday afternoon issued a statement vowing to return to the Senate after a report swirled on social media that the 79-year old Kentucky Republican’s leadership team was making plans to find his successor.

“I am looking forward to returning to the Senate on Monday. We’ve got important business to tackle and big fights to win for Kentuckians and the American people,” McConnell said in a post on Twitter at 2:30 PM.

McConnell did not disavow the claim his leadership team is searching for his successor, nor did he state he will not be retiring soon.

“Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell has been out of the public eye for weeks, following a serious fall that hospitalized him,” The Spectator reported. “Now multiple sources confirm that Senators John Barrasso of North Dakota, John Cornyn of Texas and John Thune of South Dakota are actively reaching out to fellow Republican senators in efforts to prepare for an anticipated leadership vote — a vote that would occur upon announcement that McConnell would be retiring from his duties as leader, and presumably the Senate itself.”

The Spectator’s report came just days after McConnell told a Kentucky PBS affiliate, “I’m still in the height of my career,” and insisted, “I’m at the top of my game.”

That report was heavily shared on social media, with Republicans and Democrats alike tweeting it.

Leader McConnell was first elected to the U.S Senate in 1984, nearly four decades ago, and has held leadership positions for the past two decades, including Senate Majority Leader from 2015 to 2021. McConnell is the longest-serving Senate Republican leader in U.S. history.

Last year Politico reported on the massive number of right-wing judges McConnell has pushed through for Senate confirmation.

“After Democrats took the House in 2018, McConnell went into overdrive and nearly doubled his pace of lower-court confirmations. Ultimately, Trump and McConnell ushered in three new Supreme Court justices, 54 Circuit Court justices and 174 District Court justices — all lifetime appointees, many of them relatively young.”

“One source says that Cornyn has been particularly active in his preparations, taking fellow senators with whom he has little in common to lunch in attempts to court them,” adds The Spectator.

One year before he passed away in 2021, The New Yorkerreported former Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid “thinks that it’s time for some redress for what he regards as the theft of those two” U.S. Supreme Court seats.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Tucker Carlson

'This Is Very Serious': Judge Sanctions Fox News In Dominion Lawsuit

A Delaware judge delivered a damning rebuke to attorneys for Fox News on Wednesday, and warned he is likely to appoint a “special master” to ensure evidence is submitted to Dominion Voting Systems, just one day after he repeatedly admonished the right-wing media conglomerate’s lawyers for withholding critical information in the $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit.

Judge Eric Davis also announced he likely will conduct an investigation to determine if Fox News attorneys withheld evidence in the trial, slated to begin next week on Monday, The New York Times reports.

“The rebuke came after lawyers for Dominion, which is suing for defamation, revealed a number of instances in which Fox’s lawyers had not turned over evidence in a timely manner. That evidence included recordings of the Fox News host Maria Bartiromo talking with former President Donald J. Trump’s lawyers, Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani, which Dominion said had been turned over only a week ago.”

Judge Davis ordered Fox News to “do everything they can” to make any witnesses Dominion needed for depositions available, adding, “it will be at a cost to Fox.”

One of those witnesses could be Rupert Murdoch, the Chairman of Fox Corporation.

Judge Davis “also said he would very likely appoint a special master to investigate Fox’s handling of discovery of documents and the question of whether Fox had inappropriately withheld details about Rupert Murdoch’s role as a corporate officer of Fox News,” The Times adds.

Attorneys for Dominion on Tuesday raised the issue that Fox News was late to nail down exactly who are considered corporate officers of Fox News, “which is critical to discovery procedures in civil litigation,” The Washington Post’s Erik Wemple had reported in a series of live tweets during the pre-trial hearing.

“We have been litigating based upon this false premise that Rupert Murdoch wasn’t an officer of Fox News,” a Dominion lawyer told Judge Davis on Wednesday, noting they would have conducted far wider discovery had that fact been made earlier.

In a stunning move, only on Sunday did Fox News attorneys finally notify Dominion that Murdoch should be added to the short list of official corporate officers. Dominion’s attorneys told the judge that adding Murdoch at the last minute was problematic, because they had not conducted discovery interviews with the media magnate.

“You have a credibility problem,” Judge Davis warned Fox News attorneys on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Davis “said he was very concerned that there had been ‘misrepresentations to the court.'”

“This is very serious,” he also said.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Stephen Miller

Trump Aide Miller Summoned (Again) To Special Counsel Grand Jury

Former White House senior advisor Stephen Miller, the architect of ex-president Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant separation policies, is once again testifying before a federal grand jury as DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith continues his investigation into the January 6 insurrection.

Miller’s appearance Tuesday comes “after the courts ordered that he and other top advisers must share their recollections of direct conversations with the then-president related to the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot,” CNN reports. “Miller is likely to be asked in the grand jury about his phone call with Trump minutes before the Ellipse rally that day, and other conversations they had about the election. The grand jury is hearing evidence as part of a special counsel’s criminal investigation.”

Trump had tried to block Miller from testifying, claiming “executive privilege,” which he has no legal or constitutional authority to invoke, as courts have repeatedly ruled.

In response to a Bloomberg News reporter tweeting Tuesday morning that Miller had just gone through security at a federal courthouse in Washington, D.C., HuffPost White House correspondent S.V. Dáte noted, “Stephen Miller was on Fox News the morning of Dec 14 2020 *bragging* about the fraudulent elector scheme they were doing.”

Here is that video, from December 14, 2020. His claims appear to be fallacious.

In addition to reports of him testifying before the D.C. grand jury Tuesday, Miller is trending on Twitter after a just-publishedNew York Times report reveals his child-separation policy, designed to send the message to migrants in Central America to not try to travel to the U.S., “a significant number of U.S. citizen children were also removed from their parents under the so-called zero tolerance policy, in which migrant parents were criminally prosecuted and jailed for crossing the border without authorization.”

Watch the video above or at this link.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Justin Kanew

'Love Each Other': Shots Fired At Progressive News Site  Founder's Home

The founder of a popular progressive news site in Tennessee that recently broke the story of his state’s lieutenant governor’s interactions with a young gay man who posts “racy” images on Instagram says someone shot up his home Saturday night while he and his family were asleep.

“On Saturday night, someone targeted our home by shooting several bullets into our house while my family was sleeping. This violence has no place in a civilized society and we are thankful no one was physically hurt,” says Justin Kanew, the founder of The Tennessee Holler, a former 2018 Democratic congressional nominee, and a former contestant on “The Amazing Race.”

“The authorities have not completed their investigation and right now we do not know for sure the reason for this attack. We urge the Williamson County Sheriff’s office to continue to investigate this crime and help shed light on Saturday’s unfortunate events and bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice,” Kanew says in his statement.

“In the meantime, our family remains focused on keeping our children healthy and safe. We don’t plan on making any additional statements at this time and hope everyone will respect our privacy.”

On Twitter, Kanew adds, “Love each other.”

In 2021 Kanew spoke at a school board meeting during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m a dad of a new kindergartener and her first day was right after the chaos last week,” Kanew told attendees. “She went to school and was one of just a few kids in her class wearing a mask which made her ask me why she had to. My answer was because we want to take care of other people. She’s five years old, but she understood that concept, and it’s disappointing that more adults around here can’t seem to grasp it.”

“I asked a pastor friend of mine and he was very clear, there’s no actual biblical justification for using the Bible to get out of a mask mandate passed by a majority of this elected board, but thousands are doing it anyway, calling it a ‘religious exemption,’ which is frankly just sad,” Kanew said. “Avoiding masks is not in the Bible but taking care of others is.”

He also took the opportunity to blast parents attacking Critical Race Theory, explaining that it “is not in our schools, and it never was.

”Some on social media called him a “hero.”

“During the 2023 legislative session, Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, called Kanew a ‘jackass’ and ‘loser’ for asking about his support of anti-LGTBQ legislation,” notes Tennessee Lookout, reporting on the attack on Kanew’s home. “Gov. Bill Lee told Kanew his question about a photo of the governor dressed in drag in high school was ‘ridiculous.'”

NCRM has repeatedly relied on The Tennessee Holler’s excellent reporting, as recently as Monday, in a story about the Speaker of the Tennessee House kicking Democrats off their legislative committees and moving the expel them.

Read Kanew’s statement and watch his video above or at this link.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.