Categories
Crime The Trump Adminstration

Steve Bannon’s Legal Problems Have Gone From Bad To Worse

When Donald Trump handed him a presidential pardon in the final days of the Trump administration, Steve Bannon probably thought he was in the clear legally and could stop worrying about being sent to prison.

But Bannon was very wrong.

 

The Washington Post reports that federal prosecutors are refusing to erase his indictment for fraud:

“The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, which is preparing for trial against three of Bannon’s co-defendants in an alleged border wall fundraising scam, is seeking an ‘administrative’ termination of Bannon’s case, which would halt the prosecution against him for good but would not clear his name from the docket. The case would officially remain pending while the others, who were not pardoned by Trump before he left office in January, await trial.”

That’s not the only legal jeopardy Bannon finds himself in, as Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. is also considering whether or not he’ll seek an indictment against the former White House aide for his scheme to embezzle money from his failed “Build the Wall” scheme which turned out to be nothing but a con job:

“Following Bannon’s pardon, which covers only federal charges, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office began its own investigation of the alleged scam, raising the possibility that Bannon could face state fraud charges. If his case remains open in federal court, it is not expected to affect the ability of state prosecutors to file charges.”

Could Bannon be facing charges in both federal and state court? He most certainly could, and since he and his attorneys are likely to litigate the federal case against him in light of his pardon from Trump, the chances increase that if he’s found guilty, Bannon could be serving his time at Attica or Sing Sing, two of the most infamous prisons in the country.

Bannon probably thought being connected to and working for Donald Trump would bring him fame and fortune. Instead, it has resulted in him facing the prospect of spending a large portion of what remains of his life incarcerated.

 

Categories
Congress GOP

Liz Cheney Is Already Getting Payback On Kevin McCarthy For Booting Her From GOP Leadership

It’s been just three days since House Republicans — led by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) — unceremoniously stripped Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) of her post as the third-highest ranking member of the House GOP ranks and then replaced her with Trump loyalist Elise Stefanik (R-NY).

However, in that 72 hours, Cheney has made it clear that she will not stop speaking out about the dangers of allowing failed, one-term former President Donald Trump to return as the Republican presidential nominee in 2024, remarking:

“Right now, I am very focused on making sure that our party becomes again a party that stands for truth and stands for fundamental principles that are conservative and mostly stands for the Constitution. And I won’t let a former president or anybody else unravel the democracy. Whatever it takes.”

And now Cheney is aiming her fire at McCarthy, insisting that he should indeed be subpoenaed by the newly-minted commission that will investigate what transpired on January 6, 2021 when pro-Trump rioters staged an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Cheney was asked by Jon Karl of ABC News:

“Should Kevin Mccarthy be willing to speak, testify before that commission? After all, he is one of the few people that we know of that was actually talking to Donald Trump while the attack was taking place.”

In what must have been an incredibly satisfying moment of payback, Cheney replied:

“He absolutely should, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he were subpoenaed.”

In other words, Cheney is urging Democrats on the 1/6 committee to demand that McCarthy testify. And since he was one of the few people who spoke with Trump on the phone during the violent uprising at the Capitol, McCarthy might just be able to provide details that would sink the Donald once and for all.

Kevin McCarthy and his top lieutenants in House leadership may have thought they could oust Liz Cheney and go about their business as if nothing had changed. But the Wyoming Republican is letting it be known she still has some surprises in store for the people who pushed her overboard.

Categories
Corruption Crime Donald Trump The Trump Adminstration

New Developments In The Case Against Rudy Suggest The DOJ Has Evidence Of Multiple Crimes

A little over two weeks ago, you probably recall, the FBI raided the home and office of Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, seizing his electronic devices and sending a clear message that the former New York City mayor is on the Justice Department’s radar screen in a major way.

There are reports federal prosecutors already have evidence that proves Giuliani illegally took money from foreign governments such as Russia and Ukraine. If they can prove that, Rudy is looking at spending a few years in federal prison, which at his age could conceivably be a death sentence.

Now, however, we know now that the DOJ is investigating Giuliani for other, more serious crimes which also trace back to his connections in Ukraine.

On Wednesday, The Daily Beast reported that the feds are taking a long look at a dossier Giuliani had cooked up in an attempt to smear Joe Biden during the height of the 2020 election:

“In late 2019 during the Trump-Ukraine scandal, The New Yorker, which obtained a copy of the dossier, described one of its allegations as a byzantine conspiracy theory in which the U.S.-backed creation of NABU— Ukraine’s anti-corruption prosecutors—in 2014 was somehow a scheme concocted by Ambassador Yovanovitch and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent to prevent Ukraine from investigating the Bidens. In another allegation described by the magazine, the dossier casts right wing boogeyman and liberal philanthropist George Soros as the orchestrator of Yovanovitch’s appointment as U.S. ambassador in Kyiv.”

The dossier, however, did manage to make its rounds inside the Trump administration, where it was discussed and debated, then dismissed as worthless:

“According to one former Trump White House official, those in the White House who examined the pages and interview notes in 2019 almost across-the-board dubbed the research “amateurish” and unhelpful, with Trump officials discussing amongst themselves how they believed it was unlikely that anyone, foreign or American, would agree to pay Giuliani to produce this—if only because of the utterly shoddy nature of the work.”

The fact that none of those White House advisers reported Giuliani’s bogus dossier to the FBI or other law enforcement agency also places them in significant legal jeopardy. And it’s safe to assume they’ll be glad to sell out Rudy to save their own hides. Provided, that is, Giuliani doesn’t feed them to prosecutors first.

What a nasty mess Rudy and his pals have gotten themselves into. Here’s hoping they all go to prison for a very long time.

 

Categories
Crime Donald Trump The Trump Adminstration

New York AG Tish James Puts Trump On Notice About His Many Alleged Crimes

New York Attorney General Tish James has been on a roll lately when it comes to her ongoing investigation of Donald Trump and his many alleged crimes.

Not long ago, a judge in the Empire State ruled the Trump Organization has to turn over records involving a property that’s currently the subject of a civil investigation by the AG’s office, according to the Washington Post:

“The documents and communications at issue could help investigators answer questions about a conservation easement that was granted several years ago at the Seven Springs estate in suburban New York’s Westchester Country, a move that netted President Trump’s company a $21 million tax deduction. The materials, which Trump’s lawyers had sought to shield, include messages exchanged between an engineer and a land-use lawyer who worked on Trump’s behalf.”

Additionally, James released a letter she and 15 other state attorneys general had sent to White House Counsel Pat Cipollone before the Trump administration came to an abrupty end reminding the White House they were required to “preserve and maintain” all records — including tweets, notes from private conversations, and emails from private servers that might have been used to conduct government work:

“The Trump Administration shouldn’t have to be told that they need to comply with the law and keep all records of official business, but the last four years have shown that the president needs to be constantly reminded what the law is and how he must comply with it. Even the president’s tweets, the private conversations he had with Russian President Putin, and Ivanka’s private email server must be archived. Every bit of this information belongs to the American people and the White House cannot deprive the public of this information.”

The letter from James to the White House counsel is particularly important because it means that every member of the administration was been placed on notice: If you destroy anything at all, you will be a party to obstruction of justice, which just so happens to be a felony.

But the letter is even more significant because it makes clear that James and many of her associates in other states are actively investigating and could charge Trump and his associates with crimes they committed while conducting their “official” duties.

The biggest danger to Donald Trump has never been from federal charges or courts. It’s the states that will be handing down indictments against the president, his family, his business, and members of his administration. And no presidential pardon can exonerate any of the guilty parties. They will have to stand before the bar of justice and answer for their crimes.

Be afraid, Donald. Be very afraid.

 

Categories
Gun Crime U.S. Senate

Ted Cruz Got His A*s Handed To Him At A Senate Hearing – So He Stormed Out Like A Child

Though it’s been said millions of times before, it bears repeating: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is the biggest, most obnoxious douchebag in the U.S. Senate.

Cruz proved what a petulant shitbag he is once again recently during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence when he accused Democrats of wanting to “defund the police,” which is a lie that gets repeated by conservatives whenever anyone says there’s far too much death and destruction caused by the weapons of mass murder produced by arms companies in the United States:

“You just said a moment ago that no Democrat favors abolishing the police. If that were the case why did every single Democrat vote to confirm Vanita Gupta—a nominee for the number three position at the Department of Justice who said last year in writing, in written testimony before this Senate, advocated abolishing the police?”

Of course, what Cruz said contains not a shred of truth. Gupta has written that she favors using some of the funds currently spent on cops to programs that would focus on improving care for the mentally ill, addressing the underlying economic causes of violent crime, and looking for alternatives to merely hiring more police officers.

Despite having already misstated what Ms. Gupta stands for, Cruz continued to trash a woman who dares to have an opinion that differs from his:

“And [Gupta] was confirmed by one vote. Every single Democrat was the necessary vote to confirm a radical who advocated abolishing the police and just this week we’re taking up Kristin Clarke, another radical, who has last year in testimony before this Senate advocated abolishing the police. If you don’t support abolishing the police why do you keep voting for nominees who advocate abolishing the police?”

But Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal (CT) called Cruz out for his nonsense, reminding him:

“As you well know Senator Cruz, that is a complete distortion of their positions. We’re not here to talk about those nominees. If you want to stay, we can do it at the end of the hearing. But right now we’re going to move on.”

Rather than stay and participate in rest of the hearing, Cruz stood up and walked out like a child taking his toy and running home to mommy. Seems the Texas senator isn’t just a lying asshat, he’s also unable to take criticism, which is a sure sign of insecurity.

Maybe it’s time to rename Sen. Cruz the Raving Infantile Liar. It’s a hell of a lot more accurate.