Categories
Coronavirus GOP WTF?!

Ron DeSantis Facing Big Legal Trouble After His Latest Deadly Scam Is Exposed

Sunday evening on “60 Minutes,” Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis was exposed as having potentially broken the law and violated the oath of office he took when he was elected three years ago.

Specifically, CBS News reported that DeSantis allowed wealthy individuals from around the country to jump to the front of the line for COVID-19 vaccines in exchange for money:

“Florida’s rollout started pretty typically. The first doses were given to healthcare workers and nursing home residents in early December. But then, a few weeks later, Gov. Ron DeSantis, breaking from C.D.C. guidelines, announced he would not vaccinate teachers and essential workers next, but instead put ‘seniors first,’ making anyone 65 or over eligible for the vaccine, the first in the country to do that. DeSantis said seniors were at highest risk.”

Sounds good, huh? DeSantis promised he was going to prioritize senior citizens, but then he changed his mind when big money was waved at him:

“The private jets started arriving. Hollywood moguls, New York socialites and tourists from overseas were getting vaccinated in Florida, posting on social media and sparking outrage. Early on, there were no residency requirements to get vaccinated in the state.”

 

Can you imagine what the Department of Justice can do to DeSantis if it’s proven that he sold vaccinations to the highest bidder while others caught coronavirus and died? Between that and the wrongful death civil actions that will be filed, DeSantis could well be looking at leaving the state of Florida flat broke and himself under criminal indictment.

DeSantis was once considered a leading contender for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. But he’ll be lucky to get elected dog catcher now that this latest scandal has exposed his reckless actions.

 

Categories
Crime Donald Trump The Trump Adminstration

Roger Stone Is In HUGE Legal Trouble For His Connection To Two Criminal Investigations

You probably recall that in the last days of his failed one-term administration, Donald Trump handed out pardons and commutations left and right. There were 74 pardons and 70 commutations, to be exact.

One of those legal gifts was bestowed upon Roger Stone, who has bee a close friend and confidant of Trump’s for decades. Stone was handed a get out of jail free card on a raft of charges:

“Specifically, the pardon is solely for the crimes of conviction — eight in the Eastern District of Virginia and two in the District of Columbia.”

However, Stone is a notorious scofflaw, a man who thinks the rules don’t apply to him because he has friends in high places who can wash away his many sins with the sweep of a pen. And it just so happens that Roger is once again facing charges in at least two cases.

First is Stone’s connection to the Oath Keepers, a bunch of domestic terrorists who served as a security detail for Stone during the days leading up to the Jan.6 storming of the U.S. Capitol which led to the deaths of five people, including a member of the Capitol Police Force.

Two of the Oath Keepers have just been added to an existing indictment, and that makes Stone a possible co-conspirator.

The Hill reports that the two men who were indicted this week are facing serious charges:

“The Justice Department announced on Thursday that Joshua James of Alabama and Roberto Minuta of Texas were charged by superseding indictment with conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding and entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds.

“The men each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted.

“The conspiracy case against the Oath Keepers was first filed in January and now has 12 defendants.”

Since the DOJ is continuing to add people to the indictments already handed down, don’t be surprised if Stone is added, too, in the weeks ahead. As it stands now, it certainly looks like the Justice Department is indeed considering anyone who had contact with the Oath Keepers or their role in the Capitol insurrection to be part of a larger conspiracy. And that could result in Stone being a criminal defendant and also facing 20 years in federal prison.

There’s also Stone’s bizarre connection the unfolding saga taking place around Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who is under investigation by the DOJ for sexually trafficking a 17-year-old girl, along with several other crimes related to his relationship to the underage girl. Reportedly, a close friend of Gaetz’s is currently telling everything he knows about the matter to federal investigators.

Stone decided to insert himself into the Gaetz fiasco by telling unhinged conspiracy theorist Alex Jones that the congressman needs to go on the offensive:

“All of these stories that are maligning Matt Gaetz today are based on leaks. Where is the beef? Where are the facts? I don’t think there are any facts. I think this is a good old-fashioned smear.”

Stone has now managed to get himself into another conspiracy by offering advice to Gaetz, and he could be facing serious questions about what all he knows regarding the trafficking of the young girl Gaetz is alleged to have taken across state lines for the purposes of sex.

But this time, Roger Stone won’t be getting any pardons. Instead, he will be left to twist in the wind and face the consequences of his actions.

Though it sometimes takes awhile, karma always manages to catch up with the douchebags who most deserve it.

 

Categories
Crime Donald Trump

Former Solicitor General: New Lawsuit Filed By Capitol Police Proves ‘Trump Is In Serious Trouble’

A federal lawsuit was filed recently by two D.C. police officers — James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby — that accuses former President Donald Trump of inciting the pro-Trump rioters who inflicted physical and emotional injuries when they stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

The Washington Post reports that the lawsuit clearly places blame on Trump:

“’The insurrectionist mob, which Trump had inflamed, encouraged, incited, directed, and aided and abetted, forced its way over and past the plaintiffs and their fellow officers, pursuing and attacking them inside and outside the United States Capitol, and causing the injuries,’ the suit states.”

“At least 81 Capitol Police officers were assaulted on Jan. 6, according to filings by federal prosecutors, The Post’s Tom Jackman reported. About 65 D.C. police officers also suffered injuries during the Capitol siege, including several concussions from head blows from various objects, including metal poles ripped from inauguration scaffolding, police officials said.”

This latest lawsuit, according to former Obama administration acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal, is a big deal and it’s the worst possible news for Trump, who recently lied and said that his supporters were hugging and kissing the cops as they ransacked the Capitol.

Katyal appeared on MSNBC and noted:

“This is what the complaint said today: ‘The officer attacked relentlessly, bleeding from a cut less than an inch from the eye, cuts, and abrasions on the face and hands and his body was pinned against a large metal door fending off attacks.’ So when Donald Trump said they were kissing and hugging the guards, my God.”

Host Nicolle Wallace then read more of the suit, making it clear that the insurrectionists were out of control and that Trump did absolutely nothing to stop them once the rioting started:

“For several hours after the mob stormed the Capitol, Trump had the continuing ability to issue statements through traditional and social media but refused. Refused to communicate anything to the followers that might discourage the assault and battery. Trump thereby ratified the conduct of the followers and ensured that the assaults on the officers last much longer, worsening the injuries of the plaintiffs and other officers. Late in the afternoon, Trump ratified the conduct, and again said that the election had been stolen by fraud and by announcing support, praise and love for his followers.”

Wallace then asked Katyal if the Blassingame-Hemby lawsuit had put Trump in even greater legal jeopardy. Katyal said it most certainly did:

“Absolutely. If you could short Donald Trump right now it would be a good time to do so. Everything you’re saying, Nicolle, is absolutely right. This, in conjunction with new developments going on in New York, with respect to Weissberg and the like. Donald Trump is in serious trouble. The difference between now and the past is that the Republican Party and senior officials are inviting the trouble and saying there’s merit to it.”

In time, Donald Trump may wind up being charged as an accessory to murder. He could be charged criminally for that and other crimes in Washington, D.C.

Serious legal trouble? That’s putting it mildly.

Here’s Neal Katyal on MSNBC:

 

Categories
Elections WTF?!

Georgia Governor Admits On Tape: Voter Suppression Bill Has ‘Nothing To Do With Fraud’

The voter suppression bill that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed last week was supposedly (according to him and other Republican leaders in the Peach State) necessary to fight voter fraud.

On Tuesday, Kemp was still defending the legislation:

“I’ve always been passionate about making it easy to vote and hard to cheat. You know, the voters in Georgia are pretty smart and I trust them to take a hard look and figure out for themselves what is really in it and what’s not.”

But just a few hours later, Kemp flatly admitted that the bill had nothing at all to do with fraud or cheating by Georgia voters, telling WABE radio:

“A lot of this bill is dealing with the mechanics of the election. It has nothing to do with potential fraud or not.”

Kemp also suggested that since the GOP controls the Georgia General Assembly, they can pass any laws they want, no matter what anyone else thinks:

“I’ve heard a lot of the Democrats say this year the elections have consequences. And they certainly do.

“And the people that are still governing in the General Assembly wanted to do something about the problems that they saw with this election. And that’s exactly what they have done, which is how the process works.”

So there’s no fraud that needs to be fought against, but since Republicans are in charge, they can do as they please. That’s a hell of a way to look at things.

However, Kemp’s legislation is already causing major problems for Georgia economically, with a boycott being called for and the CEO’s of both Delta and Coca-Cola (both headquartered in the Peach State) saying the new law is unacceptable.

Several lawsuits have also been filed to void the Georgia voting law, any of which could succeed. But will they before the 2022 midterm?

Republicans can’t win elections unless they cheat. If you doubt that, keep in mind that even Gov. Brian Kemp admitted so.

Categories
Congress Crime Fox News GOP WTF?!

Matt Gaetz Went On Fox News And Accused Tucker Carlson Of Being A Sex Offender

On Tuesday evening, just hours after the New York Times reported that Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is under federal investigation for sex trafficking for an alleged affair he had with a 17-year-old girl, Gaetz appeared on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show and tried to suggest that he was the victim of a smear campaign to extort money from his father, a wealthy attorney.

In other words, Gaetz tried to cover up his own crime by lying and creating a bullshit conspiracy theory. That’s what Republicans do because that’s what Donald Trump is so fond of doing.

But as he spun his BS story, Gaetz mentioned that Carlson had also been charged as a sex offender, remarking:

“I‘m not the only person on screen right now that has been falsely accused of a terrible sex act.” 

The reference Gaetz made was to a sexual harassment filed against Fox News.

Carlson bristled at Gaetz’s comparison:

“You just referred to a mentally ill viewer who accused me of a sex crime 20 years ago and, of course, it was not true. I never met the person. But I do agree with you that being accused falsely that being accused falsely is one of the worst things that can happen and you do see it a lot. Let’s go back to the investigation you say it was or is underway. There was an investigation. What is the basis of that investigation? What is the allegation that really not very clear from these news stories.”

Clearly, what Gaetz was engaged in was classic deflection: Bring up an allegation to cover your own. The technique is popular with liars.

After the interview, Carlson made it clear to his viewers that he wasn’t sure what to make of what had just transpired:

“You just saw our Matt Gaetz interview. That was one of the weirdest interviews I’ve ever conducted. That story just appeared in the news a couple of hours ago, and on the certainty that there’s always more than you read in the newspaper, we immediately called Matt Gaetz and asked him to come on and tell us more. Which, as you saw, he did. I don’t think that clarified much, but it certainly showed this is a deeply interesting story and we’ll be following it.”

Oh, it was weird all right. It was a complete clusterfuck and the only purpose it served was to give Gaetz a platform for his lies.

Gaetz is innocent until proven guilty. But his wild tale certainly suggests he’s hiding something.