Tag: Donald Trump

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Crime Donald Trump Espionage

DOJ Studying Two Federal Cases As They Consider Charging Trump With Espionage: Report

As U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Justice Department prosecutors consider whether or not (and when) to charge disgraced former president Donald Trump for violating several federal laws by illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort, two other cases of espionage are being carefully studied.

Ken Dilanian of NBC News reports one of the cases comes from Hawaii and the other from Kansas.

In February, a week before the National Archives warned the Justice Department that former President Donald Trump had kept Top Secret documents at his Florida compound, Asia Janay Lavarello was sentenced to three months in prison. She had pleaded guilty to taking classified records home from her job as an executive assistant at the U.S. military’s command in Hawaii. 

“Government employees authorized to access classified information should face imprisonment if they misuse that authority in violation of criminal law,” said Hawaii U.S. Attorney Claire Connors, who did not accuse Lavarello of showing anyone the documents. “Such breaches of national security are serious violations … and we will pursue them.”

[…]

In another example, a prosecutor advising the Mar-a-Lago team, David Raskin, just last week negotiated a felony guilty plea from an FBI analyst in Kansas City, who admitted talking home 386 classified documents over 12 years. She faces up to 10 years in prison.

The fact that the DOJ is looking at those two cases, according to former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade, suggests Trump is in very hot water.

Appearing on MSNBC, McQuade noted:

“There are two questions that prosecutors ask themselves when deciding whether to bring charges. The first is: can we charge? That is, is there sufficient evidence to prove the case? That’s the first question, but then there’s that second question: should we bring a case? That’s when the government looks to whether or not there’s a federal — substantial evidence to bring a case.”

McQuade then explained her reasoning.

“We want to have uniformity in the kind of cases you prosecute. In cases involving the mishandling of classified documents, typically prosecutors look for some aggravating factor beyond just mishandling. If you innocently bring home a document in your briefcase, typically that is not prosecuted. you might be disciplined. you might lose your clearance you might lose your job, but probably not be criminally prosecuted.”

Other factors are also involved, McQuade concluded:

“It’s some of those factors that she mentioned in the Hawaii case and others, whether the person acted willfully, that is they knew they were violating the law. Whether they were disloyal to the United States, sold them to a foreign government for example, or whether they obstructed justice.

“That’s probably the factor that is most salient in the Trump investigation.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMVFu5ey3QE&feature=emb_logo

Categories
Donald Trump Elections U.S. Senate

Trump Claims Arizona ‘Stole The Electron’ After Senate Race Is Called For Democrat

The Senate race between incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly and his Republican challenger, Blake Masters, was called Friday evening, with Kelly being declared the winner after 83% of the ballots had been counted.

NBC News reported:

Kelly’s projected victory on Friday comes three days after polls closed, and as Arizona officials continued counting ballots that were mailed or dropped off, particularly in the vote-rich Maricopa County, home to Phoenix. It gives Democrats 49 Senate seats, one short of securing a majority, with Nevada still counting votes and Georgia’s contest headed to a Dec. 6 runoff.

Masters, it should be noted, was enthusiastically endorsed by failed, one-term, twice-impeached former president Donald Trump.

As you’d expect, Trump was apoplectic after it became clear that Masters had failed to win. He took to his failing Truth Social social media site and demanded a new election be held.

“They stole the Electron from Blake Masters. Do Election over again!”

Stole the electron? What in the hell?

There were also these posts from the disgraced ex-president:

But it was the “electron” typo that drew the most attention and ridicule.

 

Categories
Donald Trump Elections

‘Isolated’ Trump Is In Full ‘Self-Destruct Mode’ As He Contemplates 2024 Run: Report

Even though his youngest daughter, Tiffany, is getting married this weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort this weekend, failed, one-term, twice-impeached former president Donald Trump is reportedly in a foul mood as he contemplates the disastrous results of the midterm election and the way Republicans are suggesting he’s largely to blame for their poor showing among voters.

Among the things on Trump’s mind is his planned announcement next Tuesday that he plans to seek the GOP presidential nomination once again in 2024, even though many in his party are suggesting he should wait or even reconsider such a move.

Apparently, the ex-president is under the mistaken impression that the Justice Department would never ever indict a candidate who has formally announced his plans run for president, even though a quick Google search of the name Lyndon LaRouche would tell him otherwise.

The Trump family is said to be split on whether or not the old man should toss his hat into the political ring again, with Don Jr. and Eric urging him to do so, but Ivanka and Melania opposed to the idea.

According to a source close to Ivanka, she “would never go back to that life,” describing her as feeling “done” with Washington “since the day she left.” Another source pointed out to Bennett that Ivanka’s complete absence from the campaign trail was proof of her lack of interest in politics.

Kushner was similarly uninterested in joining the Trump 2024 train, with sources describing him as having “moved on.”

Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, on the other hand, were enthusiastically anticipating their father running for president for a third time, according to Bennett, with Donald Jr. having “emerged as a key figure in the future of Trumpian politics,” surplanting Ivanka and Jared’s prior places in the inner circle, and having “none of his stepmother, sister and brother-in-law’s hesitancy about another Trump presidency.”

All of this chaos has led to a dark mood descending over the disgraced former president, according to Robert Costa of CBS News, who shared his reporting on Twitter.

Irresponsible could easily be Donald Trump’s middle name. He’s a failure at everything he’s ever attempted, and now he’s starting to realize that he’s wasted his life and accomplished almost nothing. It’s a fitting end for a man who has done so much harm to so many.

 

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Donald Trump GOP Ron DeSantis

Trump Hints He Has Dirt On Ron DeSantis

Failed one-term, twice-impeached former president Donald Trump is hinting that if indeed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) runs against him for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, he will destroy him by using whatever dirt he has.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump was speaking with journalists on the flight back from a rally he held in Miami when the topic of the Florida governor came up, leading the disgraced ex-president to remark:

 “There’s our competitor, he’s a fine guy.”

But Trump’s tone soon turned dark and ominous as he mused about a possible 2024 run for the White House by DeSantis:

“If he runs, he runs. If he did run, I will tell you things about him that won’t be very flattering. I know more about him than anybody other than perhaps his wife, who is really running his campaign.”

Journal reporter Alex Leary also noted:

Mr. Trump endorsed Mr. DeSantis in his 2018 run for governor, lifting the tea party-styled congressman in a Republican primary over establishment favorite Adam Putnam. Mr. DeSantis went on to barely win the general election but Covid-19 helped turn him into a GOP darling as he eventually eschewed lockdowns and downplayed vaccine mandates. Mr. DeSantis has broken gubernatorial fundraising records nationally, pulling in some $200 million. The governor didn’t ask for Mr. Trump’s endorsement this time and nor did Mr. Trump formally offer one.

What sort of unflattering things might Trump be referring to? Well, there is the matter of DeSantis’ Italian-American heritage, which has led to rumors that he might have connections to organized crime. And there are also whispers about a possible sexual scandal that could be hiding in the governor’s past, though no one seems to know exactly what that might entail.

Of course, when one is dealing with Trump, it also pays to consider that he often says things just to start people chattering. After all, he’s a pathological liar and deeply insecure, needing to feel superior to others in order to mask his own faults, which are seemingly endless.

In other words, if DeSantis does indeed decided to challenge Trump for the 2024 nomination, he’d better watch his back and make sure there are no skeletons waiting to trip him up with the Donald’s help.

 

Categories
Donald Trump WTF?!

Trump Tells Iowa Rally Attendees: ‘Some Of Us Have Horrible Children’

During a rally in Sioux City, Iowa on Thursday evening, disgraced, one-term, twice-impeached ex-president Donald Trump seemed to suggest that his children are “horrible” and don’t deserve to inherit a dime from him, providing that he still has any money left when he leaves this world.

Campaigning for GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley and Gov. Kim Reynolds, Trump went on a riff about the estate tax (which he called the “death tax”), saying he had virtually eliminated it while in the White House.

“So that now, when you pass away, you can leave — if you like your child, I always say, if you don’t like, leave it to charity.
“Some of us have horrible children.”

The former president then asked attendees:

“Do you have horrible children?. Does anybody have, like a child, where you really are not going to leave your farm?”

Ironically, Trump’s remarks came the same day that MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin noted the ex-president’s lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James may have been filed so he can keep his plan of succession secret.

Rubin shared her thoughts on Twitter, writing:

“The lawsuit accuses N.Y. A.G. Tish James of pursuing him for political reasons, rhetoric heard before. So beyond smearing James, what’s the real purpose of the lawsuit?

“The Trust is the ultimate owner of the various entities that comprise the Trump Organization. But it is also more. As Trump himself notes in this new lawsuit, ‘The Trust contains his private estate plan and present decisions regarding the disposition of his assets upon death.’ And he is hellbent on ensuring that New York’s attorney general — and by extension, the public — don’t learn about that plan or the true state of his assets.”

Indeed, if Trump’s after-death estate plans became public, it might well give some in his family all the incentive they need to cooperate with prosecutors such as James.

The Donald’s comments set off weaves of speculation, laughter, and mockery on social media.