Tag Archives: Former President Donald Trump

Newswire : Denver Court hears arguments on Trump’s eligibility for 2024 ballot

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Members of mob, incited by Trump, surround U. S. Capitol on January 6, 2021

 

Stacey Brown, NNPA Newswire National Correspondent

Denver district court is considering a lawsuit to prevent former President Donald Trump from appearing on Colorado’s 2024 ballot due to his alleged involvement in the U.S. Capitol attack on January 6, 2021. Colorado Judge Sarah Wallace recently rejected Trump’s attempt to dismiss the case, which was filed last month on behalf of six voters in the Denver district.
The lawsuit is based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. It argues that people who have participated in insurrection or rebellion after promising loyalty to the Constitution should not be able to hold office. Trump, who is currently facing 91 criminal charges after four federal and state indictments, could potentially receive a prison sentence of over 800 years. The lawsuit accuses him of breaking his promise as president by attempting to overturn the 2020 election, which ultimately led to the January 6 insurrection.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), along with several law firms, filed a lawsuit on behalf of six voters from the Republican Party and independent voters. Eric Olson, from CREW, began his testimony by explaining what Trump did before January 6. This included a tweet he sent in December 2020 asking his supporters to come together in Washington, D.C. Olson highlighted Trump’s frequent mentions of January 6. He stated that Trump motivated his followers by making false allegations of election fraud.
Olson showed a video clip of Trump’s speech on the Ellipse on January 6. In the speech, the former president said, “Let’s go to the Capitol.” He argued that Trump was acutely aware of the influence of his words and that his speech before the Capitol riot exacerbated the situation.
Olson also pointed to a post-speech tweet where Trump criticized then-Vice President Mike Pence, asserting that Pence lacked “the courage to do what he should have done.” That followed a clip of Trump supporters outside the Capitol chanting, “Hang Mike Pence.”
“We are here because Trump claims, after all that, that he has the right to be president again,” Olson asserted. “But our Constitution, the shared charter of our nation, says he cannot do so.”
During his opening arguments, Scott Gessler, Trump’s legal representative, decried the lawsuit as “antidemocratic” and said Monday’s hearing was “politicized.” Gessler argued that Trump used the word “peace” several times during his speech at the Ellipse on January 6, as well as in his tweets on the same day. He claimed that the lawsuit wants the court to approve the January 6 Committee’s report, which he described as a biased and harmful report.
Officer Daniel Hodges, from the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department, testified about his terrifying ordeal during the Capitol attack. Hodges described observing Capitol rioters donning tactical gear, an occurrence that left him “very uncomfortable.” He suffered many injuries when rioters attacked the Capitol, including bruises, a head injury, cuts on his face, and bleeding from his mouth. Hodges also attested that a rioter attempted to gouge his eye. He remembered protesters yelling that the election was stolen and encouraging others to fight for Trump. They also criticized law enforcement for being on the wrong side of history.
During his remote testimony, Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat from California, stated that Trump had clearly indicated before the 2020 election that he would not acknowledge the results if he was not the winner. Swalwell claimed that Trump escalated his rhetoric after legal challenges to the election results were dismissed. He told the lawmakers’ increasing worry when Trump announced, “We’re going to the Capitol” in his Ellipse speech. He then described the distressing experiences of himself and his colleagues as rioters entered the Capitol.

In her ruling last week, Wallace dismissed Trump’s argument that Congress, not the courts, can handle questions about ballot eligibility. She disagreed with Trump’s statement that state election officials cannot enforce Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
Wallace argued that the clause allows Congress to remove a constitutional disability if a person is disqualified. However, the clause does not specify which government body would decide on such disability initially.
“The Court notes, however, it would be strange for Congress to be the only entity that is empowered to determine the disability and then also the entity that is empowered to remove it,” Wallace wrote. “States can, and have, applied Section 3 pursuant to state statutes without federal enforcement legislation,” Wallace said.
The judge’s ruling followed a decision by Chief U.S. District Judge Philip A. Brimmer to dismiss Trump’s request to move the Colorado ballot case to federal court. In a four-page order, Brimmer, a nominee of George W. Bush, stated that Trump, who was found responsible for sexually assaulting a journalist by a civil jury this year, did not properly follow the necessary procedures to involve Colorado’s Democratic Secretary of State, Jena Griswold, or get her approval to transfer the case to federal court. As a result, Trump’s attempt to move the case is considered “defective.”

Trump is also facing other challenges to his eligibility to appear on the 2024 presidential ballot. The Minnesota Supreme Court will hear arguments on Thursday concerning a lawsuit to remove Trump from the ballot in Minnesota. The current lawsuit also references a lesser-known provision in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. Similar legal challenges are underway in New Hampshire, Arizona, and Michigan.

Newswire: Biden visits the picket line in Michigan to show solidarity with striking UAW

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President Joe Biden joins striking United Auto Workers on the picket line, in Van Buren Township, Mich. United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain stands at left.

By Betsy Klein and Nikki Carvajal, CNN

President Joe Biden on Tuesday joined members of the United Auto Workers in Michigan on the picket line, a historic moment for a modern president that comes amid a tense reelection race against a familiar foe. Biden is the first sitting U. S. President to join a union picket line.
The trip comes as Biden faces consistently low polling numbers on his handling of economic issues, and, back in Washington, the looming threat of a government shutdown this week. Both a prolonged strike and a shutdown could have economic consequences – something the White House is seeking to avoid as Biden tries to convince voters his economic policies are working. He’s also appearing in the battleground state of Michigan just one day before his chief political rival – whom he defeated in the 2020 presidential election – comes to the crucial swing state to make his own appeal to union workers.
Former President Donald Trump, the front-runner in the GOP presidential primary race, is scheduled to skip the second Republican debate to deliver a prime-time speech to an audience of current and former union members, including from the UAW, in Detroit on Wednesday. Trump has slammed the president for the visit, claiming Biden “had no intention” of walking the picket line until Trump said he would make a speech in Michigan. 
Biden, wearing a UAW hat, spoke into a bullhorn to the workers on the picket line recounting that “the fact of the matter is that you guys, UAW, you guys saved the automobile industry” during the late 2000s and early 2010s. Biden said the companies have recovered and are doing “incredibly well” now.
“You should be doing incredibly well too,” Biden said.Biden told the autoworkers marching that they “deserve the significant raise you need, and other benefits,” reiterating, “We saved them, it’s about time they step up for us.”
He added, “Folks, you’ve heard me say many times, Wall Street didn’t build this country, the middle class built this country, and unions built the middle class. That’s a fact, so let’s keep going. You deserve what you’ve earned, and you’ve earned a hell of a lot more than you’re getting paid.”
Biden is attempting to use the trip to support autoworkers without getting involved in the specifics of the negotiations. Amid mounting political pressure to ramp up his public support, Biden is expressing solidarity with the union members, who are striking against the Big Three automakers – General Motors, Ford and Stellantis – for a second week. 
“I think the UAW gave up an incredible amount back when the automobile industry was going under,” Biden said Monday during a meeting with his HBCU advisory board when asked whether he supports the UAW’s asks in the negotiations. “They gave everything, from their pensions on. And they saved the automobile industry. And I think that now that the industry is roaring back, they should participate in the benefit of that.
“If you take a look at the significant increase in salaries for executives, growth in the industry, they should benefit from it. So, yes, I support – I’ve always supported the UAW.”
The answer was reflective of the fine line that the president is attempting to walk by standing in solidarity with striking autoworkers while not getting directly involved or putting his thumb on the scale of negotiations. The administration lacks any legal or legislative authority to act as a participant in the negotiations, but top officials, including Biden, have met with UAW leadership to discuss broader policy changes that would be seen as favorable, even as the union has criticized the administration’s support of a transition to electric vehicle manufacturing. 

Newwire : Judge sets pre- Super Tuesday trial date for Trump’s election interference case

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Federal Judge, Tanya Chutkan

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

In a decision that could significantly impact the 2024 race for the White House, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, overseeing the election interference case against former President Donald Trump, has scheduled the trial to commence on March 4, 2024. The date falls during the Republican presidential primaries and just one day before Super Tuesday.
Chutkan considered arguments presented by both Trump’s legal team and federal prosecutors regarding the optimal trial timing. Special counsel Jack Smith proposed an earlier start in January, with jury selection beginning in December. Trump’s legal representatives countered by advocating for a postponement until April 2026, following the 2024 presidential election.
Judge Chutkan asserted on Monday, addressing the opposing proposals, “These proposals are obviously very far apart. Neither of them is acceptable.” Chutkan emphasized that the trial’s scheduling must prioritize the fair and prompt administration of justice. She noted that the trial schedule wouldn’t be altered based on the professional obligations of another defendant, even if that defendant happened to be a professional athlete.
Trump’s legal team argued that proceeding to trial in the upcoming year would infringe upon the former president’s rights, citing the extensive volume of discovery materials that federal prosecutors have submitted. The four-time indicted, twice impeached ex-president’s lawyer, John Lauro asserted that, “This is a request for a show trial, not a speedy trial. Mr. Trump is not above the law, but he is not below the law.”
Following Chutkan’s ruling, Lauro insisted that Trump’s defense team would not be adequately prepared to represent their client given the set trial date. Earlier, Chutkan deemed the special counsel’s proposed timeline too immediate, but called Trump’s suggested timeline of 2026 unreasonable. “Discovery in 2023 is not sitting in a warehouse with boxes of paper looking at every single page,” Chutkan remarked.
Meanwhile, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee announced that the arraignment for Trump and his co-defendants in the Georgia election case is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on September 6. Trump faces charges of felony racketeering and various conspiracy counts, part of a comprehensive investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis into efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the battleground state.
Trump and his co-defendants, including his former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, will be arraigned as part of this high-stakes legal proceeding. The sweeping indictment encompasses 41 counts and involves individuals such as Mark Meadows, former White House chief of staff, lawyers John Eastman, Sidney Powell, Kenneth Chesebro, Jenna Ellis, and former Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark. All defendants are charged with violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act, among other alleged offenses.

 

Newswire : ‘Criminal Enterprise’: Trump and 18 co-conspirators indicted in Georgia election case

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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis , surrounded by staff, speaks during a news conference on August 14, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

By; Jake Johnson, Common Dreams

A grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia indicted former President Donald Trump and 18 others on Monday for taking part in a sprawling “criminal enterprise” aimed at overturning the 2020 presidential election results in the state.
The 98-page indictment, which includes a total of 41 counts, marks the fourth time Trump has been charged in a criminal investigation since April.
The indictment states that Trump and the other defendants—including former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Trump’s former personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani—”refused to accept that Trump lost, and they knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump.”
Trump, Giuliani, Meadows, and more than a dozen others “constituted a criminal organization whose members and associates engaged in various related criminal activities including, but not limited to, false statements and writings, impersonating a public officer, forgery, filing false documents, influencing witnesses, computer theft, computer trespass, computer invasion of privacy, conspiracy to defraud the state, acts involving theft, and perjury.”
The former president faces 13 charges under the Georgia indictment, including soliciting a public officer to violate their oath and breaching the state’s Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
Georgia’s RICO law carries up to 20 years in prison for those convicted.
The indictment—the product of a sweeping investigation led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis—cites Trump’s early December phone call to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, during which the former president “solicited, requested, and importuned Kemp to call a special session of the Georgia General Assembly.”
“This was an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy,” the indictment reads.
Willis launched the election interference investigation after an audio recording obtained by The Washington Post revealed that Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and said he wants “to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have.”
During a press conference, Willis said arrest warrants have been issued for those charged in the indictment, including Trump, who is running for president again in 2024.
“I am giving the defendants the opportunity to voluntarily surrender no later than noon on Friday, the 25th day of August 2023,” said Willis.
Christina Harvey, executive director of the advocacy group Stand Up America, said in a statement that “the evidence of Trump’s criminal conduct is overwhelming” and “holding the former president and his co-conspirators accountable is vital to protect our democracy and freedom to vote in future elections.”
“At the heart of this indictment are Trump’s concerted efforts to overturn the will of Georgia voters, Trump’s attempts to deliberately spread disinformation, pressure Georgia officials to violate their oaths of office, and unlawfully change the outcome of the election in his favor demonstrate his deep-seated contempt for the law, the American people, and our democracy,” said Harvey.

Newswire: America’s demographic shifts and the racial generation gap: a spark for political tensions

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A large diverse crowd of people

By Stacy M. Brown
  NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

It’s been a poorly kept secret that the underlying reason for much of America’s hate seen in recent years revolves around the fear that white people are fast losing their grip on the nation’s majority.
That fear has resonated and is ever-present politically and socially.
The Jan. 6 insurrection, former President Donald Trump and his MAGA supporters, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ assault on Black history, the uptick in hate crimes, including police brutality against African Americans, and the continued wave of “Karens” and “Kens.”
Indeed, white supremacists and white nationalists and the politicians who fuel them see a new majority, people of color, and that has served to spark what’s more and more beginning to look like an all-out civil war – or more pointedly, a race war.
In April 2021, the Census Bureau released the first set of results from the 2020 decennial census, providing a snapshot of the U.S. population for use in congressional reapportionment and redistricting.
But recently, the agency released more detailed census information that shows a fuller picture of the population as it stood during the once-a-decade headcount.
“These new statistics make plain that substantial old-young racial gaps exist in much of the country, and are likely to persist in the near term,” William H. Frey, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, wrote.
“This is reflected in a cultural generation gap that underlies many aspects of the nation’s social fabric and politics, including views about the recent Supreme Court decision on affirmative action and state proposals to limit teaching about race and diversity in public schools,” Frey wrote in new researched released by the Brookings Institution.
The statistics show that the nation continues to age, with the fastest population growth occurring among the older population while the youth population declines.
Brookings’s data shows white Americans contributed substantially to older population gains compared to younger and middle-aged populations, which registered white declines.
Nonwhite residents accounted for all the gains in post-baby-boomer populations.
Although all race and ethnic groups are aging to some degree, the median age of white Americans is higher than all others in most geographic areas, researchers wrote.
They said these patterns have led to a “racial generation gap,” in which the younger population—more influenced by immigration in recent decades—is far more diverse than older age groups.
This demographic phenomenon has been shown to underlie many aspects of American social life, including its politics, Frey wrote.
“Generation Z will be the last generation of Americans with a white majority, according to census data,” Daniel De Vise wrote for The Hill.
“The nation’s so-called majority minority arrived with Generation Alpha, those born since about 2010.”
De Vise added that, “barely two decades from now, around 2045, non-Hispanic white people will fall below half a share of the overall U.S. population.”
The journalist concluded that “America’s white majority, and its numbered days, is a lightning-rod topic, given the nation’s history of slavery and enduring patterns of discrimination against minorities and immigrants.”
Additionally, “Race is the most complicated variable in the census, and it’s the one that draws people like moths to the flame,” Dowell Myers, a professor of policy, planning and demography at the University of Southern California, told The Hill.
Justin Gest, a professor at George Mason University’s Scholar School of Policy and Government, observed that, “In this environment, nationalism has experienced a rebirth.”
In an op-ed, Gest wrote that in the face of destabilizing demographic change and the uncertainties of globalization, nationalism is a familiar security blanket.
“In democracies particularly, nationalism asserts precisely what demographic change threatens: a specific ethno-religious people’s social dominance and entitlement to the state,” Gest concluded.

Newswire : Trump indictment reveals 37 felony counts relating to his mishandling of classified documents

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Trump records stored in boxes in bathroom at Mar-a Largo

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

An indictment against former President Donald Trump has been unsealed, showing an astounding 37 felony charges connected to the alleged misuse of confidential data.
Publicly released documents include new details on the criminal charges against Trump and his associate Walt Nauta.
Federal officials seized over a hundred classified documents from Trump’s Florida resort in August of last year, which led to the charges.
The indictment names seven separate statutes that Trump is accused of breaking and 31 counts of deliberate retention of national security information.
Among the additional allegations are making false statements, conspiring to obstruct justice, hiding evidence, and engaging in a scheme to keep facts from the public.
Information about US and foreign defense and weapons capabilities, US nuclear projects, potential vulnerabilities to military strikes, and plans for possible reprisals were among the sensitive details seized from Trump’s possession upon departing the White House.
The indictment shows that the files were from many government and law enforcement groups.
Those groups include the CIA, the Department of Defense, the NSA, the NGA, the NRO, the Department of Energy, the Department of State, and the Bureau of Intelligence and Research.
In addition, the indictment shows that, in two instances in 2021, Trump disclosed confidential material to unapproved parties.
In one incident, he shared a “highly confidential” attack strategy with an author, a publisher, and two employees who lacked security clearance.
In the second incident, two members of his political action group who lacked the necessary permission saw a classified map of a military operation.
The fact that both instances occurred at Trump’s New Jersey golf club suggests that the documents were brought there from Florida.
The complaint further claims that the improperly stored documents were left out in the open for two months, including on the stage of the Mar-a-Lago ballroom.
A photo attached to the court document shows they were also discovered in a bathroom and a shower.
In the photograph, thirty or so cardboard boxes appear stacked in a tight circle around a toilet, near a shower, with a chandelier dangling overhead in the picture.
The indictment also shows that Trump knew what was in the file cabinets.
The text communications between Trump staff and Nauta show the former president wanted to see the boxes before they were returned to the National Archives and detail how he would direct Nauta to send him certain boxes periodically.
Trump allegedly told one of his lawyers, “I don’t want anybody looking through my boxes,” when asked to comply with a subpoena demanding the records return.
He even proposed making up an answer saying there were no such records on-site. Nauta removed 64 boxes from the storage area and brought them to Trump’s apartment within the club, which authorities found disturbing because the documents were to be collected by the Justice Department as part of the subpoena.
Only 30 boxes were returned before the authorities showed up.
Trump denied any wrongdoing and claimed he was within his rights to do whatever he wanted with the materials.
However, these severe allegations portray a worrying picture of the former president’s alleged mishandling and probable endangerment of critical national security material.

Newswire: Donald Trump arrested, ex-Prez is officially an accused felon

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Donald Trump in NYC courtroom for his arraignment


By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

Former President Donald Trump is now criminal defendant Donald Trump.
For at least several moments on Tuesday, April 4, Trump was placed under arrest.
His Miranda rights read, and fingerprints taken, but authorities spared him a mugshot and customary perp walk.
Still, as he headed to the 15th floor courtroom at 100 Centre Street downtown, Trump joined the nearly 8,000 other non-violent felony defendants who have been arraigned in Manhattan so far in 2023.
Shortly before 2 p.m. EST, Trump became the first former U.S. President arrested and criminally charged. This after becoming the first to have been impeached twice.
“Can’t believe this is happening,” Trump posted as he headed into a courtroom where he found, perhaps for the first time in his adult life, that he wasn’t in control of the proceedings in front of him.
It’s an ironic, if not predictable, fall for a man who campaigned in 2016 by mercilessly leading chants of “Lock her up,” against Democrat Hillary Clinton.
And as unprecedented and surreal was the arrest, the charges leveled against the bombastic MAGA leader reveal what prosecutors claim is a man who operated as if he were above the law for a long time – including when he ruled the Oval Office.
Indeed, the freshly unsealed indictment brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg included 34 criminal charges – all felonies related to falsifying business records, including several relating to allegedly making hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.
Judge Juan Merchan, a former prosecutor with 16 years on the bench, unsealed Indictment No. 71543-23, after Trump’s team reviewed them. Bragg alleged that Trump falsified business records to hide other crimes, including illegally pumping up his presidential campaign with ill-gotten cash.
Specifically, the indictment alleges that Trump conspired with others to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election, a contest in which Trump defeated Clinton.
Prosecutors alleged that Trump took part in an unlawful “catch and kill” scheme that included an illegal $130,000 payment he ordered to suppress information that would hurt his presidential campaign.
Trump allegedly violated state and local election laws, making the charges a felony.
The charges potentially carry a four-year prison sentence, which could mean that Trump, the current GOP 2024 presidential frontrunner, has entered a race that could end with him either in the White House or in prison.
Despite an apparent somber mood displayed by Trump which signaled just how weighty the proceedings were, his campaign released a fundraising email seeking contributions of at least $47 for a T-shirt that contained a fake mugshot of the ex-president emblazoned with the words “Not Guilty.”
Reportedly, Trump has raised more than $10 million in campaign contributions since word of an indictment spread.

With security a big issue in the ex-president’s arraignment, prosecutors in Atlanta and Washington continue to investigate Trump, which could also lead to criminal charges, were provided the ability of witnessing how New York handles a case involving a divisive former commander in chief in a safe and drama-free way could be a critical test case.
The potential cases against Trump in Atlanta and Washington relate to the former president’s interference in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia and the January 6 insurrection on Capitol Hill that left several people dead.
Many top Republicans, including some of Trump’s potential rivals in next year’s GOP presidential primary, have criticized the case against him.
President Joe Biden, who has yet to announce that he’s seeking reelection next year, and other leading Democrats have primarily had little to say about it.
Trump is scheduled to return to Manhattan for a second court date in December.
Prosecutors insist their case against Trump has nothing to do with politics.
“Manhattan is home to the country’s most significant business market,” Bragg stated.
“We cannot allow New York businesses to manipulate their records to cover up criminal conduct. As this office has done time and time again, we today uphold our solemn responsibility to ensure that everyone stands equal before the law.”

Newswire : Trump ramps up attack on Manhattan DA with violent imagery and call for ‘Death’ and ‘Destruction’

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Trump ramps up attack on Manhattan DA with violent imagery and call for ‘Death’ and ‘Destruction’


By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

Former President Donald Trump has ramped up the rhetoric and the threats as potential criminal charges loom in New York, Georgia, and Washington. Trump took to his Truth Social platform and posted a photo of him swinging a bat to the head of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
He also threatened that his anticipated arrest would lead to “death and destruction.”
“What kind of person can charge another person, in this case a former President of the United States, who got more votes than any sitting President in history, and leading candidate (by far!) for the Republican Party nomination, with a Crime, when it is known by all that NO Crime has been committed, & also known that potential death & destruction in such a false charge could be catastrophic for our Country? Why & who would do such a thing? Only a degenerate psychopath that truly hates the USA!” Trump wrote.
Then in all capital letters, Trump continued his tirade:
“EVERYBODY KNOWS I’M 100% INNOCENT, INCLUDING BRAGG, BUT HE DOESN’T CARE. HE IS JUST CARRYING OUT THE PLANS OF THE RADICAL LEFT LUNATICS. OUR COUNTRY IS BEING DESTROYED, AS THEY TELL US TO BE PEACEFUL!”
A week before, Trump predicted that authorities from New York would arrest him, however, that has not happened yet.
Bragg’s office said Trump simply misled the public about an imminent arrest.
“We will not be intimidated by attempts to undermine the justice process, nor will we let baseless accusations deter us from fairly applying the law,” Bragg said through a spokesperson.
Bragg, 49, maintained that no one is above the law, and everyone receives equal treatment. “In every prosecution, we follow the law without fear or favor to uncover the truth,” his statement continued. Our skilled, honest, and dedicated lawyers remain hard at work.”
Trump’s social media attack on Bragg could reveal the frustrations and even the concern he might possess over all of the legal problems he currently faces.
Bragg’s case, in which the former President allegedly paid hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels and committed campaign finance crimes, is just the tip of the iceberg for the bombastic Trump.
Most legal experts believe Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis might have a more serious case. A special grand jury disbanded in January after reportedly recommending charges that include obstruction, bribery, and interfering with a presidential election.
Additionally, a Special Counsel’s investigation into Trump allegedly mishandling classified documents at his Florida home has amped up with a federal judge ordering the former President’s lawyer to testify.
Finally, the Congressional committee that investigated the January 6 insurrection has recommended serious charges against Trump to the U.S. Department of Justice. Those charges could include treason.
“It would be a travesty of justice,” Mississippi Democratic Congressman Bennie Thompson said if Trump isn’t prosecuted by federal authorities for his role in the insurrection.
“Nobody is above the law, not even the President of the United States,” said Thompson, who chaired the commission.
“What we saw after interviewing more than 1,000 people – the majority of who identify with the Republican Party – we are convinced that whatever happened, happened because of one person. So, we are clear in our recommendation.”

Newswire : Rev. Raphael Warnock wins re-election in Georgia Senate runoff, gives Democrats a 51-49 majority in U. S. Senate

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Rev. Raphael Warnock won a narrow victory in the Georgia runoff for the U. S. Senate seat against Hershel Walker, former Georgia football star.

With 99% of precincts reporting, Warnock received 1,814,827 (51.4%) votes to 1,719, 376 (48.6%) for Walker, a margin of over 95,000 votes. Warnock improved his margins over Walker in urban areas and held down Walker’s winning percentage in Republican rural and suburban areas.

With his re-election to the U. S. Senate, Warnock gives the Democratic party 51 votes to 49 for Republicans. President Joe Biden and Senate Majority leader, Chuck Schumer, were quick to congratulate Warnock on his victory. Former President Donald Trump, who supported and endorsed Walker, was credited for another loss by a MAGA-Republican candidates for major offices in the 2022 mid-term election cycle.

During the midterm election, Democrats flipped one seat when Lt. Gov. John Fetterman defeated Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania. The win assured Democrats of at least 50 seats and the majority because Vice President Kamala Harris counted as the tie-breaking vote.
However, a 51-49 edge could allow Democrats freedom from conservative West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who blocked some of President Joe Biden’s agenda during the administration’s first two years.
With 51 votes, Democrats can now afford to lose a member and still pass legislation (Although, with Republicans seizing control of the House, it’s unlikely any meaningful legislation will pass during the next two years).
“Democrats need to gain every seat they can from the 2022 election cycle. Holding the Senate this year is a massive achievement, but keeping it again in two years’ time will be a gargantuan task,” Political Analyst Chris Cillizza wrote.
“Democrats would much rather start the 2024 cycle with a bit of cushion provided by a Warnock win.”
An evenly divided Senate “slows everything down,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer remarked. “So, it makes a big difference to us.”
Further, in a 50-50 Senate, committees are evenly split between the two parties, which causes additional steps when a vote is tied. That forces the party in the majority to hold votes on the Senate floor to move bills or nominees forward.
With a Warnock win, Democrats would stand in position to hold an extra seat on every committee, making it much easier to move nominees or legislation on party-line votes.
“It’s always better with 51 because we’re in a situation where you don’t have to have an even makeup of the committees,” Biden said after Fetterman’s victory. “And so that’s why it’s important, mostly. But it’s just simply better. The bigger the numbers, the better.”
With a 51-seat majority, Vice President Harris doesn’t have to remain close to Washington when the Senate votes. Harris already has broken 26 ties in two years in office, doubling what former Vice President Mike Pence did during his four-year term.
Earlier this year, Harris reminded everyone that the nation’s first vice president, John Adams, had cast 29 tie-breaking votes during his two terms from 1789 to 1797.
“So, as vice president, I’m also the president of the United States Senate. And in that role, I broke John Adams’s record of casting the most tie-breaking votes in a single term,” Harris said in September. “This kid who was born in Oakland, California, and graduated from an HBCU just broke the record of John Adams. We should all fully appreciate how history can take a turn.”

Newswire: Letitia James drops out of New York’s Gov. race, seeks Trump prosecution

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By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

In a political stunner, New York State Attorney General Letitia James has dropped out of the race for governor, upending the campaign and possibly solidifying Gov. Kathy Hochul as the Democratic front-runner.

“I have come to the conclusion that I must continue my work as attorney general,” James, the Howard University School of Law graduate, wrote on Twitter. “There are a number of important investigations and cases that are underway, and I intend to finish the job,” James, 63, continued.
“I am running for re-election to complete the work New Yorkers elected me to do,” she concluded.

That work includes the ongoing investigation into former President Donald Trump.
On Thursday, December 9, reports surfaced that James wants to question Trump under oath in a civil fraud investigation.

James’ office also has partnered with Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance in a criminal investigation of Trump where the former president could face indictment in the Big Apple.
It’s alleged that the Trump organization engaged in criminal fraud activity by intentionally submitting false property values to potential lenders.

Trump’s lawyers have sought to block any attempts by James and Vance to depose the Republican.