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Court docket Dismisses Trump Marketing campaign’s Defamation Swimsuit In opposition to New York Instances

Court Dismisses Trump Campaign’s Defamation Suit Against New York Times

A New York state court on Tuesday dismissed a defamation suit filed in Donald J. Trump’s re-election campaign against the New York Times Company and ruled that an opinion piece argued that there was “consideration” between The candidate and he gave Russian officials before the 2016 presidential election were speech protected.

The Times published in March 2019 the op-ed of Max Frankel, a former Times editor-in-chief who was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, under the headline “The Real Trump-Russia Quid Pro Quo.” Mr. Frankel alleged that in an “overarching deal” ahead of the 2016 election, Russian officials would help Mr. Trump defeat Hillary Clinton in exchange for turning US foreign policy in a pro-Russian direction.

Mr. Trump’s re-election campaign, Donald J. Trump for President Inc., filed the lawsuit in the New York State Supreme Court in February 2020. He alleged defamation and accused The Times of “extreme bias and hostility” towards the campaign.

In his ruling on Tuesday, Judge James E. d’Auguste gave three reasons for the dismissal. He wrote that Mr. Frankel’s comment was an “unworkable opinion,” meaning that it was a constitutionally protected speech. that the Trump campaign was not entitled to slander charges; and that the campaign had failed to show that The Times had published the essay with “actual malice”.

“The court today clarified a fundamental point about press freedom: we should not tolerate defamation lawsuits filed by those in power to silence and intimidate those who are investigating them,” David McCraw, the Times’ deputy general counsel, said in one Explanation .

A spokesman for Mr Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Times had filed a motion to dismiss the case and impose sanctions on the campaign. The judge refused to impose sanctions.

The Times was a frequent target of Mr. Trump’s attacks on the press during his four-year tenure. Prior to the lawsuit, he accused the newspaper of “treason” and often threatened to take news organizations to justice. Last year the Trump campaign did well the threats, filing defamation lawsuits against The Times, CNN and The Washington Post. In November, a federal judge dismissed CNN’s lawsuit. The postal lawsuit is still pending.

In all three actions was Trump campaign attorney Charles J. Harder, who represented Terry G. Bollea, the former professional wrestler named Hulk Hogan, when he sued Gawker Media in 2012 for posting a sex video. That lawsuit, secretly funded by conservative tech investor Peter Thiel, resulted in a $ 140 million decision that resulted in the bankruptcy and sale of Gawker Media.

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Sanctions Are Reimposed on Israeli Billionaire Granted Aid Underneath Trump

Sanctions Are Reimposed on Israeli Billionaire Granted Relief Under Trump

WASHINGTON – The Biden administration on Monday again imposed financial sanctions on an Israeli mining executive who reached out to a team of lobbyists to ease measures during President Donald J. Trump’s last term in office.

The reversal came after a series of complaints from human rights activists, members of Congress and activists in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in which businessman Dan Gertler secured access to mining rights for decades through what the Treasury Department called “a” during the Trump administration corrupt deals where the Congo had more than $ 1.3 billion in revenue from the sale of minerals.

In mid-January, just before Mr Trump stepped down, Mr Gertler secretly secured a one-year license from the Treasury Department freezing the money he had deposited with financial institutions in the United States. The license also effectively ended a ban on Mr. Gertler from doing business through the international banking system. The Trump administration imposed these sanctions in 2017.

The Biden administration is now endeavoring to reinstate these conditions, although Mr Gertler has likely already withdrawn some of the previously frozen money from the United States.

The Foreign Ministry said Monday that Mr. Gertler was “involved in extensive public corruption” and that the Treasury, in consultation with the Foreign Ministry, was reversing its actions.

“The license previously granted to Mr. Gertler contradicts America’s strong foreign policy interests in fighting corruption around the world, particularly US efforts to fight corruption and promote stability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” it said a statement from the US State Department Monday. “The United States will continue to promote accountability for corrupt actors using all the tools we have at our disposal to promote democracy, uphold international norms and place a tangible cost on those who try to improve them.”

Alan M. Dershowitz, an attorney and lobbyist who helped Mr. Gertler call for the sanctions to be lifted, said he was disappointed with the Biden government’s action.

“This decision was made unilaterally, without Mr. Gertler having the opportunity to provide evidence that he met all requirements and was behaving properly,” said Mr. Dershowitz. “We are in the process of reviewing all of our options.”

Mr. Gertler has worked in the Congo for more than two decades and has signed a number of contracts for the export of diamonds, gold, oil, cobalt and other minerals. The Treasury Department said in 2018 that he had “amassed hundreds of millions of dollars in fortune through opaque and corrupt mining.”

Mr. Gertler had promised American officials that he would comply with global anti-corruption rules in order to obtain the license that the Treasury Department had granted him in January. But officials in the Congo said the sanctions exemption would undermine efforts to fight corruption and help the new democratically elected president limit the continued influence of the country’s former leader Joseph Kabila, an ally of Mr Gertler.

“The restoration of sanctions will allow the Congolese and US anti-corruption efforts to get back on track.” said John Prendergast, co-founder of The Sentry, a nonprofit human rights group that was among more than a dozen and had asked the Biden administration to revoke its license. “Dan Gertler’s corrupt partnership with former President Joseph Kabila has cost the Democratic Republic of the Congo dearly in terms of lost resources, lost services and ultimately lost lives.”

In 2019, Mr. Gertler hired Mr. Dershowitz, who served as Mr. Trump’s attorney, and Louis Freeh, a former FBI director, to act as lobbyists to urge the Treasury Department to lift the sanctions.

Mr. Gertler was granted the license after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin directed the agency’s acting head of the Agency’s Foreign Assets Control Office to take the move, despite several Trump-era State Department officials overseeing United States’ African relations were opposite The New York Times when they hadn’t known such a move was imminent and that they were against it.

After the grant of the license became public, employees of Mr. Gertler said that part of the reason he was given special treatment was because he had played an unknown role in supporting US national security interests. Tax officials and representatives of Mr. Gertler would not describe the specifics of the support.

The same Treasury office that licensed Mr. Gertler in January revoked it on Monday, yet another sign of how unusual this series of events was.

Activists in the Congo who have worked for years to ensure that the wealth produced by mining minerals in the nation – one of the poorest in the world despite having some of the most important mineral reserves in the world – hoped the action would make further progress Combating corrupt businesses that have understaffed the people there.

“This will give the government here a reason to hold Dan Gertler and his staff a little more accountable,” said Fred Bauma, member of The Struggle for Change, a human rights group in the Congo. “It’s good news from the new administration in the United States.”

Democrats in Congress, who urged the Treasury Department to reverse the action, also praised the move.

“If well-connected international billionaires like Gertler believe that there is a chance they can get away with their corrupt actions, they won’t be stopped from doing so,” said Senator Ben Cardin, Democrat of Maryland and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said in a statement.

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Trump legal professionals inform GOP to cease utilizing his identify and likeness for fundraising

Trump lawyers tell GOP to stop using his name and likeness for fundraising

United States President Donald Trump speaks on the first day of the Republican National Convention after his delegates confirmed him as a candidate for re-election of the 2020 Republican President for re-election in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, on August 24, 2020.

Carlos Barria | Reuters

Former President Donald Trump’s attorneys on Friday sent cease and desist letters to three of the largest GOP donation groups, a Trump adviser told NBC News.

Trump’s attorneys urged the Republican National Committee, National Republican Congress Committee and National Republican Senatorial Committee to stop using the ex-president’s name and likeness in appeals and merchandise.

Since Trump stepped down in January, the three donation groups have repeatedly emailed him referring to donations. However, Trump was reportedly upset that his name was used without his consent by groups that had helped Republicans who had accused him.

The cease and desist statements come just days after Trump spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference. In his speech, he called for unity while attacking a number of top Republicans including Rep. Liz Cheney from Wyoming and Senator Mitt Romney from Utah, as well as other lawmakers who voted for his impeachment and condemned him.

“Get rid of them all,” Trump said during his speech. “The RINOs we are surrounded with are going to destroy the Republican Party and the American worker,” Trump said at the time, using an acronym for “Republicans in their name only”.

Politico reported the news first.

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Trump lawyer Michael Cohen pushes podcast as felony probe continues

Trump lawyer Michael Cohen pushes podcast as criminal probe continues

Michael Cohen, former personal attorney for President Donald Trump, leaves the U.S. Capitol after testifying before a closed House Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on February 28, 2019.

Joshua Roberts | Reuters

Podcasts make for strange bedfellows.

Michael Cohen, who worked as Donald Trump’s personal attorney and fixer for years, is now allied with people investigating the former president – and uses a podcast to promote both his criticism and fellow critics of Trump.

Cohen’s ironically titled show “Mea Culpa” – a Latin phrase for “through my fault” – premiered last year with Rosie O’Donnell, a longtime Trump target, who made teenage cracks in her personal looks, among other things.

Cohen, 54, recently featured porn actress Stormy Daniels as a guest on his show. In 2016, Cohen paid her $ 130,000 to buy her pre-election silence over her claim that she had sex with Trump once years ago.

“You and I have both gone through hell and back,” Cohen said to Daniels. “I’m sorry for the unnecessary pain I caused you.”

“Our stories will forever be linked to Donald Trump, but also to each other,” Cohen said.

That’s probably an understatement.

Trump denies Daniels’ claim and also denies allegations of an affair with another woman, Playboy model Karen McDougal, who herself received hush money from the Trump-friendly editor of The National Enquirer before the 2016 election.

Trump and his company, the Trump Organization, reimbursed Cohen for the payoff from Daniels.

A Trump spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on this article.

The discovery of this payment led to a federal criminal investigation into Cohen, a Manhattan resident who pleaded guilty in 2018 to violating the financial rules for organizing the Daniels and McDougal payouts, as well as other financial crimes unrelated to Trump fight.

Cohen, who was sentenced to three years in prison, said Trump directed him to arrange the hush money deals so as not to affect his chances of winning the presidency.

These payments were likely the first issue investigated by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, Cyrus Vance Jr. It examined how the Trump organization accounted for them.

However, court records suggest that the investigation may now have expanded to include potential banking and insurance fraud, as well as tax crimes.

These areas became a focus after Cohen Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y., said during a testimony to Congress in early 2019 that Trump provided insurance companies with excessive real estate values ​​and undervalued assets in an effort to cut his taxes.

“They dump the asset’s value and then file a request with the tax department for a deduction,” Cohen told Ocasio-Cortez.

New York attorney general Letitia James credited Cohen’s testimony for launching her own ongoing civilian investigation into the Trump Organization’s asset valuations.

“I’m ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. He’s a racist. He’s a cheater. He’s a cheater,” Cohen said during his testimony. He also called himself a “fool” for working for Trump and believing in him for so long.

Even when he was in jail, Cohen helped Vance’s probe, and he reportedly continued to help after being released from jail last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“The concept for creating the podcast came when I was on leave,” Cohen told CNBC in an interview.

“Mea Culpa” promotes its host as a man who “once vowed to take a ball for the president”.

“But that was before the country was brought to its knees by the president’s own lies and personal insanity,” the podcast’s homepage reads.

“Now, locked in his house, his life, reputation and livelihood shattered, Cohen is on a mission to correct the wrongs he committed on behalf of his boss.”

Transport and goods

For someone released from jail less than a year ago, Cohen’s podcast, which now has more than 50 episodes in its archive, has done very well and is at times among the top 10 political podcasts in the US on Apple and other platforms.

“We’re increasing our audience by over 20% week in, week out,” said Cohen.

“Am I surprised?” Cohen replied when asked if it was him. “I’m happy about it. I don’t want to be surprised.”

Rob Ellin, CEO of digital media company LiveXLive, said of Cohen’s podcast, “Traffic is just skyrocketing.

“The competition from podcasts is much tougher than it used to be,” said Ellin. But he added, “I can’t think of anyone who showed up as quickly as him.”

Ellin’s publicly traded company owns PodcastOne, which sells and handles sales for “Mea Culpa,” and another company that does the merchandising for the podcast. Another unaffiliated company, Audio Up, produces “Mea Culpa”.

Cohen’s show this week added a new clothing line for sale that reflects his current take on Trump.

Items include inmate orange jumpsuit that may contain the initials “DJT” – which also happens to be Trump’s initials – or the seal of the President of the United States over the left breast pocket.

Cohen told CNBC the merchandise was inspired by a rift he made about Trump last week after the US Supreme Court ruled against the ex-president to prevent the prosecutor’s office from filing his tax returns and other financial records to receive from his accountants as part of his criminal investigation.

“He should maybe start talking to someone about custom jumpsuit because it doesn’t look good, that’s my prediction,” Cohen told MSNBC’s Katy Tur.

Ellin said Cohen’s criticism of Trump, coupled with the accelerated pace of the DA and New York AG probes, was a justification for his friend and a driver of interest in “Mea Culpa.”

“Michael said a lot of it,” said Ellin.

“A lot of people didn’t believe him before and are starting to believe him.”

Two years before the January 6th invasion of the Capitol by a crowd of Trump supporters seeking to undo the affirmation that day of President Joe Biden’s election, Cohen warned Congress: “Given my experience with Mr. Trump, I’m afraid that if he loses the 2020 election, there will never be a peaceful change of power. “

Trump was indicted by the House of Representatives shortly before he left office on January 20 for instigating the invasion of Congress with false claims of electoral fraud. He was acquitted by the Senate in a lawsuit last month.

Cohen’s podcast discussed the Capitol uprising in an episode that also included an interview with actor and filmmaker Ben Stiller. Another episode was titled “Why Trump Must Be Indicted”.

Friendship and opportunity

Rob Ellin, LiveXLive Media

Source: LiveXLive Media

Ellin has been friends with Cohen since they played tennis together in Long Island High School.

Both Cohen and Ellin describe this period ironically, including playing doubles against opponents that include Patrick McEnroe, brother of tennis legend John McEnroe, and himself a future professional player.

“I think we won 2 points,” Ellin said of the match in which Cohen yelled at him to adjust to McEnroe’s shots.

“Wasn’t that when I smashed the bat?” he asked Cohen while on a call with CNBC.

Cohen and Ellin both remember inventing the phrase “hug it, b —-” to smooth out their sometimes inconsistent arguments on the tennis court.

Ellin’s brother, Douglas Reed Ellin, later used it as one of the signature phrases for the HBO television series “Entourage” which he created.

Despite their four decades of friendship, the connection between Ellin’s company and Cohen’s podcast was the result of chance.

Months after the launch of “Mea Culpa” last summer, the podcast’s distribution platform was moved to PodcastOne. This company, founded by the founder of radio giant Westwood One, Norm Pattiz, has since been taken over by LiveXLive, Ellin’s company.

Cohen said he was on the phone with PodcastOne one day when he was told that Ellin happened to be in the room.

“I said, ‘Put him on the speakerphone with me,'” Cohen said.

Cohen said doing business with Ellin was “incredible”.

“But it brings me back a lot of nostalgia, whichever is the same,” added Cohen.

Ellin also has a warm personal feeling for Cohen, whom he called “a great father and a great husband”.

“I think Michael is humble,” said Ellin. “That was painful.”

But Ellin sees the business opportunity on his friend’s podcast too.

“We now have the opportunity to help Michael,” by attracting more high-profile guests and expanding marketing opportunities, Ellin said. “Who knows? There could be a second podcast.”

Adam Carolla, a radio host and comedian, recently made crossover appearances with Cohen on “Mea Culpa” and his own high-profile podcast, distributed by PodcastOne.

“It was just a great engagement between the two of them,” said Ellin. “Michael did a great job as an initial radio host at staying in the ring with him.”

Ellin credits Cohen for having the moxie to reinvent himself as a podcast host.

“He’s not afraid to take a swing,” said Ellin. “I think he did an exceptional job driving this.”

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Trump and his spouse obtained coronavirus vaccine earlier than leaving the White Home.

Trump and his wife received coronavirus vaccine before leaving the White House.

Former President Donald J. Trump and his wife Melania were tacitly given coronavirus vaccinations in January before leaving the White House, an adviser said Monday.

The news came a day after Mr Trump appeared at the CPAC political conference in Orlando, Florida, where he first encouraged people to get vaccinated.

“Everyone should go to get your shot,” said Mr. Trump during the speech. When The Times asked an adviser to the former president if he had received his, the answer was that he had one privately a month earlier.

Mr Trump’s secret approach came when some of his supporters expressed opposition to the vaccine and other officials tried to set an example by making the shot public.

President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former Vice President Mike Pence received vaccination shots on television cameras.

Mr. Trump’s concern about the vaccine has generally been whether as president he will get credit for his development. He never publicly encouraged people to take it while in office; The first vaccines were approved shortly after election day.

The adviser did not say whether Mr Trump had received both his first and second vaccinations in January or whether the second came at a different time.

Mr and Mrs Trump were both infected with the coronavirus in the fall, and the former president was hospitalized with a serious case.

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Trump slams Biden, teases 2024 bid in first put up White Home speech

Trump slams Biden, teases 2024 bid in first post White House speech

Donald Trump slammed President Joe Biden, trying to keep a grip on the future of the Republican Party on Sunday during his first major political address since leaving the White House last month, only to reveal a possible offer sometime in 2024.

Trump told a high profile Conservative activists gathering in Orlando, Florida that his trip was “far from over” and that he might decide to beat the Democrats for the “third time,” alluding to his false claims that he won the 2020 election to have.

“I want you to know that I will continue to fight right by your side,” said Trump.

When Trump said the Republicans would beat the Democrats in 2024, the crowd stood up and sang “USA, USA”.

It is widely expected that Trump will finally make an offer for the president in 2024. Unlike previous presidents, he made it clear that he had no intention of withholding comment on his successor’s actions and followed up on Biden on Sunday.

“We all knew the Biden administration was going to go bad – but none of us imagined how bad it would be or how far it would go,” Trump said.

Consistent with his penchant for dramatic exaggeration, Trump described Biden’s first month in office as “the most disastrous first month of a president in modern history, that’s right”.

“In just a short month we went from America to America first,” said Trump, citing a “new and terrible crisis on our southern border.”

Trump’s political ambitions put Republicans in a difficult position in the elections. The 74-year-old remains hugely popular with the party but failed to beat Biden in the 2020 election after losing support among moderates and independents.

Trump was named the winner of a CPAC straw poll with 55% of the vote on the Sunday before his speech. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis took second place in the 2024 presidential poll with 21% and first place in a straw poll without Trump.

After losing the presidential contest, Trump refused to admit for weeks and was charged by the House of Representatives with inciting the mob that attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6.

While the Senate eventually acquitted him, top Republicans, including Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, have issued stinging reprimands against Trump’s actions. Trump reiterated his false claim that the election was “rigged” during his address.

Trump pursued a litany of Republicans Sunday including Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., Senator Mitt Romney, R-Utah and the other lawmakers who voted for his impeachment.

“Get rid of them all,” said Trump. “The RINOs with which we are surrounded will destroy the Republican Party and the American worker,” said Trump, using an acronym for Republicans only in their name.

Donald Trump Jr., the son of the ex-president, attacked Cheney on Friday at the CPAC, saying she was “tied to an establishment that did nothing but fail us”.

Earlier this month, Trump denounced McConnell in a statement as a “grumpy, sullen and unsmiling political hack”.

Despite his attacks on members of the GOP, Trump used the address to refuse to report that he was considering forming a new party.

“We’re not starting new parties,” said Trump. “We have the Republican Party, it will unite and be stronger than ever. I’m not starting a new party.”

“Wouldn’t that be brilliant? Let’s start a new party, share our vote so we can never win,” Trump added sarcastically.

Trump said he would “actively work” to support the Republicans in his form.

While Trump has refused to leave the limelight, he has had less direct access to the public since he was banned by Twitter for violating its guidelines against incitement to violence. The company has announced that the ban will remain in place even if Trump runs for office again.

Trump said during his speech that “we oppose the abandonment culture” and that GOP-led states should seek big tech companies that censor conservatives.

Sunday’s address also included a number of topics that were central to the Republican Party’s political agenda, such as: B. the tough attitude towards China and the demand for stricter immigration rules.

“The future of the Republican Party is a party that defends the social, economic and cultural interests and values ​​of working American families – of all races, colors and creeds,” Trump said. He added that the party was a party of “love”.

In part of his speech on Covid-19, Trump urged Biden to “open schools now,” highlighting his administration’s successful efforts to speed up vaccine production.

Since leaving the White House, Trump has been facing increasing legal threat in New York in which Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. is apparently investigating potential banking and insurance fraud related to Trump and his firm, the Trump Organization .

Vance received year-long tax returns from Trump and related documents on Monday after a protracted legal battle that made it to the Supreme Court twice. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and accused Vance of being politically motivated.

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At CPAC, a Reverence for Trump

At CPAC, a Reverence for Trump

“We’re so disgusted with Republicans that we honestly don’t care who wins if Trump doesn’t run,” said Sany Dash as she worked on her Trump merchandise stand.

Ms. Dash’s store, Bye Bye Democrats, was busy on Saturday as CPAC attendees rummaged through jeweled MAGA clutches, plush elephants, and a tapestry with a picture of Mr. Trump drinking coffee and reading, “The best part of waking up is Donald Trump is President. “(” We probably sold 1,400 Nancy Pelosi toilet paper rolls here, “she said.” Our toilet paper is always a hit. “)

But Ms. Dash, an Indian from New York who described herself as a Trump supporter of “Day 1”, was currently more angry with the Republicans and especially with the representative Liz Cheney from Wyoming, who has urged her party to join the the former breaking president. Ms. Dash said she is preparing to open a store in Wyoming in the next two months and call it Bye Bye Liz.

“Liz Cheney is a descendant of a warmonger,” she said. “Sorry, we went to war with Iraq and so many people have died – millions of lives have changed.”

She continued, “I don’t care what she has to say now. It’s like the Bush girls in Austin. I don’t care how you woke up in Austin just because you can get along with Michelle Obama, but your dad killed a lot of people. Excuse me, I don’t want to have anything to do with you. “

Like all dozen of CPAC attendees surveyed, Ms. Dash hoped that Mr. Trump would run for president in 2024. There are several other Republicans she likes, including South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem – “I like Kristi Noem because she is fighting,” she said, calling her a “female trump card” – but she said she would only then the GOP remain if Mr. Trump or someone who promises to lead like him is the candidate.

“I mean, I’ve heard the rest of them – if they actually get through, that’s wonderful,” she said. “If they don’t, I’ll get out of this party like everyone else. As simple as that. “

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CPAC Begins Tomorrow and Trump Is Nonetheless Heart of the Republican Universe

CPAC Starts Tomorrow and Trump Is Still Center of the Republican Universe

Rollins’ political action group emerged from Trump’s 2016 operation but made no commitment to support him in any future race. With the aim of uniting the party before halfway through 2022, Rollins said Trump would be wise to focus on allaying the concerns of moderate Republicans. But he added that this probably wasn’t the place for it.

“If he is to be and continue to be the leader of this party, he has to make peace with Republicans of all kinds,” Rollins said. “I think he’s going to step in front of this crowd, and no matter how carefully the scripts put him there, he’s basically going to do his own thing – as he has done many times in the past.”

There are some noticeable absences on the list of invited CPACs that reflect the current divide in the party. Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the chamber who was open about his desire to leave Trump in the dust, was not invited. Mike Pence, whose tenure as vice president came to a violent end when he refused to support Trump’s eleventh hour takeover, leading Trump’s supporters to threaten Pence’s life when they stormed the Capitol, declined an invitation to speak. And Nikki Haley, once a rising force in the party, won’t be there either – after giving a withering interview to Politico in which she blew up Trump saying he had no future in GOP politics.

A poll published on Sunday by Suffolk University and USA Today found that three out of five voters who backed Trump last year said they would love to see him again next time. Only 29 percent said they shouldn’t try again.

If the socially moderate, business-oriented wing of the party and its increasingly labor-oriented base are to break up, the numbers so far speak for the base. According to the Suffolk / USA Today poll, voters who supported Trump last year said, 20 points ahead of them, that they showed more loyalty to him than the Republican Party.

46 percent said they would follow Trump to a new party if he broke away from the GOP. 27 percent said they hadn’t made up their minds yet.

(The poll sample included all respondents who said they would vote for Trump in a Suffolk poll sometime in 2020 and agreed to be called back after the election. Ninety percent of respondents said they did had actually cast a ballot for him in November.)

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Trump tax returns in arms of Manhattan district lawyer

Trump tax returns in hands of Manhattan district attorney

Former President Donald Trump’s tax records were turned over to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. after the Supreme Court rejected the ex-President’s recent efforts to keep the documents safe.

A Vance spokesman Danny Frost confirmed that a subpoena against Trump’s longtime accounting firm Mazars USA was passed on Monday, hours after the country’s highest court dismissed Trump’s appeal.

The subpoena requested Trump’s 2011 personal and company records, including his tax returns. Trump defied modern precedent by refusing to make his tax returns available to the public despite running two campaigns for the presidency.

A spokesman for the former president did not immediately comment on Thursday. After the court allowed the rendition, Trump promised to “keep fighting” and said Vance was pursuing a “fishing expedition.”

The long-term investigation was closely monitored. Early reports suggested that prosecutors were looking into hush money payments made on Trump’s behalf to women allegedly linked to the real estate tycoon. Trump denied the affairs.

Recent court records have revealed that Vance may be investigating Trump and his company of the same name, The Trump Organization, for possible banking and insurance fraud. Trump has repeatedly denied allegations of financial inappropriateness and accused investigators of partisan motives.

The dispute over Trump’s tax documents reached the Supreme Court twice. On both occasions the panel refused to stop the lower court’s decisions on Vance’s side. In July, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote a statement for a 7-2 court rejecting Trump’s sweeping argument that he was immune to state criminal investigations during his tenure.

“In our judicial system, the public has a right to any man’s evidence.” Since the earliest days of the Republic, “every man” has included the President of the United States, “said Roberts, who was appointed to court by then-President George W. Bush.

After this decision, Trump’s lawyers continued to fight the subpoena on the grounds that it was too broad and badly issued, but the lower courts denied these claims. In October, Trump’s attorneys again called on the Supreme Court to intervene, but the court wrote in a one-line order on Monday that it was not.

Vance’s possession of Trump’s tax records does not guarantee that the public will ever know what they contain. The recordings were obtained in connection with a grand jury investigation and New York State law requires that the grand jury proceedings be confidential. It’s likely that the public will only be able to see the records if Vance ultimately charges and includes portions of the records in billing documents.

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Full CPAC 2021 Information: Trump, Cruz, Pompeo and Extra

Full CPAC 2021 Guide: Trump, Cruz, Pompeo and More

Starting Friday, a mix of conservative politicians, commentators, and activists will be arriving in Orlando, Florida for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, commonly known as the CPAC. Over the past few years, the event has been a reliable barometer for the Republican Party grassroots, clarifying how its most devout members define the institution now and what it should look like in the future.

For the party leadership, these questions have become particularly urgent after the loss of former President Donald J. Trump’s election in November, not to mention the riots in the Capitol that Trump supporters waged last month. The party has hardened over the past four years into a party enlivened by anger, complaint and, most importantly, loyalty to Mr. Trump. The coming days will tell whether this is likely to stay that way.

The former president is expected to deliver the conference closing address on Sunday at 3:40 p.m. Eastern. However, his presence will be felt throughout the event. Recent polls show that a majority of Republicans mistakenly believe the election was stolen from Mr. Trump, and this year’s agenda shows that issues like election fraud will be at the fore.

On Friday morning, panelists including Alabama’s Mo Brooks, who enthusiastically supported Mr. Trump’s fraud allegations, will gather on stage for a 35-minute section entitled “Election Protection: Why Judges and Media Refuse to Examine the Evidence”. That topic will be taken up again on Sunday morning when speakers discuss what they call the “failed states” of Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Nevada – states won by Joseph R. Biden Jr. in November and where Trump’s legal efforts end USA to topple results sputtered.

The 45th President won’t be the only Trump to show up. On Friday afternoon, Donald Trump Jr. will speak under the vague banner of “Reigniting the Spirit of the American Dream”. He is introduced by Kimberly Guilfoyle, his girlfriend and a former Fox News personality.

In other words, when it comes to older Mr. Trump, expect this year’s CPAC to feel similar to the last four – from the number of times his name is called to the eagerness of the audience, of the man hear for yourself.

As Conservatives look for a message to rally before the 2022 midterm elections, the CPAC agenda is a preview of the tough battle that awaits. The agenda includes panels on debt, abortion, education, big tech, and breaking culture. With so many segments anchored in the 2020 elections, the conference seems to be less about mapping the party’s future than about reinvigorating its past.

Except for a certain day. There is no mention of January 6 anywhere on the agenda – not the pro-Trump march in Washington, the chants of “Stop the Steal,” or the demonstration that turned into a riotous mob that stormed the Capitol. Prominent Republican politicians have tried to limit the uprising to Antifa and other leftist movements or groups, and CPAC will show how conservative voters view the events of that day almost two months later.

A lecture space at CPAC is prime property for ambitious Republicans. This year, some of those looking to claim the cloak of a post-Trump GOP managed to get one. With the event taking place in his state, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has perhaps the most coveted spot on the agenda alongside Mr. Trump himself – he will deliver the conference’s opening address on Friday at 9 a.m.

Other rumored candidates for 2024 are Senator Ted Cruz from Texas, who will speak on Friday at 10:50 am on the “Bill of Rights, Liberty and Cancel Culture”. Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, who will speak about “Keeping America Safe” at 12:55 pm that day; and Senator Rick Scott of Florida, who stands up at 2:55 pm for a discussion on “Unlocking Our Churches, Our Votes, and Our Social Media Accounts.”

Mr. Scott is immediately followed by Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, whose speech is simply titled “Remarks.”

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem will anchor the lineup on Saturday. He will speak on the Bill of Rights at 1:35 pm and she will speak to the audience at 3:50 pm. No topic is listed for her speech.

Over them, of course, is Mr. Trump. If the popularity of the former president persists with the grassroots, the 2024 election could center on whether or not he opts for running. If so, few Republicans are likely to ask for the nomination. If he doesn’t, the contestants will put as much energy into getting his support as they will into their Iowa floor game.

And so, by 2024, hopefuls at CPAC will likely deliver their speeches in a familiar mode: in front of an audience of one.

The Republican Party, which plans to retake the White House in 2024 and won’t speak at CPAC that year, is as telling as whoever.

The most notable absence on the line-up is former Vice President Mike Pence. He has held back since January 6 when some rioters demanded his execution and Mr. Trump refused to take action to stop the mob. Politico first reported that Mr Pence had declined an invitation to speak at CPAC.

Also off the agenda is Nikki Haley, a former governor of South Carolina who served as ambassador to the United Nations under Trump. Ms. Haley is another rumored contender for 2024, and her absence from the Conservative conference could signal an attempt to take a more moderate stance in the party in the years to come.