[AOSHQ] George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said Monday that the judge in the Trump business records trial violated ethics rules with his donation to President Joe Biden's 2020 election campaign, and questioned why he was presiding over the case at all.
Merchan made a $15 donation to Biden's election campaign in 2020, a $10 donation to a group called "Stop Republicans" and a $10 donation to a "Progressive Turnout Project," according to data from the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Turley said that the small size of the donation was irrelevant.
"It is very clear, they say you can't make political contributions and he did," Turley said on "Fox and Friends" after co-host Ainsley Earhardt mentioned the donations. "And the fact it is 'de minimus' or small, really, I think, misses the point. You make donations to show your support, that is what that $15 did."
"What's also concerning for many is that Merchan was not randomly selected, he was hand-picked as the judge for this case, and many of us don't understand it," Turley continued. "You have a judge who is donor to the president, whose daughter is a major Democratic operative, you would think this would be an easy call, there are plenty of other judges."
...
"He's not going to be held accountable to the bar association, but this is one of the many aspects of this trial that are troubling to those who view this as the weaponization of the system," Turley said.
#2
if the jury ends up with a 'not guilty' this judge's donations will be gravy
Trump will be able to say that the Dem's handpicked a partisan judge, a partisan venue, allowed the prosecution to call witnesses with no information about the crime that I was accused of and they still lost.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
05/20/2024 16:59 Comments ||
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[PJMedia] While on the witness stand on Monday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's star witness in Donald Trump's criminal case in New York, Michael Cohen, admitted under cross-examination that he stole from the Trump Organization, where he worked for over a decade.
In 2017, the Trump Organization owed technology company Red Finch $50,000 for services rendered. Cohen, who helped facilitate the transaction, requested a $100,000 reimbursement from the Trump Organization, with the amount "grossed up" to account for taxes.
However, Cohen only paid $20,000 to Red Finch and pocketed the difference.
"You were shorted on 100,000 on your bonus that year, " [Trump attorney Todd] Blanche asked.
"That's correct," Cohen said, confirming he normally got $150,000 as an annual bonus around the holidays.
"So the $50,000 that you got back from Red Finch... you only paid the Red Finch owner $20,000, right?" Blanche asked. "Yes sir," Cohen said.
Blanche is now walking Cohen through how he paid the $20,000 to the Red Finch owner in cash. Cohen confirmed he withdrew the money over a couple days. "I just didn’t want to take out $20,000" at once, Cohen said.
"I don’t recall if it was exactly $20,000," Cohen added to clarify.
Cohen said that Red Finch wanted the full payment of $50,000, but they accepted the money they received.
"So, you stole from the Trump organization," Blanche asked, noting Cohen was reimbursed $100,000.
"Yes sir," Cohen, said in response to Blanche.
"You didn’t just steal the 30,000, Because it was grossed up, it was 60,000," Blanche asked. "Yes, sir," Cohen said.
Cohen testified that multiple prosecutors from the district attorney's office knew that he stole from the Trump Organization and acknowledged that he hadn't pleaded guilty to that crime.
The admission is the latest blow to Cohen's credibility, which was never solid to begin with but has taken significant hits over the past week.
On Thursday, CNN's Anderson Cooper was stunned at how effectively Trump's lawyer Todd Blanche cornered Cohen in a lie that completely weakened his credibility before the jury.
"But the last 20 minutes of court today right before the lunch break, it was incredible,” he admitted. "[O]n a cross-examination, lawyers want to kind of put the witness in a — build a box around the witness and then slam it shut. That's what Todd Blanche did to Michael Cohen."
Cooper observed that Blanche meticulously dismantled Cohen's previous testimony about a pivotal phone conversation with Trump, undermining Cohen's credibility as Cohen's narrative shifted repeatedly on the witness stand, casting doubt on his testimony implicating Trump.
[THEEPOCHTIMES] The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a final blow to an effort to block former President Donald Trump ...His ancestors didn't own any slaves... from the presidential ballot in Arizona by refusing to hear an appeal from a man who’s waged a legal battle in dozens of states to get the former president disqualified over the Jan. 6 incident.
The high court has denied a petition for a writ of certiorari from John Castro, a registered Republican candidate for U.S. president in 2024, who fought in court to block President Trump from the ballot in Arizona, and elsewhere, according to an April 22 order list.
The Supreme Court’s denial of Mr. Castro’s request for review effectively upholds a lower court ruling from December 2023 that rejected Mr. Castro’s claim that President Trump should be barred from the ballot because he "gave aid and comfort to insurrectionists on January 6, 2021."
In his lawsuit, Mr. Castro filed a motion in September 2023 seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction that would have forced Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes to block President Trump from appearing on the state’s presidential ballot, based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
Mr. Castro’s failed Arizona lawsuit was one of 27 cases that he brought against the former president on the same grounds.
In his 12-page opinion and order, U.S. District Judge Douglas Rayes ruled that Mr. Castro’s lawsuit "must be dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction because Castro lacks standing to bring his claim."
Mr. Castro appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, which on April 22 put the final nail in the coffin of his lawsuit by denying review.
While the high court did not provide a reason for rejecting Mr. Castro’s appeal, but it’s likely related to a March 4 decision by the Supreme Court that said President Trump can’t be removed from the ballot by individual states—only by Congress—while overturning a Colorado Supreme Court ruling that disqualified him under the 14th Amendment.
The Epoch Times has reached out to Mr. Castro, Mr. Fontes, and the Trump campaign for comment on the decision.
[TOWNHALL] Former Baltimore prosecutor and convicted fraudster Marilyn Mosby is begging President Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. Gave an airbase and billions in military hardware to the Taliban to pardon her as she awaits her sentence.
According to a letter sent to Biden by the Congressional Black Caucus on Thursday, Mosby claims that her conviction was politically motivated, prompting her to plead with Biden to save her from serving a potential 20 months in federal prison.
"As a nation that leads by example, our justice system must not be weaponized to prevent progress toward a more perfect union," Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV) wrote in the letter. "We share your desire for racial equity, Mr. President and this Trump-era prosecution is in direct conflict with a justice system that serves us all."
Mosby’s conviction includes one count of mortgage fraud and two counts of perjury. She is seeking nothing more than probation for her actions.
In February, a federal jury found that Mosby made a false statement on a mortgage application for a home in Florida. Three months later, another jury convicted the Democrat on charges relating to the withdrawal of COVID-19 funds from the city’s Deferred Compensation Plan.
#3
Aren't pardons normally done a few days before a President leaves office? Mosby still might catch a break but she'll be locked up for a few months one way or another.
[THEGATEWAYPUNDIT] The National Rifle Association formally endorsed former President Donald Trump’s bid for re-election during its annual meeting in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday.
The endorsement was announced by Randy Kozuch, chairman and executive director of the National Rifle Association’s lobbying arm, as he introduced Trump to speak to the crowd.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/20/2024 00:00 ||
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#1
With rampant inflation, all the people who illegally stuffed ballot boxes for Biden in 2020 will probably be stuffing ballot boxes in 2024 for Trump...
[Ynet] Thirteen suspects, including employees of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality's sanitation department, were arrested Monday morning for alleged involvement in serious offenses, including public corruption, money laundering and fraudulent invoicing worth hundreds of millions of shekels.
Criminal gangs from both the Jewish and Arab communities are also implicated.
The investigation was led by the National Financial Investigations Unit in Israel Police’s Lahav 433 — a unit specializing in investigating organized crime, corruption and serious economic offenses, often dubbed "the Israeli FBI" — in collaboration with the Tax Authority.
According to a police statement, the suspects are believed to have engaged in significant public corruption, tax offenses, and money laundering within the cleaning industry.
The investigation became public on Monday with the arrests, and the suspects are currently being interrogated at Lahav 433 offices. Depending on the findings, they will be brought before the Rishon Lezion Magistrate's Court for a remand hearing.
Posted by: Grom the reflective ||
05/20/2024 03:33 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[AOSHQ] George Washington University law professor 
...His ancestors didn't own any slaves...
...46th president of the U.S. Gave an airbase and billions in military hardware to the Taliban
