DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus January 6th Fallout part 7

I'm sure FATE will be coming along soon to talk about how anyone who assaults a cop should go to jail. He doesn't have a problem doing that when it comes to cities ran by democrats.

Didn't he just get sentenced to 5 years in prison?

I just posted about two thugs that beat the dog$hit out of a cop and got released without bail.

Is it really that hard to see the difference??

It’s called an agenda Pit. When your daily agenda is to spend the majority of your day going hard after anything that anyone posts if your are not 1001% down with every character in said posts. Yep, you get down in that agenda pit and get stuck like it’s an addiction. It might be adic something, but not addiction. Hell, I could stop, so anyone can.

You just posted the most accurate description ever penned -- about Pit himself -- and then attributed that m.o. to me.

All because Pit wet his pants over a post where a cop got his clock cleaned by thugs... and then tried to compare them getting no bail to someone else getting five years in prison! In the words of Rish -- this place is bonkers!

I responded to you and your response to him explaining Pit’s agenda, I mean agenda pits!

I'm confused.

I wasn’t talking about you. I was talking to you. Now, who did I describe?

Absolutely.

Ah, gotcha. My apologies. I thought "It’s called an agenda Pit." was just missing a comma.

And absolutely indeed, rounding up my order from the Holland Seed Bank. OH-HIO!

Perfect example of how screwed up our country is over individual rights and societal safety. Hell, getting in a car and driving- what percentage of our population is high on MJ, alcohol, prescription pills, other recreation high pills, and the elderly who can't see, hear, or react anymore but have the right to drive. Beware pulling out of the driveway. How do you fix that?

Let's eat, Grandma
Let's eat Grandma

Commas save lives

Don't get in the car and drive?

"With great power comes great responsibility".

Lmao.

I wanted to post that but couldn't think of the saying.

I understand that you are. You see, I actually agreed with you in the thread where you said everyone who assaults the police should go to jail. I actually stated that the justice system failed in that instance. Of course you made that into how I peed my pants over it. Which is hilarious. You seemed quite emphatic about your stand and I don't blame you. Yet this thread dates back to July and I don't think it's even the first thread about all of the police officers that were attacked on Jan. 6th. Yet you have remained silent the entire time. Because that's what you do. Rather than take the same stand here, you post memes about someone smoking weed.

It's obvious who is peeing themselves here. It would be the one here throwing a tantrum because he still can't come to this thread and talk about how despicable it is for people to assault the police. And it's not because you think it's any less despicable. It's because of who they are.

Imperial Chancellor Pit has spoken.

"You will post in the threads I tell you to post in!!"

(read: kiss my @$$)

No, you have decided to pick and choose. I just decided to point that out. You may wish to check yourself. It might be time you need changing.

"'Murica -- where you can still make choices."

That depends on where you live. I mean in some states you don't have the choices to see a drag show. There's a lot of books you can't find in a library. There are a lot more such examples. There's even a state that mandates children be taught slaves benefited from slavery and parents can't opt out of their children being taught that. So the choices we get to make in Murica are getting fewer and fewer all of the time.

The choices people make explain a lot about them. You have choices and I have the choice to comment about them. It seems we are both exercising our rights as we see fit.

Cool story. At least I can still choose which threads I post in on a message board without too much wrath... most of the time.

Mike Johnson to release 40,000 hours of Jan. 6 footage

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Friday announced the public release of more than 40,000 hours of Capitol security footage from Jan. 6, 2021.

Why it matters: The move meets a key demand of the Republicans' right flank as conservatives simmer at Johnson for passing a stopgap spending bill along bipartisan lines.

What they're saying: "Today, we will begin immediately posting video on a public website and move as quickly as possible to add to the website nearly all of the footage, more than 40,000 hours," Johnson said.

Johnson said the decision will "provide millions of Americans, criminal defendants, public interest organizations, and the media an ability to see for themselves what happened that day, rather than having to rely upon the interpretation of a small group of government officials."
Private citizens' faces will be blurred to "avoid any persons from being targeted for retaliation," Johnson said.

The details: Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), the chair of the House Administration Committee's oversight subcommittee, which oversees the footage, said the footage will be available on a page on the panel's website.

After the initial tranche of around 90 hours of footage, the panel "will continue to populate the viewing room with additional footage for public view," Loudermilk said in a statement.
Johnson's office said the remaining footage will be posted in waves over the next several months.

Zoom in: The committee said members of the public will be able to make appointments to view the footage on terminals, with priority given to lawmakers, Jan. 6 defendants and their lawyers, Jan. 6 victims, American news outlets and non-profits in that order.

Johnson said that around 5% of the available footage is being withheld because it "may involve sensitive security information related to the building architecture."

Jan. 6 defendants and victims can request access to the withheld footage if it was not made available by prosecutors, contains exculpatory evidence and will be used in their legal cases but not shared publicly.

The other side: The top Democrat on the House Administration Committee blasted the release.

"While the name on the door to the Speaker's suite has changed, the office's mission to undermine the Capitol Police and politicize Capitol security continues unabated," Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) said in a statement.
Morelle called it "unconscionable" to allow "virtually unfettered access" to the footage "over the strenuous objections of the security professionals within the Capitol Police[.]"

https://www.axios.com/2023/11/17/mi...9ybIUGAlmzxDe8-oTcggENPC-sZoLBlVb43RaVEE

Now we'll get to see the other 39,995 hours and 55 minutes of the footage Tucker Carlson didn't want us to see.

You certainly can. And the choices you make and refuse to make in that department speaks volumes. But don't worry. It isn't specific to you. There's a lot more that refuse to speak out against people they support no matter what they do. Even people who have 91 criminal counts against them. Rather than comment on that they think it's important to throw out how some rando thinks the traffic laws don't apply to her.

Mother and son who aided in theft of Pelosi's laptop on Jan. 6 are sentenced

Online “Sedition Hunters” identified the mother-son duo after the FBI mistakenly raided the Alaska home of a woman it mistook for Maryann Mooney-Rondon.

WASHINGTON — A mother and son who aided in the theft of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's laptop — whom online sleuths identified after the FBI mistakenly raided the home of another Donald Trump supporter in Alaska — were sentenced Wednesday.

Maryann Mooney-Rondon and her son, Rafael Rondon, were arrested in October 2021 after they were identified by online "Sedition Hunters" who have aided in hundreds of cases against Capitol rioters.

Before their identification, online sleuths had dubbed the pair “AirheadLady” and “AirheadBoy” because they emerged from the Capitol wearing stolen emergency escape hoods, which the duo subsequently admitted stealing.

U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb sentenced Rondon to 18 months of home incarceration and Mooney-Rondon to 12 months of home incarceration. She described the sentence as “jail but at home” and said they would be confined to home 24/7. Both will be on probation for five years.

Cobb said that it was a “difficult” case and that neither of the defendants were criminal masterminds. “I’m not suggesting that you two are stupid or idiots,” she said, but she said they engaged in “juvenile” behavior.

This is how a judge tells you that you're a stupid idiot without saying you're a stupid idoit.

“I just think that they were acting very stupidly,” Cobb said. “No offense.” She said she was giving them a “significant break.”

Rafael Rondon was previously sentenced to 14 months of incarceration after he pleaded guilty in federal court in New York to possession of an unregistered firearm after the FBI found an unregistered sawed-off shotgun when it searched the Rondons' home.

Rafael Rondon admitted to the FBI that on Jan. 6, 2021, he helped a man who was trying to rip cords out of Pelosi's laptop, which she used for Zoom meetings.

"I assisted him a little bit," Rafael Rondon said, "and that was probably stupid of me." He later told the FBI that he wished he had taken a photo of a rioter on the Senate dais, because "that s--- was f---ing hilarious."

Before his sentencing, Rafael Rondon said that he would “never” engage in that type of behavior and that he was acting very immaturely. “I made a stupid mistake,” he said. “I realize that.”

Mooney-Rondon, who owns a medical billing company, admitted that she helped a man who took the laptop, giving him gloves so he would not leave fingerprints behind. The scene was captured in one of the many videos fellow rioters recorded on their smartphones. The man who took the laptop has not been arrested.

Mooney-Rondon said she had “a very bad lapse of judgment" on Jan. 6. "I’m a very — generally — measured, calculated person. I think things through. How the heck that happened, I really don’t have a clue," she said.

Ahead of her sentencing Wednesday, Mooney-Rondon called herself “a humbled woman” and asked the court for mercy.

“I was the adult in the room, and I failed,” she said. “I have brought embarrassment to my family.”

“If we had to do it all over, we would have just stayed home and watched from the safety of our living room,” she continued.

But when she finished her prepared statement and the judge asked her to explain what she was thinking when she decided to aid in the theft of Pelosi’s laptop, Mooney-Rondon pivoted, saying she thought Jan. 6 photos and videos had been “cherry-picked” and suggesting that the man who stole Pelosi’s laptop was part of a broader scheme and that he was working with others who were similarly dressed. She was she was “scared” and went along with the laptop theft because it was the “easiest thing to do.”

The government had sought 51 months in prison for Rafael Rondon and 46 months in prison for Maryann Mooney-Rondon.

Online sleuths identified the pair after the FBI raided the Alaska home of a woman it mistakenly thought was Mooney-Rondon. That woman, Marilyn Hueper, was on the grounds of the Capitol on Jan. 6 with her husband but does not appear to have entered the building. Neither of the Huepers has been charged.

A sleuth who helped identify the Rondons using facial recognition, in an interview for the book “Sedition Hunters: How January 6th Broke the Justice System,” called the FBI’s raid of the Alaska home “an embarrassing f---up” and said they initially “didn’t believe the FBI could mess up that badly.” The sleuths were able to identify the duo in about a half-hour, confirming the facial recognition hit with the help of Mooney-Rondon’s Facebook page, which featured images of her wearing the same items of jewelry she wore to the Capitol on Jan. 6.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/ju...GOMaFace7dVKZkEOYx5MPnmc878Rsu0WqjmA6WcE

Bro the Qanon Shaman is running for congress!!!

Yeah I saw that. Or at least he has filed the paperwork to run. It would be interesting to see a list of those who contribute to his campaign.

Is he in Gosar's district? In that case, it might be a wash if he wins...

This is why we need a law that says if your convicted of a felony, you can't hold public office. Appointed or elected.. Not even Dog Catcher!

Federal Appeals Court ruled this morning that former president trump does not have civil immunity

https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/01/politics/trump-presidential-immunity-january-6-lawsuits/index.html

Former President Donald Trump can be sued in civil lawsuits related to the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot in a long-awaited, consequential decision from the federal appeals court in Washington, DC.

The decision will have significant implications for several cases against Trump in the Washington, DC, federal court related to the 2020 election. The decision arises out of lawsuits brought by Capitol Police officers and Democrats in Congress.

The opinion, written by Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan, states that not everything a president does or says while in office is protected from liability.



The president “does not spend every minute of every day exercising official responsibilities,” the opinion said. “And when he acts outside the functions of his office, he does not continue to enjoy immunity. … When he acts in an unofficial, private capacity, he is subject to civil suits like any private citizen.”

The decision to allow the January 6 lawsuits against Trump to proceed was unanimous among the three judges on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Greg Katsas concurred with the decision, and Judge Judith Rogers concurred in part. Trump will still be able to seek additional appeals on the issue, if he chooses.

But at this time, the decision allows three lawsuits against Trump from Capitol Police officers and members of Congress who are seeking recovery from emotional distress and physical injury from the attack to move forward, and at least a half dozen other lawsuits against Trump may be able to emerge from dormancy too. The complaints largely rely on a federal law prohibiting individuals from conspiring to prevent someone from holding federal office.

The appeals court’s decision may also shape how judges look at arguments of immunity that Trump is making in his federal criminal case around the 2020 election, though the ruling on Friday only applies to civil cases.

Two of the lawsuits were brought by Democratic House members, while a third was filed by Capitol Police officers.

The lawmakers allege that they were threatened by Trump and others as part of a conspiracy to stop the congressional session that would certify the 2020 presidential election on January 6, 2021, according to the complaints. They argue that Trump should bear responsibility for directing the assaults.

Trump moved to dismiss the lawsuits against him on several grounds, including presidential immunity, which the DC District Court rejected, saying that the former president’s actions in the lead-up to the riot at the US Capitol riot were all an effort to remain in office and not official functions of his presidency.

The district court did find that Trump was protected by presidential immunity from the claim that he failed to stop to the riot, saying that he would be acting in his official presidential powers in that instance.

The appeals court opinion on Friday distinguished between campaign speech a president seeking reelection might make and official actions of the presidency.

Trump had argued in court he was immune for anything he said while president, but the court found that is not the case – specifying that the January 6 Trump rally that preceded the riot at the Capitol is potentially part of his campaign.

Trump still will be able to contest the facts of the case as the lawsuits move forward. The appeals court said Trump also may be able to make more arguments around immunity before the January 6 lawsuits move into extensive evidence-gathering phases.

The court’s decision on Friday “is flexible enough to accommodate rare cases where even speech made during a campaign event may be official,” Katsas wrote in his concurring opinion. “And it is cautious, in leaving open both the question whether the [Trump January 6] speech at issue is entitled to immunity and, if not, whether the First Amendment nonetheless protects it.”

The opinion stated a president running for a second term was acting “as office-seeker, not office-holder” when he was campaigning, such as by attending a private political fundraiser, hiring and firing campaign staff and while speaking in political advertisements and reelection campaign rallies.

Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Trump’s reelection campaign, responded to the opinion on Friday by calling it “limited, narrow and procedural.”

“The facts fully show that on January 6 President Trump was acting on behalf of the American people, carrying out his duties as President of the United States,” Cheung said in a statement provided to CNN.

Lawyers for injured Capitol Police officers and Democratic members of Congress who are suing Trump cheered the decision on Friday, after it had the lawsuits on hold for a year.

“This is the right result and an important step forward in holding former President Trump accountable for the insurrection on January 6,” Matt Kaiser, lawyer for Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said on Friday.

“Today’s ruling makes clear that those who endanger our democracy and the lives of those sworn to defend it will be held to account,” attorney Patrick Malone said in a statement following the opinion’s release on Friday. “Our clients look forward to pursuing their claims in court.”

“We’re moving one step closer to justice, one step closer to accountability, and one step closer to healing some of the wounds suffered by [Officers] James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby,” said Kristy Parker, counsel at Protect Democracy. “As this case shows, our constitutional order does not grant former President Donald J. Trump immunity for his attempt to subvert our democracy.”

Meaning when trump is elected president again he will simply use tax payer dollars to pay off all the law suits and lawyers.

Special council filed today in Jan 6 case; link to filing at the end

https://thehill.com/regulation/cour...counsel-trump-2020-election-case-motive/

Special counsel outlines bid to show Trump motive, knowledge of plan to stay in power
BY REBECCA BEITSCH - 12/05/23 1:52 PM ET
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Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team outlined the evidence it has collected against former President Trump on Tuesday, walking through information it says will showcase his motive and knowledge of a plan to block the transfer of power.

The breakdown comes in a request to introduce evidence of events both before and after the conspiracy outlined in Trump’s indictment, an effort to “establish his motive, intent, preparation, knowledge” and plans related to his efforts to stay in power.


The 9-page filing shows prosecutors plan to showcase an array of Trump comments dating as far back as 2012, when he sought to cast into doubt the legitimacy of elections whose results he did not favor.

That includes the multiple instances when Trump refused to commit to accept the results of either the 2016 or 2020 election.

Prosecutors also plan to show evidence gathered about other Trump associates, including the encouraging of riots at a Detroit vote-counting center and the targeting of a Republican National Committee attorney who countered Trump’s claims of fraud.

“The Campaign Employee encouraged rioting and other methods of obstruction when he learned that the vote count was trending in favor of the defendant’s opponent,” the filing says of a campaign employee who sought to mobilize riots at the TCF Center after President Biden took the lead in vote counts.

“Thereafter, Trump made repeated false claims regarding election activities at the TCF Center, when in truth his agent was seeking to cause a riot to disrupt the count.”

But much of the filing indicates prosecutors plan to bring in an array of Trump comments they argue show a longstanding refusal to accept election results and instead undermine the process, something they say all show “his motive, intent, and plan to obstruct the certification of the 2020 election results and illegitimately retain power.”


The bid to tap into the universe of statements Trump has made about elections and Jan. 6 must still be approved by Judge Tanya Chutkan. But it shows prosecutors see a wealth of information both from Trump’s longstanding complaints about elections – and his fear of conceding loss – to even more recent statements expressing sympathy for rioters and efforts to ignite harassment of those he sees as a threat.

The filing points to false claims Trump made in 2012 of voting machines switching votes, as well as 2016 comments there was widespread voter fraud in the election in which he was running.

“The defendant’s false claims about the 2012 and 2016 elections are admissible because they demonstrate the defendant’s common plan of falsely blaming fraud for election results he does not like,” prosecutors wrote.


Prosecutors argue his comments about plans to “keep you in suspense” about whether he would accept the 2016 results amount to the same.

“The Government will offer proof of this refusal as intrinsic evidence of the defendant’s criminal conspiracies because it shows his plan to remain in power at any cost—even in the face of potential violence,” prosecutors wrote.

The filing also delves into Trump’s more recent actions, arguing he has consistently made remarks that encourage violence, everything ranging from telling the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” to making disparaging comments about individuals he knows will be threatened and harassed by his supporters.


Such evidence is needed to “establish the defendant and his co-conspirators’ plan of silencing, and intent to silence, those who spoke out against the defendant’s false election fraud claims” – comments that “could foreseeably lead to threats, harassment, and violence; and the defendant’s repeated choice to attack individuals with full knowledge of this effect.”

Finally, the filing points to Trump’s “steadfast support and endorsement of rioters” who stormed the Capitol after his speech on Jan. 6.

Those comments, prosecutors argue, show Trump’s “motive and intent on January 6—that he sent supporters, including groups like the Proud Boys, whom he knew were angry, and whom he now calls ‘patriots,’ to the Capitol to achieve the criminal objective of obstructing the congressional certification.”

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.258148/gov.uscourts.dcd.258148.176.0.pdf

Johnson said that they are taking the painstaking effort to blur the faces of people inside the capital so "there isn't retribution by the DOJ". Many have been quick to note today that this action would be ripe for Obstruction charges

New York candidate running to replace Santos convicted over Jan. 6

A New York man hoping to replace expelled former Rep. George Santos has been convicted over the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday.

The big picture: Philip Sean Grillo, 49, of Queens, was found guilty Tuesday after testifying that he had "no idea" Congress met inside the Capitol building despite admitting that he's running for election to the U.S. House to represent New York's 3rd Congressional District, per a DOJ statement.

Driving the news: Former Queens Republican district leader Grillo was accused of being part of a mob that breached the Capitol via a broken window while carrying a megaphone, according to a court filing.

Prosecutors said he pushed past three Capitol Police officers guarding the Rotunda's exterior entryway doors, allowing more rioters into the building.
They alleged Grillo recorded himself on his cell phone saying: "We f**king did it, baby! ... We stormed the Capitol. We shut it down!"

By the numbers: In the 35 months since the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,230 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the Capitol breach.

What's next: Grillo, who was convicted of five charges, including felony obstruction of an official proceeding, will be sentenced at a later date.

https://www.axios.com/2023/12/07/ri...Xrr-RH4C6m3SUXXug_RwCp98AhDOt2kouAdiHw3c

Insurrectionist for Congress!

"Man Running for Congress Testifies He Has No Idea Congress Meets in the Only Place Congress Meets After Attempting to Stop Congress From Meeting There"

Well sure, insurrectionists already occupy numerous seats. Sooner or later the people will have to demand a thorough investigation (most probably mostly done by now) into all of the J6 participants and the invocation of the 14th amendment disqualification clause to remove them all, thereby disqualifying Trump and cronies from ever holding office again. Treat them like the traitors in the south after the civil war. They should be ousted from any and all government positions, never allowed to hold office again.

A Jan. 6 rioter praised Vivek Ramaswamy at his sentencing for suggesting riot was an ‘inside job’

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former California police chief convicted of a conspiracy charge in the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced Thursday to more than 11 years in prison after giving a speech that praised Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s suggestion the Jan. 6, 2021, attack could have been an “inside job.”

Alan Hostetter, who prosecutors say carried a hatchet in his backpack on Jan. 6, spun conspiracy theories as he spoke to a judge at his sentencing hearing, falsely claiming the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump and referring to the riot as a “false flag” operation.

Only eight other Jan. 6 defendants have received a longer term so far. His is the third-longest Jan. 6 sentence among those who were not charged with seditious conspiracy.

Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur running his first political campaign, has drawn attention in the GOP field with his rapid-fire, wide-ranging speeches in which he often discusses things he says are “truths.”

In suggesting that federal agents were behind Jan. 6 during a GOP debate Wednesday, Ramaswamy promoted a conspiracy theory embraced by many on the far right who have argued Trump supporters were framed. There is no evidence to back up those claims, and FBI Director Christopher Wray has said the “notion that somehow the violence at the Capitol on January 6 was part of some operation orchestrated by FBI sources and agents is ludicrous.”

Ramaswamy’s campaign did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Hostetter, who defended himself at his bench trial with help from a standby attorney, said Ramaswamy’s mention shows ideas like his are “no longer fringe theories.”

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said Hostetter’s conviction wasn’t about his beliefs, but rather for crossing police lines being part of the riot that interrupted Congress as they certified the 2020 election. He handed down a 135-month sentence, close to the more than 12-year sentence prosecutors had requested.

Prosecutor Anthony Mariano pointed to posts Hostetter had made before Jan. 6, including one about putting “the fear of God into members of Congress.”

“This is not a case that’s just about words … this man took actions based on those words,” he said, detailing knives and other gear Hostetter also brought to Washington.

A defense attorney advising him, Karren Kenney, argued that Hostetter didn’t push against police lines or enter the Capitol building. Hostetter also maintained that he didn’t bring his hatchet to the Capitol.

Hostetter was convicted in July of four counts, including conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and entering a restricted area with a deadly or dangerous weapon.

Hostetter had previously served as police chief in La Habra, California, near Los Angeles, but had moved on to teaching yoga when he founded a nonprofit called the American Phoenix Project in the spring of 2020. He used the tax-exempt organization to oppose COVID-19 restrictions and to advocate for violence against political opponents after the 2020 presidential election.

Hostetter was arrested in June 2021 along with five other men. Their indictment linked four of Hostetter’s co-defendants to the Three Percenters wing of the militia movement. Their name refers to the myth that only 3% of Americans fought against the British in the Revolutionary War.

Hostetter said he doesn’t have any connection to the Three Percenters movement and accused prosecutors of falsely portraying him as “a caricature of some radical terrorist.”

Approximately 1,200 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Roughly 900 of them have pleaded guilty or been convicted by a judge or jury after trials. Over 700 of them have been sentenced, with roughly two-thirds receiving prison sentences ranging from three days to 22 years.

https://apnews.com/article/january-...ude2R5yW6vODBSuI_UFE7CPsBNUG6CcsYrIzJiVA

"Alan Hostetter, who prosecutors say carried a hatchet in his backpack on Jan. 6, spun conspiracy theories as he spoke to a judge at his sentencing hearing, falsely claiming the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump and referring to the riot as a “false flag” operation."

So what's this Hostetter guy is saying is that he actually supports Biden and he wanted Trump to look like he's at fault for the J6 riots. Do I have that right?

J/c

Daman

Completely logical while utterly non-sensical and blatantly obvious that this is what it should mean… But MAGA GOPers aren’t logical in any way, so remove logical, retain non-sensical and it’s obvious he’s just another MAGA idiot going to jail for Trump.

Trump can blame Biden, the left, the DOJ, Judges, Prosecutors, Court Staff, polka dots on tranny panties or anything he wants… But Donald J Trump sent those rioters to jail.

Trump Legal Defense Fund’s Biggest Expense Was Mar-a-Lago
December 12, 2023in News, Politics
Trump Legal Defense Fund’s Biggest Expense Was Mar-a-Lago

A legal defense fund for Donald Trump appears to have placed its spending priorities in a strange place: Mar-a-Lago.

New tax filings show Trump’s legal defense fund raising about $1.6 million over the last six months and spending less than $30,000. But more notable than how little the legal defense group has spent is what they didn’t spend it on—namely, legal services—as well as what they paid for: a party at Mar-a-Lago.


The group—a political nonprofit called the “Patriot Legal Defense Fund”—was created by Trump campaign officials in July to help pay down the beleaguered former president’s snowballing court costs.

While the fund can accept unlimited donations from both individuals and corporations, its first periodic financial report, submitted to the Internal Revenue Service on Wednesday, indicates a phlegmatic start, with only about $1.6 million in receipts. (Trump’s 2024 campaign had raised about $56.7 million as of Sept. 30.) Even more alarming from the group is that the majority of that money—$1 million—came from a single contribution, given by a donor couple whose previous association with QAnon conspiracy theory forced the campaign to cancel a fundraiser ahead of the 2020 election.

The fund says its purpose is to “raise money and pay for or help defray legal expenses related to defending against legal actions arising from an individual or group’s participation in the political process.” But none of its expenses appear related to that mission.

In fact, the Patriot Legal Defense Fund spent just $28,578 over the last six months, with Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club getting $18,136 for “banquet hall” fees in late November. The second biggest payout went to Trump political adviser Michael Glassner, who runs the fund and received $2,500 for “consulting,” paid through his public affairs firm C&M Transcontinental.

A representative for the fund did not immediately reply to The Daily Beast’s request for comment.

It’s unclear why the fund reported no legal expenses. Trump has been hemorrhaging cash for years due to ever-mounting legal fees, and that pressure has only increased after the PLDF launched in July.

Since then, Trump has added new cases in D.C. federal court and Fulton County, Georgia—both involving charges related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election. And while Trump has famously tapped political donors to cover legal costs for co-defendants and witnesses wrapped up in his alleged crime wave, many others, from Rudy Giuliani to Jenna Ellis, have expressed consternation at being jilted, and some have resorted to crowd-funding. This summer, Trump’s leadership PAC, Save America, helped cover nearly $1 million in costs for an expert witness who worked on Trump’s behalf in his $250 million New York civil fraud lawsuit, NBC News reported.

But the fund appears to have dealt with some potential legal matters of its own, regarding an apparent imposter scam. In September, The Daily Beast reported that the fund had denounced a fake website—patriotlegaldefensefund.com—which had see-sawed between being virulently anti-Trump and virulently pro-Trump, before settling on the pro-Trump message and selling mugshot merchandise.

It’s unclear how much the fake site may have cut into the real group’s fundraising. But in recent weeks, the homepage has gone through major changes, scrubbing all mention of Trump’s legal defense and removing the merch in favor of a burst of campaign talking points with links to Trump’s 2024 website.

The real fund’s million dollar donor was a foundation, called the “Caryn L. Hildenbrand Living Trust,” which made its donation on Nov. 6, listing a California address. Court records show that the trust belongs to Caryn and Michael Borland, whose ardent support for QAnon led the Trump campaign to cancel an October 2020 fundraiser that the Borlands were holding for then Vice President Mike Pence, the Associated Press reported at the time.

The utterly nonsensical QAnon conspiracy theory embraces a universe of baseless claims, including allegations that Democrats are engaged in satanic child rape and innumerable fruitless predictions regarding the “deep state” and Trump’s political future.

In 2020, the Borlands contributed $1 million to Trump’s 2020 re-election efforts, but the campaign canceled their fundraiser after reports that the Borlands had prominently displayed and shared a number of QAnon memes and posts.

Another top contributor to the fund—Lauren Pizza of New Jersey—is married to a major Trump donor and hydroxychloroquine distributor. Pizza, whose 2014 memoir noted that “Donald Trump sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to me at Mar-a-Lago,” gave $200,000 on Sept. 25.

Other top donors include Beverly Hills real estate outfit Probity International ($125,000), Southern Trust Capital LLC of Huntsville, Alabama ($100,000), and New Jersey accountant Dominic Caglioti ($50,000).

Cleveland Funeral Home, of Cleveland, Mississippi, also contributed $34,000.

https://dnyuz.com/2023/12/12/trump-legal-defense-funds-biggest-expense-was-mar-a-lago/

Grifters gonna grift.