Amen, Rudi, Stone, Bannon- all soon to be ex-cons.....Rep elite bitch about being served at his birthday party- why?- Rudi's been hiding for weeks....Ain't America Great. What clowns lead us. Sad Gatz and Greene couldn't make the show- they were in makeup for their next show in the House.
"You've never lived till you've almost died, life has a flavor the protected will never know" A vet or cop
Trump falsely claims Biden, FBI had plan to assassinate him during Mar-a-Lago search
The FBI issued a rare statement saying it followed standard protocol in 2022.
The FBI has issued a rare statement after former President Donald Trump and several GOP lawmakers spread false claims suggesting President Joe Biden authorized his assassination during the search of his Mar-a-Lago resort in 2022.
In a fundraising email responding to right-wing media reports that offered a distorted reading of a newly-unsealed court filing in Trump's classified documents case, Trump falsely claimed Biden was "locked & loaded ready to take me out."
In a separate post on his Truth Social platform Tuesday evening, Trump further said he was "shown Reports" that Biden's DOJ "AUTHORIZED THE FBI TO USE DEADLY (LETHAL) FORCE" in their search of the property for classified documents.
Behind Trump's false claims is a major misrepresentation of an otherwise boilerplate policy memo that was included in newly-unsealed documents that accompanied a filing from Trump's own lawyers in his classified documents case in Florida on Tuesday.
The memo was part of a 'Law Enforcement Operations Order' drawn up by agents preparing to carry out the search of Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8, 2022, after a magistrate judge agreed the government had shown probable cause that agents would find evidence of unlawfully retained national defense information and obstruction of justice on the premises.
In their search, agents ultimately recovered around 100 documents with classification markings -- months after the government subpoenaed Trump for any remaining in his possession, and after the government says it gathered evidence Trump had misled his own lawyers to sign a false certification asserting all such documents had been returned.
"The FBI followed standard protocol in this search as we do for all search warrants, which includes a standard policy statement limiting the use of deadly force," the FBI said in a statement Tuesday evening. "No one ordered additional steps to be taken and there was no departure from the norm in this matter."
Multiple former FBI and DOJ officials also confirmed the standard nature of the inclusion of the deadly force policy.
"Anytime the fbi takes an adversarial action like executing a search warrant, there is a deadly force policy," former DOJ official and ABC News contributor Sarah Isgur tweeted. "If there is danger to you or public and there's no alternatives, you are authorized to use deadly force. This is standard policy."
Trump and two co-defendants have pleaded not guilty to all charges against them and denied wrongdoing.
For their part, Trump's attorneys in their filing Tuesday made no such accusation that the inclusion of the policy showed Biden was preparing to assassinate Trump, and it's not immediately clear whether they had shared the information – part of a vast trove of discovery in his case -- with Trump prior to it being unsealed.
While Trump said he first learned of the filing after being "shown Reports" about it after court proceedings were finished in his New York state criminal hush money case, Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene later posted on X she "made sure" Trump knew about the false claim the "Biden DOJ and FBI were planning to assassinate" him.
The operations order further shows how agents were well aware Trump would not be present at the property during the search, as it was carried out during Mar-a-Lago's off-season when Trump normally resides at his property in Bedminster, New Jersey.
They did, however, include a contingency plan in the event Trump showed up at the property mid-search, at which time they said FBI personnel on site would be prepared "to engage with" him and his Secret Service security detail. The full context shows there's no suggestion of the situation escalating into violence, and that it was more about assigning points of contact responsible for speaking with members of Trump's detail.
The order also further bolsters testimony from the former director of the FBI's Washington, D.C,. field office Steve D'Antuono, who previously testified to Congress he was "adamant" agents executing the warrant "didn't do a show of force."
"It wasn't even a show of force, right, because we were all in agreement," D'Antuono said in an exchange with Rep. Jim Jordan, the Ohio Republican who chairs the House Judiciary Committee. "No raid jackets, no blazed FBI ... We weren't bringing any like FBI vehicles, everything that was reported about helicopters and a hundred people descending on, like, a Die Hard movie, was completely untrue, right. That is not how we played it."
The operation order shows case agents on scene were instructed to dress 'business casual' with 'unmarked polo or collared shirts' and other law enforcement equipment concealed.
In a floor speech Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer slammed Trump for falsely accusing the Justice Department of authorizing the FBI to use "deadly (lethal) force" during its search at Mar-a-Lago.
Schumer said Trump's words can incite violence and get people killed, and cause people to lose faith in democracy.
"What Donald Trump said, falsely suggesting his political opponents are out to kill him, is beyond the pale and is the stuff that leads to political violence," Schumer said.
Ron DeSantis’ new target in his ‘war on woke’? Colors, apparently
As part of DeSantis’ “Freedom Summer” initiative, the state’s transportation secretary announced that bridges can only be illuminated in red, white and blue this summer.
The administration of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, America’s premier “anti-woke warrior,” seems to have set its sights on a new target: color displays on Florida’s bridges.
As part of DeSantis’ “Freedom Summer” initiative, the state’s transportation secretary, Jared W. Perdue, announced earlier this month that bridges in the state will have no choice but to be illuminated in red, white and blue from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
“Thanks to the leadership of @GovRonDeSantis, Florida continues to be the freest state in the nation,” Perdue wrote on X.
The order bars any bridges from carrying rainbow colors for Pride Month — or any other colors to commemorative other occasions. As The Washington Post reported:
The Ringling Causeway Bridge over Sarasota Bay usually lights up in rainbow colors for a week in June, and also marks other causes during the summer, such as orange for National Gun Awareness Month and yellow for Women’s Equality Day.
Florida’s Department of Transportation, which has purview over the state’s bridges, issued the order mandating the strict color display after the chair of the Manatee County Commission objected to changing the lights to honor Pride Month and Gun Violence Awareness Day, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
It’s unclear how lighting bridges in certain colors asserts Florida’s status as “freest in the nation,” as Perdue claims, or what the term even means — it’s certainly no longer the freest state in its options for illuminating roadways over bodies of water. (Ironically, “Freedom Summer” was the name of a 1964 voting registration drive in Mississippi that helped to spur the passage of the Voting Rights Act.) But this new rule is demonstrative of the lengths to which DeSantis’ administration is willing to go to fluff his reputation as an anti-woke champion.
And while some of his efforts in that vein appear, like this one, to lean more toward posturing than anything else, not all of his policies are as frivolous. As governor, DeSantis has enacted truly harmful restrictions on LGBTQ rights, abortion rights, education and voting rights.
I mean I get it. Why focus on things like skyrocketing insurance rates, insurers leaving Florida, algae blooms, sargassum infestations, etc. when you can focus on what color the lights on the bridge can be. I mean, that's what being a true conservative is, right? Making sure that you have small government and don't micromanage things.
Hopefully I don't need purple.
The guy has taken what it actually means to be "conservative" and turned it completely on its head.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
I mean I get it. Why focus on things like skyrocketing insurance rates, insurers leaving Florida, algae blooms, sargassum infestations, etc. when you can focus on what color the lights on the bridge can be. I mean, that's what being a true conservative is, right? Making sure that you have small government and don't micromanage things.
Hopefully I don't need purple.
The guy has taken what it actually means to be "conservative" and turned it completely on its head.
And I just posted in the Ocean is warm thread that NOAA has come out with its highest preseason hurricane forecast EVER all while desantis is spouting "don't say climate change" law. This has been amongst the warmest springs ever in Florida, we have August ocean temps in May and idiots like desantis still keep spouting/and legislating pure bs
TV meteorologist attacks Ron DeSantis over Florida’s ‘don’t say climate change’ law Steve MacLaughlin of WTVJ in Miami urges viewers to vote – because ‘there are candidates that believe in climate change’
Maya Yang Tue 21 May 2024 15.02 EDT Share A TV meteorologist condemned the Florida governor Ron DeSantis’s so-called “don’t say climate change” law on air and urged viewers to vote.
Steve MacLaughlin of WTVJ in Miami addressed viewers on Saturday amid rising heat records across the state, saying: “On Thursday, we reported … that the government of Florida was beginning to roll back really important climate-change legislation and really important climate-change language.”
MacLaughin condemned DeSantis’s position on the matter, saying that it came “in spite of the fact that the state of Florida over the last couple of years has seen record heat, record flooding, record rain, record insurance rates, and the corals are dying all around the state”.
He said: “The entire world is looking to Florida to lead in climate change, and our government is saying that climate change is no longer the priority it once was.
“Please keep in mind the most powerful climate change solution is the one you already have in the palm of your hands – the right to vote. And we will never tell you who to vote for, but we will tell you this: we implore you to please do your research and know that there are candidates that believe in climate change and that there are solutions. And there are candidates that don’t.”
McLaughlin delivered his comments after DeSantis recently signed several bills the governor claimed sought to “restore sanity in our approach to energy and rejecting the agenda of the radical green zealots”.
“Radical green zealots want to impose their climate agenda on people through restrictions, regulations and taxes,” a notice posted by DeSantis said.
In addition to prohibiting windfarms offshore and near coastlines, the bill prioritizes the expansion of natural gas and bolsters protections against gas appliance bans and repeals climate policies enacted during Barack Obama’s presidency.
The gas industry has helped drive climate change and its resulting effects, including severe weather becoming more commonplace.
Over the weekend, south Florida saw record temperatures, with Fort Lauderdale and Miami each reaching record highs of 95F (35C) on Sunday. Typical highs for this time of year are about 86F (30C), the Palm Beach Post reported.
Since McLaughlin shared his segment on X on 18 May, it has been viewed nearly 407,000 times on the platform, with more than 3,300 likes and 1,400 reshares.
Many were quick to praise McLaughlin for speaking out, with one user saying: “I know there’s often pressure on meteorologists not to speak. Thank you for speaking.”
Another user wrote: “Thank you, Steve, for giving us the facts.”
Someone else said: “So needed. Thank you for this.”
Meteorologists across the US have faced harassment over their climate crisis reporting.
Speaking to the Associated Press last year, Sean Sublette, a former TV meteorologist who now works at Virginia’s Richmond Times-Dispatch newspaper, said: “More than once, I’ve had people call me names or tell me I’m stupid or these kinds of harassing type things simply for sharing information that they didn’t want to hear.”
Meanwhile, last July, meteorologist Chris Gloninger announced he was stepping down from Des Moines’s CBS TV station affiliate KCCI due to post-traumatic stress disorder that he developed as a result of threats over his climate-crisis coverage.
Top Republicans are already rushing to buy into Trump’s 2024 election fraud narrative
out whether he would accept the results of the 2024 election was “ridiculous.”
“So you’re asking, ‘Will you promise, no matter what, to agree an election is legitimate regardless of what happens?,’ and that would be an absurd thing to claim,” Cruz said. “We have an entire election law system: that people challenge elections, elections get overturned, voter fraud gets proven. That happens all the time.” Cruz, who objected to election results in Arizona, which Trump narrowly lost to Biden, on January 6, 2021, went on to suggest there was significant fraud in 2020. And he implied the same could happen this year.
“If the Democrats win, I will accept the result, but I’m not going to ignore fraud regardless of what happens,” Cruz said. A sign of Trump’s power
The equivocating of senior Republicans appears motivated by a fear of crossing Trump, the twice-impeached GOP leader who has the power to end careers in the party simply by turning against an individual lawmaker. The positioning looks a lot like laying the groundwork for a challenge to the fairness of the 2024 election if Trump loses in November. Undermining an election even before it happens represents a grave threat to democracy.
The attempt to raise the specter of election fraud this year is especially corrosive because of the likelihood that the 2024 vote will be decided in a handful of swing states by mere thousands of ballots and raises the possibility of prolonged legal action by Trump’s camp that would tarnish yet another US election. Trump is still claiming falsely that Mike Pence had the constitutional authority power to overturn the 2020 election result, and the former vice president has been largely ostracized within his party for following the Constitution and overseeing the certification of Biden’s victory.
Cruz is just one of the latest senior party figures to try to avoid getting on the wrong side of Trump when asked whether they will accept the result of the 2024 election. The attempt to win Trump’s favor follows an interview that Trump gave to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper earlier this month. “If everything’s honest, I’ll gladly accept the results. I don’t change on that,” Trump said. “If it’s not, you have to fight for the right of the country.” His comments carried the implicit threat that he will decide if he loses, as he did in 2020, that the election was not fair. Trump frequently claims he did better in the popular vote four years ago than any incumbent president, creating a false argument that it was therefore impossible to lose to Biden, who got more votes.
Trump’s renewed election denialism is disturbing for several reasons. First, it mirrors his pre-election spin in 2020, when he suggested that the election might not be fair — which he later built upon after losing to Biden with a widespread campaign that culminated in the mob attack by his supporters on the Capitol that was designed to thwart the certification of Biden’s victory. Trump often leaves the impression that any election he loses cannot, by definition, be legitimate. His false claims about election fraud in 2020 are now believed by millions of Republican voters despite the fact that he has been indicted twice — in a federal case and in Georgia — for his attempts to steal the election and stay in power.
Comments like Cruz’s on Wednesday serve to create an expectation among some voters that the coming election will not be fair, even though there is no indication that this, or any other US election, will be tarnished by fraud, which historically has only taken place at very low levels. Republican senators try to demonstrate loyalty to Trump
The Texas senator is far from the only senior party figure to buy into Trump’s claims, a trend that shows the sheer power of Trump in the GOP. It also follows the announcement by former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on Wednesday that she will vote for Trump despite having called him “unhinged” and unfit to serve in the Oval Office again during her primary campaign earlier this year. Her move appeared to be an attempt to retain viability in the Republican Party for any future run for president.
It seems like it should be easy for Republicans just to state that they will accept the result of the 2024 election and that US presidential votes in the modern era have not been tainted by fraud. But they can’t seem to do it.
Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, whom Trump mentioned as a possible vice presidential contender on Thursday, said on CNN the same night, “I will accept the results if it’s done in a fair and transparent way,” going on to raise doubts about mail-in voting.
Also on CNN Thursday night, Florida Rep. Byron Donalds — who’s also been mentioned as a possible Trump running mate — was asked if he’d accept the results if Trump loses. “If the states and localities actually follow the rules and procedures and everybody sees the rules followed, then of course, you accept what’s done,” Donalds said.
Earlier this week, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who ran against Trump in 2016 but has since adopted Trumpian positions, was asked Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” whether he would accept the result of the election “no matter what happens.” He replied: “If it’s an unfair election, I think it’s going to be contested by either side.” He claimed that Democrats have “opposed every Republican victory since 2000” and added: “If it’s unfair, we are going to do the same thing Democrats do … we’re going to use lawyers to go to court and point out the fact that states are not following their own election laws.”
Rubio’s comment is misleading because, while there were some claims by small groups of Democrats that the elections of 2004 and 2016 featured some fraud, the Democratic candidates in each case quickly conceded to Republicans, unlike Trump, who has never accepted that he lost. The 2000 election was contested by Republicans and Democrats over a recount controversy in Florida, the pivotal state. The Democratic candidate, then-Vice President Al Gore, eventually conceded after the case was adjudicated by the Supreme Court — a step that Trump never took as he sought to disrupt the American tradition of peaceful transfers of power.
The idea that the 2024 election may not be free and fair was also raised recently by Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, who is reported to be on Trump’s shortlist as a potential vice presidential nominee. He told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” earlier this month that “I totally plan to accept the results of 2024,” while holding out the possibility that the election may not be fair if Trump were to lose.
“I think that Donald Trump will be (the victor). And if it’s a free and fair election, Dana, I think every Republican will enthusiastically accept the results. And, again, I think those results will show that Donald Trump has been elected president, been reelected president.”
Vance argued that parties in the election had to be willing to prosecute their cases if they believed there was election fraud. But academic studies and multiple legal cases have shown that fraud in presidential elections only occurs in isolated cases. That’s not stopping Republicans demonstrating their loyalty to Trump by casting doubt on the integrity of the 2024 election before it even happens.
Once again Republicans say if they win it's fair and if they lose it's rigged or stolen. Or as " call it the "heads I win, tails you lose" theory. And their followers buy into that BS hook, line and sinker.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
Louisiana is first state to classify abortion drugs as controlled dangerous substances after GOP governor signs bill into law
Louisiana Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed a bill Friday classifying the abortion-inducing drugs misoprostol and mifepristone as Schedule IV controlled dangerous substances, a first-of-its-kind law that places them in the same category as narcotics and depressants.
“Requiring an abortion inducing drug to be obtained with a prescription and criminalizing the use of an abortion drug on an unsuspecting mother is nothing short of common sense,” Landry said in a statement posted on X. “This bill protects women across Louisiana and I was proud to sign this bill into law today.”
Under the law, which took effect with the governor’s signature, it is now a crime to possess the abortion medication without a prescription, as well as to give the drugs to a person without their consent.
While proponents of the legislation say that it will protect expectant mothers, hundreds of health care providers in the state have come out against the reclassification, warning that it could create false perceptions around the medications’ safety and prevent people from accessing necessary care. While abortion is already banned in Louisiana with no exceptions for rape or incest, mifepristone and misopristol have other medical uses, including miscarriage care.
Anyone found in possession of the drugs without a valid prescription could face a felony charge punishable with up to five years in prison and fines of up to $5,000. Pregnant women in possession of mifepristone and misoprostol for their own consumption are exempt from such penalties. Louisiana doctors are also permitted under the law to prescribe the drugs.
A conviction in Louisiana for distribution or possession with intent to distribute Schedule IV drugs carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $15,000.
In a medication abortion, mifepristone blocks the hormone progesterone, which is needed for a pregnancy to continue. Misoprostol is then taken within the next 24 to 48 hours. Misoprostol causes the uterus to contract, causing cramping and bleeding. Approved for other uses, such as miscarriage management, inducing labor, and preventing stomach ulcers, the drug has been available at pharmacies for decades.
As the bill made its way through the state’s legislature, its critics argued that mifepristone and misoprostol are not dangerous and do not require the same level of regulation as Schedule IV substances.
A group of nearly 270 Louisiana physicians, health care providers and medical students signed a letter to the bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Thomas Pressly, expressing concerns over the reclassification. They argued that “neither mifepristone nor misoprostol have been shown to have any potential for abuse, dependence, public health risk, nor high rates of adverse side effects.”
Pressly, who proposed the legislation after he said his sister was given misoprostol against her will, has argued the legislation would not prevent the prescribing or dispensing of the drugs “for legitimate reasons.”
“The doctors I have consulted with feel this provision will not harm healthcare for women,” Pressly, a Republican, said in rebutting the letter.
CNN has reached out to the governor’s office and Pressly’s office for comment.
Medication abortion, which makes up the majority of abortions obtained in the United States, emerged as a national political flashpoint after the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022. The Supreme Court is currently considering a major case that challenges the FDA’s approval of the drug mifepristone, with a decision expected by July.
A White House spokesperson told CNN the administration is “very concerned” about efforts to restrict access to mifepristone.
“Make no mistake: these laws are not driven by concerns over women’s health,” the spokesperson said. “This is about coming after women’s right to access reproductive health care since Roe v. Wade was overturned—with devastating effects on women’s health and lives that we’ve already seen in Louisiana and other states across the country.”
Trump shares stage at Bronx rally with rappers indicted over alleged conspiracy to commit murder
Former President Donald Trump on Thursday during his campaign rally in the Bronx invited up on stage two rappers who have been indicted over an alleged conspiracy to commit murder.
During his campaign speech, Trump introduced rappers Sheff G and Sleepy Hallow, whose legal names are Michael Williams and Tegan Chambers, and invited them up on stage with him to say a few words.
Williams faces charges over an alleged conspiracy to commit murder and Chambers has been charged as a co-conspirator in a sprawling 140-count indictment, according to a news release by the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office and court documents. They have pleaded not guilty to the charges. Williams and Tegan are two of 32 alleged gang members who were named in the indictment, which includes charges of murder, shootings and assaults.
“Come here fellas,” Trump said after introducing the two men and shaking their hands.
Williams, or Sheff G, said, “One thing I want to say, they’re always gon’ whisper your accomplishments and shout your failures. Trump gon’ shout the wins for all of us.”
Sleepy Hallow then added, “Make America great again.”
Trump thanked them and praised Sheff G’s grills, saying, “I gotta get my teeth like that. I want that to happen to me.”
Thursday’s event in one of the most Democratic counties in the country happened days ahead of closing arguments in Trump’s New York criminal hush money trial. Trump faces 34 felony counts and has pleaded not guilty.
Yep....and half of America thinks economy is tanking, why, the Donald told them so......facts- from Yahoo Finance The Guardian-Harris survey also found that 49% of respondents think the S&P 500 index is down for the year. In reality, stocks have been ripping: The S&P 500 is up 13% this year on top of a 24% gain last year. I know inflation stinks, but stocks are near all time highs.....yet Reps deny, deny, deny.......like their leader.
"You've never lived till you've almost died, life has a flavor the protected will never know" A vet or cop
Will someone tell me why Trump thought it would be a GOOD IDEA to speak in front of Libertarians? I mean he got booed out of the place. They don't care for him at all.
You can bet that he'll say something very unflattering about them soon.... When anyone doesn't like him, it's their own fault not his!
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe." Damanshot
Idaho drag performer awarded $1.1 million in defamation case against far-right blogger
COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho (AP) — A jury has awarded more than $1.1 million to an Idaho drag performer who accused a far-right blogger of defaming him when she falsely claimed that he exposed himself to a crowd, including children, during a Pride event in June 2022.
The Kootenai County District Court jury unanimously found Friday that Summer Bushnell defamed Post Falls resident Eric Posey when she posted a doctored video of his performance with a blurred spot that she claimed covered his “fully exposed genitals,” the Coeur D’Alene Press reported.
In reality the unedited video showed no indecent exposure, and prosecutors declined to file charges.
“The judicial system did what needed to be done,” Posey said after the verdict.
Jurors awarded Posey $926,000 in compensatory damages for defamation. Because Posey proved that Bushnell knew her allegations were false when she made them or that she made the accusations with reckless disregard for the truth, the jury awarded $250,000 in additional punitive damages.
Posey, who uses the stage name Mona Liza Million, performed three times at the Pride in the Park celebration wearing a long-sleeve leotard, black shorts and tights, with a shiny metallic boa around his waist. He did not remove clothing.
The Pride event made national news at the time — not because of Posey’s performances, but because 31 members of a white supremacist group called Patriot Front were arrested nearby and charged with conspiracy to riot.
Bushnell posted a video that day of herself discussing the mass arrest as well as footage from Posey’s performance.
“Why did no one arrest the man in a dress who flashed his genitalia to minors and people in the crowd?” she said. “No one said anything about it, and there’s video. I’m going to put up a blurred video to prove it.”
The next day Bushnell published the edited version of the video, which she obtained from a local videographer. It garnered many thousands of views, sparking national news coverage and a police investigation. She suggested he had committed a felony and urged people to call police and have him arrested.
Bushnell was expressionless as she hurried out of the courtroom Friday.
Her attorney, Colton Boyles, told jurors that his client’s allegations were “close to the line” but not defamatory. He maintained that Bushnell’s “honest belief” was that Posey exposed himself, though she admitted on the witness stand that she never saw the “fully exposed genitals” she described to others.
After hearing the verdict, Posey burst into tears and embraced his lawyers and friends.
“The jury’s verdict demonstrates a clear message to this community that you have to be truthful,” said Wendy J. Olson, one of his attorneys.
Posey said he has faced death threats and harassment, and the edited images became the symbol of a national movement against drag. Experts have warned that false rhetoric against drag queens and LGBTQ+ people may inflame extremists.
Posey said he has been helped by support from his friends.
“Imagine being in a dark hole where you have nobody and you felt the whole world turn their back on you,” he said in court Thursday. “But somehow, you were surrounded by warriors, true people of Idaho — not transplants, true people of this soil. I am fortunate to say I have people like that around me, people that lifted me up.”
The jury deliberated for about three and a half hours Friday after a five-day trial. Before returning the verdict, jurors asked the court if they could direct Bushnell to take down her posts about Posey and publicly apologize to him. First District Judge Ross Pittman, who presided over the trial, indicated they could not do so.
As of Friday evening, the videos remained on Bushnell’s website and Facebook page, the Coeur D’Alene press reported.
Following the verdict, jurors approached Posey outside the courthouse to shake his hand or hug him.
“I’m so sorry you went through this,” one told him.
In a statement the North Idaho Pride Alliance, which organized the event where Posey performed, expressed gratitude to the jurors and affirmed its commitment to “ensuring the safety and well-being” of North Idaho’s LGBTQ+ community.
Once again we see that much of their rhetoric and faux outrage is based on nothing but lies. They seem far more outraged about drag performances than they do far right extremist groups like Patriot Front. Murica!
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
Former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis barred from practicing in Colorado for three years
DENVER (AP) — Colorado legal officials on Tuesday approved an agreement with Jenna Ellis, a onetime attorney for former President Donald Trump, barring her from practicing law in the state for three years after she pleaded guilty to helping Trump try to overturn the 2020 election.
Ellis tearfully pleaded guilty to felony charges of aiding and abetting false statements in Fulton County, Georgia, in October. She was one of 18 co-defendants of Trump who were charged in a sweeping case over the former president’s campaign to reverse President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in Georgia.
Ellis was previously censured in Colorado for making false statements over the 2020 election, including that the election was “stolen” from Trump. Those falsehoods were part of a sustained campaign by Trump allies that helped lead to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The latest case was brought by Colorado legal authorities after Ellis’ Georgia plea. The case contends that Ellis “caused significant actual harm in a variety of ways. It undermined the American public’s confidence in the presidential election process.”
It also noted that Ellis’ crime was “due to her conduct as an accessory, not as a principal.”
A Colorado native who occasionally practices in her home state, Ellis is based in Florida and could not immediately be reached for comment. She is the latest of a swath of people charged or disciplined for helping Trump try to overturn his 2020 loss.
This entire "stacking the court" so liberals are in charge makes no sense. If you do that now as soon as Republicans are in charge they will do the exact same thing. That process will repeat itself over and over again until we have over 100 judges on the SCOTUS. Think about it.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
That would fall under the high crimes and misdemeanors scenario.
Dies in house as there is a R majority. Dies in senate as there is not a 2/3rds majority.
We were down that road recently, and know the outcome.
There will be no playoffs. Can’t play with who we have out there and compounding it with garbage playcalling and worse execution. We don’t have good skill players on offense period. Browns 20 - Bears 17.
All the insurrectionist MAGA extremist leadership needs to be booted. ALL of them. Then America will be right again and shine like that beacon on a hill.
Last edited by OldColdDawg; 05/31/2411:15 AM.
Your feelings and opinions do not add up to facts.
Yes, America has lost her moral compass. Revisited an "olde, but goode" recently- song- Fortunate Son.....thought one verse VERY telling and appropriate---Trump to a T....
Some folks are born silver spoon in hand Lord, don't they help themselves, Lord? But when the taxman come to the door Lord, the house lookin' like a rummage sale, yeah
Only billionaire I can think of who has his hand out always to the little man and woman- wanting more, more, more. Get your bibles, steaks, action figures, sneakers, cologne.
Now a convicted felon. He just keeps getting better. The most Presidential man of all time.
"You've never lived till you've almost died, life has a flavor the protected will never know" A vet or cop
I'm struck by Trump's son.....Donald Jr., quote- "“The Democrats have succeeded in their years long attempt to turn America into a third-world s‑‑‑hole,” since Jr. has such high esteem for his current country---how soon are you moving Jr.- don't let the door hit your ass as you leave us PERMANENTLY.
"You've never lived till you've almost died, life has a flavor the protected will never know" A vet or cop
Right-wing media company Salem apologizes, stops distributing 2020 election conspiracy film ‘2000 Mules’ after lawsuit
Salem Media Group, the right-wing talk radio network owner, issued a public apology and said it would stop distributing a discredited 2020 election conspiracy theory film after a Georgia man wrongly accused of voter fraud sued the company for defamation.
The Georgia man, Mark Andrews, said in his 2022 lawsuit that “2000 Mules,” a film and book by far-right activist Dinesh D’Souza contained a string of bogus claims about the 2020 election, leading to threats of violence against him and his family.
Andrews said the film, which has been repeatedly promoted by Donald Trump and widely circulated in right-wing media as supposed proof that the 2020 election was stolen, had severely damaged his reputation.
“It was never our intent that the publication of the 2000 Mules film and book would harm Mr. Andrews,” Salem said in a Friday statement. “We apologize for the hurt the inclusion of Mr. Andrews’ image in the movie, book, and promotional materials have caused Mr. Andrews and his family.”
“We have removed the film from Salem’s platforms, and there will be no future distribution of the film or the book by Salem,” the right-wing company added.
The apology from Salem came as part of a larger settlement to the lawsuit filed by Andrews. A representative for Protect Democracy, a nonprofit group that sued Salem on behalf of Andrews, did not comment on the terms of the settlement. Neither did a representative for Salem.
Salem operates a national talk radio network, distributing the programs of several prominent pro-Trump personalities such as Charlie Kirk and Sebastian Gorka, to more than 2,700 affiliates. It also owns dozens of Christian-format radio stations and the right-wing political website Townhall.
In the “2000 Mules” film, Andrews was featured on video with his face blurred depositing his ballot, along with those belonging to his family, into a drop box in what the film purported was a so-called “mule” operation.
“What you are seeing is a crime,” a voiceover from D’Souza declared. “These are fraudulent votes.”
Salem said in its Friday statement that it “relied on representations” that D’Souza had made.
“We have learned that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has cleared Mr. Andrews of illegal voting activity in connection with the event depicted in 2000 Mules,” the company said.
In the aftermath of the 2020 election, Trump’s media allies promoted false claims that the election had been stolen by then-candidate Joe Biden. While the claims were false, polls have indicated that the lies were effective, convincing the majority of the Republican Party that Biden’s election was illegitimate.
Those election lies, however, have led to legal consequences for outlets that promoted the claims, with right-wing media companies facing a slew of costly lawsuits stemming from their coverage of the 2020 election. Last month, the pro-Trump network One America News settled a lawsuit brought by voting technology company Smartmatic over the outlet’s promotion of lies about the 2020 election. And last year, Fox News settled a historic $787 million defamation lawsuit filed by election company Dominion Voting Systems.
A lot of conservatives seem to be in favor of letting felons vote. Wonder why
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Here’s another guy who is as “far left as they come” I suppose.
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) lamented that his party has “lost all ability to think for itself” as GOP figures rush to defend former President Trump following his felony conviction in New York.
“Watching my party — the party of law and order — absolutely turn their guns against the jury, against the judge, against the system … this party has lost all ability to think for itself,” Kinzinger said Friday on “CNN This Morning.”
He said it’s “not just, like, crazy people” in the party acting that way, pointing to Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).
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Rubio slammed the verdict as “terrible” and decried the “ridiculous” charges. Graham called it a “mockery of justice.” Some GOP names being floated as possible Trump running mates have also come to his defense.
A jury in Manhattan found Trump guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in his historic hush money case Thursday, making him the first former president to be convicted of a felony. Trump has blasted the verdict as “rigged” and described himself as “a very innocent man” — and is expected to appeal.
Kinzinger, who served on the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, said “the most important” cases against Trump are those related to that day’s attack and his handling of classified documents — but said there’s “no doubt” that Trump also violated the law in New York’s case.
“How a single Republican can stand on any network … and say that what happened is a disgrace — never claim to be the party of law and order after that,” Kinzinger said on CNN. “We should be proud that the American legal system worked.”
And it seems as though all of these people claiming, "They never take cases like this to trial" or " If it weren't trump these charges would never have been brought" haven't looked at the facts. Here are the cases of document fraud charges over the past decade and none of their names were trump.......
Survey of Past New York Felony Prosecutions for Falsifying Business Records
Actually all those people saying they never bring cases like this to court are trumpians parroting trump. Nobody can soften their landing on the valley floor when they went over the cliff with Trump as they all scream and yell. Biden, Biden, Biden. As if he was the one that forced himself on Stormy Daniels. Pffft Gopers.
A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives. – Jackie Robinson
GOP's Convention Website Shows Ho Chi Minh City, Not Host City Milwaukee
The Republican National Committee made a mistake of global proportions on the website for its upcoming convention in Milwaukee.
Earlier today, Boston Globe journalist Sam Brodey went to the convention website and discovered that the background image showed Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, not Wisconsin.
The photo was eventually replaced with one of Milwaukee — but not before other outlets, including Heartland Signal and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, noticed the gaffe.
Heartland Signal noted the image of Ho Chi Minh City appeared to be an iStock photo from 2019. An archived version of the GOP convention website shows the Ho Chi Minh City photo was there as far back as February.
Both Brodey and the Journal Sentinel reached out to the Republican National Committee, which is co-chaired by Lara Trump, Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law, about the mistaken image, but no one immediately responded. HuffPost reached out to the RNC’s account on X, formerly Twitter.
Have you seen our SCOTUS lately? Smh. Biden should dismantle it in his second term with a super-majority in both houses of congress.
We need some things to happen quickly..
1. Install a code of conduct for SCOTUS and give it teeth so that Roberts can't just ignore it.
2. Lift the number of justices to 13 giving liberals the majority
3. Install term limits. If you know you can get fired or that your term limited, you may be willing to DO YOUR JOB!
So it seems that one of Alito's neighbors were on CNN last night to talk about the upside down flag and the fight with the neighbor. The neighbor said that the fight happened on Feb 15 2021 and supposedly the upside down flag was up for more than 3 weeks before the fight.
Alito’s former neighbor says justice is ‘at best mistaken’ in flap over upside-down US flag By John Fritze, CNN 3 minute read Published 8:54 PM EDT, Wed June 5, 2024
'At worst he's outright lying': Alito ex-neighbor at center of flag dispute speaks out 04:39 - Source: CNN CNN — A former neighbor of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Wednesday disputed his account of a neighborhood spat that led to the hoisting of an upside-down US flag on his property in Virginia, saying that his timeline of what happened is wrong.
“At best, he’s mistaken, but at worst, he’s just outright lying,” Emily Baden told CNN’s Erin Burnett on “OutFront” in her first television interview since the flag incident made national headlines. “Even if it were a valid excuse that they were having a dispute with a neighbor and that made them put the flag up, that timeline just disproves it. It just doesn’t make sense.”
Baden has emerged as a central figure in the evolving story of two provocative flags seen at Alito’s properties, an upside-down US flag hoisted at his home in Virginia in early 2021 and an “Appeal to Heaven” flag at his New Jersey home last summer. Alito has said the flag in Virginia was a response to a “very nasty neighborhood dispute,” that apparently involved Baden.
Alito has said that his wife, Martha-Ann Alito, hoisted the flag in response to an exchange with Baden in which she at one point used the term “c*nt.” But Baden said that exchange didn’t happen until mid-February. The story came to light when the New York Times published a photo in May of the inverted American flag flying weeks earlier, on January 17, 2021.
Records obtained by CNN show that Baden’s then-boyfriend called police on February 15, 2021, to complain about Martha-Ann Alito, accusing her of “unprompted” harassment.
The caller said they believed the confrontations were based on yard signs they had put up that were critical of former President Donald Trump.
Baden, who no longer lives in the neighborhood, described the exchange with the Alitos in sharp detail Wednesday. She said that Justice Alito “didn’t do anything” as she exchanged words with his wife.
“He just kept walking,” Baden said. “And basically disappeared.”
Baden said she regrets using the profanity if it “distracts from that real message.”
One of the signs that Baden put on the lawn read, “You are complicit.”
Alito has claimed that some of the neighborhood signs were directed at his wife. Baden told CNN on Wednesday that the sign was not directed at either of the Alitos.
The New York Times subsequently published a photograph of the “Appeal to Heaven” flag at the couple’s New Jersey property. The flag, which has a history dating to the Revolutionary War, has also become a symbol for Trump supporters. Both the “Appeal to Heaven” flag and inverted US flags were seen at the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
The incidents have drawn mounting criticism from Democratic and some Republican lawmakers. Several Democrats have called on Alito to recuse from cases involving the attack on the Capitol.
In an unusual response late last month, Alito told lawmakers he had nothing to do with the flags and that they were not intended to convey support for Trump or the Capitol attack. Explicitly declining to recuse, Alito said the decisions to hoist the flags were made by his wife.
“My wife is fond of flying flags,” Alito wrote. “I am not.”
The Supreme Court is weighing major cases tied to the 2020 election and the attack on the US Capitol. In one, the justices are weighing Trump’s claim of absolute immunity from special counsel Jack Smith’s election subversion charges. In another, a January 6 rioter is challenging an obstruction charge filed against him by prosecutors, arguing that Congress intended that law to apply to people destroying evidence, not storming a government building.
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