The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a case on Monday regarding a New Mexico county commissioner who was ousted after engaging in an “insurrection.”
Couy Griffin, who co-founded the group “Cowboys for Trump,” was removed from his local office after he was convicted for his actions in the crowd at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The Supreme Court denied certiorari in a court order on Monday, without further comment, after Griffin appealed his case in May 2023.
“I just found out (through the media) that my appeal to the SCOTUS has been denied,” Griffin wrote on X. “Very disappointed. I don’t even know what to say. But I thank you for your prayers and for standing with me through this.”
The Supreme Court’s decision not to review Griffin’s case follows its March 4 unanimous ruling that allowed former President Donald Trump to remain on the ballot. The Colorado Supreme Court disqualified the former president from being on the ballot in mid-December on the grounds of allegedly violating the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban.”
Griffin was optimistic about his case’s chances ahead of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Trump’s favor, NBC News reported on Feb. 13. However, the Supreme Court’s decision barred states from removing candidates seeking federal office from the ballot, not local positions like Griffin’s.
“We conclude that states may disqualify persons holding or attempting to hold state office. But states have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 with respect to federal offices, especially the presidency,” the Supreme Court ruled.
The secretary of state in Maine and an Illinois judge also disqualified Trump from the ballot ahead of the Supreme Court’s ruling. Over 60 similar challenges have been filed in numerous other states.
Former President Donald Trump criticized the media on Monday for its reaction to his comments regarding a “bloodbath” if he loses the upcoming election.
Trump asserted at an Ohio rally on Saturday that there would be a “bloodbath” in the United States if he is not reelected while railing against auto industry jobs moving to other countries under President Joe Biden’s administration. Numerous media outlets and personalities seemed to interpret Trump’s remarks to have a deeper and more sinister meaning, but the former president said that was not accurate and alleged they knew what he was referring to in a Truth Social post.
MSNBC legal analyst Glenn Kirschner in a Sunday podcast characterized Trump’s comments as an example of him escalating “the violence of his rhetoric,” according to Newsweek. Journalist David Corn similarly described the remarks as “violent” on MSNBC’s “The Weekend.”
“The Fake News Media, and their Democrat Partners in the destruction of our Nation, pretended to be shocked at my use of the word BLOODBATH, even though they fully understood that I was simply referring to imports allowed by Crooked Joe Biden, which are killing the automobile industry. The United Auto Workers, but not their leadership, fully understand what I mean,” Trump posted. “With the Electric Car Mandate being pushed by Biden, there soon won’t be any cars made in the USA – UNLESS I’M ELECTED PRESIDENT, IN WHICH CASE AUTO MANUFACTURING WILL THRIVE LIKE NEVER BEFORE!!! MAGA2024.”
BREAKING.🚨
“Tonight, Donald Trump said there would be a ‘bloodbath’ if he wasn’t elected…"
Alas, this is yet another media hoax.
NAILED: Trump ‘Bloodbath’ Comment Taken Out-of-Context to Make Him Look Like He’s Calling for Violence https://t.co/34hZCZZ37N
Trump made the “bloodbath” during broader remarks about countries such as Mexico and China financially benefiting from Biden’s electric vehicle (EV) policies.
“Let me tell you something. To China, if you’re listening, President Xi — and you and I are friends, but he understands the way I deal,” Trump said. “Those big, monster car manufacturing plants that you’re building in Mexico right now, and you think you’re gonna get that, you’re gonna not hire Americans; and you’re gonna sell the cars to us — no. We’re gonna put a 100% tariff on every single car that comes across the line. And you’re not gonna be able to sell those cars.”
“If I get elected — now if I don’t get elected, it’s gonna be a bloodbath for the whole — that’s gonna be the least of it. Its gonna be a bloodbath for the country, that’ll be the least of it. But they’re not gonna sell those cars, they’re building massive factories,” he added.
Former President Donald Trump has been unable to obtain a bail to secure the $464 million fraud judgment against him, according to his lawyers in a court filing on Monday.
Trump and his firm must deposit a full-amount bail by next week to prevent New York Attorney General Letitia James from collecting while he appeals. They’ve asked an appeals court to intervene in the meanwhile, and they stated Monday that they’ve had no luck obtaining a bail.
“Defendants’ ongoing diligent efforts have proven that a bond in the judgment’s full amount is ‘a practical impossibility,'” said a court statement. “These diligent efforts have included approaching about 30 surety companies through 4 separate brokers.”
Their efforts, which included “countless hours negotiating with one of the largest insurance companies in the world,” demonstrated that “obtaining an appeal bond in the full amount” of the Judgment “is not possible under the circumstances presented,” according to the petition.
The other bond companies “accept hard assets such as real estate as collateral,” but “will only accept cash or cash equivalents (such as marketable securities),” according to the petition. He further stated that those corporations normally “require collateral of approximately 120% of the amount of the judgment” — which would be over $557 million.
“In addition, sureties would likely charge bond premiums of approximately 2 percent per year with two years in advance—an upfront cost over $18 million,” according to the report. Even if Trump’s appeal is successful, the $18 million will not be recoverable.
In all, according to the petition, the “actual amount of cash or cash equivalents required ‘to collateralize the bond and have sufficient capital to run the business and satisfy its other obligations’ approach[es] $1 billion,” according to the filing.
While the lawsuit claims Trump cannot afford the bond, it also asserts that the attorney general does not have to worry about collecting her judgment.
“Defendants’ real estate holdings — including iconic properties like 40 Wall Street, Doral Miami, and Mar-a-Lago, — greatly exceed the amount of the judgment. Such assets are impossible to secrete or dispose of surreptitiously, leaving the plaintiff effectively secured during the pendency of an appeal,” the filing said.
Trump’s lawyers also contended that the $464 million punishment is “grossly disproportional” and referenced their contention throughout the months-long trial that “there are no victims, as there were no damages and no financial losses.”
Last month, Trump’s lawyers requested that the bond amount be cut to $100 million, but Monday’s letter contends that he should not be required to post any bond at all.
James’ office has claimed that Trump should pay up the entire money.
In a related lawsuit in New York federal court, Trump last week posted a $91 million bond to safeguard writer E. Jean Carroll’s $83 million defamation judgment against him, which he is appealing as well.
“In the civil fraud case, which is in New York state court, if Trump can’t post the funds or get a bond, then the judgment would take effect immediately and a sheriff could begin seizing Trump’s assets,” Politico reported.
The Chinese manufacturer of chemicals for electric vehicle batteries planning to build two U.S. factories has long-standing ties to China’s military industrial complex, a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation found.
Capchem Technology USA, the wholly-owned subsidiary of China-based Shenzhen Capchem Technology (Capchem), plans to build factories in both Ohio and Louisiana that would produce components for electric vehicle batteries. Chinese government documents reveal the Chinese chemical giant was selected over a decade ago to conduct aerospace research for China’s military industrial complex as part of a program overseen by a blacklisted Chinese government agency.
Corporate reports show the company, as recently as 2023, received payments from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology — a government agency spearheading the Chinese government’s so-called “Military-Civil Fusion” efforts.
“This network of [Chinese Communist Party] military-linked companies proliferating across the United States is a great example of why blind economic engagement with China is a national security threat,” Bryan Burack, senior policy advisor for China and the Indo-Pacific at the Heritage Foundation’s Asian Studies Center, told the DCNF.
The DCNF’s investigation is based, in part, on information provided by the Heritage Foundation and Heritage Action.
Capchem specializes in manufacturing chemicals for electric vehicle batteries, and for years, the firm has advertised its products’ military uses in annual reports and online. Indeed, until very recently, the firm’s website boldly stated its products were used in “high-end military equipment.”
Yet, Capchem denied supplying the Chinese military, and the reference to “high-end military equipment” was scrubbed from the firm’s website within 24 hours of the DCNF reaching out for comment.
Capchem “does not have products used by Chinese military, or any other military organizations,” a spokesperson told the DCNF.
“When the English/U.S. website was developed, the ‘military’ reference was inadvertently included,” the spokesperson said. “You brought it to the company’s attention, and it was removed just as it had been in the Chinese version in 2020.”
>However, the military reference also appeared on Capchem’s Chinese-language website when the DCNF reached out for comment. The reference on Capchem’s Chinese-language site appears to have been removed around the same time as their English-language was being scrubbed.
Capchem business filings and corporate announcements from 2023, along with Chinese financial service research reports from as recent as January 2024, also note the firm’s products had military applications.
‘Military-Civil Fusion’
Capchem’s work with China’s military industrial complex extends back to at least 2012. That year, the Guangdong province Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced Capchem was one of 70 companies selected to serve as a “Guangdong Provincial National Defense Science And Technology Industry Military-Civil Fusion Superior Work Unit.”
The work unit focused on “critical components within the aerospace field,” including “space flight-grade, high-reliability and core electronic components, high-end general chips, base software, etcetera,” the 2012 Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announcement reads.
The project was overseen by China’s Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, which is “under direct supervision of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology,” and responsible for “nuclear weapons, aerospace technology, aviation, armament, watercraft and electronic industries,” according to China’s State Council.
China’s “Military-Civil Fusion strategy supports the modernization goals of the People’s Liberation Army by ensuring it can acquire advanced technologies and expertise developed by PRC companies, universities, and research programs that appear to be civilian entities,” according to the U.S. Defense Department.
Chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi recently sent a letter to the Treasury and Defense departments noting the U.S. government’s blacklist of Chinese military companies extends to companies working with China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
“Among other qualifying considerations, a company is a ‘military civil fusion contributor’ if such company is ‘affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, including research partnerships and projects,’” the lawmakers wrote in January 2024. “The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology was formed in 2008 and is key to the PRC’s military-civil fusion strategy.”
Capchem’s annual reports show the firm has received millions of dollars in payments from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology since 2017. The ministry paid the firm approximately $1.5 million for an “Industrial Foundation Project” in 2017, according to Capchem’s annual report for that year.
Capchem’s most recent annual report shows the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology had a subsidy of just under $1 million earmarked for the firm at the end of the 2023 mid-term reporting period.
Despite this, Capchem initially denied getting any “money/subsidies/donations from the Chinese government” in an email to the DCNF, though a spokesperson did say the firm had received “economic development tax incentives.”
However, the spokesperson changed their tune when the DCNF pointed to the firm’s own annual reports.
“The last time the company received any Chinese government subsidies besides standard incentives or awards provided for all eligible companies was between 2016 and 2018,” the spokesperson said. “Any reference to subsidies in company reports apply to those received during that time. The company has received no such subsidies since 2018.”
Capchem’s corporate reports list $26 million in subsidies from various Chinese government entities. The company’s 2023 mid-term report lists roughly $10 million worth of new government subsidies in a section labeled “Programs Involving Government Subsidies.”
Heritage’s Burack said Capchem has been “subsidized by the Chinese government” and “manufactures for China’s military.”
“There’s no question who these companies really work for,” Burack said. “There’s no such thing as a private Chinese company.”
‘Aerospace And Military Industries’
Capchem has long advertised the dual military-civilian use for its products. For instance, Capchem’s 2009 annual report touted how the company’s products are used in “aerospace and military industries.”
The vice president of Capchem’s research institute, Liu Zhongbo, discussed the military application of the company’s sodium-ion batteries at a July 2023 battery forum in Jiangsu province.
“Lithium-ion batteries and sodium-ion batteries are representative of new battery types serving as an important foundation for supporting the wide application of new energy sources in the domains of electricity, transportation, communication, military, etcetera,” Liu said during the event, according to Capchem’s website.
“In the future, Capchem will closely follow the national strategy to support the mass production of sodium-ion batteries,” Liu said.
More recently, a January 2024 research report from Chinese financial service firm Huaan Securities identified Capchem’s “fluorinated polyimide” product as being used in the nuclear industry and by the military, and the firm’s “perfluoropolyether oil” product’s use in aerospace landing gear, rudders and aircraft control mechanisms.
‘Security Risks’
Capchem’s plans to expand their U.S. footprint come as federal and state officials move to prohibit the ownership of U.S. land by Chinese entities. Missouri Gov. Mike Parson recently issued an executive order in January 2024 banning entities tied to China from purchasing agricultural land within 10 miles of any “critical military facilities” in the state.
Capchem USA is planning on building an approximately $120 million factory in Lawrence County, Ohio, Capchem announced in June 2023. County commissioners recently approved a 50% tax abatement for Capchem USA’s facility, the Herald Dispatch reported. The facility will serve as a “production facility for the manufacturing of battery chemicals,” according to Capchem.
Capchem USA is also considering a $350 million plant in Louisiana, according to Louisiana Economic Development, a government agency.
Ohio Republican Rep. Brad Wenstrup’s congressional district includes Lawrence County. Barbara Boland, Wenstrup’s press secretary, told the DCNF that the congressman has “warned of the potential security risks to our supply chains, intellectual property and national security posed by Chinese-owned companies operating in the U.S.”
“Congressman Wenstrup recommends local governments and those pursuing economic development opportunities to fully vet any companies seeking to establish a footprint in their communities,” Boland said.
Google, one of the largest and most influential tech companies in the world, is being accused of meddling in numerous U.S. elections since President Barack Obama first ran for president in 2008.
According to a new study from the Media Research Center, the tech giant has “interfered” with major elections in the United States 41 times over the last 16 years.
MRC Free Speech America vice president Dan Schneider and editor Gabriela Pariseau wrote a summary of their findings.
“MRC researchers have found 41 times where Google interfered in elections over the last 16 years, and its impact has surged dramatically, making it evermore harmful to democracy. In every case, Google harmed the candidates – regardless of party – who threatened its left-wing candidate of choice,” the authors state.
“From the mouths of Google executives, the tech giant let slip what was never meant to be made public: That Google uses its ‘great strength and resources and reach’ to advance its leftist values,” they continued. “Google’s outsized influence on information technology, the body politic and American elections became evident in 2008. After failing to prevent then-candidate for president Donald Trump from being inaugurated following the 2016 election, Google has since made clear to any discerning observer that it has been — and will continue — interfering in America’s elections.”
Google responded to the accusation by arguing it had a “clear business incentive” to keep both parties satisfied and that protections assure ‘non-biased and accurate search results’
MRC Free Speech America, a branch of the conservative Media Research Center, cites the most recent example as Google’s artificial intelligence Gemini refusing to answer questions damaging to President Biden.
According to the group’s analysis, from 2008 to February 2024, “Google has utilized its power to help push to electoral victory the most liberal candidates, regardless of party, while targeting their opponents for censorship.”
Examples include:
• In 2008, Google appeared to select the radical, young Barack Obama to help spur to victory over John McCain; meanwhile, it targeted support for Hillary Clinton for censorship, suspending the accounts of writers who wrote blogs critical of Obama during his primary race against Clinton. • In 2012, Google once again favored Obama over Mitt Romney, and inconsistent with its stated policy, the tech giant refused to correct a “Google bomb” that smeared leading GOP primary candidate for president Rick Santorum. • In 2016, Google pushed Clinton, using its algorithm to exclude potentially damaging autofill results while not doing the same for then-candidates Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders. Google also worked with “partners” to help likely pro-Clinton Latino voters go to the polls. • In 2018, researchers accurately predicted that Google’s “significant pro-liberal bias” would be “enough, quite easily, to have flipped all three congressional districts in Orange County from Republican to Democrat.” • In 2020, Google targeted Tulsi Gabbard for censorship, disabling Gabbard’s Ads account just as she became the most searched candidate following the first Democratic Party primary debate. The tech giant also suppressed news sources critical of Biden and reportedly blocked GOP fundraising emails from reaching users’ inboxes. Google search results and even get-out-the-vote reminders favored Democrats, shifting the 2020 election results away from Trump and the GOP by at least 6 million votes. • In 2022, Google buried most Republican campaign websites for the 12 competitive Senate races (10 of 12 did not make the top 6 search results and 7 did not even make the first page of search results). Also, 61 percent of the stories included on the Google News homepage linked to leftist news media outlets. Meanwhile, only three percent linked to right-leaning news media outlets (this 20 to 1 disparity was based on AllSides data). • In 2024, Google has been aiding Biden, burying in its search results the campaign websites of every one of his significant opponents (including Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Trump and every other Republican polling at or above 1%). When searching for “Republican presidential campaign websites,” Google returned Democrat Marianne Williamson, but not Trump, DeSantis, Haley, etc.). • Finally, Google artificial intelligence, Gemini (formerly Bard), refused to give responses to prompts regarding two of Biden’s biggest weaknesses: (1) the president’s mental health and (2) the ongoing border crisis.
Other examples cited by the MRC include disabling Tulsi Gabbard’s Ads account just as she became the most searched candidate following the first Democratic Party primary debate in 2020, suppressing negative news about Biden, concealing most Republican campaign websites for the 12 competitive Senate races in 2022, and assisting Biden in 2024 by “burying in its search results the campaign websites of every one of his significant opponents.”
“Utilizing the many tools in its arsenal, Google aided those who most closely aligned with its leftist values from election cycle to election cycle since as far back as the 2008 presidential election. Meanwhile, it targeted for censorship those candidates who posed the most serious threat,” Schneider and Pariseau wrote.
“While its interference was first evident in 2008, its meddling has turned into an organizational mission to ensure that its candidates win on election day,” the authors added. “Many studies reveal the results of the tech giant’s commitment.”
Schneider and Pariseau cited AllSides and Dr. Robert Epstein, who conducted additional research and discovered that “Google’s search algorithm likely shifted at least 2.6 million votes to Hillary Clinton” in 2016, and that “Google’s results and get-out-the-vote reminders favored Democrats and shifted the 2020 election results by at least 6 million votes.”
Google adamantly denied all wrongdoing.
“There is absolutely nothing new here – just a recycled list of baseless, inaccurate complaints that have been debunked by third parties and many that failed in the courts. Politicians on the left have a long history of making similar claims too. We have a clear business incentive to keep everyone using our products, so we have no desire to make them biased or inaccurate and have safeguards in place to ensure this. Numerous conservatives have been particularly successful in using our platforms to spread their message to a wide audience,” a Google spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
MRC Free Speech America provided three proposals.
The conservative group believes that Speaker Johnson ought to “direct relevant committees and committee chairmen to investigate Google for abridging people’s constitutional rights” as well as “coordinating with government to violate freedom of speech,” “interfering in elections by making unreported in-kind contributions,” and on top of that, “defrauding its users by failing to meet its Terms of Service.”
The group also believes that state governments should clarify any questions about whether Google is a common carrier, and it urges Americans to avoid using Google goods, notably the search engine.
“From our research, alternatives appear to produce better, less biased results,” Schneider and Pariseau wrote.
Brent Bozell, the founder and head of the Media Research Center, encouraged Congress to act.
“No organization has more control over information than Google, and they have repeatedly used that power to manipulate the public to vote for the most left-wing candidates in every major election since 2008. It’s un-American to attempt to manipulate elections this way. It’s time Congress acts to shut down this massive election interference scheme,” Bozell said.
Donald Trump was in rare form on Saturday night as he unleashed a number of politically charged comments in front of a Dayton, Ohio audience.
One comment in particular caught the attention of major news media and political opponents: His remark that seemed to portend a “bloodbath” should he not be elected.
Trump: Now, If I don't get elected, it's gonna be a bloodbath. It's going to be a bloodbath for the country. pic.twitter.com/qDEPTtl4Bu
“Trump: Now, If I don’t get elected, it’s gonna be a bloodbath. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country,” noted Acyn of the left-wing activists at MeidasTouch.
Trump isn’t making a prediction here. He’s giving an order.
“If I don’t get elected, it’s gonna be a bloodbath. It’s gonna be a bloodbath for this country.” pic.twitter.com/KtXTgvW34I
“Trump isn’t making a prediction here. He’s giving an order. ‘If I don’t get elected, it’s gonna be a bloodbath. It’s gonna be a bloodbath for this country’,” said Nick Knudsen, a Huffington Post reported and Executive Director of left-wing activist group DemCast.
Trump wants to talk about a “bloodbath” if he loses.
He bears the responsibility for the current bloodbath in this country for losing the easily-winnable 2020 election after caving to the Covid State.
— Cryptid Politics (pro-DeSantis) 🇺🇸🐊 (@CryptidPolitics) March 16, 2024
“Trump wants to talk about a ‘bloodbath’ if he loses,” remarked a “pro-DeSantis” account Cryptid Politics. “He bears the responsibility for the current bloodbath in this country for losing the easily-winnable 2020 election after caving to the Covid State.”
Biden and Harris even issued a campaign statement on the remark.
Biden-Harris campaign statement on Trump tonight promising a “bloodbath” if he loses pic.twitter.com/8mBYh4QKnf
“Tonight, Donald Trump said there would be a ‘bloodbath’ if he wasn’t elected and that if he lost there would ne no more elections,” the statement claimed among other accusations.
Alas, this is yet another media hoax.
The transcript from the Trump rally video shows that the former president was talking about the automobile industry and not about stoking violence.
China now is building a couple of massive plants where they’re going to build the cars in Mexico and think they think that they’re going to sell those cars into the United States with no tax at the border. Let me tell you something to China. If you’re listening, president Xi, and you and I are friends, but he understands the way I deal. Those big monster car manufacturing plants that you’re building in Mexico right now, and you think you’re going to get that, you’re going to not hire Americans and you’re going to sell the cars to us. Now, we’re going to put a 100% tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you’re not going to be able to sell those cars. If I get elected now, if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole… that’s going to be the least of it.
It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country. That’ll be the least of it, but they’re not going to sell those cars. They’re building massive factories. A friend of mine, all he does is build car manufacturing plants. He’s the biggest in the world. I mean, honestly, I joke about it. He can’t walk across the street in that way. He’s like, Biden, but for building a plant, he can do the greatest plants in the world, right? That’s all he cares about. I said, I’d like to see one of your plants recently. I said, I’d like to see where can we go? Well, we have to travel to Mexico. I said, why Mexico? He said, because that’s where the big plants are building. China’s building really big plants in Mexico and Mexico’s building. What about here? Well, we’re building much smaller plants here. Can you believe it?
What I can’t believe is that the media is still carrying out obvious and easily debunkable hoaxes in 2024 after eight years of Donald Trump being in politics.
Several political observers remarked on the left-wing’s desperate and deceptive tactics.
While discussing tariffs on car imports, Trump explains he won’t allow the US to be exploited by other countries and the cars won’t sell “if I get elected.”
“Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath…that’s going to be the least of it,” he added to summarize the… pic.twitter.com/FqiMWxewOx
While discussing tariffs on car imports, Trump explains he won’t allow the US to be exploited by other countries and the cars won’t sell “if I get elected.” “Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath…that’s going to be the least of it,” he added to summarize the mess that would be a second Biden term. Leftists are already taking this quote out of context to claim Trump is threatening violence if he loses. These people are sick.
Attorney Viva Frei picked up on the malicious framing of the Trump remark.
Is @CommunityNotes going to fact check this video before the damage is done?
It’s going, viral, and idiots are repeating it as though Trump threatened a bloodbath if not reelected.@elonmusk are you paying attention?
Is @CommunityNotes going to fact check this video before the damage is done?
It’s going, viral, and idiots are repeating it as though Trump threatened a bloodbath if not reelected. @elonmusk are you paying attention?
Your community notes don’t work for shit, and they don’t work when they’re most needed.
Then Todd Starnes also talked about the Journalism 101 case on how to misrepresent the news.
Here's a Journalism 101 tutorial on how leftist reporters misrepresent the news:@MyahWard From @politico wrote about Trump's comments about a "bloodbath" if Biden wins.
"While it was unclear what the former president meant exactly, the remarks came as Trump was complaining… pic.twitter.com/3nwcT7ADZw
Here’s a Journalism 101 tutorial on how leftist reporters misrepresent the news: @MyahWard From @politico wrote about Trump’s comments about a “bloodbath” if Biden wins. “While it was unclear what the former president meant exactly, the remarks came as Trump was complaining about the automobile industry,” the reporter wrote. That’s a load of Grade-A bull feces. She knew EXACTLY what Trump was talking about and if she really didn’t — Ms. Ward should find another line of work.
This is not only dishonest, it is extremely dangerous. Framing Donald Trump as a potentially violent dictator is blatant election interference. Furthermore, it is putting a target on Donald Trump and potentially encouraging threats against his life.
This is the worst kind of media hoax. Those who knowingly perpetrate it are truly the enemies of the American people and a threat to “democracy.”
Donald Trump has been the target of “selective and vindictive prosecution” throughout the 2024 campaign.
The most prominent case of this “arbitrary prosecution,” as Judge Aileen Cannon put it, is the classified documents case, of course.
On Thursday, Judge Cannon raised the many issues with former President Donald Trump being charged with violations of the Espionage Act and other U.S. statutes against mishandling of classified documents beginning with the day that he willfully and voluntarily stepped down from the presidency on January 20, 2021, while former Vice President Joe Biden, former Vice President Michael Pence, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton remain uncharged, despite lacking the legal coverage of the Presidential Records Act.
But that is not the only case of such selective prosecution, which is anathema to justice and equal treatment under the law. In late February, Judge Arthur Engoron issued a civil penalty against Donald Trump for $354 million, which was adjudicated without a jury of his peers. Furthermore, Judge Engoron slapped Trump with several restrictions against operating his businesses in the State of New York.
The major flaws with this ruling are extensive, but boil down to this: Firstly, there were no actual victims of Donald Trump’s allegedly inflated valuation of the assets he claimed in negotiations with willing lenders; Secondly, the practices that Donald Trump used in his lending contracts are almost universally used among prominent real estate developers.
There is also the E. Jean Carroll civil case against Donald Trump, where the plaintiff was awarded $83 million for liable despite a jury declining to find Trump guilty of rape. Carroll was unable to recall basic facts to substantiate her case, misstated key details such as the dress she allegedly wore at the time (which was not yet on the market), and her version of events closely paralleled a Law & Order television show storyline.
The State of New York even bizarrely changed the law to pave the way for E. Jean Carroll’s civil rape case. This is as “selective and vindictive” an abuse of the law as it gets.
After Judge Engoron’s ruling, she embarrassingly gushed on Maddow’s show that she wanted to take the MSNBC host shopping.
Rachel Maddow asks E. Jean Carroll what she's going to do with "Trump's money" to help "women's rights."
Carroll says she and Maddow will "go shopping, get completely new wardrobes, new shoes…Rachel, what do you want, penthouse?"
Then there is the Fulton County Georgia “racketeering” case against Donald Trump. There is no clear indication that Donald Trump wanted anyone in Georgia to violate the law, which would be the legal basis for charging co-defendants in a criminal racketeering conspiracy.
The Washington Post’s initial reporting on Donald Trump’s call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find the votes” distorted the actual transcript of the call, which was illegally recorded and released without Trump’s knowledge since Georgia is a two-party consent state.
On Friday, Judge Scott McAfee declined to remove Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis from the case, after numerous documented ethical violations, opting instead that Willis fire and replace her lover and special prosecutor Nathan Wade. Prior to the ruling, he struck six counts against Trump and his associates for “Solicitation of Violation of Oath by Public Officer.”
“If Fulton County simply accepts the decision and moves forward, it should have very little impact,” Atlanta-based attorney Andrew Fleischman said. “Much of the same conduct is covered in the RICO count already, it doesn’t have a meaningful impact on punishment, and frankly, it was already really hard to prove that Donald Trump intended to cause elected officials to violate the constitution.”
It should be noted that Judge McAffee worked with Fani Willis as senior assistant district attorney in Fulton County and even made a political donation to her campaign.
Fani Willis had earlier filed charges against so-called “fake electors” in Georgia, despite her possession of exonerating evidence that their intentions were entirely lawful and in accordance with the United States Constitution.
In her indictment issued on August 14, Willis claimed that the Republican electors for Trump constituted an illicit “conspiracy” aimed at overturning Georgia’s 2020 election results.
Willis specifically contended that Shafer and other alternate electors “unlawfully falsely held themselves out” as Georgia’s “duly elected and qualified” presidential electors. She further asserted that these electors, with Smith’s assistance, deliberately sought to “mislead” figures such as then-Vice President Mike Pence and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger “into believing that they actually were such officers.”
However, among the documents gathered during Willis’s lengthy investigation of Republicans was a transcript of a meeting that contradicted her allegations.
A transcript of the December 14, 2020, meeting of Georgia Republican electors, obtained by The Federalist, clearly reveals that the intent behind appointing alternate electors was not to impersonate public officials, as Willis claimed, but rather to legally preserve Trump’s challenge to the state’s election results. At the outset of the meeting, Shafer explicitly stated that he and his fellow Republicans were acting as “Republican nominees for Presidential Elector,” not as “duly elected and qualified” presidential electors.
“[President Trump] has filed a contest to the certified returns. That contest — is pending [and has] not been decided or even heard by any judge with the authority to hear it,” Shafer said. “And so in order to preserve his rights, it’s important that the Republican nominees for Presidential Elector meet here today and cast their votes.”
It should be noted that the Democratic Party has filed numerous election challenges since the 2000 presidential election between Al Gore and George W. Bush. Not a single Democrat has ever been charged in a criminal conspiracy to “overturn” the results of an election.
This statement by Judge Chutkan in her landmark ruling denying Trump exec privilege protections from House Democrats J6 committee alone should be disqualifying.
There is no way she can objectively oversee Jack Smith's J6 case against Trump. pic.twitter.com/VDIbIQnyJ5
Then there is the matter of the New York “hush money” case. Federal prosecutors declined to bring charges against Donald Trump for years over the matter involving adult film actress Stephanie A. Gregory Clifford (aka Stormy Daniels).
However, Alvin Bragg seized on the case, particularly, after the Biden administration dispatched Justice department attorney Matthew Coangelo to “advise” the Southern District of New York’s legal team. One would be justified in believing this is a clear case of political collusion in the prosecution of a Biden campaign rival for purposes of election interference.
Alan Dershowitz, a prominent Harvard Law professor emeritus, said Friday that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg should be investigated for bringing this “made-up case” against former President Donald Trump.
In a Thursday legal filing, Bragg stated that he was willing to delay Trump’s trial by 30 days on charges stemming from an indictment acquired against Trump in March 2023 over a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016. During an interview on “Mornings with Maria,” Dershowitz referred to Bragg’s case as “the weakest possible.”
“That’s a made-up case. He should be investigated for bringing that case,” Dershowitz told host Maria Bartiromo. “Nobody in history has ever been charged with failing to disclose in a corporate form the fact he paid hush money. The reason you pay hush money is not to disclose it. Alexander Hamilton paid hush money.”
“Hush money” payments aren’t illegal. Even CNN knows this basic fact about Alvin Bragg’s New York case. Bragg is alleging Trump falsified records to cover up a “crime” — but still doesn’t know what crime that is.
“This is the first case in history anybody has ever been tried on this kind of made-up case, so it’s the weakest case of all, and now he is prepared to have a delay, but that case may get tried first, and it’s New York so there will be a conviction in Manhattan, you know, a jury in Manhattan will convict a ham sandwich if its name is Trump,” Dershowitz continued. “So I think there will be a conviction and, very likely, a reversal on appeal, but the reversal on appeal may not come until after the election.”
This may be the case with several of the “selective and vindictive” prosecutions against Donald Trump. The court rulings that are being rendered by partisan judges at the behest of politically motivated prosecutors may not be overturned until after the election.
In that case, it will be “mission accomplished,” because the damage will already have been done.
MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” anchor Joe Scarborough blasted Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ handling of her election case against former President Donald Trump.
Judge Scott McAfee ordered on Friday that Willis either step aside or remove her former love partner and special prosecutor, Nathan Wade, from the case due to a “appearance of impropriety.” Willis’ activities have severely harmed her case, and she should face ethics charges but not disqualification, Scarborough stated soon before the judge’s decision.
“First of all, Fani Willis, I mean, the judgment she used is just absolutely atrocious,” Scarborough asserted. “If there are ethical ramifications, you know, perhaps there should be. Especially if she’s lying, there definitely should be. She’s gonna have to answer to the voters … Again, the most important case, probably, that’s ever been tried in Georgia, and she has just turned it into an absolute clown show. I wanted to use another word, but it’s early in the morning and some kids are eating breakfast … We can all agree on that. I think everybody can agree that she has really, really messed this up.”
“That’s on one side of the ledger. But on the other side of the ledger is, does it in anyway prejudice the defendant?” Scarborough asked. “And does it get in the way of Donald Trump having a fair trial? These other defendants having a fair trial? I don’t see how it gets to that line. There are a lot of things a judge can do. The judge can say, ‘Ms. Willis … I cannot even believe the horrific judgment you’ve shown, and [Wade], I mean, you appoint this guy – what are you doing? You know what? We’re going to have to delay this trial. You’re gonna have to find somebody else to run your case, and I hope you don’t have a personal relationship with them as well. I don’t know if you can do that, Ms. Willis.’”
“It seems to me these are two totally separate things,” Scarborough added. “I really don’t understand why she would be disqualified. Ethics charges? Yes. But just have her appoint somebody else to run the case.”
Trump co-defendant Michael Roman said in a Jan. 8 motion that Willis gained financially from designating Wade as special prosecutor in the case due to the expensive outings they went on. Legal experts believe the district attorney might be reported to the bar.
There are already rumblings that this definitely will be happening.
Therefore, even thought Fani Willis dodged the wrath of the court, she is likely to be caught in the crossfire of a recently empowered Georgia state panel that can censure or dismiss her, or she can be disbarred and her license to practice law stripped from her.
Nicole Shanahan, a California-based attorney and entrepreneur who was previously married to Google co-founder Sergey Brinn, will be Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate in his independent presidential campaign.
Shanahan, who was the force behind Kennedy’s well-received Super Bowl commercial, was selected to be his running mate.
“They align on numerous issues,” a source allegedly close to the Kennedy campaign said. “The campaign is also looking for a candidate who can help finance the ballot access initiative,” which is critical to RFK Jr. standing a chance of competing in the election.
“She might be infusing millions of dollars into the campaign to help fund the ballot initiative, which makes her attractive financially; however, she lacks the qualifications to actually do the job,” the source claimed.
Conservatives blasted RFK Jr’s choice due in part to Shanahan’s backing of Soros-funded District Attorneys, whose soft-on-crime policies are wrecking America’s cities.
“RFK’s VP choice, Nicole Shanahan, is a six-figure donor to… George Gascon, the pro-crime, Soros-backed prosecutor who helped wreck San Francisco and is currently wrecking LA. She also spent big on Measure J, a Los Angeles measure to reroute spending from law enforcement and prisons to ‘social services’ and ‘mental health treatment’ — in other words, not putting criminals and dangerous psychos behind bars,” said conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
“This is a far-left pick by RFK, who is apparently looking to shore up his progressive bona fides,” he added. “Major red flag for commonsense independents and centrist voters who are also sick of rising crime but intrigued by his campaign.”
🚨 JUST IN: RFK Jr. CHOOSES LEFTIST NICOLE SHANAHAN FOR VP
If you still think RFK Jr. is going to take more votes from Trump than Biden, you’re VERY mistaken.
Nicole Shanahan, the ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, has been a HUGE funder of left wing Soros-backed DAs… pic.twitter.com/m3IfHJTC5i
“If you still think RFK Jr. is going to take more votes from Trump than Biden, you’re VERY mistaken,” said journalist Nick Sortor. “Nicole Shanahan, the ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, has been a HUGE funder of left wing Soros-backed DAs such as LA County DA George Gascon.”
“Nicole is an avid backer of California-style ‘criminal justice reforms’ that cut dangerous criminals loose and back into the streets rather than holding them accountable for crimes,” he continued. “And that’s just scratching the surface. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s bid for President just took a nosedive.”
“DID SHANAHAN BUY RFK JR? OR IS HE A LEFTIST POSING AS A ‘CENTRIST’?” he asked.
In a previous interview, Ms. Shanahan said she had given $4 million to the super PAC, American Values 2024 for the express purpose of helping pay for a Super Bowl ad. She also helped coordinate the ad’s production, she said, including navigating concerns from CBS Sports and Paramount, which broadcast the Super Bowl.
Judge Scott McAfee’s ruling against Fani Willis is “not a good look” for the district attorney’s office and amounts to a major gift for the defense, CNN legal analyst Michael Moore said Friday.
McAfee declined to disqualify Willis from the case, but declared she or special prosecutor Nathan Wade must step down from the case to resolve an “appearance of impropriety” related to an alleged financial conflict of interest. The judge’s decision reflects poorly on the prosecution and Willis will likely face more legal pushback, Moore said on “CNN News Central.”
“This was a self-inflicted wound that should have been healed and taken care of months ago,” Moore said. “But basically they just let it get infected now to this place where the district attorney has been called by a court that she has to practice in front of and her office has to practice in front of, she’s been called now unprofessional. And this frankly … is a gift to the defense, I believe, as they will use this as they talk about whether or not the case has merit or whether or not it was brought for other reasons, whether or not it’s a professional prosecutor and all that. We’re going to hear all that down the road.”
“But we’re also going to hear, I expect, comments from the Georgia legislature, as they have moved forward with their panel inquiry into her conduct,” Moore added. “We’re going to hear now this finding echoed around the halls of Congress by the likes of people like Jim Jordan and things like that. So this is not a good day for the state and it’s not a good look for the state.”
McAfee found that defendants had “failed to meet their burden of proving that the District Attorney acquired an actual conflict of interest in this case through her personal relationship and recurring travels with her lead prosecutor.” However, he asserted the record “highlights a significant appearance of impropriety that infects the current structure of the prosecution team,” stating that Wade must either withdraw or Willis and her whole office can decide to step aside.
Trump co-defendant Michael Roman alleged in a Jan. 8 motion that Willis financially benefited from appointing Wade to the case because of the lavish outings they undertook using funds the special prosecutor’s law firm received from Fulton County. The district attorney may also face a referral to the bar, legal experts have said.
“I don’t think politically she’s got to worry,” Moore said. “I mean, she’s in a democratic county. She’s liked by many people in her personal and professional capacity. I don’t think she’s got to worry about whether or not somebody runs against her and uses this as some big trumpet that they’re going to beat her at the polls. This is about how the case looks going forward and now whether or not when a representation is made by the state in court, whether or not the judge believes that, and so this paints the entire picture.”
Moore also said the case will likely not be decided before the election in November regardless of who prosecutes it.
Trump ‘Bloodbath’ Comment Taken Out-of-Context to Make Him Look Like He’s Calling for Violence
Donald Trump was in rare form on Saturday night as he unleashed a number of politically charged comments in front of a Dayton, Ohio audience.
One comment in particular caught the attention of major news media and political opponents: His remark that seemed to portend a “bloodbath” should he not be elected.
“Trump: Now, If I don’t get elected, it’s gonna be a bloodbath. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country,” noted Acyn of the left-wing activists at MeidasTouch.
“Trump isn’t making a prediction here. He’s giving an order. ‘If I don’t get elected, it’s gonna be a bloodbath. It’s gonna be a bloodbath for this country’,” said Nick Knudsen, a Huffington Post reported and Executive Director of left-wing activist group DemCast.
“Trump wants to talk about a ‘bloodbath’ if he loses,” remarked a “pro-DeSantis” account Cryptid Politics. “He bears the responsibility for the current bloodbath in this country for losing the easily-winnable 2020 election after caving to the Covid State.”
Biden and Harris even issued a campaign statement on the remark.
“Tonight, Donald Trump said there would be a ‘bloodbath’ if he wasn’t elected and that if he lost there would ne no more elections,” the statement claimed among other accusations.
Alas, this is yet another media hoax.
The transcript from the Trump rally video shows that the former president was talking about the automobile industry and not about stoking violence.
China now is building a couple of massive plants where they’re going to build the cars in Mexico and think they think that they’re going to sell those cars into the United States with no tax at the border. Let me tell you something to China. If you’re listening, president Xi, and you and I are friends, but he understands the way I deal. Those big monster car manufacturing plants that you’re building in Mexico right now, and you think you’re going to get that, you’re going to not hire Americans and you’re going to sell the cars to us. Now, we’re going to put a 100% tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you’re not going to be able to sell those cars. If I get elected now, if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole… that’s going to be the least of it.
It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country. That’ll be the least of it, but they’re not going to sell those cars. They’re building massive factories. A friend of mine, all he does is build car manufacturing plants. He’s the biggest in the world. I mean, honestly, I joke about it. He can’t walk across the street in that way. He’s like, Biden, but for building a plant, he can do the greatest plants in the world, right? That’s all he cares about. I said, I’d like to see one of your plants recently. I said, I’d like to see where can we go? Well, we have to travel to Mexico. I said, why Mexico? He said, because that’s where the big plants are building. China’s building really big plants in Mexico and Mexico’s building. What about here? Well, we’re building much smaller plants here. Can you believe it?
What I can’t believe is that the media is still carrying out obvious and easily debunkable hoaxes in 2024 after eight years of Donald Trump being in politics.
Several political observers remarked on the left-wing’s desperate and deceptive tactics.
Jules on X said the following:
While discussing tariffs on car imports, Trump explains he won’t allow the US to be exploited by other countries and the cars won’t sell “if I get elected.” “Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath…that’s going to be the least of it,” he added to summarize the mess that would be a second Biden term. Leftists are already taking this quote out of context to claim Trump is threatening violence if he loses. These people are sick.
Attorney Viva Frei picked up on the malicious framing of the Trump remark.
Viva Frei said:
Is @CommunityNotes going to fact check this video before the damage is done?
It’s going, viral, and idiots are repeating it as though Trump threatened a bloodbath if not reelected. @elonmusk are you paying attention?
Your community notes don’t work for shit, and they don’t work when they’re most needed.
Then Todd Starnes also talked about the Journalism 101 case on how to misrepresent the news.
Todd Starnes said the following on X:
Here’s a Journalism 101 tutorial on how leftist reporters misrepresent the news: @MyahWard From @politico wrote about Trump’s comments about a “bloodbath” if Biden wins. “While it was unclear what the former president meant exactly, the remarks came as Trump was complaining about the automobile industry,” the reporter wrote. That’s a load of Grade-A bull feces. She knew EXACTLY what Trump was talking about and if she really didn’t — Ms. Ward should find another line of work.
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