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The DOJ is having such a hard time finding document digitization vendors willing to work with Trump that it requested more time for the special master review

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The DOJ is having such a hard time finding document digitization vendors willing to work with Trump that it requested more time for the special master review
 
Azmi Haroun
Tue, September 27, 2022 at 8:54 PM
 
 
 
  • The special master will have to wait a little longer to get his hands on files lugged to Mar-a-Lago.

  • None of the five vendors the DOJ suggested to scan docs wanted to work with Trump, per a new filing.

  • The DOJ asked for one more day to choose someone to digitize 11,000 files for the special master.

A special master set to review tens of thousands of documents in the Department of Justice's probe of Donald Trump may have to wait a bit longer as several middlemen have blown off Trump.

According to new court documents filed Tuesday, the DOJ is asking special master Raymond Dearie for an additional day to turn over non-classified documents in the investigation. Federal prosecutors said they needed until September 28 because none of the five vendors they suggested to digitize the cache of documents "were willing to be engaged by Plaintiff."

 

"Plaintiff informed us this morning that none of the five document-review vendors proposed by the government before last Tuesday's preliminary conference were willing to be engaged by Plaintiff," DOJ lawyers said in a filing on Tuesday. "To avoid further delay in the vendor's scanning and processing of the Seized Materials (defined to exclude "documents bearing classification markings"), the government issued a request for a task order this afternoon with a deadline of tomorrow (Wednesday, September 28, 2022) at noon."

Prosecutors said that they'd be willing to engage the vendors, adding, "the government is highly confident at least one vendor will respond."

They also said that Trump should be expected to pay for the process, and that they estimated that between the selection of a vendor and scanning of the files, the turnover could be concluded by October 7.

Recently, Dearie has appointed an aide who Trump will pay $500 an hour and has asked the Trump team to provide proof that the FBI planted evidence during their search of Mar-a-Lago, which Trump has claimed. In its latest filing, the DOJ also prodded Trump's team to submit an inventory list of the materials seized by the FBI.

"The Special Master needs to know that that he is reviewing all of the materials seized from Mar- a-Lago on August 8, 2022 – and no additional materials – before he categorizes the seized documents and adjudicates privilege claims," Prosecutors said.

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Trump poisoned our Democracy with his lies...scary times in America....😪

2022 poll: Less than half of Trump voters say losing candidates should concede elections

Andrew Romano
Andrew Romano
·West Coast Correspondent
Wed, September 28, 2022 at 4:55 PM
 
 

Nearly two years after Donald Trump launched his relentless and baseless assault on the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election — a scheme that culminated in his supporters’ Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol — a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll shows that less than half of Americans (46%) now believe that candidates "should commit in advance to accepting the results" of this year's midterm elections.

Instead, a majority of Americans either say that candidates should not (19%) or that they’re “not sure” (35%).

Among voters who cast their ballots for Trump in 2020, meanwhile, just a third (33%) say candidates should agree in advance to accept the results in this fall's elections.

An attendee holds a banner reading: Trump Won, Save America.
 
An attendee at a rally for former President Donald Trump in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., on Sept. 3. (Michelle Gustafson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The idea that democracy can function only if both sides agree to honor the outcome of an election has long served as one of the cornerstones of American politics. But the survey of 1,566 U.S. adults, conducted online from Sept. 23 to 27, suggests that controversy and uncertainty threaten the old consensus.

Earlier this month, the Washington Post asked 19 “Republican candidates in competitive races for governor and Senate … whether they would accept the results of their contests.”

A dozen “declined to say,” according to the Post.

The new Yahoo News/YouGov poll shows that across a range of questions testing Americans’ attitudes toward election denial heading into the 2022 midterms, about 20% to 25% — the vast majority of them Trump voters — are deeply skeptical of the legitimacy of U.S. elections, while another 20% to 30% say they’re not sure what to think.

About half the country, in other words, could be considered at least open to rejecting the election results.

Even when Americans are asked point-blank what should happen this fall “once all the votes are counted and the process is done,” the number who say “The candidate with fewer votes should concede the election” (55%) barely clears the halfway mark.

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Conversely, more than 1 in 5 Americans (21%) say “The candidate with fewer votes should continue to challenge the election if they believe it was wrongly decided.” Another 23% say they’re unsure.

Among Trump voters, just 44% say they agree with the proposition that the candidate with fewer votes should concede the election — a basic rule that has defined U.S. democracy for centuries. Nearly as many Trump voters (38%) say candidates with fewer votes at the end of the process should continue to challenge the results. Another 18% report that they are unsure.

Likewise, nearly a quarter of Americans (23%) say "More candidates should challenge elections like Donald Trump," while 32% are unsure. Again, that leaves less than half (45%) who say “Fewer candidates should challenge elections.”

What kinds of election challenges are now considered legitimate? The Yahoo News/YouGov survey suggests that for many Americans, the range of options open appears to have expanded significantly in the wake of Trump’s explosive efforts to overturn the 2020 results.

Presented with an array of choices, by far the largest number of U.S. adults (62%) say that “demanding a recount” — a familiar and widely accepted form of redress — is legitimate. Likewise, 30% say “filing a suit” in court is also legitimate.

A protester in a yellow slicker holds a placard that says: Recount Every Vote.
 
A protester at a demonstration of about 25 people in support of Trump in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., on Nov. 11, 2020. (Aimee Dilger/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, a surprising number of Americans also select as legitimate other ways to challenge an election that have not historically been part of U.S. political culture:

● 10% of Americans select "Demand that state legislatures refuse to certify the results."

● 9% of Americans select "Declare the election illegitimate."

● 8% of Americans select "Demand that election officials overturn the results."

● 5% of Americans select "Encourage supporters to take up arms against the government."

Perhaps most unsettling: A full 21% of Americans choose at least one of these undemocratic methods as a legitimate means of challenging an election. Among Trump voters, that number rises to 29%, yet even 12% of voters who support President Biden say the same — underscoring how an election denial “arms race” could escalate, once neither side trusts the other to play by the rules.

The poll hints at how that kind of escalation could unfold in the future. Just half (50%) of Americans now say they would not “trust a candidate who refused to accept the results of the 2020 election to oversee future elections in your state”; the other half either say they would trust such a candidate (20%) or that they’re not sure (29%).

Among Trump voters, 47% say they would trust an election denier to oversee future elections. Just 17% say they would not.

Former President Donald Trump, surrounded by supporters, speaks under a blue banner that says: Save America!
 
Trump addresses a rally in Wilmington, N.C., on Sept. 23. (Allison Joyce/Getty Images)

According to a recent FiveThirtyEight analysis, 201 of the 552 Republican nominees running for office in 2022 have “fully denied the legitimacy of the 2020 election” — meaning that 60% of Americans will have an election denier on their ballot this fall. Many will get elected. Some will oversee future elections.

If those officials enable “more candidates” on their own side to “challenge elections like Donald Trump,” and if they ultimately help overturn some of those elections, chaos could ensue. Four out of five Americans (81%) say they are either “very” (42%) or “somewhat” (38%) worried about the future of U.S. democracy — with a nearly identical level of worry among Democrats (83%), Republicans (82%) and independents (81%). Each side of the United States' political divide perceives the other as a threat to democracy.

At the same time, just a third of Americans (33%) think this year's election will be "free and fair,” 28% do not and 39% are unsure. And while many pundits hoped that post-2020 passions would cool with time, public sentiment only seems to be trending in the other direction. In November 2020, 46% of registered voters did not think there would be “enough fraud [in the upcoming election] to influence the outcome.” Now that number is 43%.

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Donald Trump Belittled Jared Kushner In Front Of Aides With ‘Deliverance' Jibe: Book

Lee Moran
Thu, September 29, 2022 at 8:18 AM
 
 

Donald Trump openly mocked his son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner in front of aides during a 2020 election campaign strategy meeting, The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman reports in her upcoming book.

It was one of a series of belittling comments the then-president made about Kushner, who is married to his daughter Ivanka Trump, according to an excerpt from “Confidence Man” that The Guardian published on Thursday.

Trump, per Haberman, was talking about a camping trip his daughter was hoping to take in an RV when he said of Kushner, who was in the room: “This skinny guy wants to do it. Can you imagine Jared and his skinny ass camping? It’d be like something out of ‘Deliverance.’”

Trump then mimicked “the banjo theme song from the 1972 movie about four men vacationing in rural Georgia who are attacked, pursued and in one case brutally raped by a local resident,” Haberman wrote.

On another occasion, Trump claimed Kushner “sounds like a child.”

He also questioned whether Kushner, who is Jewish, was “just avoiding work” by observing Shabbat.

In previously reported excerpts from the book, Haberman said Trump came close to announcing the firing of Kushner and Ivanka Trump over Twitter — but was talked down by then-White House chief of staff John Kelly, who suggested he should talk to the couple first.

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Yahoo News

Poll: Most U.S. voters now say Trump should not be allowed to serve as president again

Andrew Romano
Andrew Romano
·West Coast Correspondent
Fri, September 30, 2022 at 6:00 AM
 
 

Given “what we know about the ongoing investigations into Donald Trump,” a narrow majority of registered voters (51%) now believe he should not “be allowed to serve as president again in the future,” according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll.

Just 35% of voters say Trump should be allowed to serve again. The rest (14%) are unsure.

The survey of 1,566 U.S. adults was conducted from Sept. 23 to 27, immediately after New York state Attorney General Letitia James filed a sweeping lawsuit that accused Trump and three of his children of fraudulently overvaluing his assets by billions of dollars “to obtain beneficial financial terms” — one of several recent legal setbacks for the former president, who also faces potential charges for election interference in Georgia and for taking highly classified documents to Mar-a-Lago.

Donald Trump
 
Trump at a rally in Wilmington, N.C., Sept. 23. (Allison Joyce/Getty Images)

As such, it may reflect the cumulative effect of Trump’s mounting legal woes. Previous Yahoo News/YouGov polls asked whether Trump should be allowed to serve again in various scenarios, such as “if he were found guilty of mishandling highly classified documents” or “if he were found guilty of obstructing the [Justice Department’s] investigation.”

But this was the first to ask voters to consider whether various ongoing state and federal investigations, taken together, had already revealed enough wrongdoing to disqualify Trump from another term as president (regardless of whether he’s ever found guilty).

Most voters say yes.

That’s hardly the strongest position from which to launch a reelection bid — something Trump is preparing to do later this year or early next, by most accounts.

Even so, the new Yahoo News/YouGov poll wasn’t all bad news for the former president. Three weeks ago, President Biden held a 6-point lead over Trump (48% to 42%) in a hypothetical head-to-head 2024 rematch — the Democrat’s largest advantage in months. In the latest survey, Biden’s margin has shrunk to 2 percentage points (47% to 45%).

Yet while Trump remains as competitive as ever in a general-election context — where partisanship matters most — the new poll also suggests his standing among Republican voters may be softening somewhat.

In the immediate aftermath of the FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8, the GOP appeared to rally around Trump; preference for the former president (54%) over “someone else” (33%) in a theoretical 2024 primary match-up rose overnight among registered voters who identify as Republicans or Republican-leaning independents (from 48%-39% previously).

A police officer in front of Mar-a-Lago.
 
A law enforcement officer in front of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Fla., on Aug. 9. (Giorgio Viera/AFP via Getty Images)

But Trump’s “Mar-a-Lago bump” is now gone. In the new Yahoo News/YouGov survey, 2024 primary support for him among Republicans and Republican leaners has fallen by 7 points (to 47%) while support for someone else has risen by 3 (to 36%). Another 17% say they’re not sure.

Fewer than half of Republican voters, in other words, favor the former president for the party’s 2024 nomination. When pitted against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, his likeliest rival for the nod, Trump does little better, garnering 47% to DeSantis’s 34%.

As for the New York state civil lawsuit, it’s unlikely to change perceptions of Trump all by itself. Just 27% of Americans say they have heard “a lot” about it, while another 34% say they’ve heard “some.” The rest say they’ve heard “a little” (20%) or “none” (19%).

Perhaps as a result, fewer Americans think Trump “inflated the value of his business assets by billions of dollars” (44%) than said three weeks ago that he “took highly classified documents with him to Mar-a-Lago” (49%). The partisan divide also explains a lot: 83% of 2020 Biden voters and 72% of Democrats believe Trump inflated his business assets by billions of dollars; only 10% of 2020 Trump voters and 12% of Republicans agree.

Similarly, Americans are split — largely along partisan lines — over whether the New York lawsuit is motivated by a “genuine desire to hold Trump and his family accountable” (41%) or “a political bias against Trump and his family” (39%).

Trump supporters during a recent rally in Youngstown, Ohio.
 
Trump supporters during a rally with the former president in Youngstown, Ohio, Sept. 17. (Dustin Franz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

That said, more than 6 in 10 (62%) say that if Trump “committed business fraud,” he “should be prosecuted” — a number that includes a plurality of Republicans (39%). However, only 44% of Americans say he should be charged with a crime “given what we know about the ongoing investigations.” Another 25% say they’re not sure, while 31% say he should not be charged.

But there is room for James and prosecutors to make their case. In early April, 45% of Americans told Yahoo News and YouGov they thought Trump had “committed a serious crime” at some point in his life. Today that number is 50%. The share of Americans who think he has never committed a serious crime, meanwhile, has fallen from 30% to 27%.

Whether Trump will ever be convicted is another story. Given what we know today, just 27% of Americans believe the former president will ultimately “be found guilty of a crime.” More — 36% — do not.

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Just another bat-shit crazy Trumper....who doesn't talk with her husband...

Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, told the Jan. 6 investigators she still believes the 2020 election was stolen, committee chairman tells CNN

 
 
Nicole Gaudiano,Azmi Haroun
Thu, September 29, 2022 at 4:22 PM
 
 
Conservative activist Ginni Thomas and January 6 committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi.
 
Conservative activist Ginni Thomas and January 6 committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi.AP Photos/Susan Walsh and J. Scott Applewhite
  • Ginni Thomas told January 6 investigators that she still believes the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

  • Committee chair Bennie Thompson told CNN about Thomas' comments during a closed-door interview.

  • Her interview could become part of the next hearing "if there's something of merit," he told CNN.

Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, told the House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection that she still believes the 2020 presidential election was stolen, despite a lack of evidence to support that claim.

That's according to CNN reporter Annie Grayer, who spoke with Rep. Bennie Thompson, the Mississippi Democrat who chairs the committee leading the probe into the attack on the US Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump.

"Yes," he told CNN after Thomas testified for about four and a half hours. "She said that."

Thompson told Grayer that Thomas answered "some questions" and that her interview could become part of the next hearing "if there's something of merit." The committee postponed a hearing scheduled for September 28 because of Hurricane Ian in Florida and it has not released a new date.

In a statement shared by The New York Times, Thomas also denied talking to her husband about her advocacy after the election, adding that she and her husband had an "iron-clad rule" not to speak about Supreme Court cases.

The interview with Thomas, a conservative activist, follows reporting by The Washington Post in March about text messages she wrote to Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows.

Biden already had been declared president-elect on November 10 when Thomas texted Meadows: "Help This Great President stand firm, Mark!!!...You are the leader, with him, who is standing for America's constitutional governance at the precipice. The majority knows Biden and the Left is attempting the greatest Heist of our History."

Thomas also emailed Arizona lawmakers days after the 2020 election, urging them to "do your constitutional duty" and appoint "a clean slate of Electors" for the state, the Post reported.

Thomas' lawyer Mark Paoletta said that Thomas answered all the committee's questions and she "was happy to cooperate ... to clear up the misconceptions about her activities surrounding the 2020 elections," according to a statement New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman posted on Twitter.

"As she said from the outset, Mrs. Thomas had significant concerns about fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election," he said. "And, as she told the committee, her minimal and mainstream activity focused on ensuring that reports of fraud and irregularities were investigated. Beyond that, she played no role in any events after the 2020 election results.

Paoletta continued, "As she wrote in a text to Mark Meadows at the time, she also condemned the violence on January 6, as she abhors violence on any side of the aisle."

In a statement shared by The New York Times, Thomas denied talking to her husband about her advocacy after the election, adding that she and her husband had an "iron-clad rule" not to speak about Supreme Court cases.

 

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Trump-McConnell feud takes new turn with Electoral Count Act

 
 
Al Weaver
Thu, September 29, 2022 at 6:00 AM
 
 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) support for the Electoral Count Act is renewing the schism between him and former President Trump, setting up a vote likely to divide the GOP caucus.

Supporters are hopeful that McConnell’s backing will lead to a majority of the Senate GOP conference backing the legislation, drafted in response to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol that many blame on Trump.

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), a co-sponsor of the bill, said he believes 20 to 30 Senate Republicans could ultimately back the proposal, which is expected to be voted on during the lame-duck session after Election Day. He added that McConnell’s move will be a big reason why.

“Mitch’s endorsement of the final bill that came out of the Rules Committee was very important. If he had not supported it, it would have been tough for us to get a large vote.” Portman told The Hill. “Mitch has a lot of credibility in this area,” he added, pointing to McConnell’s long-standing opposition to federalizing elections.

 

At least three more Senate Republicans — John Thune (S.D.), John Cornyn (Texas) and Bill Cassidy (La.) — on Wednesday threw their support behind the push to pass the bill. Cassidy said he is “temperamentally supportive” of the legislation, which passed overwhelmingly through the Senate Rules Committee on Tuesday.

But signs are emerging that a battle is brewing among Republicans over the Electoral Count Act.

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Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has made his stance clear on the Electoral Count Act.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the lone lawmaker to vote against the bill at the committee level on Tuesday, pressed that politics and an anti-Trump animus are at the heart of the push.

There is also strong opposition to Jan. 6-inspired election reform among Trump allies in the House, and a number of Trump-backed House and Senate candidates who have repeated his unfounded claims about election fraud throughout their campaigns.

“Hell, everything’s political up here,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) told The Hill in an interview when asked about Cruz’s remarks.

Cruz and Tuberville were among eight GOP senators to vote against certifying electoral results in either Arizona or Pennsylvania on Jan. 6, 2021.

However, outside of Cruz and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), the majority of senators who objected to the two electoral slates are keeping their powder dry, and said they are still reviewing the latest version of the Electoral Count Act.

“I don’t mind changing something if it needs changing,” Tuberville said. “But don’t do something unless it’s going to help. If this is going to help the situation, I’ll be all for it.”

In addition to Tuberville, Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said he still has not read the Electoral Count Act bill that emerged from the Rules Committee, while a spokesperson for Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) told The Hill that he is still examining the legislation. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) told Axios on Tuesday that he too is “reviewing” it. Hawley told Axios he didn’t see a need for the bill and would “probably” vote against it.

The legislation would significantly raise the threshold for lawmakers to object to Electoral College votes from one senator and House member, respectively, to one-fifth of each chamber. It would also block state officials from submitting electoral votes that do not line up with a state’s popular vote.

“Mitch’s endorsement of the final bill that came out of the Rules Committee was very important. If he had not supported it, it would have been tough for us to get a large vote.”

— Sen. Rob Portman told The Hill

Republicans backing the bill downplayed the political aspect of it and maintained that its potential passage would be in the name of good policy.

“When I go back home, I’ve never had someone ask me a question about it, so this to me is just sound policy,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a co-sponsor of the proposal.

“We’ll just have to deal with that and agree to disagree,” Tillis said of the divide between McConnell and Trump on the issue. “I was in that chamber on Jan. 6. It never occurred to me that one person in that body could determine what we were deliberating on, and I think this provides some clarity for it.”

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who has been leading GOP efforts on election reform, indicated that she is hopeful one of the Jan. 6 objectors outside of Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), who voted to advance it from the panel on Tuesday, will jump on board too.

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Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is whipping up support for the Electoral Count Act.

“The vote in committee speaks for itself,” she said in an interview of the 14 to 1 vote. “I believe we have momentum.”

One argument proponents of the bill say could help sway pro-Trump members and conservatives is that it would spell out role of the vice president in the process as strictly ceremonial — meaning it would rule out any chance Vice President Harris could take matters into her own hands in January 2025.

“If you’re a conservative, why don’t you think about the shoe’s on the other foot and isn’t it better to have an honest pathway by which everybody plays by the same rules?” Cassidy said.

But Cruz was unswayed in Tuesday’s committee meeting.

“I understand why Democrats are supporting this bill,” he said. “What I don’t understand is why Republicans are supporting it.”

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National Archives still missing some Trump administration records

BENJAMIN SIEGEL
Sat, October 1, 2022 at 4:44 PM
 
 

The National Archives has still not recovered all the presidential records that should have been turned over at the end of the Trump administration, according to a new letter to Congress from the acting archivist.

"We do know that we do not have custody of everything we should," Debra Steidel Wall, acting archivist of the United States, said in her letter to Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., suggesting that former officials had still not turned over electronic messages of official business done on personal accounts.

Wall's letter was a response to a Sept. 13 request from Maloney seeking an "urgent review" of "whether presidential records remain unaccounted for and potentially in the possession of the former president."

Wall said the National Archives and Records Administration "would consult with the Department of Justice" on whether "to initiate an action for the recovery of records unlawfully removed."

PHOTO: Former President Donald Trump tosses caps to the crowd as he holds a rally on Sept. 23, 2022, in Wilmington, N.C. (Chris Seward/AP, FILE)
 
PHOTO: Former President Donald Trump tosses caps to the crowd as he holds a rally on Sept. 23, 2022, in Wilmington, N.C. (Chris Seward/AP, FILE)

The revelation comes as Trump and the Department of Justice are in a court battle over documents seized from the former president's Mar-a-Lago estate by federal agents in early August as part of an investigation into Trump's potential mishandling of presidential records after leaving office.

The FBI said it took 11,000 documents in the court-authorized seizure, including more than 100 documents with classified markings.

Trump sued to obtain the appointment of a special master to pore over the documents seized for attorney-client privilege and executive privilege. The review is ongoing, and the Department of Justice is seeking a fast-track appeal of the special master ruling.

In a statement, Maloney said it was "outrageous that these records remain unaccounted for 20 months after former President Trump left office."

"Former President Trump and his senior staff have shown an utter disregard for the rule of law and our national security by failing to return presidential records as the law requires," Maloney said. "I will continue to do everything in my power to ensure that all presidential records from the Trump White House are returned to the custody of the government and to make sure these abuses never happen again."

The National Archives previously said Trump allegedly had more than 700 pages of classified material in his possession, which were found in the 15 boxes that the Archives retrieved from Mar-a-Lago in January.

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Trump's 1st secretary of state testifies he never asked Tom Barrack to 'conduct any diplomacy' for US

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Trump's 1st secretary of state testifies he never asked Tom Barrack to 'conduct any diplomacy' for US
 
OLIVIA RUBIN and AARON KATERSKY
Mon, October 3, 2022 at 8:12 PM
 
 

Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson testified Monday during the illegal foreign lobbying trial of former Donald Trump ally Tom Barrack that he never asked Barrack to undertake any diplomacy on behalf of the United States during his year-long stint as Trump’s secretary of state.

"Did you ever ask Tom Barack to commit any diplomacy on behalf of the United States?" prosecutor Hiral Mehta asked.

“No,” Tillerson replied.

Barrack, a billionaire California businessman who ran Trump's 2016 inaugural committee, is currently on trial in Brooklyn federal court for alleged illegal lobbying on behalf of the United Arab Emirates before and during the Trump administration. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which Barrack's defense attorney has dismissed the charge as ridiculous.

"[The government's] accusations are nothing short of ridiculous. Tom Barrack was never under anybody's direction. Tom Barrack was never under anybody's control," said Michael Schachter, Barrack's attorney, during opening statements. "Tom Barrack was his own man [and] said things because he wanted to."

PHOTO: Former U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson testifies during the trial of Thomas Barrack, a billionaire friend of Donald Trump who chaired the former president's inaugural fund, at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in New York, Oct. 3, 2022.  (Jane Rosenberg/Reuters)
 
PHOTO: Former U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson testifies during the trial of Thomas Barrack, a billionaire friend of Donald Trump who chaired the former president's inaugural fund, at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in New York, Oct. 3, 2022. (Jane Rosenberg/Reuters)

Tillerson, the former chief diplomat of the United States, during his three hours on the stand said he had had no knowledge of Barrack's communications with the UAE. Prosecutors allege failing to register as a lobbyist for those communications constitutes a crime.

But Tillerson also conceded there were conversations about foreign policy that he was not always a part of, including between Trump and his son-and-law, Jared Kushner -- who he said was also in communication with government officials, though not always in lockstep.

"It was evident that at times Mr. Kushner was engaging with the same government officials on the same issues I was engaging with them on and that those messages were not consistent," Tillerson said.

Regardless, he emphasized the importance of transparency surrounding relationships with foreign governments.

"You always, in any communication, want to understand the context in which the information is coming to you," Tillerson said.

Tillerson also testified that his dealings with Barrack were limited, but that Barrack had called him "on a couple of occasions" to discuss a potential ambassadorship.

"I recall him expressing interest in serving as an ambassador," said Tillerson, who said he brought the idea up to Trump, who "did not direct [him] one way or another" on the idea.

PHOTO: Rex Tillerson attends a conference in Warsaw, Poland, Jan. 27, 2018.  (NurPhoto via Getty Images, FILE)
 
PHOTO: Rex Tillerson attends a conference in Warsaw, Poland, Jan. 27, 2018. (NurPhoto via Getty Images, FILE)

On cross-examination, the defense sought to normalize Barrack's contacts with the UAE by likening them to Tillerson's own contacts with foreign government officials during his time as the chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil.

Tillerson testified he took over one hundred foreign trips and met with dozens of foreign government officials when serving in that private role, including in the Middle East and Russia, in his efforts to promote the interests of his company.

 

"The fact that you were interacting with government officials in Russia... in no way meant you adopted all of their views or operated under their control, right?" asked Randall Jackson, Barrack's attorney.

"We at all times represent our views, nobody else's," said Tillerson, who has since retired.

But Tillerson said during that time, he explored registering.

"I had my attorneys look at the law," Tillerson said, "and I wanted to be sure."

Barrack was arrested in California in July 2021, accused of using his connection to Trump to surreptitiously promote UAE interests. The trial is expected to last five weeks, attorneys said during a hearing earlier this year.

According to the indictment, The UAE worked through Barrack "to influence United States foreign policy in the first 100 days, 6 months, 1 year and 4 years of the Trump administration."

The UAE funds committed nearly $400 million to Barrack’s investment management firm, the indictment said, though it did not make clear whether Barrack’s firm ever received the money.

The indictment released last July also charged Barrack with obstruction of justice and making multiple false statements during a June 20, 2019, interview with federal law enforcement agents.

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14 minutes ago, DBP66 said:

Trump's 1st secretary of state testifies he never asked Tom Barrack to 'conduct any diplomacy' for US

b48c2d7cddad5de657c27838abca7e53
 
Trump's 1st secretary of state testifies he never asked Tom Barrack to 'conduct any diplomacy' for US
 
OLIVIA RUBIN and AARON KATERSKY
Mon, October 3, 2022 at 8:12 PM
 
 

Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson testified Monday during the illegal foreign lobbying trial of former Donald Trump ally Tom Barrack that he never asked Barrack to undertake any diplomacy on behalf of the United States during his year-long stint as Trump’s secretary of state.

"Did you ever ask Tom Barack to commit any diplomacy on behalf of the United States?" prosecutor Hiral Mehta asked.

“No,” Tillerson replied.

Barrack, a billionaire California businessman who ran Trump's 2016 inaugural committee, is currently on trial in Brooklyn federal court for alleged illegal lobbying on behalf of the United Arab Emirates before and during the Trump administration. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which Barrack's defense attorney has dismissed the charge as ridiculous.

"[The government's] accusations are nothing short of ridiculous. Tom Barrack was never under anybody's direction. Tom Barrack was never under anybody's control," said Michael Schachter, Barrack's attorney, during opening statements. "Tom Barrack was his own man [and] said things because he wanted to."

PHOTO: Former U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson testifies during the trial of Thomas Barrack, a billionaire friend of Donald Trump who chaired the former president's inaugural fund, at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in New York, Oct. 3, 2022.  (Jane Rosenberg/Reuters)
 
PHOTO: Former U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson testifies during the trial of Thomas Barrack, a billionaire friend of Donald Trump who chaired the former president's inaugural fund, at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in New York, Oct. 3, 2022. (Jane Rosenberg/Reuters)

Tillerson, the former chief diplomat of the United States, during his three hours on the stand said he had had no knowledge of Barrack's communications with the UAE. Prosecutors allege failing to register as a lobbyist for those communications constitutes a crime.

But Tillerson also conceded there were conversations about foreign policy that he was not always a part of, including between Trump and his son-and-law, Jared Kushner -- who he said was also in communication with government officials, though not always in lockstep.

"It was evident that at times Mr. Kushner was engaging with the same government officials on the same issues I was engaging with them on and that those messages were not consistent," Tillerson said.

Regardless, he emphasized the importance of transparency surrounding relationships with foreign governments.

"You always, in any communication, want to understand the context in which the information is coming to you," Tillerson said.

Tillerson also testified that his dealings with Barrack were limited, but that Barrack had called him "on a couple of occasions" to discuss a potential ambassadorship.

"I recall him expressing interest in serving as an ambassador," said Tillerson, who said he brought the idea up to Trump, who "did not direct [him] one way or another" on the idea.

PHOTO: Rex Tillerson attends a conference in Warsaw, Poland, Jan. 27, 2018.  (NurPhoto via Getty Images, FILE)
 
PHOTO: Rex Tillerson attends a conference in Warsaw, Poland, Jan. 27, 2018. (NurPhoto via Getty Images, FILE)

On cross-examination, the defense sought to normalize Barrack's contacts with the UAE by likening them to Tillerson's own contacts with foreign government officials during his time as the chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil.

Tillerson testified he took over one hundred foreign trips and met with dozens of foreign government officials when serving in that private role, including in the Middle East and Russia, in his efforts to promote the interests of his company.

 

"The fact that you were interacting with government officials in Russia... in no way meant you adopted all of their views or operated under their control, right?" asked Randall Jackson, Barrack's attorney.

"We at all times represent our views, nobody else's," said Tillerson, who has since retired.

But Tillerson said during that time, he explored registering.

"I had my attorneys look at the law," Tillerson said, "and I wanted to be sure."

Barrack was arrested in California in July 2021, accused of using his connection to Trump to surreptitiously promote UAE interests. The trial is expected to last five weeks, attorneys said during a hearing earlier this year.

According to the indictment, The UAE worked through Barrack "to influence United States foreign policy in the first 100 days, 6 months, 1 year and 4 years of the Trump administration."

The UAE funds committed nearly $400 million to Barrack’s investment management firm, the indictment said, though it did not make clear whether Barrack’s firm ever received the money.

The indictment released last July also charged Barrack with obstruction of justice and making multiple false statements during a June 20, 2019, interview with federal law enforcement agents.

Dude! Where you been?

Not Too busy looking for T articles to go fishing I hope. Lol. 

Thought you might have gone Walleye fishing this weekend ...🤣

I’m assuming that you heard the news??? 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

 

ps  wondered what your thoughts were on it.  🤷‍♂️

 

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Trump's racist comment on Elaine Chao, McConnell's wife, draws criticism from the right

Merdie Nzanga, USA TODAY - 5h ago
React2k Comments|
Former President Donald Trump's racist comment about his former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, who is Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's wife, has drawn sharp criticism from some on the right.
Former President Donald Trump tosses caps to the crowd as he holds a rally, Sept. 23 in Wilmington, N.C.
Former President Donald Trump tosses caps to the crowd as he holds a rally, Sept. 23 in Wilmington, N.C.© Chris Seward, AP

"This is outrageous, it's beyond the pale, every Republican ought to say so," former McConnell aide Scott Jennings said on CNN. 

Alyssa Farah Griffin, a White House communications director during the Trump presidency, tweeted that Trump is "not even trying to hide the racism at this point. Just despicable."

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., addressed Trump's comments by saying, "it is never OK to be racist," but Scott didn’t call Trump out directly

"I think you always have to be careful if you're in the public eye, how you say things. You want to make sure you're inclusive," Scott said on CNN on Sunday. 

Scott also said, on CBS, that Trump has a "nickname" for everyone. "He gives people nicknames. I'm sure he has a nickname for me. Alright. So you can ask him what he means by his nicknames."

Jennings said he was not satisfied with Scott's comments about the issue. 

The Wall Street Journal's opinion page, which leans conservative, weighed in on Sunday, saying that the "death wish," comments were even extreme for Trump and "deserve to be condemned."

According to the Washington Post, Taylor Budowich, a spokesperson for Trump, defended Trump through a statement, saying that McConnell "obviously has a political death wish for himself and the Republican Party,"

Chao, who served as Trump's secretary of transportation during his time in the White House, was born in Taiwan. She resigned after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

McConnell's office has not responded to Trump's comments. 

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1 hour ago, OldTerrapin said:

 

Imagine your whole life's purpose is to scour the internet for anti Trump propaganda articles and copy/paste them onto some obscure high school football forum that maybe only 200 people in the whole world knows about. 

 

YARN | Obsess much? | Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) | Video gifs by  quotes | 192f2079 | 紗

and having morons like you respond??...priceless!...keep up the good work!....tell me how the election was "stolen" again...🤡

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48 minutes ago, OldTerrapin said:

 

 

DBP66 searching for Trump hate blogs

Itoh GIFs - Get the best GIF on GIPHY

 

 

When he thinks they got him this time

Randy marsh spooky ghost gif 8 » GIF Images Download

 

you don't have to look too hard...he's a hot mess...he controls the headlines day after day....for all the wrong reasons....I'm just trying to keep the uneducated/brain washed fools informed...😉

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1 hour ago, DBP66 said:

and having morons like you respond??...priceless!...keep up the good work!....tell me how the election was "stolen" again...🤡

wrong person.. I could care less about Trump either way. I do find him entertaining though. He was great on the Apprentice.. Your Fired!

 

In all honesty it is about time he goes away though. Too much of a distraction at this point. We have some real problems going on that need to be fixed and the current administration ain't up to it. If I were to vote, which I probably won't cuz well fuck politics and politicians. I would roll with DeSantis baring a true independent leader emerging but I am not sure there are any anymore. At least DeSantis seems to have some balls. Also I hate the far left more than I hate the far right. 

 

 

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