Category: Investigation

Pelosi Considering More Anti-Trump Republicans For January 6 Committee After Rejecting GOP Picks

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

Nancy Pelosi is reportedly considering adding additional ‘NeverTrump’ Republicans to the select committee she’s assembled to investigate the Capitol riot – with rabid anti-Trump Republican Adam Kinzinger apparently being an option.

“We’ll see,” she told reporters when asked if she’d be willing to add more Republicans to the committee to investigate the incident.

“It’s about seeking the truth and that’s what we owe the American people.”

The House Speaker is considering adding Kinzinger to the investigation, as well as former Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA), a fellow Trump critic and a man who defended Rep. Liz Cheney when she was ousted from GOP leadership for her repeat attacks on the former President.

Cheney and Kinzinger were the only two Republicans who sided with Pelosi in voting to create the select committee to probe the January 6 Capitol protest.

RELATED: Pelosi Refuses To Allow Trump Allies On Capitol Investigation – McCarthy Pulls Every Republican In Response

Pelosi Might Consider Teaming Up With Kinzinger

With the crux of the January 6 select committee focusing on Donald Trump’s role in allegedly ‘inciting’ his supporters, Pelosi’s attempts to keep pro-Trump Republicans off the panel and install people she feels are acceptable is blatant partisanship.

“I’m incredibly worried that the ultimate end product will not be seen as objective,” Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI), who himself voted to impeach Trump, told Axios.

The assertion that Pelosi is open to adding anti-Trump Republicans to the committee comes just days after she rejected House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s recommendations of Representatives Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Jim Banks (R-IN) to serve.

Banks and Jordan objected to certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election, a move viewed by Democrats as instigating the incident that took place on January 6.

Jordan, meanwhile, is a staunch and very vocal ally of former President Trump.

Pelosi’s effort to keep Trump supporters from the panel prompted House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy to respond by pulling every Republican pick from the committee.

RELATED: Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger Only GOP To Vote For Committee To Investigate Capitol Riot

Kinzinger Is CNN’s Favorite NeverTrumper

Kinzinger joined Cheney in bending the knee to Pelosi when voting in favor of the committee, saying the January protest at the Capitol was a “most egregious attack.”

“We need a full accounting of what happened on January 6, 2021—we need answers on who was involved in the insurrection and who played a role in orchestrating it,” he added.

“We need transparency and truth.”

The truth is, he wants neither. Nor does Pelosi.

What kind of transparency does Kinzinger think will come from a committee filled predominantly with people who despise President Trump?

And, if he were interested in ‘truth,’ Kinzinger would reject the notion of a panel that features Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD), a man who objected to the certification of electoral votes when Trump won the election – the very same action being investigated here.

The fact of the matter is Pelosi is trying to serve as ringmaster for an anti-Trump circus and Kinzinger and Cheney are her top picks to serve as her little Ringling Brothers.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) slammed the political theater.

“I mean at this point the committee is not, I think, worthy of support or recognition from my perspective,” Roy said. “Pelosi has made very clear that this is a political politicized effort.”

 

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Senate Democrats say FBI ignored tips in Brett Kavanaugh investigation

Posted on by Marissa Higgins

Here at Daily Kos, we all suffered through Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court, recalling his indignant behavior while questioned, especially as juxtaposed with Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s grace and clarity. We, too, likely recall that Donald Trump was relentless in pushing Kavanaugh's confirmation through. Recently, as Daily Kos covered, Michael Wolff revealed a conversation he supposedly had with Trump in his new book, Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency, in which Trump took credit for essentially “saving” Kavanaugh's life and expressed feeling disappointed in him in the end, saying he hasn’t had the “courage” to be a great justice.

This background lends an interesting light to a new report from The New York Times, in which fresh details on the FBI’s inquiry into Kavanaugh are causing serious—and legitimate—upset among some Senate Democrats. As covered by the Times, Jill Tyson, an assistant director at the FBI, wrote a letter to Democratic Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse and Chris Coons explaining that the most “relevant” of more than 4,000 tips the agency received while investigating Kavanaugh were actually passed on to White House lawyers in the Trump administration. It’s unclear how those tips were handled, and Senate Democrats want answers.

For background, the letter from Tyson was actually written in response to a letter sent by Whitehouse and Coons back in 2019, in which they wanted more clarity on how the supplemental background check into Kavanaugh actually went down. Tyson’s letter stressed that the agency did not conduct a criminal investigation, only a background check. To Democrats, the agency failed in its duty to fully investigate the allegations of sexual misconduct—from Ford as well as subsequent allegations from two women who accused him of sexual misconduct—during Kavanaugh’s confirmation process. Kavanaugh has denied all allegations.

On Wednesday, seven Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee replied to the letter asking for more information about how Trump’s White House handled the investigation and those thousand of tips. Democrats who signed on to the letter included Sens. Cory Booker, Dick Durbin, Richard Blumenthal, Patrick Leahy, Mazie Hirono, and, of course, Whitehouse and Coons. 

Whitehouse spoke to the Times in an interview about the letter. Whitehouse told the Times Tyson’s response suggested the agency ran a “fake tip line” with responses never being “properly reviewed,” adding he assumed it was not even done in “good faith.” 

In a letter the Democratic lawmakers sent on Wednesday, and which was released to the public on Thursday, they argued: “If the FBI was not authorized to or did not follow up on any of the tips that it received from the tip line, it is difficult to understand the point of having a tip line at all.”

As we know, neither Ford nor Kavanaugh were interviewed as part of the investigation. According to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the FBI ultimately interviewed just 10 people before closing its investigation. Democrats have long suggested the investigation into Kavanaugh was incomplete and politically contained. 

Report: Cuomo Being Investigated For Retaliating Against Sexual Harassment Accusers

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

State investigators are reportedly looking into whether Governor Andrew Cuomo and his aides committed a crime by retaliating against his sexual harassment accusers.

New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) is conducting a wide-ranging probe of Cuomo and his inner circle and their actions following the initial allegation.

“Several witnesses said state investigators were particularly focused on the question of retaliation and whether the governor or any of the aides around him broke any laws or state rules in response to women coming forward,” according to the Washington Post.

Of interest is whether or not Cuomo or his aides illegally released a personnel file of Lindsey Boylan, a former aide who was the first to accuse the Democrat governor of sexual misconduct.

Boylan has claimed that Cuomo forcibly kissed her on the lips and suggested “let’s play strip poker.”

A total of 10 women have accused Cuomo of some form of sexual misconduct, the most serious of which involved an unnamed female aide who said the governor groped her at the Executive Mansion in November.

RELATED: Every Court Of Appeals Judge Who Would Vote In Cuomo Impeachment Trial Was Appointed By Him

Did Cuomo Commit A Crime By Retaliating Against Accuser?

Following Boylan’s bombshell accusations which kicked off several other reports, Cuomo’s office released some of her personnel files to the media.

The Washington Post reports:

After Lindsey Boylan, a former state employee, first alleged harassment by the governor on Twitter late last year, he talked with advisers about how to handle the allegations, which he has denied, according to people familiar with the conversations. The governor’s office ultimately released to reporters some of Boylan’s personnel records, which showed complaints against her as a state employee, according to people familiar with the decision.

The newspaper cites sources familiar with the line of questioning by investigators as saying they are probing “planned or actual retaliation against other women who came forward or were considering coming forward.”

The file was released following a meeting with advisers – a meeting that Cuomo denies having – on how to handle the allegations leveled against him.

It shows Boylan being labeled a bully and accusing her of speaking to co-workers as if they were children.

Boylan claims the release was part of a smear campaign to discredit her claims.

RELATED: Fox News Janice Dean Slams ‘Despicable’ Cuomo Over $10,000 Per Ticket Fundraiser This Month

Cuomo Denies Committing A Crime

In a statement to the Washington Post, Governor Cuomo’s acting counsel denies that releasing the personnel file of his accuser amounted to a crime.

“With certain limited exceptions … it is within a government entity’s discretion to share redacted employment records, including in instances when members of the media ask for such public information and when it is for the purpose of correcting inaccurate or misleading statements,” the attorney said.

CNN anchor Chris Cuomo has also been embroiled in controversy for having advised his brother on how to deal with the sexual harassment allegations, an egregious breach of journalistic standards even for that network.

Cuomo, as per multiple sources for the Post, “joined a series of conference calls that included the Democratic governor, his top aide, his communications team, lawyers and a number of outside advisers” on “how to respond to sexual harassment allegations.”

The Washington Post report links to a separate article regarding Chris Cuomo’s involvement in strategy calls but does not specifically reference him as part of the effort to release Boylan’s personnel file.

Governor Cuomo has thus far survived the many investigations and impeachment inquiries he is currently facing, though his political future remains in question.

The scandals embroiling him are wide-ranging and numerous, including:

  • Forcing nursing homes to take on COVID-positive patients.
  • Hiding the data on those deaths and stripping numbers from DOH reports.
  • Numerous sexual misconduct allegations including a police report involving forcibly groping an aide.
  • Bullying and threatening fellow lawmakers and members of the media.
  • Under investigation for a $5.1 million book deal profiting off the pandemic by having aides write and edit portions using state resources.
  • Provided priority COVID-19 testing for his family and associates, also allegedly using state resources.

Still, the Washington Post report states that some in his inner circle believe “the attorney general’s office will release a report that does not include criminal charges” with respect to the sexual harassment scandal.

They do, however, fear being portrayed as “an unprofessional office where women were judged on their looks and subordinates were subjected to demeaning comments.”

James has interviewed at least a dozen current and former staff members as part of the sexual harassment probe.

 

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Liz Cheney Calls For Criminal Investigation Into Trump

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

In her first interview since being ousted from leadership, Representative Liz Cheney continued to divide the Republican Party, calling for a criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump.

Cheney (R-WY) made the statement in a discussion with Savannah Guthrie on NBC’s Today Show Thursday.

The Political Insider previously reported on Cheney’s comments creating a new conspiracy theory that Trump would “unravel the democracy to come back into power.”

But, as is typical of those Republicans afflicted with Trump Derangement Syndrome, she took it a step further, calling for a criminal investigation into the former President.

Cheney accused Trump of having incited protesters at the Capitol in early January despite his statement to supporters that they “peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”

“For reasons I don’t understand, the leaders within my party have decided to embrace the former president who launched that attack,” Cheney claimed.

“I think the American people have to know,” she continued. “And certainly any president who did what we know this former president did has got to be investigated criminally.”

RELATED: A Defiant Liz Cheney Ousted From Leadership, Attacks Trump and His Supporters

Liz Cheney Wants A Criminal Investigation Of Trump

Cheney’s obsession – and that’s just what it is, an obsession – with Trump is something truly remarkable to behold.

She may want to toss a picture of Rachel Maddow on her mirror and practice making statements like this beforehand. And if it sounds like something the MSNBC host would say when you’re practicing in the mirror, you’re no longer a Republican.

You’re a messenger for the corrupt mainstream media.

Any doubts about her being removed from leadership should no longer linger, if they were even there in the first place.

Cheney has spent months focusing extensively on Trump and his supporters, rather than addressing party unity or shared conservative goals.

Rather than voting her conscience on impeachment and moving on, she has continued to eviscerate Trump and his millions of supporters. Those supporters being the very people who make up the Republican Party’s continued existence. 

Just recently, Cheney accused Trump voters of believing “the big lie” that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and vowed to campaign on impeaching him “every day of the week.”

In an op-ed for the Washington Post last week, Cheney encouraged Republicans not to embrace Trump’s “cult of personality.”

Trump “must not ever again be anywhere close to the Oval Office,” she told Guthrie.

RELATED: Lindsey Graham Warns Anti-Trump Republicans They’re Going To Wind Up ‘Getting Erased’

Her Own Big Lie

And while Cheney likes to reference ‘big lies,’ Fox News host Bret Baier had to call her out on one she helped promulgate as a useful idiot for the media last summer.

A major election-time story involving claims that Russia put bounties on American troops in Afghanistan imploded last month when the White House revealed that U.S. intelligence does not have conclusive evidence that the reports were ever true.

Cheney helped push that story.

A Politico report at the time read, “in her latest rebuke of Trump, Cheney openly questioned whether the president was aware of reports that the Russians offered Afghan militants bounties to kill U.S. troops and demanded the administration take a more aggressive posture toward the Kremlin.”

Baier asked Cheney if she had any regrets about “taking part in spreading the story.”

“I said, if these reports are true, then the White House must explain why they did not brief the President or Vice President,” she replied in a tense exchange.

“So, you know, I remain concerned about the intelligence,” she added, unwilling to let the false news story go.

Cheney, who suddenly has a singular focus on the well-being of the nation, helped Democrats undermine the President of the United States and Commander-in-Chief all to the benefit of our enemies.

Hardly somebody who belongs in Congress, much less a leadership role.

Following her ouster on Wednesday, Trump issued a statement blasting Cheney as “a bitter, horrible human being.”

 

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Biden Says Cuomo Should Resign, Could Face Prosecution – Only If Sexual Harassment Allegations Are True

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

President Biden believes an investigation into sexual harassment claims against Andrew Cuomo needs to play out, but if the allegations are proven true, the New York Governor should resign.

Biden’s comments, made during an interview with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos Tuesday night, are another sign that the President is playing it safe with an ally he once reportedly considered for Attorney General.

“I know you said you want the investigation to continue,” Stephanopoulos said to Biden. “If the investigation confirms the claims of the women, should he resign?”

“Yes,” Biden replied. “I think he’ll probably end up being prosecuted, too.”

RELATED: NY Assembly Takes First Step Toward Impeachment Of Cuomo, Police Report Filed Over Groping Allegations

Biden: Cuomo Should Resign If Women’s Allegations Are True

Of the scandals currently plaguing Cuomo, the sexual harassment claims, while nauseating, are more sensational but not quite as serious as the scandals involving nursing home deaths, obstructing justice revolving around the nursing home deaths, and threatening lawmakers.

That said, whatever happened to ‘believe all women?’

Now suddenly it’s ‘believe all women as long as a thorough investigation proves they’re not lying.’

Despite near-universal calls for Cuomo’s resignation from Democrats and Republicans, President Biden continues to play it safe.

“A woman should be presumed to be telling the truth and should not be scapegoated and become victimized by her coming forward,” the President said. “There should be an investigation to determine whether what she says is true.”

Democrat New York Attorney General Letitia James is conducting an independent investigation into the numerous sexual harassment claims, one of which involves groping a female aide.

The Albany Times Union reported that Cuomo “aggressively groped” the woman “in a sexually charged manner” after summoning her to the Executive Chamber.

The incident allegedly involved the Democrat governor “reach(ing) under her blouse” and fondling her.

An incident with potential criminal activity has since been reported to Albany police by the New York State Executive Chamber.

A reporter this past weekend became the seventh woman to accuse Cuomo of inappropriate touching saying, “Andrew Cuomo’s hands had been on my body … often enough by late 2014 that I didn’t want to go to the holiday party he was hosting for the Albany press corps.”

RELATED: Cuomo Lawyers Up: Executive Chamber Hires Criminal Defense Attorney Who Represented Harvey Weinstein

Media Lets Biden Slide

Stephanopoulos, often hailed as an exemplary member of the media, failed to follow up with Biden on two obvious transitions.

One, the more severe transgression involving the nursing home scandal, in which Cuomo’s executive order last March forced senior living facilities to take on COVID-positive patients, resulting in thousands of deaths, plus the subsequent cover-up that his administration confessed to.

And two, the more obvious transition, questioning Biden about his own numerous allegations of inappropriate touching.

No, Tara Reade’s sexual assault allegations against President Biden never dawned on Stephanopoulus.

Reade made an allegation of sexual assault against Biden during a podcast back last March after alluding to harassment in his office in the past.

“His hands were on me and underneath my clothes,” she alleged, claiming that when the assault was over Biden said, “C’mon man, I heard you liked me.”

Biden has repeatedly denied Reade’s story is true, saying her “claim has changed” and that “the truth of the case is nothing like this ever, ever happened.”

Perhaps that is why Biden can’t commit to calling on Cuomo to resign based on these women’s stories.

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Joe Biden Finally Breaks Silence On Sexual Harassment Accusations Against Andrew Cuomo

Posted on by John Hanson

On Sunday, President Joe Biden personally weighed in on the controversies surrounding embattled New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, saying that he would wait until the end of the investigation to give his opinion on the proper response.

As the president returned to the White House after spending the weekend in his home state of Delaware, a reporter asked Biden if he believed Cuomo should resign.

RELATED: Pelosi Refuses To Demand Cuomo Resign – Says He ‘Should Look Inside His Heart’ To See If He Can Lead Effectively

Biden: ‘I Think The Investigation Is Underway And We Should See What It Brings Us’

Biden replied, “I think the investigation is underway and we should see what it brings us.”

For weeks, President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have remained silent on scandals that have engulfed New York’s governor even as more women have come forward to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment.

On Friday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that the president and vice president believe “every woman who has come forward deserves to have her voice heard” and should “be treated with respect.”

Prominent Democrats Calling For Cuomo’s Resignation

Yet, other high profile Democrats have begun to speak out, including asking Cuomo to step down.

On Friday, Democratic Sens. Kristen Gillibrand and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer joined many New York Congressional Democrats in calling for Cuomo’s resignation.

Cuomo: ‘I’m Not Going To Resign’

But Cuomo says he’s not going anywhere.

“I’m not going to resign,” Cuomo said, adding, “I also want to be clear: There is still a question of the truth.”

“I did not do what has been alleged,” Cuomo insisted. “Period.”

RELATED: CNN Reporter Praises Biden Speech – ‘All Americans Have Been Missing’ A President That Has Empathy

Cuomo sexual harassment controversy comes in the wake of nursing home scandal

The sexual harassment accusations against Cuomo come in the wake of his office being accused of hiding the actual number of deaths in New York nursing homes due to the governor’s COVID-19 policies, which required seniors who tested positive for the virus to be allowed to enter these facilities filled with the elderly.

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GOP Rep. Stefanik Demands Cuomo Resign For Harassing Women And ‘Criminal’ Cover-Up

Posted on by LifeZette

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) spoke out on Monday to blast Andrew Cuomo as the “worst governor in America” as calls continue to grow for him to step down.

Earlier on Monday, Republicans in the New York State Assembly launched an impeachment resolution against Cuomo, saying that he has lost “credibility and trust” and has an “inability to lead” the state after multiple aides accused him of sexual misconduct and his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic was called into question.

Stefanik Attacks Cuomo

In an interview with Fox News, Stefanik stood by dubbing him the “worst governor in America.”

“Well, he has earned that title,” she said. “Governor Cuomo has been enveloped by multiple scandals. First, you have the nursing home scandal and the cover-up, which I believe is a criminal. It’s a crime, a federal crime and an obstruction of justice.”

“You have his most senior aide admit to withholding information from the Department of Justice when they requested information on the numbers of deaths,” Stefanik continued. “And we now know that it’s over 15,000 vulnerable seniors who died because of Governor Cuomo’s nursing home edict forcing positive covid patients into nursing homes.”

Related: GOP Rep. Stefanik Demands Andrew Cuomo Resign After He’s Accused Of Sexual Harassment By Former Aide

Stefanik Doubles Down

“You also have these sexual harassment scandals, not one, not two, but five women have come forward and have shared their personal, horrific experiences of sexual abuse, sexual harassment and sexual grooming,” Stefanik added.

“It’s not just Republicans who are speaking out for his resignation,” she said.  “It’s Democrats as well. And if they really want to take action on behalf of everyday New Yorkers, they need to join Republicans to start impeachment proceedings.”

Not stopping there, Stefanik pointed out that she has been pushing for Cuomo to be investigated for months.

“The Democrats had to really be pushed to call for an investigation,” Stefanik said. “I was the first member of Congress, the first senior elected official to call for an investigation on December 14th when the first victim, Ms. Boylan, came forward. We now know there are multiple accounts. And what’s really interesting is they’re all very similar.

Related: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Accused Of Sexual Harassment By Former Staffer Lindsey Boylan

Stefanik Accuses Cuomo Of ‘Preying’ On Women

“This is about the governor preying on vulnerable, much less powerful individuals, oftentimes very young, in their 20s, alone in his office on state government property,” she continued. 

“We should take these women’s personal experiences very seriously and I call for his resignation,” Stefanik concluded. “If you look at the governor’s own statement. He has called for fellow elected officials for much less to immediately resign. He’s not following his own words.”

At the time of this writing, Cuomo has still refused to step down, despite bipartisan calls for him to do so.

This piece was written by James Samson on March 9, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

Read more at LifeZette:
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Dem Senator Hirono Blames Trump Rhetoric For Alleged Rise In Anti-Asian Hate Crimes

Posted on by LifeZette

Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) spoke out on Sunday to blame former President Donald Trump’s rhetoric on COVID-19 for an alleged spike in anti-Asian hate crimes.

“You were the first Asian-American woman elected to the Senate, a striking surge in anti-Asian hate crimes here in America. Why is this happening, and what should be done about it?” asked ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos.

Hirono Responds

“It’s happening because we didn’t have leadership at the top, starting from President Trump calling it the China virus and the Kung flu and all of that, which apparently it unleashed this kind of targeted hate crimes among Asian-Americans, and the increase is dramatic,” Hirono replied.

“Just last week in New York, a person who was just walking down the street got knifed. He is in serious condition,” she added. “Soon thereafter, four people walking in New York were knifed. One died. In California, you have incidents of 90-year-old people being knocked down, attacked. That person died.”

Related: Democratic Senator Hirono Reveals Real Goal Behind Trump Impeachment Effort

Hirono Praises Biden

“So I’m glad that Joe Biden, unlike Trump, has put this issue forward through his executive memorandum, which by the way contains many of the provisions that I put in a resolution that I tried to pass last year condemning targeted hate crimes against Asian-Americans,” she continued.

“The idea is for the attorney general, soon-to-be new attorney general, to work with community groups to prevent and prosecute these kinds of hate crimes,” Hirono said.

“So it’s being recognized by President Biden and that, you know, leadership throughout our country should condemn in no uncertain terms, when you have Asian-Americans afraid to walk down the street for the fear of being knifed, this is an issue that needs to be dealt with,” she added.

Related: Ted Cruz Mocks Dem Mazie Hirono At Senate Hearing: ‘You’re Welcome To Say Something Negative About Antifa Right Now’

Hirono Addresses Cuomo Claims

In this same interview, Hirono called for an independent investigation into the sexual harassment claims that were made against New York’s Democratic Governor George Stephanopoulos.

“The proper response for any of these kind of allegations of reprehensible, inexcusable behavior is to listen to the — mainly women who come forward … and then to do the appropriate investigation and corroboration of the allegations,” Hirono said.  

“In the case of Gov. Cuomo, it seems to me that the New York attorney general would be the independent entity to conduct such an investigation,” she added. 

This piece was written by James Samson on March 2, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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D.C. attorney general: Trump Jr.’s deposition ‘raised further questions’ about inaugural payments

Posted on by Walter Einenkel

In January of 2020, Washington, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine filed a civil complaint against the 58th Presidential Inaugural Committee (Trumps) and the two entities—the Trump Organization, which owns the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., and the Loews Hotel chain, which owned The Madison Hotel in Washington, D.C. in 2017. At issue were the exorbitant rates the Inaugural Committee paid to the hotel for private parties and rooms and spaces that were not even used. Racine pointed to evidence that people within the Inaugural Committee knew the prices were overboard and questioned them at the time. In December, Ivanka Trump had to sit for at least five hours to answer questions. Like a good grifter Trump, she claimed it was all a political witch hunt.

At around the same time Ivanka was being deposed, her older brother Junior was getting phone calls from Racine asking him about a purported $49,358.92 that the Trump Organization was contracted to pay to the hotel connected to the inauguration. It turns out that not only didn’t the Trump Organization pay that money back to itself (in essence)—the nonprofit, donor-funded Presidential Inauguration Committee ended up cutting that check back to the Trumps’ hotel interests. In fact, Trump Jr. may have been the person who forwarded that check on to the Inaugural Committee. Weeeeeeeiiiiird, huh?

Well, it turns out that while many of us were watching the awful sequel impeachment trial of Donald Trump during the week of Feb. 9, Donald Trump, Jr. was having his own deposition with Racine’s office. CNN reports that the Washington, D.C. Attorney General’s office says this new deposition "raised further questions about the nature" of that very same invoice—the one that was forwarded by the Trump Organization to the Trump Inaugural Committee to pay Trump’s hotel.

Will Trump Jr. be able to explain why the Trump Organization’s hotel bill was paid by the Trump Inaugural Committee? Let’s just guess that any excuse given by someone related to Donald Trump at this point is likely going to be less than satisfactory. But that’s not all of Junior and the Trump family’s problems. On Wednesday, the Daily Beast reported that investigators from the Manhattan district attorney’s office have begun focusing more intensely on the Donald’s eldest, least remarkable son, Donald Trump Jr., as well as on Trump’s old buddy and longstanding CFO of the Trump Organization Allen Weisselberg.

Weisselberg has been interviewed by all kinds of law enforcement agencies over the last few years, and was even offered immunity when cooperating in the FBI’s investigation into former Trump attorney Michael Cohen. According to the Daily Beast, the Manhattan investigation—not to be confused with the Washington, D.C. investigation—has “broadened the range of investigation into the Trump family’s assets, and have recruited some extra manpower.” 

The New York investigation comes out of the Donald’s tax filings and Weisselberg has already been deposed at least once by Manhattan prosecutors during the investigation. More recently, sources say that Donald Trump’s properties and the nature of the loans he’s taken out against some of his properties have been examined by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which is led by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. These investigations are different from the one being conducted by New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office, which is also investigating some of Trump’s sketchy property development loans.

Sources close to Trump say that the New York investigations—as well as all of the numerous other investigations into Trump and his family’s affairs, while on his mind—are being dismissed by the family as a political witch hunt. But maybe there’s a reason why Weisselberg was on everybody’s list of people Donald Trump may try to preemptively pardon before leaving office? Maybe all of these people have secret “break-in-case-of-emergency” pardons, as some have speculated? Maybe Trump’s attempt to load up the Supreme Court with ultra-right-wing, underqualified judges hasn’t worked as well as he had hoped in protecting his criminal behavior.

Maybe Trump’s No. 1 motivation for positioning himself to run again in 2024 is the hope that he can once and for all legalize his and his family’s apparent criminal enterprise.

Trump Lashes Out At Supreme Court For Allowing New York ‘Witch Hunt’ To Continue

Posted on by LifeZette

Former President Donald Trump spoke out on Monday to respond publicly after the the Supreme Court rejected his bid to prevent New York prosecutors from obtaining his financial records.

Trump Lashes Out At Supreme Court 

“The Supreme Court never should have let this ‘fishing expedition’ happen, but they did,” Trump wrote in a lengthy statement that was released to the press.

This came after the Supreme Court voted to reject Trump’s application to stay a lower court’s order, which allows prosecutors to subpoena his tax, financial, and bank records. This did not sit well with Trump, who blasted the effort of Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. as “a continuation of the greatest political Witch Hunt in the history of our Country.”

“The Tea Party was treated far better by the IRS than Donald Trump,” Trump said, according to The Hill. “This is something which has never happened to a President before.”

Related: Clarence Thomas: ‘Citizens Deserve Better’ Than Supreme Court Refusing To Hear PA Election Case

Trump Doubles Down

Not stopping there, the former president also ripped the investigation as a partisan effort by Democrat New York officials, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo, to punish him for winning the presidency.

“The new phenomenon of ‘headhunting’ prosecutors and AGs — who try to take down their political opponents using the law as a weapon — is a threat to the very foundation of our liberty,” Trump wrote.

Trump then warned that the ongoing probe imitated those of third world countries trying to punish their political rivals.

“That’s fascism, not justice — and that is exactly what they are trying to do with respect to me, except that the people of our Country won’t stand for it,” he wrote.

Related: Constitutional Professor: Why Senate Cannot Bar Trump From Being President Again

Despite his strong feelings on this, Trump made it clear that he has no intention of giving up.

“I will fight on, just as I have, for the last five years (even before I was successfully elected), despite all of the election crimes that were committed against me,” Trump said. “We will win!”

This comes as Trump is preparing to give a speech at CPAC this coming weekend. It remains to be seen if he will touch on the Supreme Court scandal.

This piece was written by James Samson on February 23, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

Read more at LifeZette:
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Ann Coulter Pays Touching Tribute To ‘Hilarious’ Rush Limbaugh – He Taught Us To ‘Forge Our Own Path’
Kamioner: Bush at Katrina, Biden in Texas

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