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Docs reveal 'more red flags' from group 'funneling millions of dollars to conservative causes': report

A Republican donor group was the subject of a complaint filed last week by the Campaign Legal Center alleging that it's "a shell entity specifically created to pump big donors’ money into politics while masking their identities," according to The Daily Beast.

The news outlet reports that Ardleigh Impact Corporation — a "mysterious nonprofit registered with the state of Delaware" has been "funneling millions of dollars to conservative causes."

The Washington, DC group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics' Vice President for Research and Data, Robert Maguire, told the Beast, "Everything about how this corporation was organized seems fishy. Formed in Delaware, a state where people intentionally incorporate corporations because there is no disclosure requirement for… who is behind it, where the money might be coming from."

He added, "Then the fact that this corporation apparently, just months after incorporating, had enough money to pour millions into PACs, also raises more red flags. All while it has no apparent public facing materials or business operations. It really checks all the boxes when it comes to the kind of questionable shell companies we have seen in campaign finance data."

The Beast notes that "the only publicly available evidence of the nonprofit’s existence were the donations documented in FEC reports and its articles of incorporation, which it had unsurprisingly registered with the notoriously opaque state of Delaware."

Having obtained the incorporation documents, the Beast reports:

First, the incorporation records identify the group’s organizers as experienced political operatives, including, apparently, the professional strategist who ran Dr. Mehmet Oz’s failed Senate campaign in 2022. They also show that Ardleigh Impact Corp. is not organized as a private company, but a 501(c)(4) nonprofit—a 'dark money' group. However, additional business filings show that Ardleigh Impact Corp. has an apparent twin entity—a private limited liability corporation called 'Ardleigh Impact LLC,' also registered in Delaware.

The new information increases the likelihood that Ardleigh Impact Corp. is, as the complaint alleges, specifically designed to function at least in part as a vehicle for anonymously funding political activity. However, the fact that Ardleigh Impact Corp. is a dark money nonprofit—and therefore permitted to participate in limited election activity—would also seem to rule out claims that it is a 'shell company,' potentially deflating one of the complaint’s arguments while simultaneously introducing new questions about transparency.

Common Cause Director of Legislative Affairs Aaron Scherb said, "501(c)(4s) are social welfare organizations that increasingly have been misused to spend money for political purposes. Under the IRS tax code, they don't have to disclose their donors. And so that's why they've become a popular vehicle for people who are trying to use dark money to influence political outcomes.”

CLC's director of reform, Saurav Ghosh, told the news outlet "that Ardleigh’s nonprofit status 'does not change the fact that it appears to have been used as a straw donor to funnel over $2.5 million to multiple super PACs.'"

Ghosh emphasized, "As our complaint makes clear, there is no indication that Ardleigh engaged in any activity from which it could finance these contributions without others giving it money for that purpose. And the apparent involvement of a well-known political operative only further supports the conclusion that Ardleigh was unlawfully used to conceal the true contributors’ identities from required public disclosure."

The Beast notes: "Tax regulations do not require nonprofits like Ardleigh Impact Corp. to disclose their donors, making it highly unlikely that the public will ever learn who funds the entity. By extension, that means the public will also likely never know the ultimate source of the millions of dollars that Ardleigh has already poured into those GOP groups—hence the 'dark' in 'dark money.'"

The Daily Beast's full report is available at this link (subscription required).

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Trump’s legal bills render state GOP orgs 'broke or perilously close to it': Dem strategist

The Republican National Committee's (RNC) new leadership, including Chairman Michael Whatley and Co-Chair Lara Trump, have made it clear that their top priority is Donald Trump's 2024 campaign. And Lara Trump, the former president's daughter-in-law, has no problem with GOP funds being used to pay his legal bills.

Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele, a Never Trump conservative and MSNBC host, is supporting President Joe Biden. He has been highly critical of their approach — which, according to Steele, neglects Republicans badly at the same level.

Democratic strategist Max Burns expresses similar views in an op-ed published by MSNBC on May 16. The "national party's Trump-centric fundraising plan," Burns argues, is depriving state GOPs of badly needed funds — from Colorado to Minnesota.

"A growing number of state Republican operations are either broke or perilously close to it," Burns explains. "Last year, the Minnesota Republican Party reported having only $53 in the bank and over $330,000 in debt. In January, Michigan's Republicans faced bankruptcy amid a brutal MAGA leadership fight. So much for being the party of fiscal responsibility."

According to Burns, Democrats neglected their state operations when Barack Obama was president. Obama enjoyed a decisive reelection victory in 2012, but two years earlier, U.S. House Republicans enjoyed a massive red wave. Democrats lost control of some state legislatures in key swing states—and now, Burns says, Republicans are in a similar position.

"Republicans now find themselves in a similar position to Democrats in the years following Barack Obama's successful 2008 campaign," Burns explains. "Then, Obama effectively replaced the Democratic National Committee's fundraising operations with his own Obama for America/Organizing for Action campaign operation. "

The RNC, according to the Democratic strategist, "isn't coming to the rescue" of "starved state operations."

"Republicans can thank Donald Trump for their current financial problems," Burns emphasizes. "Trump's deal with the RNC requires the party to run its donations first through his Save America PAC — which already paid over $50 million toward Trump's personal legal fees in 2023 alone. That was before RNC co-chair Lara Trump mused about skipping the middleman making the GOP pay Trump's legal bills directly…. Republicans chose an awful time to go broke."

Max Burns' full MSNBC op-ed is available at this link.

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Trump appears to violate gag order after judge threatened 'incarceration'

Despite New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan explicitly warning Donald Trump last week that any future violations of his gag order could result in jail time, the ex-president appears to have done so directly on Thursday.

“A lead person from the DOJ is running the trial,” Trump claimed, obviously referring to prosecutor Matthew Colangelo, as Law & Crime reports.

“So Biden’s office is running this trial. This trial is a scam and it’s a sham and it shouldn’t happen,” Trump told reporters outside the courtroom.

Judge Merchan’s gag order specifically prohibits trump from attacking anyone in District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, except for the D.A. himself.

“Colangelo, a lead prosecutor in the case, was criticized one day earlier by Trump ally Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, largely raising the same complaints that Trump repeated outside of court,” Law & Crime noted.

The gag order explicitly states Trump is “directed to refrain from”:

“Making or directing others to make public statements about known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses concerning their potential participation in the investigation or in this criminal proceeding; Making or directing others to make public statements” about attorneys “in the case other than the District Attorney,” “members of the court’s staff and the District Attorney’s staff, or the family members of any counsel or staff member” or “any prospective juror or any juror in this criminal proceeding.”

Ten days ago Merchan wrote in his order: “Defendant is hereby put on notice that if appropriate and warranted, future violations of its lawful orders will be punishable by incarceration.”

Watch below or at this link.

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Dem unleashes on 'do-nothing' GOP colleagues who missed votes to attend 'cult leader’s trial'

Several Republicans are once again absent from Washington to attend the criminal trial of former President Donald Trump on Manhattan. One House Democrat is pointing out that their absence comes during a critical week of legislative action.

During a Thursday meeting of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-California) tore into his Republican colleagues for holding up Congressional business to show solidarity with the ex-president more than 240 miles away from Washington.

"It's nice to see that some of my colleagues on the other side could make it today. I don't know if that means that there weren't enough seats in the courtroom in New York," Swalwell said. "I know some members will miss this vote because they want to be at the [former] president’s trial.

"I don't think that anything could animate the phrase 'do-nothing Congress' more than missing votes and cancelling hearings to go up and be a spectator at your cult leader's trial," he added. "That is the very definition of 'do-nothing Congress.'"

As Swalwell noted, Rep. James Comer (R-Kentucky), who chairs the House Oversight Committee, cancelled a Thursday hearing yesterday specifically to accommodate Republican members attending Trump's trial proceedings. That hearing is concerning a vote to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt for refusing to hand over audio of President Joe Biden's conversations with Department of Justice special counsel Robert Hur over to the GOP-controlled committees.

Hur, who declined to charge Biden with any crimes after his classified documents probe concluded, spoke with Biden on numerous occasions about his handling of classified documents stemming from his time as vice president during President Barack Obama's administration. Republicans have said the audio is necessary for their investigations into Biden, but the DOJ said Thursday that it would continue to block the committees' attempts to obtain the recordings.

"Because of the President's longstanding commitment to protecting the integrity, effectiveness, and independence of the Department of Justice and its law enforcement investigations, he has decided to assert executive privilege over the recordings," White House Counsel Edward Siskel wrote in a letter to Reps. Comer and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who chairs the Judiciary Committee.

After weeks of no prominent Republicans coming to show support for Trump, a parade of prominent figures within the GOP have taken turns being seen in the Manhattan courtroom this week. Earlier, Sens. Rick Scott (R-Florida), Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) and Tommy Tubverville (R-Alabama) made appearances at Trump's trial, along with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Florida) and North Dakota Republican Governor Doug Burgum, among others.

Even though Judge Juan Merchan's gag order prevents Trump from attacking witnesses, jurors and court staff, his surrogates have each lined up to take shots at the prohibited targets of the gag this week. Several Republicans notably went after Merchan's daughter, who has done paid consulting work for Democratic candidates.

Five Oversight Committee members — specifically Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Arizona), Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado), Michael Cloud (R-Texas), Anna Paulina Luna (R-Florida) and Mike Waltz (R-Florida) — are among the 12 Republicans in New York today.

Watch the video of Swalwell's comments below, or by clicking this link.

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'Ready to start another insurrection’: Gaetz support for Trump echoes Proud Boys order

House Republicans’ efforts to demonstrate unwavering support for Donald Trump as he stands trial in his election subversion, business records falsification, and “hush money” trial are growing, with GOP lawmakers showing up at trial and reading speeches reportedly written or edited by him that may violate the indicted ex-president’s gag order, and even pausing a House hearing so members can travel to the Manhattan Criminal Courts Building to appear behind Trump, literally and figuratively.

U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), a self-professed “ultra-MAGA” lawmaker, came under fire Thursday after posting support for Trump in words that echo the ex-president’s direction to the far-right neo-fascist group the Proud Boys. The Southern Poverty Law Center lists the Proud Boys as an extremist hate group.

During the 2020 presidential debates, Donald Trump got into a heated exchange with moderator Chris Wallace and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Wallace asked Trump to condemn white supremacists, but the ask quickly became directed toward the Proud Boys, as this clip from Politico shows:

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“Proud Boys, stand back and stand by,” quickly became a rallying cry for the Proud Boys, who went on to have leading roles in the January 6, 2021 insurrection. Four Proud Boys leaders were later convicted of seditious conspiracy, as the U.S. Dept. of Justice announced.

On Thursday, Congressman Gaetz posted to his social media account a photo of him standing behind Trump at the courthouse, with these words: “Standing back and standing by, Mr. President.”

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“Just seeing here that Matt Gaetz [made] an overt allusion to Donald Trump’s Sept. 2020 command to the Proud Boys here (some of whom are now in prison for taking that comment as a call to action on Jan. 6),” noted Politico senior legal affairs reporter Kyle Cheney.

Reuters’ Nathan Layne, remarking on Gaetz’s post, wrote: “Last year former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison. He had been convicted of seditious conspiracy for orchestrating the attack on the Capitol.”

Critics expressed concern and outrage.

“They’re ready to start another insurrection,” warned national security attorney Brad Moss.

Condé Nast Legal Affairs Editor Luke Zaleski observed, “The insurrection is coming from inside The House.”

Attorney Robert J. DeNault remarked, “Lead Proud Boy Matt Gaetz reminds us all that he will work with Donald Trump to employ violence and crime to hold onto power.”

Watch the video and read Gaetz’s post above or at this link.

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How Trump’s second term would echo Mussolini’s 'fascist strongman leadership': historian

The New Republic has published a series of articles focusing on presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump's plans for a second term if he defeats President Joe Biden in November, and the series' theme is "What American Fascism Would Look Like."

The series tackles a variety of ways in which the writers believe authoritarianism would imperil the United States if Trump returns to the White House in 2025, from immigration policies and the country's borders to public education to severe restrictions on the media. Columbia University professor Kian Tajbakhs, in one of the articles, focuses on the challenges Americans would face managing their day-to-day lives during an authoritarian crackdown.

The series also includes an in-depth essay/think piece by historian/author Ruth Ben-Ghiat, who delves into the history of fascism — including the rise of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, a.k.a. Il Duce, during the 1920s — and emphasizes that Trumpism has many fascist elements.

"During his 21 years in power, 18 of them as dictator, Il Duce framed fascism as a revolution of reaction against the left, against liberal democracy, and against any group that threatened the survival of white Christian civilization," Ben-Ghiat explains in her article, published on May 16. "Carrying out a violent destabilization of society in the name of a return to social order and national tradition, fascism pioneered the autocratic formula in use today of disenfranchising and repressing the many to allow the few to exploit the workforce, women's bodies, the environment and the economy."

The historian/author continues, "Trumpism is in this tradition. It started in 2015 as a movement fueled by conservative alarm and white rural rage at a multiracial and progressive America. It continued as an authoritarian presidency envisioned as 'a shock to the system' that unleashed waves of hate crimes against nonwhites and non-Christians. It culminated in the January 6 assault on the Capitol, which was a counterrevolutionary operation in the spirit of fascism."

Ben-Ghiat lays out some reasons why she finds Project 2025, Trump allies' blueprint for a second term, so disturbing.

"The fascists believed that you have to destroy to create, and this is what a second Trump Administration would do," Ben-Ghiat warns. "Project 2025 is a plan for an authoritarian takeover of the United States that goes by a deceptively neutral name…. The plan promises the abolition of the Department of Education and other federal agencies."

Ben-Ghiat adds, "The intent here is to destroy the legal and governance cultures of liberal democracy and create new bureaucratic structures, staffed by new politically vetted cadres, to support autocratic rule. So new agencies could appear to manage parents' and family rights, Christian affairs, and other pillars of the new order. The Department of Health and Human Services is poised to have a central role in governance, given the priorities Trumpism places on policing sexuality, weaponizing motherhood, persecuting transgender people and LGBTQ communities, and criminalizing abortion."

The historian notes that Mussolini, during the 1920s, enacted "public security" laws that "justified the arrest of anyone deemed a security threat — meaning anyone who opposed fascism from a liberal democratic or leftist point of view." And she believes that Project 2025 has similar aims.

"Given Trump’s repeated threats to carry out 'retribution' against his enemies," Ben-Ghiat warns, "expect prompt and showy announcements of trials and investigations of the political opposition, members of the January 6 Select Committee, and anyone who sought to hold him accountable….. Trump has worked hard since 2015 to condition the public to see the strongman brand of leadership as the only choice for America."

Ruth Ben-Ghiat's full essay for The New Republic is available at this link.

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'History is repeating itself': House Dem warns GOP laying groundwork for another January 6

One top House Democrat is arguing that his Republican colleagues don't appear confident that they'll come away from the November election with satisfactory results, so they're already sowing doubt and mistrust about the result.

In a Thursday op-ed for The Hill, Rep. Joe Morelle (D-New York) warned that the GOP is showing signs of gearing up for a major post-election fight to discredit a potential loss. He zeroed in on former President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-Louisiana) recent "doubling down on their efforts to undermine the sanctity of our elections, with the false claim that millions of noncitizens are voting in our federal elections."

He noted that claims about 2020 election fraud that were repeatedly debunked nonetheless became a primary motivator for thousands of Trump supporters to descend on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 and attempt to forcibly overturn election results.

"Unfortunately, this history is repeating itself in real time," Morelle wrote. "We are watching the same cast of characters performing from the same script."

Morelle noted that even Johnson admitted that his claims that millions of undocumented immigrants supposedly casting fraudulent ballots was not "provable," despite his crusade. The House Democrat observed that the "myth" of massive non-citizen voter fraud has already been "debunked," citing research from the Brennan Center for Justice.

"It’s a federal crime for noncitizens to vote in federal elections. It’s also a crime under every state’s laws. In fact, under federal law, you could face up to five years in prison simply for registering to vote. It’s also a deportable offense for noncitizens to register or vote," Brennan's Sean Morales-Doyle wrote last month. "Every legitimate study ever done on the question shows that voting by noncitizens in state and federal elections is vanishingly rare. That includes the Brennan Center’s own study of 42 jurisdictions in the 2016 general election."

"We found that election officials in those places, who oversaw the tabulation of 23.5 million votes, referred only an estimated 30 incidents of suspected noncitizen voting for further investigation or prosecution," Morales-Doyle added. "In other words, even suspected — not proven — noncitizen votes accounted for just 0.0001 percent of the votes cast."

Morelle argued that the fact that Trump, Johnson and the GOP are still crowing about non-citizen voting suggests they "clearly have contempt for the intelligence of American voters."

"Here’s the part they’re not saying out loud: Speaker Johnson and House Republicans are not actually concerned about noncitizens voting in federal elections," Morelle wrote. "They admit they have no evidence to back up their claims. Their real ambition is to lay the groundwork for blame and obfuscation to do violence to the Constitution and deny the people their say in the outcome of this election."

We have been here before. We cannot ignore the potential for another January 6," he added.

Click here to read Rep. Morelle's full op-ed in The Hill.

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Jared Kushner blasted over new $500 million 'present' from Serbian government

In Belgrade, Serbia, protesters voiced their displeasure with a real estate deal involving former Trump White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner, former Trump Administration aide Richard Grenell and the Serbian government.

The project, according to the New York Times' Eric Lipton, calls for a $500 million hotel that would be built on the site the former Yugoslav Ministry of Defense. And it would, Lipton notes, put Kushner "directly into business with a European state as his father-in-law, Donald J. Trump, vies to return to the White House."

"The complex was bombed in 1999 by NATO forces with the backing of the United States during the war Serbia was then waging with Kosovo," Lipton explains. "It is now considered a prime undeveloped real-estate site in the middle of a much-changed city, and Mr. Trump himself had considered building a hotel at the same site in 2013."

The reporter adds, "For Mr. Kushner, who is also planning two luxury hotel projects in neighboring Albania, these deals in the Balkans are among the largest he has made since starting his investment firm, (Affinity Partners)…. Mr. Kushner and his partners plan to build a hotel, retail space and more than 1500 residential units."

But not everyone in Serbia's federal government is happy about the deal, which, according to Lipton, has "drawn criticism from opposition leaders in the Serbian parliament."

Lipton reports, "Protesters blocked traffic in front of the former defense ministry headquarters on Thursday and put up signs questioning the decision, including some that said: 'Stop Giving Army HQ as a Present to American Offshore Companies'…. Some in Serbia object to the plan because of the United States' role in the bombing 25 years ago."

Dragan Jonic is among the Serbian MPs voicing his opposition to the deal.

Meanwhile, in the United States, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) and Rep. Robert Garcia (D-California) are among the Democrats who have been speaking out against Kushner's activities in Europe.

In a March 26 press release, Raskin and Garcia warned, "Jared Kushner is pursuing new foreign business deals, just as Donald Trump becomes the presumptive Republican nominee for the presidency."

Read The New York Times' full report at this link (subscription required).

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'Chop them up, distort them': White House slams 'improper threats' as it blocks Hur tapes

As House Republicans move to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt for refusing to hand over the audio tapes of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s interviews with President Joe Biden, the White House Counsel has notified two House committee chairmen President Biden is invoking executive privilege on those tapes.

“The absence of a legitimate need for the audio recordings lays bare your likely goal—to chop them up, distort them, and use them for partisan political purposes,” White House Counsel Edward Siskel wrote in his letter to Republican Chairmen Jim Comer and Jim Jordan, as Politico reported. “Demanding such sensitive and constitutionally-protected law enforcement materials from the Executive Branch because you want to manipulate them for potential political gain is inappropriate.”

Siskel also reminded the chairs that the Dept. of Justice has already provided them with the transcripts of the interviews, and noted “the Attorney General has warned that the disclosure of materials like these audio recordings risks harming future law enforcement investigations by making it less likely that witnesses in high-profile investigations will voluntarily cooperate.”

The White House Counsel also unleashed strong criticism of the House chairmen’s prior actions, as proof of what he says is their likely goal.

“Rather than demonstrating respect for the rule of law, this contempt proceeding is just the latest in the Committees’ damaging efforts to undermine the very independence and impartiality of the Department of Justice and criminal justice system that President Biden seeks to protect. Your subpoenas and contempt threats come in the wake of the Committees’ efforts to go after prosecutors you do not like, attack witnesses in cases you disapprove of, and demand information from ongoing investigations and prosecutions, despite longstanding norms that these law enforcement processes should be allowed to play out free from such political interference.”

House Republicans for the past week have taken rotating shifts to show support for indicted ex-president Donald Trump at the courthouse where his trial on 34 felony charges is being held. House and Senate Republicans, and even the Speaker of the House, at various times have attacked the judicial system, witnesses, the judge, his daughter, and the District Attorney.

Siskel closes his letter with an apparent accusation of “improper threats.”

“The President will continue to protect the rule of law, and his Administration will continue to work in good faith to accommodate Congress’s legitimate interests, while standing up to improper threats to the independence of the nation’s justice system.”

Attorney General Garland appointed Robert Hur, a former Trump-era U.S. Attorney, to become a special counsel and head the investigation into President Biden’s mishandling of classified documents when he was a Vice President. While Hur found no evidence of criminal conduct and declined to press charges, his highly-controversial and, according to Democrats, highly-politicized 345-page report, was fodder for the media and congressional Republicans for weeks.

At one point in the report Hur described President Biden as “a well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” while, in a transcript of his interview with the President, the special counsel told him he appeared to have “photographic” recall. Those details were the subject of a tense exchange when Hur testified before Congress.

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CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen, a former U.S. Ambassador and a special counsel for ethics and government reform under President Barack Obama, says he supports President Biden’s move.

“I handled executive privilege assertions as Special Counsel in WH & for Congress,” Eisen writes on social media. “Witness interviews are some of the most sensitive materials & DOJ commonly protects.”

“I agree with Exec[utive] Priv[ilege] call here.”

He notes the “Hur investigation is done & dusted, with NO finding of criminality.”

“Special Counsel report was already subject of mischief.”

Watch the video above or at this link.

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Robert Reich: Hush money trial exposes Trumpworld’s depravity and 'ethical loathsomeness'

If Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's former personal attorney and fixer, is Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr.'s final witness in the hush money/falsified business trial, the prosecution may officially rest its case this week.

Judge Juan Merchan was hoping the trial would move along at a rapid pace, and he is getting his wish. Cohen's testimony follows testimony from Bragg's other star witnesses, including adult film performer Stormy Daniels, former National Enquirer Publisher David Pecker, and former Trump White House adviser Hope Hicks.

During his testimony, Cohen has detailed his role in hush money payments made to Daniels during the 2016 presidential election — and he hasn't hesitated to say that he takes no pride in his actions.

In an opinion column published by The Guardian on May 16, liberal economist Robert Reich laments that testimony during the trial shows just how much corruption and depravity there is in Trump World.

"The trial has introduced us to a world of moral and ethical loathsomeness in which people use and abuse one another routinely," Reich laments. "It's Trump World."

Reich doesn't use his May 16 column to preach sexual morality. The former Clinton Administration labor secretary emphasizes that he doesn't automatically condemn Trump because he "had extramarital affairs," and he writes that "adult film stars" like Daniels "are entitled to do as they wish to make money."

But the behavior described during Trump's trial, Reich writes, takes corruption in politics to a whole other level.

"I am not naive about how the world works," Reich writes. "I've spent years in Washington, many of them around powerful people. I have seen the seamy side of U.S. politics and business. But the people who inhabit Trump World live in a more extreme place, where there are no norms, no standards of decency, no common good."

Reich continues, "There are only opportunities to make money and the dangers of being ripped off. It's a place where there are no relationships, only transactions."

Robert Reich's full column for The Guardian is available at this link.

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'Serious concerns': Dems say Thomas may be liable for 'violations of federal tax laws'

Two Senate Democrats recently sent a letter to the attorney for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas asking for clarification on a loan from a wealthy Republican donor, saying the justice has not been forthcoming about whether he's satisfied both ethical reporting requirements and federal tax obligations.

The New Republic's Greg Sargent wrote Thursday that Democrats are trying to get to the bottom of whether Thomas paid back the principal for a loan of $267,000 by businessman Anthony Welters to purchase a luxury recreational vehicle. Welters has said the loan has since been "satisfied," but it's not clear if that means Thomas actually paid back the loan or if it was forgiven. In their letter to Thomas' lawyer Elliot Berke, Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) wrote that forgiving that loan would amount to a gift constituting "a significant amount of taxable income."

"Your client’s refusal to clarify how the loan was resolved raises serious concerns regarding violations of federal tax laws," they wrote.

Thomas has only said that he "made all payments" on a "regular basis until the terms of the agreement were satisfied in full." That agreement stipulated that Thomas was to make payments on the 7.5% interest rate for five years, then the principal would come due. The Senate Finance Committee — which Wyden chairs — found that Thomas actually only paid back a small portion of the interest, and that the principal itself was forgiven by Welters around 2008.

"The Justice acts as if the freebies and special favors Americans are reading about — comped flights on private jets and trips on luxury yachts, mega-wealthy individuals paying for school tuition, quarter-million dollar debts wiped away — is totally normal stuff," Wyden stated in February. "The reality is, it is not. It isn’t normal for anybody. And when the person receiving all these extravagant handouts is one of the nine most powerful jurists in the country — with unchecked power to rewrite laws from the bench — it looks a lot worse."

Wyden told Sargent that he only has more questions for Thomas based on the limited amount of information the justice has provided, saying it "raises the question of whether this justice is in compliance with federal tax law, which requires a disclosure of forgiven debt and taxable income."

"The central question is: Did he ever repay the principal?" Wyden said.

“We’re giving the justice the opportunity to clear this huge mess up," he added. “Nobody in this country is above the law. Not even Supreme Court justices.”

Clarence Thomas not being forthright about whether he paid taxes on the gift is important to the reputation of the Court as a whole, according to Stephen Vladeck, who is a law professor at the University of Texas-Austin. He said Americans are justifiably "worried about even the appearance that [justices] are deciding cases in ways that are consistent with their financial interests."

“We want judges and justices who are participating in the system and not subverting it,” Vladeck said, adding that it's incumbent on federal judges to “lead by example.”

Click here to read Sargent's article in full (subscription required).

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Fox News has total meltdown over 'radical left-wing hacks' for 'deep state' hosting debates

Democratic incumbent President Joe Biden and presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump have agreed to two debates: the first hosted by CNN in Atlanta on June 27, the second by ABC News on September 10.

June 27 is early for a presidential debate, as the Republican National Convention won't be held until July 15-18 in Milwaukee — and its Democratic counterpart isn't until August 19-22 in Chicago. Biden's supporters view the June 27 debate as a golden opportunity for the president, as it will give him a chance to hammer Trump issue by issue and, they hope, improve his poll numbers. Many polls released in May have showed Biden narrowly trailing Trump by single digits in key swing states.

But some far-right pundits at Fox News are furious about the debates, including Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity and Jesse Watters.

Ingraham complained that Biden needs a "game changer" performance and is hoping to get it "with the help of" CNN hosts Dana Bash and Jake Tapper.

Watters sarcastically commented, "Both moderators say Trump's Hitler, so the debate will be fair and balanced. Is Tapper going to cut the cameras away from Trump to fact-check him? We'll have to see."

Watters also attacked ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, saying that he "praised the deep state and said Trump's a threat to democracy" and adding, "I’m sure they'll be calling balls and strikes.”

Hannity slammed Tapper as a "radical left-wing partisan talk show host" who is "masquerading as a journalist" and claimed that CNN "is filled with left-wing hacks who we know hate" Trump.

The Daily Beast's William Vaillancourt observes, "It didn’t take long at all for some of Fox News' most-watched hosts to frame next month's debate between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump, which was announced Wednesday morning, as unfair to the presumptive GOP nominee."

Although Fox News hosts have been attacking CNN and ABC News as too biased to be hosting the debates, they haven't had a lot to say about the controversy that surrounded the right-wing cable news channel's coverage of the last U.S. presidential election.

Fox News was sued by Dominion Voting Systems and its competitor Smartmatic after promoting the false, thoroughly debunked claim that their equipment was used to help Biden steal the 2020 presidential election from Trump. In 2023, Fox News agreed to a $787.5 million settlement with Dominion, although Smartmatic's $2.7 billion lawsuit against Fox News is ongoing.

In an op-ed published on May 16, the Daily Beast's David Rothkopf doesn't agree with far-right claims that CNN and ABC News are too biased to be hosting the presidential debates. But he does argue that the debates could be a golden opportunity for Biden, as Trump is "out of practice" when it comes to debating as well as "bad at it."

Moreover, Rothkopf argues, the debates give Biden a chance to hammer Trump on issue after issue.

"In the view of those close to Biden," Rothkopf writes, "Trump's got a serious problem on the issues. He's on the wrong side of the American public on many of the policy questions most important to them. For example, Trump keeps proclaiming he is the one responsible for the repeal of Roe v. Wade. "

Rothkopf adds, "Almost two-thirds of all women and over six out of ten men support legal abortion according to a recent Pew report.… (Trump) loves Vladimir Putin, for example. In a Pew poll last year, 91 percent of Americans indicated they have an unfavorable view of Russia, with 62 percent having views that are very unfavorable."

Trump still knows how to fire up his hardcore supporters at MAGA rallies. But Rothkopf stresses that the debate format is problematic for Trump given his lack of self-discipline.

"Trump's defective character is so clear, and the danger he presents is so great, that the current president will have a hard time looking worse in comparison," Rothkopf writes. "The contrasts between the two men and their beliefs could not be starker."

Read the Daily Beast's full Fox News coverage at this link and David Rothkoph's Daily Beast op-ed here (subscription required).

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Biden 'heavily' investing in these 3 states that are 'key to the whole election': analysis

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump's path to 270 electoral votes this November will go through a handful of states whose Electoral College votes are the most highly coveted. And Biden's campaign has identified the three that will receive a bulk of their time, money and attention over the next six months.

According to a Thursday report in the Wall Street Journal, Biden's campaign is investing "heavily" in the so-called "Blue Wall" states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which could deliver the presidency for him if he also takes Nebraska's 2nd congressional district. The Journal's Ken Thomas and Catherine Lucey wrote that without those three states — which they described as "key to the whole election" — Biden's path to 270 gets much harder, as it relies on beating Trump in more difficult swing states like Arizona, Georgia and Nevada.

“The Blue Wall is the path of least resistance to 270,” American Bridge super PAC co-founder Bradley Beychok told the Journal. He said that even though his group is spending $140 million on ads targeting women voters in those states, the Blue Wall is "not the only path."

Those three states, which have 44 combined Electoral College votes between them, earned their name as they reliably voted for Democratic presidential candidates in every election since 1992 with the exception of 2016. That year, Trump won the Blue Wall with just over 77,000 more combined votes than Hillary Clinton across the three states.

While Clinton never personally set foot in the Badger State in 2016, Biden isn't taking Wisconsin for granted. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisconsin), who represents the Democratic stronghold of Madison, said Biden "certainly is showing up a lot" but cautioned that he has more work to do if he hopes to win Wisconsin's 10 Electoral College votes.

"[There are] still some headwinds around cost of living," Pocan told the Journal. "There’s some specific headwinds around the war in the Middle East, specifically, on conditions in Gaza."

Perhaps the most important state of the three is Pennsylvania. One unnamed Democratic official hailing from the Keystone State told the Journal that it would be "impossible" for Biden to get to 270 electoral votes without his state's 19. Biden reportedly confided to Philadelphia Democratic Party chairman Bob Brady that he feels optimistic about his chances in his home state because "I have all these offices in Pennsylvania and Trump doesn’t even have one."

To notch a win in Pennsylvania, the Biden campaign is counting on the public support of Governor Josh Shapiro (D), the popular former attorney general who defeated Trump-supporting election denier Doug Mastriano in 2022. Another governor he's counting on for swing state voter turnout is Gretchen Whitmer, the Democratic governor of Michigan. Whitmer, who won a second term in 2022, is seen as instrumental to a Biden victory by a former Democratic congressman from the Mitten State.

“I think if [Biden] wins Michigan, he has to thank Gov. Whitmer for that,” longtime former Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Michigan told Journal). “My hope and my belief is that she will get the party faithful to come back home.”

Each campaign's respective war chest may make the critical difference down the stretch. Biden is far ahead of Trump in the money race, with $71 million in cash on hand after raising nearly $129 million so far, while Trump has just $33 million on hand out of $96 million raised.

Click here to read the Journal's report in its entirety (subscription required).

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'Tight-lipped' House Ethics Committee quietly subpoenas DOJ records in Matt Gaetz probe

Although Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) has a strong rapport with former President Donald Trump and other MAGA Republicans, the far-right congressman remains a divisive figure in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Allies of former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-California) still resent Gaetz for triggering the "motion to vacate" that led to him being ousted as House speaker. And Gaetz has been the subject of an ongoing probe by the House Ethics Committee, which is chaired by Rep. Michael Guest (R-Mississippi).

According to Politico sources, the Ethics Committee has subpoenaed the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for information on Gaetz.

The DOJ investigated allegations of Gaetz having sex with a minor — allegations that Gaetz has flatly denied. But that investigation was concluded in 2023, and no charges were ever filed.

Politico's Jordain Carney, in an article published on May 16, explains, "The subpoena from the notoriously private (Ethics) Committee has not been previously reported…. The tight-lipped panel, which generally won't comment on an investigation until its conclusion except with occasional non-descript updates, has been quietly moving forward with a long-running investigation into Gaetz."

Carney notes that Gaetz has "characterized the investigation by the House panel as an attempt to get back at him for his role in spearheading the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy last fall."

"The tight-lipped panel, which generally won't comment on an investigation until its conclusion except with occasional non-descript updates, has been quietly moving forward with a long-running investigation into Gaetz," Carney reports. "The (Ethics) Committee said, in 2021, that it would look into a range of allegations, which Gaetz has repeatedly denied, including those involving sexual misconduct and illicit drug use."

Read Politico's full report at this link.

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Mary Trump: Here’s why Ivanka and Don Jr. haven’t show up to their father’s 'tawdry' trial

The niece of former President Donald Trump recently weighed in on why two of her high-profile cousins haven't yet shown up in Manhattan to stand by their father in his first criminal trial.

During a Wednesday night MSNBC YouTube stream, Mary Trump was asked why she thinks Donald Trump Jr. — the ex-president's eldest son — and his eldest daughter Ivanka are absent from trial proceedings. She responded that they see little to be gained by standing alongside their father in Manhattan.

"Ivanka made the calculation a long time ago that it was not in her best interests to remain in any way associated with the rest of her family. She doesn’t need them,” Mary Trump said. “All of these relationships are transactional. She is a legitimately wealthy person because of the person she is married to. She doesn’t need Donald for anything."

"She’s not going to show up in a courtroom to support him especially in a case which is so, seriously, at its base so depressingly tawdry," she added.

In regard to Donald Trump Jr., Mary observed that his brother, Eric, simply drew "the short straw," noting that it would either be he or his brother going to the trial, and that both going wouldn't make sense. However, she added that if their father demanded it, all would be in attendance "maybe with the exception of Ivanka."

Mary Trump then used their absence to posit that perhaps their father cares less about the support of his own children than he does about public support from Republicans, like the ones who recently held a press conference outside the courtroom.

"He’s much more disturbed by the absence of crowds outside rallying in his defense which is why we’re seeing this parade of increasingly pathetic and sycophantic members of Congress who should be maybe governing but are taking time out of their apparently not very busy days to help undermine Americans’ confidence in the rule of law," she said.

Earlier this week, a slew of Republicans vying to be Trump's running mate traveled to Manhattan to defend the presumptive 2024 Republican nominee. This included both elected officials like North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum (R), Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Florida), House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and Sens. Tim Scott (R-Alabama) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) as well as businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.

Mary Trump added that Trump's two oldest adult children not showing their faces was more proof that their relationship was more "transactional" than anything else.

"[Donald Sr.'s] narcissistic needs are much greater than that so somebody else is going to have to make him feel better on that score but it’s a pretty obviously transactional family and if they’re not getting anything out of it, there’s no reason for them to be there," she said.

Watch the video of Mary Trump's segment below, or by clicking this link.

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Kellyanne Conway 'privately encouraged Trump' to make Tim Scott his running mate: report

A group of about twenty one lawmakers, political pundits, and failed GOP candidates are in the running to become Donald Trump's running mate in his 2024 presidential campaign, according to a list published by The New York Times this week.

One of the failed GOP candidates vying for vice president — US Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) — has "been getting help" from a prominent Republican who helped Trump take the White House in 2016, The Daily Beast exclusively reported Wednesday.

Per the Beast, GOP political consultant and pollster Kellyanne Conway, who served as the ex-president's Senior Counselor, has "privately encouraged Trump to partner with Scott."

Three sources familiar with the matter told the news outlet that Conway has confirmed her support of the South Carolina senator, and that Scott is "hoping that her advocacy can carry him across the line."

However, one source says Conway's influence may not mean much.

They told the "Beast that while Conway’s lobbying efforts on Scott’s behalf are authentic—as is her sway with Trump—Scott would be a flawed choice, and Conway’s influence may ultimately 'convince him to make a mistake.'"

The source emphasized, "Here’s the thing about Kellyanne: people dismiss her for a variety of reasons; she’s not particularly smart and doesn’t really come up with a lot of good ideas, she’s always chasing money and that’s what guides her decision making."

On the other hand, the source also noted that Conway "does have Trump figured out like no one else."

"If anyone can convince him to make a mistake—and later assign blame to someone else—it’s Kellyanne.”

The Beast reports that in addition to Scott, US Senator Marco Rubio's (R-FL) is also "at the top of Conway’s list to be Trump’s running mate."

The Daily Beast's full report is here (subscription required).

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'Might use it to vote': Kudlow and Blackburn fearmonger Biden giving undocumented green cards

U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Fox News Business host Larry Kudlow are promoting a false, fearmongering conspiracy theory President Joe Biden will be handing out green cards to undocumented immigrants in an effort to help them vote. Their remarks come as ex-president Donald Trump, running to retake the White House, has amped up his anti-immigrant focus.

Kudlow on Wednesday said he worries “a lot” that President Biden will be giving green cards to undocumented immigrants who will use them to vote. Senator Blackburn agreed, telling the former Trump National Economic Council Director, “they’re gonna try to vote.”

Green card holders are not U.S. citizens, and only U.S. citizens can vote, with a handful of exceptions in local jurisdictions, but only U.S, citizens can vote in federal elections. Presenting a green card as “proof” of citizenship in states that require it to vote would have the exact opposite effect, proving ineligibility.

Kudlow and Blackburn falsely suggested both undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers who are legally in the United States, may be voting using green cards, with Sen. Blackburn increasing the fearmongering by falsely implying all undocumented immigrants are dangerous.

“I mean, I don’t know, is Biden – he’s not going to address any of that,” Kudlow told Blackburn. “He’s not going to really reform asylum policy. He’s gonna give everybody [a] green card. That’s my biggest concern. As you probably know, ma’am, you know, you have a green card or some kind of temporary visa, you might use it to vote. You might use it to vote, even though you’re not a citizen. That worries me a lot.”

“Well, it should,” the Tennessee Republican who has a history of fear-mongering, and has been accused of promoting white Christian nationalism, told Kudlow.

“These are really bad people and your audience needs to think of this in terms of the population of a city of that size, of one and a half million people, and then you’re so right there,” Blackburn said. “This administration is saying we’re going to give you IDs this summer. We’re going to give you work permits if you’re a[n asylum] parolee, what are they gonna do, they’re gonna try to vote.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Kudlow replied.

Watch below or at this link.

Larry Kudlow says Biden will give migrants green cards: \u201cYou have a green card or some kind of temporary visa \u2026\u00a0you might use it to vote, even though you\u2019re not a citizen. That worries me a lot.\u201d Sen. Marsha Blackburn agrees.\n\nGreen card means you\u2019re *not* a citizen, can\u2019t vote.
— (@)

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'Very difficult to watch': Romney blasts fellow Republicans for 'prostrating' at Trump trial

Former President Donald Trump's ongoing criminal trial in Manhattan recently attracted a throng of Republicans in blue suits and red ties all taking turns praising the ex-president while bashing the trial, the witnesses and Judge Juan Merchan. One Senate Republican wasn't impressed by the show of fealty to the 45th U.S. president.

In a recent interview in Washington, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) spoke candidly about his fellow Republicans, which included House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and some of his colleagues like Sens. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama). Romney said the display of loyalty to the presumptive GOP nominee by those vying to be Trump's running mate was "really very difficult to watch."

"There is a level of dignity and decorum that you expect from people who are running for the highest station in the land, and going out and prostrating themselves in front of the public to try and apparently curry favor with the person whose our nominee, it's a little embarrassing," Romney said.

Romney — who isn't running for another term this fall — also opined that his fellow Republicans were debasing themselves in New York despite the sordid nature of the facts coming out in the trial proceedings. The 2012 GOP presidential nominee observed that it was "demeaning" for high-profile Republicans to effectively put their reputations on the line by defending the honor of a man disputing "an allegation of paying a porn star."

Of course, while Romney has not been shy about criticizing Trump, he's also been critical of President Joe Biden's Department of Justice for prosecuting the ex-president. In a separate interview with NBC's Stephanie Ruhle, the Utah senator said that if he were president, he would have "immediately" issued a presidential pardon to Trump. He cited Lyndon Baines' Johnson's pardon of Richard Nixon as an example.

"I'd have pardoned President Trump. Why? Well, because it makes me, President Biden, the big guy and the person I pardoned a little guy," Romney said. He also added he would have pressured Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to not bring criminal charges in their respective investigations.

"I have been around for a while. If LBJ had been president, and he didn’t want something like this to happen, he’d have been all over that prosecutor saying, ‘You better not bring that forward or I’m gonna drive you out of office,'" Romney said.

Trump's trial is in its fifth week, and defense attorneys are cross-examining former Trump attorney and fixer Michael Cohen, who is seen as one of Bragg's star witnesses. Prosecutors have said they plan to rest their case after Cohen is finished, and Trump's lawyers haven't yet clarified whether they plan to call any witnesses, or bring Trump himself to the witness stand.

Despite Romney being outspokenly critical of Trump, he has yet to say definitively how he would vote in November. The Utah senator may elaborate on his choice for president in a Wednesday night CNN interview at 11 PM.

Click here to read Romney's comments in USA TODAY, and click here to read his interview with NBC.

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George Conway speaking directly in camera to Trump: 'You are a wuss'

Conservative lawyer George Conway does not typically mince words when it comes to how he feels about Donald Trump.

During a Wednesday interview with MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace — speaking directly in the camera to the former president — Conway predicted that the MAGA hopeful will not testify in his ongoing New York hush money trial because he's a terrified "wuss."

"If I were his lawyer," the legal analyst told Wallace, "in a million years, I would never tell him to testify. I would tell him not to testify. And it reminds me of that passage towards the end of one of [veteran Washington Post journalist] Bob Woodward's books on the [Trump] administration, where Woodward quotes John Dowd — Trump's original personal lawyer — as saying, 'The reason why he couldn't testify is because he's an effing liar.' You can't let him testify. He would be torn to shreds in about three minutes."

Conway continued, "But that said — he never listens to his laywers. If he doesn't testify, it's not going to be because he all of a sudden decided to follow legal advice. He's causing his lawyers to do stupid things in court, like the cross-examination of Stormy, and the miscues the other day with the cross-examination with Michael Cohen. He doesn't listen to his lawyers."

"If he doesn't testify, it's because he's scared."

Speaking into the camera, the conservative lawyer said, "Donald, you are scared. You like to go out and stand out there in the hallway and say all because nobody gets to ask you questions. And if they ask questions, you walk away."

"You, Donald — and I hope you're listening to me — you are a wuss. You are scared of actually doing what Stormy Daniels had to do. and what Michael Cohen had to do and what every other person who is called -- you know, you can't call these people liars, Donald, unless you go on the stand and tell your truth. Let's hear it. Are you afraid, Donald? I think you are."

Watch the video below or at this link.

George Conway speaks directly in camera to Donald Trump: 'You are a wuss'www.youtube.com

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'Long history of playing games': Biden campaign shuts down Trump’s tantrum

The Biden campaign on Wednesday proposed a series of two debates with very specific rules, including shutting off the microphone of the candidate not answering a question, and Donald Trump quickly accepted the invitations, including the stipulations, before turning around and proposing an additional series of debates.

In a stinging response the Biden campaign rejected Trump’s proposal.

“Donald Trump has a long history of playing games with debates: complaining about the rules, breaking those rules, pulling out at the last minute, or not showing up at all – which he’s done repeatedly in all three cycles he’s run for president,” said Biden-Harris 2024 Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon in a statement received by NCRM. “He said he would debate President Biden anytime, anywhere, anyplace. In fact, he’s said and posted it dozens of times with varying degrees of comprehension and basic grammar. President Biden made his terms clear for two one-on-one debates, and Donald Trump accepted those terms. No more games. No more chaos, no more debate about debates. We’ll see Donald Trump on June 27th in Atlanta – if he shows up.”

Politico warned Wednesday afternoon the “agreement does not ensure that either of the debates will happen. In fact, shortly after the campaigns agreed to two debates, the Trump campaign proposed two more.”

Early Wednesday morning President Joe Biden posted a video to social media, saying, “Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020. Since then, he hasn’t shown up for a debate. Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again. Well, make my day, pal. I’ll even do it twice.”

Biden also ridiculed Trump’s schedule, which currently has him in court four days a week.

“I hear you’re free on Wednesdays,” Biden mocked.

Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020. Since then, he hasn\u2019t shown up for a debate.\n\nNow he\u2019s acting like he wants to debate me again.\n\nWell, make my day, pal.
— (@)

Barely hours later, Biden, keeping the same tone, posted to social media: “I’ve also received and accepted an invitation to a debate hosted by ABC on Tuesday, September 10th. Trump says he’ll arrange his own transportation. I’ll bring my plane, too. I plan on keeping it for another four years.”

Trump on his social media website wrote, “It is my great honor to accept the CNN Debate against Crooked Joe Biden, the WORST PRESIDENT in the History of the United States and a true Threat to Democracy, on June 27th. Likewise, I accept the ABC News Debate against Crooked Joe on September 10th. Thank you, DJT!”

Also on his Truth Social page Wednesday, Trump had written, “I would strongly recommend more than two debates and, for excitement purposes, a very large venue, although Biden is supposedly afraid of crowds – That’s only because he doesn’t get them. Just tell me when, I’ll be there. ‘Let’s get ready to Rumble!!!'”

CNN’s Kristin Holmes reported Wednesday afternoon the Trump campaign is “a little bit irked right now, the fact that Joe Biden somehow took over the debate narrative despite the fact that Donald Trump has been using this as a narrative at all his campaign rallies.”

Holmes: Talking to Trump's senior advisers and those in his orbit, they're a little bit irked right now, the fact that Joe Biden somehow took over the debate narrative\u2026
— (@)

Watch the videos above or at this link.

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Jean-Pierre defies badgering Fox News reporter: 'I am not going to do political punditry from here'

Fox News reporter Peter Doocy, as he often does during White House press briefings, attempted to push White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre's buttons regarding her boss — President Joe Biden's — decision to debate Donald Trump on June 27.

Doocy said, "I know you don’t want to talk about campaign stuff…"

Jean-Pierre interrupted, saying, "I really don't. It's not even that I don't want to — I can’t."

Doocy continued, "Then how about your insight as the most prominent political communicator in the world, the White House press secretary..."

Jean-Pierre replied, "In the world?"

The Fox News reporter went on to ask, "Does a person generally want to debate when they are winning, or when they are losing?"

Jean-Pierre replied, "I am not going to do political punditry from here, my friend."

The Fox News correspondent also "poked" Pierre regarding Donald Trump's polling over President Joe Biden in some states, according to HuffPost, "asking how a 'criminal defendant' could be ahead" of Biden "in five battleground states."

The news outlet notes: "Doocy was referring to New York Times polls that showed former President Donald Trump, who’s on trial over concealing hush money payments, beating Biden in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania. The incumbent won all of those swing states in 2020."

Doocy continued to push Jean-Pierre's buttons, asking, “So more broadly then, have you considered in the White House that some of President Biden’s recent policy positions could be a turnoff to the people that used to like him?"

The White House press secretary pointed to the fact that "combating student debt and Big Pharma have earned mass approval."

She told Doocy, "So what the president is actually doing is popular with what the majority of Americans want to do. Even in protecting reproductive rights, something that Republicans are not on the right side of history. You think about what extreme elected officials want to do. The president wants to protect and make sure that we actually are giving a woman a right to make really difficult decisions on their health care. So that part I certainly disagree with you on."

Watch the video below or at this link.

Doocy: \u201cI know you don\u2019t want to talk about campaign stuff\u2026\u201d\n\nKarine Jean-Pierre: \u201cI can\u2019t.\u201d\n\nDoocy: \u201cThen how bout your insight as the most prominent political communicator in the world. \u2026 Does a person generally want to debate when they are winning, or when they are losing?\u201d
— (@)

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