Donald Trump news and discussions

[weatheriscool]

Fulton County investigators have another recording of a Trump ph call pressuring a Georgia officials
CNN
—

Fulton County investigators have an audio recording of a phone call that former President Donald Trump made to the Georgia House speaker to push for a special session to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in the state, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The Fulton County special grand jury, which investigated Trump’s actions in the state after the 2020 election, heard the recording of Trump’s call to David Ralston, according to five of the jurors who spoke anonymously to the AJC. A source confirmed to CNN the existence of the recording, which hasn’t been made public.

The recording adds to what’s known about the pressure campaign by Trump and his allies on Georgia officials. It’s the third audio recording of the former president’s phone calls to Georgia officials that is known to exist.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/15/politics ... %3A01%3A04

[weatheriscool]

Behind the scenes of the Trump grand jury
https://www.ajc.com/politics/exclusive- ... R4B7UTZPE/

The bomb-sniffing dog was new. The special grand jurors investigating interference in Georgia’s 2020 elections hadn’t before seen that level of security on the third floor of the Fulton County courthouse where they had been meeting in secret for nearly eight months.

Oh, God, I hope it doesn’t find anything, one juror recalled thinking as the German Shepherd inspected the room. “It was unexpected. We were not warned of that,” she said.

The reason for the heightened surveillance was the day’s star witness: Michael Flynn, former President Donald Trump’s national security adviser. An election denier who suggested martial law should be imposed to seize voting machines in Georgia and other swing states where Trump lost, Flynn had only agreed to appear after being compelled to by two courts in his home state of Florida.

Fulton law enforcement was taking no chances on that unseasonably warm December day, concerned about who might turn up to protect Flynn, a prominent figure among far-right, conspiracy theorist and Christian nationalist groups. Outside, on the courthouse steps, sheriffs’ deputies and marshals carrying automatic weapons kept watch.

No bomb was found. Flynn, who was ultimately the last witness jurors heard testimony from, went on to assert his Fifth Amendment rights and refused to answer many of prosecutors’ questions.

[weatheriscool]

Stormy Daniels speaks to Manhattan DA in Trump payment probe
Source: ABC News

Stormy Daniels met with prosecutors Wednesday at the request of the Manhattan district attorney's office, her attorney said in a tweet, as the office continues its ongoing criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump's role in a hush money payment made to Daniels near the end of the 2016 presidential campaign.

"Stormy responded to questions and has agreed to make herself available as a witness, or for further inquiry if needed," her attorney, Clark Brewster, wrote in the tweet. Daniels met with prosecutors over Zoom, said a source familiar with the investigation.

A spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg declined to comment.

Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal attorney, paid $130,000 to Daniels in the closing days of the 2016 presidential campaign to allegedly keep her quiet about an affair she claimed to have had with Trump. The former president has denied the affair and his attorneys have framed the funds as an extortion payment.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/stormy- ... d=97888901

[weatheriscool]

DOJ Told Court to Expect a Deluge of New Jan. 6 Prosecutions
Source: Bloomberg

More than 1,000 additional people could still face charges in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol, according to a letter to the DC federal court from the US attorney in Washington.

The one-page letter, which was reviewed by Bloomberg News, was sent late last year to the chief judge and hasn’t been previously reported. It offers details on what Attorney General Merrick Garland has called “one of the largest, most complex, and most resource-intensive investigations in our history.”

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... t=politics

[weatheriscool]

"A lot's gonna come out sooner or later," one Ga. grand juror said. "And it's gonna be massive"
Tamar Hallerman @TamarHallerman
EXCLUSIVE: @ajccourts and I sat down with five of the Fulton County special grand jurors, who gave us a detailed, behind the scenes look at their eight months of service https://ajc.com/politics/exclusive-behi ... R4B7UTZPE/
#gapol

In an exclusive interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, five of the 23 special grand jurors recounted what it was like to be a pivotal — but anonymous — part of one of the most momentous criminal investigations in U.S. history; one which could lead to indictments of former President Donald Trump and his allies.

One juror expressed appreciation for the behind-the-scenes loo

k the group received of Georgia politics and the ballot-counting process. Another indicated he had grown more jaded after it became clear that some witnesses were telling the grand jury one thing about the election under oath and then casting doubt on the system when they returned to the campaign trail, sometimes hours later.

“I can honestly give a damn of whoever goes to jail, you know, like personally,” one juror said. “I care more about there being more respect in the system for the work that people do to make sure elections are free and fair.”

read more: https://www.ajc.com/politics/exclusive- ... R4B7UTZPE/

[Bird]

Are they finally going to indict the man soon?
I'm seeing opinions that such a thing is imminent. I just feel like we've just been going around in circles for years.

[caltrek]

Are they finally going to indict the man soon?
I'm seeing opinions that such a thing is imminent. I just feel like we've just been going around in circles for years.

The cynic in me says that I will believe it when I see it. Still, there are so many reports coming regarding so many different investigations that it would at least seem as if one or more indictments are imminent.

Not since Eugene Debs has their been a candidate for office running from prison. Debs was a third party (Socialist) candidate with no real prospects to win (even if he had been allowed to campaign). So, all this opens up the theoretical possibility of Trump being elected president while serving time in prison, or at least being on probation. That is, unless the laws under which conviction are secured explicitly forbid service in elected office. If it comes to that, it will not be a pretty sight. This is what Fox News and company has brought us. Planet Earth, and Planet Earth II. Planet Earth II being a sort of bizarro world similar to the one portrayed in the old D.C. comic books. In real life, it is maddening in the extreme.

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

Trump attorney ordered to testify before grand jury investigating former president
Source: CNN Politics

CNN — In a monumental ruling Friday, a federal judge has ordered Donald Trump attorney Evan Corcoran to provide additional testimony as part of an investigation into the former president’s handling of classified documents, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. Corcoran has the potential to become one of the most crucial witnesses in special counsel Jack Smith’s criminal investigation into possible mishandling of classified records after the Trump presidency and obstruction of justice.

District Judge Beryl Howell said in an order under seal that Justice Department prosecutors have met the threshold for the crime-fraud exception for Corcoran, the source said. The decision hands Trump yet another loss under seal in court as his team and allies have tried to hold off Smith’s investigators from learning about direct conversations the former president had with some of his closest advisers.

The development is particularly notable because of accusations prosecutors would have made about Trump as they argued to the judge for the grand jury testimony. Corcoran, an attorney-turned-witness, had previously testified to the grand jury but declined to answer some questions, citing attorney-client privilege. The department argued to the judge he should not be able to avoid answering, because his discussions with the former president may have been part of an attempt to plan a crime.

Howell’s ruling is one of her last on sealed grand jury disputes as chief judge. The Obama appointee has repeatedly green-lit Justice Department requests to pursue information about Trump’s actions during her tenure as chief of the DC District Court, but she rotates out of the administrative role on Friday.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/17/politics ... ump-lawyer

[weatheriscool]

Fox News: Alvin Bragg is preparing to arrest Donald Trump and charge him with a Felony

Fox News reports that New York City D.A. Alvin Bragg is preparing to arrest Donald Trump complete with fingerprinting and “normal processing” all under a felony charge federal prosecutors refused to pursue.

[weatheriscool]

Donald Trump says he will be arrested Tuesday and is posting ALL CAPS about it
Donald Trump says he will be arrested Tuesday

Former President Donald Trump said he expects to be arrested Tuesday in Manhattan — and urged his followers to protest his looming indictment.

“THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE & FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!,” he thundered in an all caps missive to his followers on Truth Social Saturday morning.

He slammed the “CORRUPT & HIGHLY POLITICAL MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE” in his post.

Trump again insisted he had committed no crime, and reminded his followers that Bragg’s campaign had been heavily financed by liberal billionaire George Soros.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... r-AA18MNoA

[weatheriscool]

[funkervogt]

This could be very bad. I almost think it's not worth pursuing.

[weatheriscool]

Manhattan DA Bragg privately warns of intimidation after Trump calls for protest
Source: Politico

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg offered a private retort to Donald Trump’s message Saturday urging supporters to protest his expected indictment, telling office employees in an email that “we do not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York,” according to a copy obtained by POLITICO.

“Our law enforcement partners will ensure that any specific or credible threats against the office will be fully investigated and that the proper safeguards are in place so all 1,600 of us have a secure work environment,” Bragg wrote, adding that the office has been coordinating with the New York Police Department and Office of Court Administration, the administrative arm of the court system in New York.

Bragg added that “as with all of our investigations, we will continue to apply the law evenly and fairly, and speak publicly only when appropriate.” In his email, Bragg didn’t identify Trump by name, referring only to the “public comments surrounding an ongoing investigation by this office.”

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/1 ... w-00087745

[weatheriscool]

Secret Service in talks with NYPD for possible Trump arrest: CBS
https://www.rawstory.com/nypd-secret-se ... mp-arrest/

CBS correspondent Robert Costa told host Margaret Brennan... that the Secret Service and NYPD were coordinating.

"Whenever there is an indictment, should it come, it would be coordinated by NYPD and Secret Service and other local authorities," Costa noted. "CBS News has learned there are some conversations among those entities at this moment."

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

Georgia prosecutors considering racketeering and conspiracy charges in probe of effort to overturn T
Source: CNN

Atlanta-area prosecutors are considering bringing racketeering and conspiracy charges in connection with Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.

Investigators have a large volume of substantial evidence related to a possible conspiracy from inside and outside the state, including recordings of phone calls, emails, text messages, documents, and testimony before a special grand jury.

Their work, the source said, underscores the belief that the push to help Trump was not just a grassroots effort that originated inside the state.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/20/politics ... %3A28%3A03

[funkervogt]

The Manhattan District Attorney might have enough evidence to indict Trump and have him arrested, but it's doubtful the case is strong enough to score a felony conviction. The fact that they're pursuing anything more than a misdemeanor charge is overreach and certainly politically motivated. If Trump is arrested, but then beats the charges in court, it could work to his advantage in 2024.

https://reason.com/2023/03/20/new-york- ... for-trump/

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

Grand Jury Will Reconvene Thursday in Trump Hush Money Case
Source: Daily Beast and NBC News

The grand jury investigating Donald Trump’s alleged hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels will meet again on Thursday, The Daily Beast has learned. The news was first reported by NBC News.

The network cited two sources who claim the Manhattan DA “plans to convene the grand jury again” to continue its work as a possible indictment looms for the former president. The Daily Beast spoke with a source close to the investigation on Wednesday who backed those claims.

The outlet reported his office had earlier in the day “told members of the grand jury that they should be on standby for tomorrow.”

Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/grand-jur ... money-case