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Federal Prosecutors Investigating if National Enquirer Violated Cooperation Deal After Bezos Blackmail Accusation

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Federal prosecutors are investigating if the National Enquirer and its parent company, AMI, violated a cooperation agreement with the Special Counsel. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (photo) Thursday night published a bombshell blog post accusing the company of blackmail and extortion over intimate photos of him and a woman who is not his wife.

Prosecutors “are now reviewing whether there was any criminal activity or whether AMI,” Bloomberg News reports, “violated an earlier agreement not to engage in criminal conduct. AMI reached that deal to avoid prosecution over its role to silence women who had relationships with President Donald Trump, agreements negotiated with his former lawyer Michael Cohen.”

Thursday night CNN’s Jeffrey Toobin said it’s possible the agreement to shield AMI from prosecution could be voided if the company broke the law after the agreement was signed.

 

Image by George W. Bush Presidential Center via Flickr and a CC license

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Johnson Says Trump ‘Trolling’ on Major Constitutional Question

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President Donald Trump has repeatedly talked about running for a third term, but Speaker of the House Mike Johnson does not appear to be taking him very seriously.

“I would love to do it,” Trump recently told reporters.

“Trump again declines to rule out unconstitutional third term,” Axios reported on Monday, adding: “Trump has said he’s ‘not joking’ about a third term.”

The U.S. Constitution is clear.

“The 22nd Amendment plainly states that no one can be elected president more than twice,” The New York Times reported.

READ MORE: Trump Admin Blames Dems’ Immigration and Trans Policies for Food Stamp Shut Off

Trump’s allies have also been pushing for a third term.

Steve Bannon, in particular, has recently said they are looking at ways to have him run in 2028.

“Trump is going to be president in ’28,” Bannon said. “At the appropriate time, we’ll lay out what the plan is.”

Asked on Tuesday about the President running for a third term, the Speaker of the House, a constitutional attorney, appeared to smirk before pushing back.

“Well, there is the 22nd Amendment,” Johnson told reporters. “I spoke with the president about an hour ago. It’s late in the evening in Japan. He’s working around the clock, serving the American people.”

After rattling off a list of how the Republican Party under Trump has “delivered,” while neglecting to mention that the federal government has been shut down for four weeks, Johnson added: “It’s been a great run, but I think the president knows, and he and I have talked about the constrictions of the Constitution.”

READ MORE: ‘We Can Do as We Want’: Trump Boasts He Can Deploy Troops Into U.S. Cities However He Likes

“As much as so many American people lament that, the ‘Trump 2028’ cap is one of the most popular that’s ever been produced,” he observed. “And he has a good time with that trolling the Democrats, whose hair is on fire, about the very prospect.”

“I do believe that we’ve got three extraordinary years ahead of us,” he projected. “And, I don’t see a way to amend the Constitution, because it takes about ten years to do that, as you all know, to allow all the states to ratify, what — two-thirds of the House and three-fourths of the states would approve.”

“So, I don’t see the path for that, but I can tell you that we are not going to take our foot off the gas pedal,” he insisted. “He’ll have four strong years.”

READ MORE: ‘Refrain From Any Action’: Congressional Vets Warn Trump on Using Troops Against Americans

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‘We Can Do as We Want’: Trump Boasts He Can Deploy Troops Into U.S. Cities However He Likes

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Speaking to troops aboard a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier in Japan, President Donald Trump boasted that he can send any branch of America’s armed forces into U.S. cities as part of his anti-crime initiative — and that local residents won’t care.

President Trump has faced a series of legal challenges over his efforts to deploy the National Guard to major U.S. cities, as Democratic governors and attorneys general have filed lawsuits to block the troops from entering their jurisdictions.

“You know, people don’t care if we send in our military, if we send in our National Guard, if we send in Space Command, they don’t care who the hell it is,” Trump told troops aboard the USS George Washington in Yokosuka.

READ MORE: Why the Shutdown Is About to Get Even Worse

“They just wanna be safe. And we have safe cities,” Trump insisted.

“Now we’re starting in Memphis, and Memphis was a disaster,” he said. “It’s been there, they’ve been there for two weeks, and it’s a whole different story.”

“Crime is less than half, and within a month it’ll be gone,” the president claimed without offering any proof.

“Getting rid of all the bad ones, and we’re gonna go into Chicago, we’re gonna go into our cities, we’re gonna clean them out, we’re gonna straighten them out, and we’re gonna have safe cities, because you wanna protect safe cities,” he said.

“We’re gonna have beautiful, safe, cities, and it’s happening very quickly and very easily, actually. It’s easy for us. It’s hard for them,” the president said.

“And we have to have a little more help. It doesn’t matter.”

READ MORE: Data Analyst Reveals Which Trump Policy Faces Sharpest Backlash Among Americans

“Really, we could do as we want to do, but it would be nice to have more help from some of the Democrat governors that don’t mind.”

Trump has deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles, California, Washington, D.C., Portland, Oregon, Chicago, Illinois, and Memphis, Tennessee. Courts have blocked the deployments in Portland and Chicago, according to The New York Times.

Most recently, Trump threatened to send the National Guard to San Francisco, but backed down after big tech leaders requested he hold off, NBC News had reported.

READ MORE: ‘Refrain From Any Action’: Congressional Vets Warn Trump on Using Troops Against Americans

 

Image via Reuters

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Trump Admin Blames Dems’ Immigration and Trans Policies for Food Stamp Shut Off

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Over the weekend, the U.S. Department of Agriculture updated its website with an expanded message blaming Democrats’ support for “illegal aliens” and gender-affirming care for transgender people as reasons “mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us” will be denied “critical nutrition assistance.” Benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are expected to be shut off on November 1 due to the federal government shutdown, although some say there are funds available that legally can be used to continue benefits.

On Saturday, visitors to USDA.gov were confronted with this message: “Due to the Radical Left Democrat shutdown, this government website will not be updated during the funding lapse. President Trump has made it clear he wants to keep the government open and support those who feed, fuel, and clothe the American people.”

Some experts have said similar messages may violate the Hatch Act.

READ MORE: ‘Refrain From Any Action’: Congressional Vets Warn Trump on Using Troops Against Americans

On Sunday, the message was changed to read: “Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the food stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats.”

It then went on to blame Democrats for continuing to “hold out for healthcare” for “illegal aliens,” before adding also a coarse description of gender affirming care, including surgery, for transgender people.

The federal government has been shut down since October 1. At 27 days, this is the second-longest shutdown in U.S. history. The longest, 35 days, was during President Trump’s first term.

About 42 million people access Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to help feed themselves and their families. The vast majority of adults using SNAP have at least one job.

Democrats have refused to vote to re-open the government because Republicans have said they will not negotiate on reinstating subsidies for the Affordable Care Act. Millions of Americans may see their monthly health care premiums double or even triple, some experts have said. Double-digit increases, at least, are expected. Millions are expected to lose their health care as a result of the canceled subsidies.

READ MORE: Data Analyst Reveals Which Trump Policy Faces Sharpest Backlash Among Americans

 

Image via Reuters

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