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Did Trump Longtime Loyalist Hope Hicks Help Coordinate His Illegal Hush Money Payments? Prosecutors Investigating: Report

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Prosecutors working for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York are investigating whether longtime Trump confidant Hope Hicks helped coordinate hush-money payments made to silence women who alleged to have affairs with President Donald Trump.

The Wall Street Journal reports that SDNY prosecutors “asked Ms. Hicks about her contacts with Mr. Pecker, the CEO of American Media, publisher of the National Enquirer” and also “asked at least one other witness whether Ms. Hicks had coordinated with anyone at American Media concerning a Journal article on Nov. 4, 2016—days before the election—that revealed American Media had paid $150,000 for the rights to former Playboy model Karen McDougal’s story of an alleged affair with Mr. Trump.”

Former Trump “fixer” Michael Cohen pleaded guilty last year to making illegal campaign contributions in the form of hush money payments to McDougal and adult film star Stormy Daniels. Cohen’s guilty plea directly implicated Trump in committing a felony by saying that he had made the payments “at the direction” of the president.

The Journal’s report also reveals that SDNY “has gathered more evidence than previously known in its criminal investigation” of the hush money payments and has also interviewed former Trump bodyguard Keith Schiller about what he knew about the payments.

Additionally, the Journal reveals that prosecutors are looking at “discrepancies” between the testimonies of Cohen and longtime Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg, as Cohen has told prosecutors that “Weisselberg had a deeper involvement in the hush payment to Ms. Daniels than Mr. Weisselberg had indicated.”

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‘No Excuse’: Dems Have Just Weeks to Get Dozens of Biden’s Judicial Nominees Confirmed

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As Congress enters the lame duck session Tuesday with Republicans set to take the majority in both chambers and the White House next year, Senate Democrats have just a few weeks to get dozens of President Joe Biden’s remaining judicial nominees confirmed. Barring impeachment, a federal judge is appointed for life and cannot be forcibly removed.

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is urging her colleagues to prioritize judicial confirmations.

“While still in charge of the Senate and the White House, we must do all we can to safeguard our democracy,” Sen. Warren wrote in a TIME op-ed last week. “Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer must use every minute of the end-of-year legislative session to confirm federal judges and key regulators—none of whom can be removed by the next President.”

Majority Leader Schumer, The New York Times reported late last week, “indicated a willingness to devote significant Senate floor time to seating more judges in the post-election session…About 30 nominees were already in the confirmation pipeline, and Mr. Biden announced two more on Friday night.”

READ MORE: Trump Border Czar Declares He Will ‘Absolutely’ Need to Use ‘Military and Special Ops’

“We are going to get as many done as we can,” Mr. Schumer said in a statement.

Noting that this is Senate Democrats’ last chance “until at least 2029 to put judges on the courts,” journalist and attorney Chris Geidner breaks down the field. He reports, “there are four appellate nominees awaiting a vote of the full Senate and one awaiting committee action. The four nominees awaiting a floor vote are Karla Campbell (Sixth Circuit), Embry Kidd (Eleventh Circuit), Julia Lipez (First Circuit), Adeel Mangi (Third Circuit), and the nominee in committee is Ryan Park (Fourth Circuit).”

He adds, “there are 13 district court nominees awaiting a vote of the full Senate, meanwhile, with 10 more in committee and two more announced.”

Josh Sorbe, spokesperson for U.S. Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, in a statement to NCRM says the Illinois Democrat “aims to confirm every possible nominee before the end of this Congress.” He also points to the “213 highly qualified, diverse judges to date who help ensure the fair and impartial administration of the American justice system.”

Over the weekend, President-elect Trump issued a warning to Senate Republicans, and ordered that “no Judges should be approved during this period of time because the Democrats are looking to ram through their Judges as the Republicans fight over Leadership. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.”

READ MORE: ‘What Illegal Corruption Looks Like’: Trump Blasted for ‘Already Breaking the Law’

Biden White House spokesperson Andrew Bates blasted Trump.

“Regardless of party, the American people expect their leaders to prioritize the rule of law and ensuring the criminal justice system can function effectively in every state. Delaying the confirmation of strongly qualified, experienced judges takes a real-life toll on constituents and leads to backlogs of criminal cases – meaning there is every urgent reason for Republicans and Democrats to continue working together in good faith to staff the federal bench,” he wrote Monday. “What’s more, there is bipartisan precedent for exactly that: 55 nominees were confirmed during the equivalent period of the Trump Administration, after President Biden was elected, including 18 judges-15 of whom were confirmed with votes from one or more Senate Democrats. There is no excuse for choosing partisanship over enforcing the rule of law.”

Professor of law Steve Vladeck, an expert on the federal courts and constitutional law, writes: “During the lame-duck period after the 2020 election, Republicans confirmed a number of President Trump’s judicial nominees—including Judge Aileen Cannon.”

Wednesday will be Judge Cannon’s four-year anniversary on the federal bench.

READ MORE: ‘Tenfold Increase in Number of Deportations’: Trump Hands Stephen Miller Top Policy Post

 

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Trump Border Czar Declares He Will ‘Absolutely’ Need to Use ‘Military and Special Ops’

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Donald Trump’s former acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Tom Homan, who has been named the “border czar” for the incoming second Trump administration, says the U.S. Armed Forces and special operations teams will need to be involved in the border efforts President-elect Trump repeatedly promised on the campaign trail.

Trump on Sunday announced Homan will be “in charge of our Nation’s Borders,” and “will be in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin,” CBS News reported.

“You absolutely need military and special ops,” Homan told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo Tuesday morning, citing Mexican drug cartels. Homan added, “President Trump has said he’s going to declare these cartels terrorist organizations.”

“So is the U.S. Military involved here, Tom?” Bartiromo had asked. “Are you hoping that the military helps, because you’re dealing with some really serious uh serious people on the other side, as President Trump once called them, these ‘bad hombres.’ I’m talking about the drug cartels.”

READ MORE: ‘What Illegal Corruption Looks Like’: Trump Blasted for ‘Already Breaking the Law’

“What are you gonna do about these drug cartels who are obviously working with the Chinese Communist Party to push fentanyl into the country as well? Will you need the military for that and who else will you be leaning on to take on the drug cartels?”

Calling him the “soon-to-be the deporter in chief,” The Washington Examiner reports that Homan anticipates “broad support from local, state, and federal police, as well as retired police who want to help the government carry out this operation.”

“Thousands of retired agents, retired Border Patrol agents, retired military [have called] that want to come in and volunteer to help this president secure the border and do this deportation operation,” Homan said. “It’d be great to have local law enforcement assist ICE.”

In a Fox News interview Sunday, “Homan said the military wouldn’t be rounding up and arresting immigrants in the country illegally and that ICE would move to implement Trump’s plans in a ‘humane manner,'” CBS added.

READ MORE: ‘Tenfold Increase in Number of Deportations’: Trump Hands Stephen Miller Top Policy Post

Earlier this year Homan said that “while he thinks the government needed to prioritize national security threats, ‘no one’s off the table. If you’re here illegally, you better be looking over your shoulder.'”

“You’ve got my word. Trump comes back in January, I’ll be in his heels coming back, and I will run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.”

On CBS News’ “60 Minutes” last month, Homan was asked: “Is there a way to carry out mass deportation without separating families?”

“Of course there is,” he replied. “Families can be deported together.”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

READ MORE: Trump Nomination of Stefanik to UN Resurfaces ‘Ultra MAGA’ Transformation

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Trump’s Fate Could Still Hang on Possible Sentencing in NY Election Interference Case

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New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan is expected to hand down a decision on Tuesday that could ultimately put the president-elect of the United States in jail. Donald Trump, who has yet to be sentenced for his 34-count criminal felony conviction in his New York election subversion case, commonly known as his “hush money” case, will learn if the judge will sentence him or set aside the verdict now that he has been elected President.

“Back on September 6th, Judge Juan Merchan (in Trump’s NY election interference case) ruled that he would issue a decision by tomorrow, November 12th, on Trump’s Motion to Set Aside the jury’s verdict and to Dismiss the indictment, based on SCOTUS’ immunity ruling,” MSNBC legal contributor and commentator Katie Phang reported Monday afternoon.

Judge Merchan on Sept. 6 had written that Trump was attempting “to bolster his application [for adjournment, or dismissal] by repeating a litany of perceived and unsubstantiated grievances from previous filings that do not merit this Court’s attention and will not be addressed in this Decision.”

On September 6, former federal prosecutor Ankush Khardori wrote at Politico: “As a strictly legal matter, there was no good reason to delay Trump’s sentencing.”

READ MORE: ‘What Illegal Corruption Looks Like’: Trump Blasted for ‘Already Breaking the Law’

“The public’s confidence in the integrity of our judicial system demands a sentencing hearing that is entirely focused on the verdict of the jury and the weighing of aggravating and mitigating factors free from distraction or distortion. The members of this jury served diligently on this case, and their verdict must be respected and addressed in a manner that is not diluted by the enormity of the upcoming presidential election,” Merchan wrote Sept. 6. “Likewise, if one is necessary, thc Defendant has the right to a sentencing hearing that respects and protects his constitutional rights.”

Trump is currently slated to be sentenced on November 26.

Reuters reports it is now “unlikely,” according to legal experts, that Trump will face any jail time.

“Trump faces a sentence of up to four years in prison after being convicted of 34 felony counts. Legal experts have said that while lesser penalties such as fines or probation are more likely, a prison sentence would not be impossible.”

Last week in a guest commentary piece for the Kansas City Star, that paper’s former editor, Bill Dalton, wrote:

“On Nov. 5, the American people did the unthinkable — they elected a convicted felon president. Judge Juan Merchan should now do what was once unthinkable — force a president-elect to take the oath of office in a jail cell.”

Watch Reuters’ report below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Tenfold Increase in Number of Deportations’: Trump Hands Stephen Miller Top Policy Post

 

 

 

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