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‘You Just Can’t Control Yourself’: Judge Threatens to Kick Trump Out of Court

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Senior U.S. District Court Judge Lewis A. Kaplan threatened to kick Donald Trump out of his courtroom after being forced to tell the ex-president to keep his voice down during Wednesday’s civil trial that will determine how much he must pay journalist E. Jean Carroll. In separate civil cases a jury and Judge Kaplan determined Trump is liable for sexual abuse and defamation.

“Trump has been making side commentary during E. Jean Carroll’s testimony within earshot of the jury, Carroll’s lawyer complained during a break in the proceedings, outside the jury’s presence,” ABC News reports. “Sitting at the defense table, Trump has been seen scoffing, chuckling, and encouraging his attorney, Alina Habba, to interject during the proceedings. He has been visibly shaking his head at some of what Carroll asserts on the witness stand.”

Carroll’s attorney, Shawn Crowley, told the judge, “Mr. Trump is sitting at the back table and has been loudly saying things” like “‘Carroll’s statements are false’ and ‘she now seems to have gotten her memory back,'” ABC News added.

Habba has been objecting in what some legal experts have suggested was a quite objectionable manner.

READ MORE: Trump’s MAGA Voters Aren’t ‘Forgotten’ – They’re ‘Deluded’ and Want Revenge: Conservative

At one point Habba objected and Judge Kaplan responded, saying, “I will hear no further argument on it,” and, when she interrupted, he added, “None. Do you understand that word? Sit down.”

“I don’t like to be spoken to that way, your honor,” Habba replied.

When Judge Kaplan told Habba to “sit down,” Trump reportedly said loudly enough that others could hear, “He is a very nasty guy.”

Politico’s Erica Orden explains, “Before jury re-enters, Judge Kaplan says: ‘I’m just going to ask that Mr. Trump take special care to keep his voice down when he’s conferring with counsel so that the jury does not overhear it.'”

Later, after Trump apparently refused to honor the judge’s request to “keep his voice down,” Judge Kaplan threatened to remove Trump.

Carroll’s attorney had to complain to the judge a second time after she said Trump continued to make “statements that we can hear at counsel table.”

She said Trump had been making remarks like, “It is a witch hunt,” and, “It really is a con job.”

“When a video of Trump disparaging E. Jean Carroll was played for the court,” ABC added, “Crowley said Trump remarked, ‘It’s true.'”

READ MORE: Trump Complains It Was ‘Ridiculous’ He Had ‘Follow the Laws’ and Leave Office

“Kaplan threatened to kick Trump out of court after Carroll counsel complained again about Trump’s commentary,” reported Politico’s Erica Orden, who posted the play-by-play:

“Kaplan: ‘Mr. Trump has the right to be present here. That right can be forfeited.’ He continued: ‘Mr. Trump, I hope I don’t have to consider excluding you from the trial.'”

Orden added, “After Trump threw his hands up in the air and said, ‘I would love it,’ Judge Kaplan continued: ‘I know you would,’ Kaplan said. ‘I know you would. You just can’t control yourself in this circumstance, apparently.'”

 

 

 

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Ethics Committee Reveals Latest Republican to Come Under Review: Report

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The House Ethics Committee has reportedly announced that U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is facing a review by the Office of Congressional Conduct.

The origin of the review was not been disclosed. Under committee rules, officials are prohibited from stating whether the matter constitutes a formal investigation or identifying its underlying cause. The Committee only stated that there is a “matter regarding Representative Nancy Mace.”

“The Committee notes that the mere fact of a referral or an extension, and the mandatory disclosure of such an extension and the name of the subject of the matter, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee,” the Ethics Committee statement reads. It was posted to social media by congressional journalist Jamie Dupree.

The statement also says the committee will “announce its course of action in this matter on or before March 2, 2026.”

Congresswoman Mace is currently running for governor of South Carolina.

Earlier this month Mace warned that Republicans may lose control of the House, saying they have not “done enough” and could “do a lot more” to implement President Donald Trump’s agenda, The Hill reported.

 

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Republican Vows to Block Trump’s Greenland Push

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A prominent Republican lawmaker is vowing to thwart any attempt by President Donald Trump to acquire Greenland through force or financial means.

Speaking from Copenhagen as part of a bipartisan delegation of U.S. congressional lawmakers, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), told reporters it is “an important message for the people of the Kingdom of Denmark to understand” that the United States has “three separate but equal branches” of government.

Reminding them that under the U.S. Constitution it is Congress that controls spending, Senator Murkowski, who has broken ranks and stood up to President Trump at times, said, “In Congress, we have tools at our disposal under our constitutional authority that speaks specifically to the power of the purse through appropriations.”

She noted also that “Congress has a role. Certainly, when it comes to spending authorities, the Congress has a role in basically helping to facilitate the message that comes from our constituents, to be reflected in whether it’s legislation or appropriations, or actions or measures, that can indicate, again, the will of the Congress.”

READ MORE: Trump Dangles Another Insurrection Act Threat for Minnesota

The “vast majority” of Americans do not support the acquisition of Greenland, Senator Murkowski added, noting that “some 75 percent will say we do not think that that is a good idea.”

“Greenland needs to be viewed as our ally, not as an asset,” Murkowski also told reporters.

Politico reported that U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) “also took part in the visit by House and Senate lawmakers,” and “said he would push ahead with legislation to curb Trump’s power to act unilaterally.”

He also denied President Trump’s claims that Greenland is necessary to be owned by the U.S. for national security reasons.

“Are there real, pressing threats to the security of Greenland from China and Russia?” Coons said. “No, not today.”

READ MORE: With Shutdown Looming and Crises Growing Trump Heads Off for Long Mar-a-Lago Weekend

 

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Trump Dangles Another Insurrection Act Threat for Minnesota

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Just one day after threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota, which would allow him to unleash domestic military forces onto American streets, President Donald Trump once again on Friday hinted he would do so while suggesting he may be “forced” to take action.

Trump targeted Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats, claiming they “don’t know what to do” after he deployed roughly 3,000 federal troops to the city.

“In Minnesota,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, “the Troublemakers, Agitators, and Insurrectionists are, in many cases, highly paid professionals.”

“The Governor and Mayor don’t know what to do, they have totally lost control, and our currently being rendered, USELESS! If, and when, I am forced to act, it will be solved, QUICKLY and EFFECTIVELY!”

The Guardian labeled Trump’s claims that protesters are paid as baseless.

Attorney Aaron Reichlin-Melnick wrote: “Note that the Trump admin hasn’t yet been able to produce evidence of a SINGLE ‘paid protestor.’ They’ve had total control of the FBI and the DOJ and ICE HSI and yet despite all of that, they can’t even find ONE person who they can accuse of being paid to protest.”

Separately, The Steady State, a group of over 365 former national security officials, while not referring to Trump’s remarks from Friday morning, noted that the Insurrection Act is “an extraordinary power meant for true emergencies, not a shield for unconstitutional policing. Using it to silence dissent or justify unlawful paramilitary activity at the hand of ICE undermines the rule of law.”

READ MORE: With Shutdown Looming and Crises Growing Trump Heads Off for Long Mar-a-Lago Weekend

 

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