alina habba ESQ

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PRIMARY 10 26 50M$ BRIBE

Counselor to President Donald Trump, 2 25

trifecta

2nd on proxy campaign

andrew tate

see satanic

merri ok

his lawyers now need lawyers? will be called as witness? might flip?

MAGA = make atty get atty

LOST E JEAN CARROLL CASE?

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AN 11 26

The former Trump lawyer who signed a multi-million contract with a prominent Venezuelan family with suspicious timing to a pivotal Trump pardon has lost her contract, according to the New York Times.

“Alina Habba Mildon, one of President Trump’s former lawyers, was fired last week by the family company that gave her a $50 million contract weeks before Mr. Trump granted a pardon to the family’s patriarch,” reports the Times. “In a letter dated Nov. 4, the company, Concord Partners, terminated Mrs. Mildon citing a ‘failure to perform duties,’ according to a person close to the family and documents obtained by The New York Times.”

The person said Mildon’s priorities appeared to shift away from Concord after she started dating Turhan Mildon, a 25-year-old Turkish investor, earlier this year.

The Times reports the firing came days after it disclosed the deal and prompted an angry outburst from Trump, who called the deal “totally obnoxious and outrageous” and urged the Herrera family not to pay her.

It would appear the family agreed, allowing Mildon to keep $6.5 million already paid to her and her signing bonus of $8 million. Her four-year contract that would have paid her $10 million a year for four years along with a range of bonuses, however, is defunct.

Concord Partners was set up in Florida late last year by Isabela Herrera, the daughter of Julio Herrera Velutini, in curious time with a pardon request to the White House concerning the billionaire banker facing felony bribery charges in Puerto Rico. Weeks after Mildon started, Herrera was granted a full and unconditional pardon by Trump.

Representatives for the Herrera family declined to comment about the sudden collapse of Mildon’s contract, as did Mildon herself.

However, a source close to Mildon told the Times she is planning to pursue legal action.

After hearing of the contract, Trump demanded Mildon share some of her largesse with him by donating “a portion of that money to his future presidential library or another Trump-related entity, according to multiple people briefed on the conversations.”

"I thought it was terrible," Trump said. "I told her, I said, 'I don't want her paid.' We had somebody speak to the people that did it, and she used her relationship to do that. And it was far too much. You know, it's one thing for a person to get paid legal fees or whatever — she's a lawyer. I thought it was a totally obnoxious and outrageous and it's not acceptable. Not acceptable, at all."

When asked if Mildon would be making sure Trump gets his cut of her new four-year contract, Mildon laughed.

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an 10 26

President Donald Trump's corruption is reaching a state of critical mass, a political analyst warned on Wednesday — and the fact that this pattern exists is having profound consequences in terms of Americans' trust in their government.

"A now-former ambassador [Kimberly Guilfoyle] who asked for $100,000 to cover her credit card debt from a man she was helping lobby the administration — and repeatedly urged the man not to leave a paper trail, according to texts obtained by the Wall Street Journal," CNN's Aaron Blake wrote on Wednesday while listing the major corruption scandals that have rocked Trump's administration over the past few weeks. "Her lawyers have denied the allegations."

Blake added, "The Department of Homeland Security buying multiple airplanes from a donor to the outgoing secretary at apparently inflated prices. The former secretary and current secretary have pointed to one another for the purchases." He continued with "a Russian oligarch paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for parts of Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding celebration. Trump Jr.’s wife downplayed the idea that there was anything amiss with the arrangement, but the oligarch later said Trump Jr. had refunded the money."

Blake then mentioned "a mysterious alleged multimillion-dollar transfer from a wealthy Turkish investor that one Trump ally (who recently married the investor) claims another Trump ally misallocated, according to reports in Axios and the Times. More on that complicated mess below" as well as "that same first Trump ally, married to the Turkish investor, accepting a job that would pay her $50 million even as she served as a top adviser in Trump’s Justice Department — shortly before the billionaire Venezuelan banker who hired her got a pardon he had been seeking. She denied any role in the pardon."

He later brought up even more scandals, writing that "these aren’t the only remarkable and eye-catching developments for those looking out for corruption over the last two years, of course. Trump has made more than $1 billion off cryptocurrency. He’s repeatedly promoted companies shortly after buying their stock, according to a CNN investigation. His social media company is allowing Wall Street firms to pay for quicker access to market-moving posts. And he accepted a jet as a gift from Qatar to use as Air Force One; it is supposed to be transferred to his presidential library."

As a consequence, "a Gallup poll recently showed a record-high 89 percent of Americans said corruption was widespread in the US government." A similar 88 percent were found by Fox News to be either "extremely" or "very" concerned about government corruption. Going through other polls, Blake found an unbroken pattern of Americans believing the government is corrupt and Trump is a big part of the problem — although they're skeptical that Democrats would make things better.

Blake is not alone in noticing that Trump's corruption is having political consequences. Earlier in October, The Bulwark's economist Catherine Rampell wrote that "Donald Trump is robbing Americans blind, and even Republicans are starting to notice. You may recall that back in March, there were some suspiciously timed, uncannily lucrative oil and stock trades. About fifteen minutes before Trump abruptly announced he was retracting some threats against Iran, billions of dollars’ worth of contracts were placed on bets that oil prices would fall and the S&P 500 would jump. And those lucky bastards turned out to be right!"

Robert Reich, who served as Secretary of Labor under former President Bill Clinton, wrote earlier in October that "Trump’s war on Iran is causing Americans to spend almost 50 percent more on gas than before the war, on average. And the diesel fuel needed to transport almost everything else we buy now averages more than $6.00 a gallon, which is also being passed on to consumers. These price increases due to Trump’s war tell only half the story. The other half is the political corruption at the root of the war — enriching Trump’s friends and family."

Speaking to AlterNet in September, polling expert Kyle Kondik of Sabato's Crystal Ball provided more detail about the historical context in which Trump is grappling with these corruption scandals.

"It's primarily the president's weak approval rating combined with the usual difficulty that the presidential party has in a midterm," Kondik told AlterNet. "I also think there may be even more for voters to react to in 2026 compared to even 2018, because Trump has acted as more of an imperial president and there is more dissatisfaction both with the economy as well as the president's foreign policy choices."

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rWw -->

Tyler Pager @ The New York Times: A Billionaire Wanted a Trump Pardon. His Family Gave Alina Habba a $50 Million Deal.

Julio Herrera Velutini, a prominent Venezuelan, was seeking clemency. He got it not long after his daughter gave Ms. Habba, a lawyer close to President Trump, an extraordinarily lucrative job.

WORKED FOR BONDI? OFFICE AT DOJ? KISE

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an 5 26

President Donald Trump lost his appealof a personal lawsuit he launched against former Secretary Hillary Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey, the Democratic National Committee, the law firm Perkins Coie, LLC and others he blames for the Russia investigation.

Politico's Kyle Cheney reported on Tuesday that the 11th Circuit declined to rehear Trump's case, leaving his only option an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Trump and lawyer Alina Habba in 2023 were sanctioned $1 million for the "frivolous" lawsuit. Florida has rules that allow defendants to ask that a court decide whether a lawsuit is "bogus," the Associated Press reported.

At the time, U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks wrote in the ruling that Trump has a "pattern of abuse of the courts" for filing such lawsuits specifically for political purposes. He said that the move "undermines the rule of law" and "amounts to obstruction of justice."

"Here, we are confronted with a lawsuit that should never have been filed, which was completely frivolous, both factually and legally and which was brought in bad faith for an improper purpose," he wrote.

Chief Judge William Pryor, a George W. Bush appointee, along with Trump appointee Judge Andrew L. Brasher and Joe Biden appointee Judge Embry Kidd, denied Trump's demand to rehear the case.

They added the detail, "... no judge in regular active service on the Court having requested that the Court be polled on rehearing en banc," which means none of the judges had any interest in weighing in on rehearing the matter. On the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, six of the 12 judges were appointed by Trump.

Lawyer Marc Elias commented on BlueSky, "I was a defendant in Trump’s frivolous lawsuit. I did not settle. I did not compromise. I did not stop speaking out. We fought and won."

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AN 3 26 FAIL

Another Justice Department prosecutor is facing off against an angry judge, and this time, he was thrown out of court.

“You have lost the confidence and the trust of this court. You have lost the confidence and the trust of the New Jersey legal community, and you are losing the trust and confidence of the public," said Judge Zahid Quraishi, an appointee of President Joe Biden in 2021.

According to the *New York Times*, the issue was that the judge grew frustrated with the Justice Department's head of appeals, Mark Coyne. It seems Coyne hadn't "formally disclosed that he would appear, and fiercely interrogated a more junior prosecutor about whether the former interim U.S. attorney, Alina Habba, still had some role in operating the office."

"Are you here for moral support? Because you're not going to speak," the judge asked at one point, according to the transcript.

"All right. So I've ruled. I'm not going to hear from you, Mr. Coyne. If you want to sit there for moral support or hand Mr. Rosenblum Post-its or whisper in his ear, I'll let you do that as supervisor," the judge said, referring to line prosecutor Daniel Rosenblum.

As the discussion continued and Rosenblum began speaking to the judge about why there were three U.S. Attorneys, Coyne stood to try and speak about Habba not working for the office any longer. The judge repeatedly told Coyne to "sit down."

"Sit down, Mr. Coyne. If you speak again, I'm going to have you removed. I already told you not to speak." Coyne tried to protest, but the judge continued to tell him to sit down, noting that he didn't file a notice of appearance before the meeting.

Finally, after a back and forth, the judge said, "I'm directing the court security officers to remove Mr. Coyne. Mr. Coyne, I told you not to address this court. You didn't file a notice of appearance. You don't get to blindside this court. I'm going to ask you to leave. I'm going to ask you to leave. Kindly, I'm going to ask you to leave, or I'll have you removed."

Habba was dismissed after the U.S. Senate did not approve her appointment before the deadline. She ultimately resigned in December after courts determined she could not legally sign onto cases.

Coyne was thrown out of court.

Last week, three leaders of the New Jersey office was found to be "occupying their positions unlawfully." Judge Quraishi demanded they appear next month to testify about what's happening in their office. The three-person team came from Attorney General Pam Bondi directly, who decided that the U.S. Attorney post would be occupied by three people. Judge Matthew W. Brann, the judge who disqualified Habba, found that the panel was unlawful.

There's a concern from Brann that “scores of dangerous criminals” could have their cases dismissed amid the Justice Department's disorganization.

The DOJ has faced off against several jurisdictions where it couldn't get U.S. Attorneys confirmed. One came from the Eastern District of Virginia, where the acting U.S. Attorney resigned. One was then installed, but only after the deadline to have someone confirmed. She, too, was found to be disqualified.

Some of the new DOJ lawyers have come under fire with ethics complaints from their state bar associations. In response, the DOJ proposed a new regulation that would suspend any state ethics proceedings against a current or former Justice Department lawyer without first conducting its own review, Democracy Docket reported last week.

The DOJ also clashed with a judge who threw out subpoenas of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as part of a criminal investigation the department lodged against him under U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro.

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AN 3 26

In her post announcing her exit from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey, Habba argued that she helped make “New Jersey safer." She attributed her exit to the ruling by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, but warned critics "not [to] mistake compliance for surrender."

"You can take the girl out of New Jersey, but you cannot take New Jersey out of the girl," she posted.

However, OK Magazine reports the 41-year-old has definitely removed herself from Jersey, having “quietly divorced” Reuben, the millionaire founder of the New York City-based parking management company Centerpark, in New Jersey in February.

The marriage survived five years, but sources claimed the couple has reached an "impasse," over Reuben’s reluctance to enter the public eye and Habba’s preoccupation and involvement in the "MAGAverse,” according to OK Magazine.

"She's widely successful, a rockstar mom, and I have no doubt she'll eventually find someone who celebrates her sparkle instead of trying to dim it," sources told Daily Mail. "Until then, she's doing just fine being a boss.”

Critic E. Jean Carroll, who successfully fought Habba in court to win a significant settlement for sexual assault by Trump, said Habba “didn’t know the first thing about law.”

Following the divorce, Habba purchased a home in Palm Beach specifically to be closer to the center of Trump’s political operations—possibly a response to journalist Chris Turner, who posted in December that it was time for Habbas “to get a real job.”

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nyt

By Megan Twohey and Isabella Kwai

The reporters interviewed dozens of people in Romania, the United States and Britain and reviewed court documents, emails and text messages. They welcome tips at nytimes.com/tips.

Published Dec. 10, 2025

Updated Dec. 11, 2025

Days before Donald J. Trump’s return to the White House, Andrew Tate got some good news.

Mr. Tate and his brother, Tristan, swaggering influencers in the so-called manosphere, had been under criminal investigation in Romania since 2022, accused of coercing women into pornography. Andrew was also accused of rape and of having sex with and beating a 15-year-old. The brothers, American and British citizens, had been barred from leaving Romania while prosecutors built their case.

Now, in a Jan. 14 text message, Mr. Tate indicated that help was on the way.

“I had word from The Trump admin that theyre on top of things,” Mr. Tate wrote to someone close to him, in a message reviewed by The New York Times. “Ive been told ill be free soon but Trump needs to see me in Miami,” he added.

The next month, an extraordinary order came down from the highest levels of the Romanian government, a Times investigation found. The prosecutors were told to find a compromise with the Tates. Despite their misgivings, they lifted the travel restrictions, a move that Romania’s prime minister thought would appease the Trump administration.

“We’re massively back,” a grinning Mr. Tate announced in a video recorded for his followers on Feb. 27, as a private plane whisked the brothers to Florida.

Their arrival in the United States opened a rare rift among conservatives and raised suspicions over whether the White House had intervened. The Times found that support from Trump administration officials played a crucial role.

Interviews with dozens of people in Romania, the United States and Britain, as well as a review of hundreds of pages of court documents and private messages, offer the fullest account yet of how the Tates rose from a fringe corner of the internet to become a cause célèbre on the right. The brothers’ release from Romania was the culmination of a yearslong effort by Andrew to forge alliances with Mr. Trump’s advisers and family members.

The Tates have helped propel a brazenly chauvinistic movement around the world, even as they racked up allegations of human trafficking and physical violence in multiple countries. They deny criminal wrongdoing. But Andrew, 39, and Tristan, 37, have boasted about recruiting women to make lucrative sexual content, and have sold courses teaching young men how to follow in their footsteps.

Interview with Andrew Tate conducted by Anthony Dream Johnson and posted to YouTube in 2019.

As his notoriety grew, Andrew Tate shrewdly courted Tucker Carlson and other media stars of the right, who in turn tapped into the brothers’ loyal following to expand their own reach.

Andrew also nurtured relationships with Donald Trump Jr. and his younger brother Barron, who recognized the role that young male voters could play in their father’s return to power.

Barron, now 19, admired Andrew, and spoke with him over Zoom last year, according to Justin Waller, a mutual friend who was on the call. During the call, they discussed their shared belief that the Romanian criminal case was an effort to silence the Tates, he said.

After Mr. Trump’s re-election, some of the Tates’ supporters ascended into the new administration. One of them, the diplomatic envoy Richard Grenell, twice discussed their case with Romanian officials, The Times found.

Within days of the second conversation, the Romanian prosecutors received their marching orders and handed the Tates the freedom to travel — after long arguing that the brothers were a public danger and a flight risk. The prosecutors were outraged, according to people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it.

The brothers’ liberation rattled many American diplomats, who feared a shadowy new era of foreign relations. And it prompted hostility from many traditional conservatives, from Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, to the commentator Megyn Kelly, who said, “This actually is toxic masculinity.” Some likened the Tates to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Their return also led to a new assault allegation, from a girlfriend who said Andrew beat and strangled her shortly after his arrival in the United States. Prosecutors declined to bring charges, but she has filed a lawsuit against him and has been granted a restraining order. He is suing her for defamation.

In a statement to The Times, the Romanian prosecutors’ office said that the country’s constitution requires them to operate independently and that their actions in the Tates’ case have been legal. Marcel Ciolacu, who was the prime minister when the Tates were released, did not respond to requests for comment.

An official with the White House said it has no knowledge of and is not involved in anything related to the Tates’ legal matters. The official did not respond to questions about Barron. Donald Trump Jr. did not respond to a request for comment.

The Tates’ lawyer said The Times’s findings about Andrew and Barron were “fake news.”

After more than two years of confinement, the brothers have used their newfound freedom to resume their jet-setting lifestyle and juice their brand. They have visited Kanye West, partied poolside with beautiful women and promoted their business to chanting fans.

“I’m in Dubai, I’m still rich, all I do is win,” Andrew said in a video posted in April that shows him driving off in a Bugatti.

But their legal problems haven’t gone away. The Romanian case is moving forward, and once it’s finished, the brothers will face charges of human trafficking and rape in Britain.

And in the United States, The Times found, anti-trafficking agents at the Department of Homeland Security have been investigating the Tates for years.

ImageAndrew Tate, in a half-unbuttoned animal-print shirt, sits in a crowded audience beside Tristan Tate, in a fuchsia blazer.

Andrew and Tristan Tate at a fight in Las Vegas in March, part of their U.S. visit after their release from Romania.Credit...Mikael Ona/ZUMA Press Wire

Riding Outrage to Money and Fame

Andrew Tate found modest fame as a professional kickboxer in the 2010s, but as he tells it, he didn’t start making real money until he and his brother went into pornography.

By 2015, the Tates had installed women in apartments and a hotel room in Britain, to perform live on webcams for paying customers. Andrew later described how the brothers romanced attractive women, coaxed them into the business and took most of the profits.

“It’s not just about picking up girls,” Mr. Tate said in an interview posted to YouTube. “It’s about converting them into really loving you enough to moving in with you and working for you and giving you all the money.”

Both brothers had run-ins with the British police. Tristan was arrested in 2014 after a woman reported he had assaulted her.

The next year, Andrew was arrested three times, the police said. One woman who had worked for him said in court documents that he strangled her during sex; another said he had raped, beaten and pulled a gun on her; a third woman said he had raped and strangled her while they were dating.

Authorities did not charge either brother. But Andrew said the scrutiny prompted him to leave Britain.

One day, he recalled on a podcast years later, he woke up and said, “I will not live under a government that will do this to me when I’ve done nothing wrong.” He and Tristan moved to Romania, a country they had gotten to know through the professional fighting circuit. There, Andrew said on another show, “you can get away with shit you can’t get away with in the West.”

With Romania as their new home base, the brothers ran their webcam business from there and in Britain.

When Andrew was cast for the British reality show “Big Brother” in 2016, few knew about his business or the assault allegations.

He was soon fired, however, after a tabloid obtained a video of him whipping a girlfriend with a belt. They both said it was consensual.

The scandal boosted his fame, especially on social media, where he became a fierce supporter of Mr. Trump. Donald Trump Jr. liked one of his supportive Twitter posts and they soon agreed to meet, Mr. Tate recalled on a podcast. He went to Trump Tower in 2017.

“We still inbox each other every couple of days,” Mr. Tate said on the podcast, in 2018.

By 2022, he and Tristan had gained millions of followers by preaching mental and physical discipline, entrepreneurship and the subjugation of women. They had expanded the porn business to TikTok, OnlyFans and other platforms, and were selling their courses to young men. One offering was called PHD, for “pimping hoes degree.” Over the previous eight years, they had earned at least 21 million pounds (nearly $28 million), according to records from a British court that found they had evaded taxes.

Interview with Andrew Tate conducted by James English and posted to YouTube in 2021. Mr. Tate discusses his beliefs about the inferiority of women.

When Andrew was kicked off several social media platforms and decried by high school teachers, it only increased his notoriety. He became one of the most searched people on Google.

In December 2022, the brothers were arrested in Romania and, with court approval, jailed for three months. Prosecutors later charged them with forming an organized criminal group and trafficking seven women, and charged Andrew with rape.

The 360-page sealed indictment, obtained by The Times, said the Tates had tricked the women into believing they were in long-term relationships, then coerced them into pornographic work. The brothers had put them under surveillance, restricted their movements and docked their pay if they cried on camera or broke other rules, prosecutors said.

Text messages cited in the indictment show Andrew Tate and one woman discussing what would happen if she went to Romania.

Woman

do you want me to be your slave or your wife?

Andrew Tate

you'll do whatever I tell you

which is the same thing

if I choose a woman to be my wife, she'll love me enough to let me tell her what I feel like

I WILL DECIDE if she's a slave

Once she arrived, he raped her twice, on one occasion forcing her into group sex, the indictment said.

Andrew choked another woman so hard that blood vessels in her eye burst, prosecutors said.

In a text-message chat titled “PIMPS,” Tristan and two associates discussed how to punish a woman who said she would no longer work for them.

Tristan Tate

The move now is as follows.

Associate 1

Tristan Tate

both of you go, get her out of the house

Associate 2

Tristan Tate

hit her if you have to, I don't care

don't let her take her things

Associate 2

thanks

The woman was pushed down and dragged out of the house, she and witnesses told prosecutors.

Romania, long known as a hub for sex trafficking, has expanded prosecutions to include so-called Lover Boy cases based on romance, psychological coercion and threats. The indictment against the Tates acknowledged that two of the women cited as victims said they didn’t see themselves that way. Prosecutors said evidence showed that they were.

Press releases announcing the arrest, the indictment and the ensuing restrictions on the Tates’ movements made headlines around the world. But Mr. Tate, facing the prospect of prison, didn’t retreat from the controversy. He used it.

From Tucker to Barron

After his arrest, Mr. Tate hired Joseph D. McBride, a lawyer who had defended Trump supporters accused of insurrection at the Capitol. In short order, Mr. McBride pitched his brash new client to the conservative host Tucker Carlson.

In some ways, it was an odd pairing. Mr. Carlson was a proud husband who promoted Christian family values. But he had been ousted from Fox News after lawsuits exposed offensive language in his private messages to colleagues. He was building his own show on Twitter. And Mr. Tate, who had been reinstated on the platform by Elon Musk, had millions of followers there.

In an interview with The Times, Mr. McBride recalled telling Mr. Carlson that if he flew to Romania for a sit-down with Andrew, “I know we’ll break the internet.”

Image

A black car pulls up to a modern black-and-red building displaying a samurai statue and signs that read “security guard” and “Tate.”

The Tates’ compound in Romania.Credit...Daniel Mihailescu/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images

He was right. The 2023 interview, recorded at Mr. Tate’s luxury home on the outskirts of Bucharest, has drawn more than 112 million views.

They spent much of the two-and-a-half-hour conversation discussing their shared beliefs, including what they saw as a left-wing war on masculinity. Mr. Carlson didn’t press Mr. Tate on his porn operation or his previous comments about exploiting women.

Mr. Carlson misrepresented the criminal allegations in Romania, saying that they involved no sex crimes or violence, or any actions that could be considered trafficking.

“That’s not actually human trafficking,” Mr. Carlson said of the charges. “I don’t care what you call it, you weren’t buying, even accused of buying and selling anyone.”

Asked recently about the interview, Mr. Carlson told The Times, “If I misstated their indictment or got the facts wrong, I sincerely apologize.”

He added, “It doesn’t change my view that the Tates, whatever their personal behavior, had a message worth hearing.”

Interview with Andrew Tate conducted by Tucker Carlson and posted to Twitter in 2023.

The interview helped burnish Mr. Tate’s reputation. Charlie Kirk, the conservative youth organizer and Trump adviser, was among those who tuned in.

“Now I see why he’s popular,” Mr. Kirk said on his podcast. While he expressed disgust over Mr. Tate’s pornography business, he agreed that masculinity was under siege. “He is hitting on something that you’re not allowed to say, where there’s a lot of truth to it.”

Candace Owens, another popular podcaster, flew to Romania and conducted her own sympathetic interview of Mr. Tate. She told her audience it was a mistake to judge him for his past comments or the ostentatious content he posted.

“This is how guys have fun,” she said, “the same way that girls sit around and talk about ‘Real Housewives.’”

In other interviews, Mr. Tate drew parallels that he saw between himself and Mr. Trump: both booted from social media, both criminally prosecuted, both victims of political attacks.

In September 2023, Mr. Trump shared on Truth Social, his social media platform, a video of Tristan defending him. “Thank you!” Mr. Trump wrote.

Mr. McBride, the brothers’ lawyer, pressed their case in meetings with members of Congress, according to an interview he gave to the Republican operative Roger Stone. Mr. McBride said both male and female lawmakers were “outraged” at the brothers’ treatment.

Don Jr. showed support, too. “You’ve got people attacking you as far as I’m concerned,” he told Mr. Tate in a June 2024 conversation live-streamed on X, the renamed Twitter platform. “They just want to silence you.”

Image

Barron Trump, wearing a dark overcoat and slicked-back hair, stands with one fist raised as people around him smile and clap.

Barron Trump admired Andrew Tate and spoke with him by Zoom last year, according to a mutual friend.Credit...Eric Lee/The New York Times

His younger brother Barron was also a fan.

That spring, as his father was going after young male voters on the campaign trail, the teenager hosted a dinner at Mar-a-Lago for influencers. Among them was Mr. Waller, who has helped run the Tates’ courses and told The Times he is widely seen as the “third brother.”

The conversation that night meandered, Mr. Waller said, from “calling each other degenerate names” to discussing potential running mates for Mr. Trump, who also made an appearance and agreed to go on the podcast of another guest, Patrick Bet-David.

Mr. Waller has tried to play a “big brother” role for Barron, he said, visiting Mar-a-Lago and talking to him about dating. The president’s youngest son is “not a bad ally to have — let’s be frank,” he said.

He and Barron spoke to Andrew over Zoom last year, Mr. Waller said, while the teenager was having a suit fitted by Mr. Waller’s tailor. Although they discussed the Romanian case, Barron did not say anything about helping the Tates, Mr. Waller said. They also talked about supporting Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign on their online platforms.

That summer, when a young man tried to assassinate Mr. Trump, Mr. Tate told reporters that he had talked to Barron after the shooting.

“I’m very close to the Trump family,” he added. “I look forward to, once I am free, being with Donald Trump in person and reminding him that he’s a bulletproof badass.”

Allies Ascend

When Andrew texted in January that the Trump administration was “on top of things,” he didn’t name names.

But several of his supporters had found roles in the incoming government.

Paul Ingrassia, who was initially named White House liaison to the Justice Department, had once been part of the Tates’ legal team. Alina Habba, a counselor to the president who would later serve a brief stint as New Jersey’s top prosecutor, told Andrew on a podcast in January that “I got your back over here.”

Image

Richard Grenell Alina Habba, seated next to each other amid a crowd, wearing suits and neutral expressions.

Richard Grenell, center, and Alina Habba (wearing glasses) at a Senate confirmation hearing in January.Credit...Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times

And Mr. Grenell, a special presidential envoy, privately discussed the Tates’ case with Romanian officials, The Times found.

At Mar-a-Lago last December, he met Victor Ponta, an adviser to Romania’s prime minister.

Mr. Ponta had traveled to Mr. Trump’s Florida club to make inroads with the president-elect’s inner circle, he told The Times in an interview in Bucharest. His country was in a defensive crouch for its handling of a presidential election. Its highest court had tossed out the first round of votes, citing evidence that Russia had meddled on behalf of the winner, a far-right candidate. Donald Trump Jr. and Elon Musk, among other American conservatives, accused Romania of undermining democracy.

Mr. Ponta sensed that informal diplomacy would be a big part of the incoming Trump administration. And Mr. Grenell, who would soon negotiate the release of several American detainees in Venezuela, was already positioning himself as a forceful operator.

When asked by The Times whether he and Mr. Grenell discussed the Tates’ case, Mr. Ponta affirmed that they had. “Maybe he saw himself as releasing all the American hostages around the world,” he said, without elaborating further.

Last month, Mr. Ponta backpedaled. In a text exchange with The Times, he said he didn’t recall whether he and Mr. Grenell had talked about the Tates. He then said he was sure they had not.

Mr. Grenell also discussed the Tates’ case in mid-February, with Romania’s then foreign minister, Emil Hurezeanu, when they crossed paths at a security conference in Munich, as first reported by The Financial Times.

Mr. Grenell disputed the characterization of the encounter, saying in a statement to The Times that it had become exaggerated in media accounts. “I simply ran into him in the hallway,” he said. The foreign minister asked him if he stood by an old tweet showing support for the Tates, he said, and he replied yes. “I have never met the Tate Brothers, I’ve never been to Romania,” Mr. Grenell said. His statement did not address the Mar-a-Lago conversation.

Soon after the Munich conference, the prime minister posted on social media that the United States had not made any requests or demands on Romania.

‘The Tate Escape’

By then, the Tates’ legal problems were snowballing.

In Britain, the women who had accused Andrew of rape and assault a decade earlier were suing him in civil court. And prosecutors had authorized trafficking and rape charges against the brothers based on allegations involving three other women.

In America, Homeland Security anti-trafficking agents had been conducting interviews about the Tates, according to people familiar with the confidential investigation. The agents were working with federal prosecutors who would go on to win the conviction of Sean Combs, the music mogul known as “Diddy.” Both offices declined to comment.

In Romania, a judge had invalidated the 2023 indictment, citing procedural mistakes. But the prosecutors were trying to correct them and move forward with a case.

They had presented evidence that, since 2014, the brothers had between them coerced more than 30 other women, including a 17-year-old, into their pornography operation, court records show.

Mr. Tate was also accused of having sex with a 15-year-old and trying to bribe her to stay quiet. She told investigators he had beaten her with a belt and choked her until she passed out, according to the documents.

The Tates have denied all criminal wrongdoing and Andrew has contested the civil claims.

They said the new women cited in the Romanian investigation did not consider themselves trafficking victims. And they argued that being confined without an indictment violated their rights.

They got their break in late February. The order came down instructing prosecutors to negotiate with them, according to two people familiar with the move who were not authorized to discuss it. The prime minister believed the Trump administration would be happy with the outcome, a third person said.

On Feb. 25, the Tates officially requested to have their travel restrictions removed.

In a text message the next day, Mr. Tate shared his long-sought victory with someone close with him.

Andrew Tate

I have very details instructions from the americans about crossing borders, phones, passports etc. I cant say more. This goes into instant effect.

In the early hours of Feb. 27, the brothers drove to the airport, as documented in a video titled “The Tate Escape.” They beamed at each other as the plane took off for Florida.

When asked that day whether the Trump administration had aided in the Tates’ release, their lawyer, Mr. McBride, told The Times: “Do the math. These guys are on the plane.”

The Tate brothers shared this video with their followers on Rumble this year.

A Rift on the Right

From the moment they arrived on U.S. soil, the Tates encountered pushback.

Their electronic devices were confiscated by border control officials. Mr. Ingrassia, by then the White House liaison to Homeland Security, tried and failed to have their phones returned, ProPublica reported. (Mr. Ingrassia denied the account.)

That night in Miami, the brothers celebrated over cigars with Mr. Waller, he said. But public backlash was mounting, even among some prominent conservatives.

Megyn Kelly and Ben Shapiro denounced the Tates. Some Republican leaders spoke out, too.

“I certainly don’t think that we should be using any influence in our government to try to get him out of what seemed to be extremely serious charges in Romania,” Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri told HuffPost, referring to Andrew.

After Mr. DeSantis said the brothers were not welcome in Florida, the state’s attorney general announced a criminal investigation of them.

This actually is toxic masculinity, people. This is the real version of it.

Megyn Kelly

Right-wing commentator

America does not need more self-proclaimed pimps.

Ben Shapiro

Right-wing commentator

Florida is not a place where you’re welcome with that type of conduct in the air.

Ron DeSantis

Governor of Florida

As the right-wing rift over the Tates cracked open, Mr. Stone, the Republican operative, deleted an X post saying Mr. Grenell had secured their release. Ms. Habba said that she had “no part” in lifting the Tates’ travel ban.

And Mr. Trump had already said he knew nothing about it.

In mid-March, the brothers flew back to Romania for a court appearance. One of Andrew’s then-girlfriends, Brianna Stern, told the police in Beverly Hills he had assaulted her before he left. On social media, she shared several of his text messages.

Andrew Tate

i really love hitting you its very good for me

and you

its relaxing dont you think

Brianna Stern

pookie no i cry

Prosecutors declined to bring charges, citing insufficient evidence. Ms. Stern is suing Andrew, and he has countersued, claiming defamation. He and Tristan are also suing a woman in Florida who is cited as a victim in the Romanian investigation.

In recent months, Andrew has continued to weigh in on American politics, including calling for “civil war” after Mr. Kirk’s assassination. But while he and his brother have flown in and out of Romania, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, they have not returned to the States.

Many of his allies have stopped publicly defending him.

An exception is Nick Fuentes, a rising voice known for his antisemitic and sexist rhetoric. He and Mr. Tate, both critics of Israel, have lavished each other with praise.

Mr. Tate may not be a paragon of Christian morality, Mr. Fuentes said in an October interview with Mr. Carlson. “But men are going with him because he’s putting women in their place.”

Image

Andrew Tate, walking outside in a dark hoodie, turns his face to the camera and grins.

Andrew Tate returned to Romania in March for a required check-in with authorities.Credit...Vadim Ghirda/Associated Press

Matei Barbulescu contributed reporting. Produced by Eli Murray.

Photo credits for illustration: Robert Ghement/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock (Tate brothers); Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press (Donald Trump Jr.); Pool photo by Chip Somodevilla (Barron Trump); Gage Skidmore/ZUMA Press Wire (Candace Owens); Bill Bowden/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Joseph McBride); Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press (Tucker Carlson); Kenny Holston/The New York Times (Alina Habba); Jim Watson/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images (Richard Grenell).

Megan Twohey is an investigative reporter at The Times. Her work has prompted changes to the law, criminal convictions and cultural shifts.

Isabella Kwai is a Times reporter based in London, covering breaking news and other trends.

See more on: Andrew Tate, U.S. Politics, Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Richard Grenell, Tucker Carlson

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AN 12 25

Alina Habba steps down as US attorney

'Time to get a real job': Alina Habba brutally mocked by legal experts after she resigns - Alternet.org

an 12 25

Unlawfully employed Trump attorney 'frozen out' of discussions of her future gov't gigs

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AN 10 25

'Mad scramble' as judges challenge Trump effort to keep Alina Habba’s US attorney gig - Alternet.org

AN 8 25

When Alina Habba, a former personal attorney for President Donald Trump, was appointed interim U.S. attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) District of New Jersey, her critics argued that the appointment was overtly political and reflected the fact that she is very much a Trump loyalist. Habba vowed to "make New Jersey red" during a podcast interview, which, critics said, is not the type of comment an interim U.S. attorney should be making.

Habba's term ended on July 24, and the status of her tenure has been in dispute.

Now, 91-year-old Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) — the U.S. Senate's president pro tempore and the oldest member — is weighing in on Habba's position at DOJ.

In a Monday, August 25 post on X, formerly Twitter, Grassley tweeted, "Habba was withdrawn as the President's nominee for New Jersey U.S. Atty on July 24 &the Judic cmte never received any of the paperwork needed for the Senate to vet her nomination."

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Grassley, in a separate post, wrote, "A U.S. Atty/district judge nominee without a blue slip does not hv the votes to get confirmed on the Senate floor & they don’t hv the votes to get out of cmte As chairman I set Pres Trump noms up for SUCCESS NOT FAILURE."

Grassley's comments are generating a lot of discussion on X.

CNN's Aaron Blake, formerly of the Washington Post, tweeted, "Interesting response from Grassley here, basically emphasizing that Habba couldn't get confirmed and that's why she's not U.S. attorney."

MAGA attorney Mike Davis, known for his inflammatory attacks on Democrats, posted, " Fact Check: True. I believe the century-old blue-slip veto is bad. But until we get all 12 Senate Judiciary Republicans and at least 50 Senate Republicans to agree to ignore blue slips, these nominees will all fail in their committee and floor votes. Tillis has already said he will vote against nominees without blue slips. So these nominees will fail in their committee votes. This isn't a Grassley problem. This is a Senate problem."

MAGA supporter Andrew Spanton commented, "Recess appointments Time to step up the heat big time on (Senate Majority Leader John) Thune."

Another MAGA Republican, Isabella Davis, wrote, "It is right that this kind of 'blue vote veto' should have been abolished a long time ago, for it will only slow down the process and aggravate the political stalemate."

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an // sn 8 25

Toward the end of a four-hour hearing in central Pennsylvania on Friday, the judge overseeing a challenge to the constitutionality of Alina Habba’s appointment as acting U.S. attorney made a comment that will cause New Jersey Democrats’ hearts to sink.

“I think it’s very likely that Ms. Habba is going to end up, at some point down the road, as the United States attorney for the District of New Jersey,” Judge Matthew Brann said.

I don’t think Brann was signaling how he plans to rule on this matter later this week, because he noted that he has no “crystal ball.” I think what he may have intended to communicate to both sides in the matter is how this saga will likely end if it lands in the U.S. Supreme Court’s lap.

Let’s back up a bit for the uninitiated.

President Donald Trump named Alina Habba, a personal attorney who represented Trump in a civil defamation case, as New Jersey’s chief federal prosecutor back in March. That’s a role that requires confirmation from the U.S. Senate, but Trump didn’t nominate her until the tail end of her 120-day term as acting U.S. attorney. When her term was drawing to a close and there was no movement on her nomination — our two U.S. senators, both Democrats, object to Habba, and her confirmation is unlikely without their approval — New Jersey’s district judges were tasked with naming a more permanent replacement. They chose Habba’s second in command, Desiree Grace.

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The Trump administration then fired Grace, Habba resigned as U.S. attorney, and the administration gave Habba the No. 2 job in the office. Because the U.S. attorney spot was now vacant, Habba automatically assumed the role of acting U.S. attorney again, this time for 210 more days, the Trump administration says. Two men facing federal criminal charges then challenged Habba’s appointment as unconstitutional, leading to Friday’s hearing in Pennsylvania (the matter was handed to Brann because New Jersey’s district judges had conflicts).

I went into Friday’s hearing with a significant bias against Habba. I’ve written before about my distaste for her swooning over an alleged sex trafficker in January. I think her stated goal to help New Jersey Republicans get elected is disqualifying. And the zeal with which she tossed Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) behind bars — on a charge so flimsy she had to retreat just days later — was obscene.

Nothing about the hearing changed my mind on whether Habba is fit to serve as U.S. attorney. But the arguments persuaded me the law is murky enough that the fight to prevent her from staying in office will fail.

There’s no smoking gun here, despite the valiant efforts on both sides to argue their case to Brann. Yes, the Trump administration’s maneuvering was an obvious end run around the U.S. Senate confirmation process — but the administration’s reliance on the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, which allows first assistants in various government agencies to be the default acting No. 1, is convincing. And the challengers’ response is less so. They argue that the statute is automatic, triggered by a vacancy — meaning the U.S. attorney spot was vacant when Habba resigned, and so she can’t resume that position by later taking the No. 2 spot.

“What happened here was the president or the executive, they terminated the first assistant in order to backfill the role, and Ms. Habba then created the resignation — well, she resigned, created the vacancy to fill it herself. It’s circular. I mean, it doesn’t make any sense. And it goes completely against what the statute is meant to protect,” said attorney Thomas Mirigliano, who is representing a man seeking to nullify Habba’s appointment.

Henry C. Whitaker, representing the Trump administration, countered that the vacancy in the U.S. attorney post existed not just at the moment Habba resigned — it also existed when she subsequently accepted the No. 2 post that allows her to become acting U.S. attorney for a new, 210-day term.

“The vacancy is a continuing condition,” Whitaker said.

Like I said, Brann gave no hint how he might rule on this — though he wisely conceded that he will not be the final word and said Habba and the New Jersey judges who tried to replace her may have to find a way to coexist. The judges, Brann noted, are appointed for life and are not likely to resign.

“They’re going to have to find a way to maneuver things together after this immediate issue, which is quite interesting, is resolved,” Brann said.

Brann is smart enough to realize that this matter may only be resolved by the nation’s highest court. The Roberts court has embraced the power of the executive, most recently in its June 27 decision limiting the power of federal judges to institute universal injunctions. Do we think the same justices, faced with a controversy over who gets to pick the U.S. attorney of New Jersey, will side with our state’s federal judges over Donald Trump?

If the Trump administration wins here, it may be a short-lived victory. Its own arguments on Habba hinge on her current appointment lasting for 210 days. That means her term has an expiration date of mid-February 2026, giving the administration plenty of time to find someone who has the qualifications to win confirmation from the U.S. Senate. Or enough time to think of a new legal strategy to keep her in the post no matter what.

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an 8 25

Atlantic writer Quinta Jurecic reports Trump’s plan to use the DOJ for revenge against protesters and Democratic politicians is not going as well as he’d like.

“The Justice Department has been slow to move forward with the investigations Trump demanded, hemmed in by the constraints of the legal system,” writes Jurecic. “… American criminal law appears to be a less flexible tool in the hands of an authoritarian than Trump hoped — at least for now.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi may be ready to carry out Trump’s “personal-retribution project” with investigations of the Obama administration and former prosecutor Jack Smith, says Jurecic, but a prosecutor still requires a jury to issue an indictment, and to do that the prosecutor has to make a convincing case. This is usually easy, but Jurecic says the “administration keeps tripping up.”

Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli filed more than 35 felony prosecutions against June protestors against ICE raids in Los Angeles, but they only managed to persuade grand juries to indict some of them. Later, his office dismissed eight of his own indictments and downgraded others to misdemeanors after “falling short at the grand jury stage” according to the LA Times.

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By comparison, Jurecic reports only six refusals by grand juries to indict suspects across the nation in 2016 — out of roughly 180,000 cases.

Meanwhile, over on the east coast, prosecutors moved to dismiss U.S. Attorney Alina Habba’s trespassing charges against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka after he attempted to visit an ICE detention facility. The judge in that case slammed Habba’s office so hard for trying to press the charges that Baraka could be heard saying: “Jesus, he tore these people a new a——.”

And Jurecic reports Bondi appears to be “struggling” to pursue Trump’s demand to prosecute people involved in perpetrating what Trump calls the “Russia hoax.”

“The biggest challenge there is that there was no hoax,” said Jurecic, “as both Special Counsel Robert Mueller and a bipartisan Senate intelligence report concluded, Russia really did try to help Trump win the 2016 election.”

Jurecic said it looks like Bondi“was caught unawares” by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s release of documents related to the “hoax” from 2016, and “displeased about the political pressure from the right to launch an investigation in response.”

“All Bondi appears to have done is ask prosecutors to possibly present grand jurors with evidence, with no clear deadline,” said Jurecic, despite “exciting” Fox News headlines.

And regarding the investigation of Smith, Jurecic says the “harshest penalty that the Office of Special Counsel could demand would be Smith’s dismissal from government service, but he has already resigned.”

“A jury is in essence a democratic institution, requiring citizens to exercise their judgment in a model of shared deliberation that is at odds with Trump’s autocratic tendencies,” said Jurecic. “… So far, that system has held up against Trump’s encroachment. But the rapid erosion of democratic life in the United States over the past six months is a reminder of how quickly things can change.”

Read the full Atlantic report at this link.

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'Effective remedy': Defendant cites Trump-appointed judge to get MAGA prosecutor dismissed

7 25

no re up? FIRE NO 2 ACTING THEN REUPPED 210 DAYS? DID IN SEVERAL STATES?

an 7 25

'Pack it up': 'Partisan' Trump lawyer draws scathing criticism as her 'chaotic' DOJ term ends

'Pack it up': 'Partisan' Trump lawyer draws scathing criticism as her 'chaotic' DOJ term ends - Alternet.org

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an 7 25

Trump US attorney who is prosecuting Democrats now at risk of losing her law license

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bb 525

a Federal Judge tore into Trump's Interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey, Alina Habba, for abusing her office as a weapon against the administration's political enemies.

Dismissing the charges against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka for "trespassing" at a detention facility for migrants, Federal magistrate judge Andre Espinosa reprimanded the federal prosecutors who brought the charges. Mayor Baraka certainly heard the message and commented: "Jesus, he tore these people a new asshole. Good grief."

Interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba announced earlier this week she would drop charges against Baraka (but at the same time announced new charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver stemming from a scuffle during Baraka's arrest). Federal magistrate judge Andre Espinosa reprimanded the federal prosecutors for more than five minutes, calling the retraction of the charges "embarrassing."

"The hasty arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, followed swiftly by the dismissal of these trespassing charges a mere 13 days later, suggests a worrying misstep by your office," Espinosa said. "An arrest, particularly of a public figure, is not a preliminary investigative tool. It is a severe action, carrying significant reputational and personal consequences, and it should only be undertaken after a thorough, dispassionate evaluation of credible evidence."

…

Espinosa delivered remarks for several minutes before the end of the hearing, reminding the prosecutors of their responsibility to justice and saying, "Your office must operate with a higher standard than that."

"Federal prosecutors serve a single paramount client: justice itself," Espinosa said. "Your role is not to secure convictions at all costs, nor to satisfy public clamor, nor to advance political agendas. Your allegiance is to the impartial application to the law, to the pursuit of truth, and to the upholding of due process for all."

New Jersey Globe

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SEE YT CICC A GESTURE TO HIT CAN BE assault; any touch not consented?!

AN 5 25

House Democratic Leadership has strongly condemned interim U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba's decision to charge Rep. LaMonica Mclver (D-N.J.), calling it "an attack on the American people."

The Justice Department announced on Monday that it has filed charges against McIver, accusing her of assaulting law enforcement officers earlier this month at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Newark.

In a statement released Monday, House Democrats said the party "will respond vigorously in the days to come at a time, place and manner of our choosing."

"The criminal charge against Congresswoman LaMonica McIver is extreme, morally bankrupt and lacks any basis in law or fact," said the statement, shared by House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on the social platform X.

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"Members of Congress have a constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight of the executive branch wherever and whenever it is needed. We are lawfully permitted to show up at any federal facility unannounced to conduct an inspection on behalf of the American people," the Democratic lawmakers said.

"By visiting the detention center in Newark, Rep. McIver and two other Members of Congress were upholding their oath of office. They didn’t assault anyone, but were themselves aggressively mistreated by illegally masked individuals," the statement added.

"There is no credible evidence that Rep. McIver engaged in any criminal activity, and she would not have been permitted to tour the facility had she done anything wrong," the Democratic leadership said.

The statement further said that the proceeding launched "by the so-called U.S. Attorney in New Jersey is a blatant attempt by the Trump administration to intimidate Congress and interfere with our ability to serve as a check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch."

House Democrats vowed not to "be intimidated by the Trump administration."

Several Democratic lawmakers posted separate statements condemning Habba's move.

Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M) said in an X post: "Rep. LaMonica McIver walked into Delaney Hall to protect human rights and it is her lawful duty to conduct oversight. Now, the Trump Administration is throwing bogus charges at her for doing her job."

"They want to silence everyone. If they came for a sitting member of Congress, who will they come for next? I stand with @RepLaMonica—and for the Constitution. It is our sacred obligation as Americans to protect each other from tyranny," she added.

Rep Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) wrote: "A RED LINE has been crossed. Trump is prosecuting his political enemies in Congress. This is just the beginning. We must take whatever we’ve done before to show dissent and go ONE RUNG HIGHER. And save your bulls--- documents on this, Alina. You’ll need them when you testify."

Political commentators and attorneys also spoke out against the development.

Immigration attorney Aaron Reichlin-Melnicksaid in a post: "Donald Trump’s personal lawyer is acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, despite no relevant background. She just charged a Democratic congresswoman with assaulting a cop in an incident which occurred after DHS chose to arrest Newark’s mayor for trespassing."

Meanwhile, supporters of Make American Great Again (MAGA) movement welcomed Habba's action.

MAGA conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer wrote on X: "Democrat Congresswoman @RepLaMonica has been charged for assaulting an ICE agent in New Jersey! Thank you, @AlinaHabba. You may want to keep an eye on homeboy Hakeem who said you will 'find out' if his Sista faced 'trumped up charges'. Sounds like a threat."

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Charlie Kirk: “These are members of Congress that stormed into a federal ICE facility despite warnings. They should absolutely be charged for this.”}:

05/12/25

Charlie Kirk: “These are members of Congress that stormed into a federal ICE facility despite warnings. They should absolutely be charged for this.”}:

05/12/25

May 12, 2025, edition ofThe Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on Rumble

CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): This is a very easy one for my friend, Kash Patel and Pam Bondi. Very easy. They went after American patriots for peacefully walking into the United States Capitol building, nonviolently, while being invited, while doors were opened, and they stayed within the lanes, the little rope lines. These are members of Congress that stormed into a federal ICE facility despite warnings. They should absolutely be charged for this, without a doubt. No one is above the law, is what we've always been saying. No one is above the law.

...

KIRK: And that's exactly what should happen. You see, the Democrats have a big problem with Immigration Customs and Enforcement. But if you assault ICE, you get consequences. If you storm an ICE facility, there will be consequences. Rob Menendez complained that they had put their hands on a member of Congress. Oh, I must have missed the memo that he was an untouchable. He thinks they should be invulnerable, that he is royalty. And by the way, his dad is literally a traitor. Bob Menendez sold our country out to Egypt for gold bars while on the Senate foreign intelligence committee, selling out American secrets for cash. And did — he also had multiple instances of near misses with the law. This guy was a disgusting person.

...

KIRK: Throw the book at them. Kash and Pam, you got all the details you need — charge these members of Congress. The facts are there. They stormed the facility. They assaulted our ICE officers. They think they are above the law. They tried to put President Trump in jail for 700 years for something he did not do. They are begging you to indict them and do it. Don't make a big show of it. Indite them. Charge them. The only way that we end the lawfare chapter in this country is reciprocity. They came after us, they assaulted ICE officers, and we will go after them.

Fox’s comically pathetic spin for a foreign government gifting Trump a $400 million plane}:

05/12/25

Steve Bannon: “Certain members of Congress should be arrested this afternoon for their activities on this situation up in Newark”}:

:{:{05/12/25}:

May 12, 2025, edition of Real America's Voice's War Room

STEVE BANNON (HOST): This hurtling towards a constitutional crisis, which we are hurtling towards, it must be resolved by the end of June. When the Supreme Court leaves for the summer, they're not back until October. This cannot fester over the summer. This issue, particularly about the deportations.

Something else, I believe certain members of Congress should be arrested this afternoon for their activities on this situation up in Newark. The mayor was already arrested.

I think Stephen Miller, as we started here on the show with Rogan O'Handley, DC Draino, to talk about the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus like President Lincoln did during the Civil War, that this is something that has to be on the table.

I believe that this is going to be even a bigger part of the controversy. I think it's gonna become part of the conversation. I know Stephen Miller and the crack team over there, he's deputy White House counsel — chief of staff for policy, I think Stephen and his team are all over this. Remember Stephen ran America First Law, which is outstanding, did so much of the great work.

This is the convergence of the crises, right? You have the constitutional crisis on the mass deportations and really President Trump's power under Article 2. The judge in San Francisco on Friday said he doesn't have the ability to either cut costs of personnel at 21 separate federal agencies, so the whole Article 2 powers of the president now being challenged by, let's face it, radical Marxist — neo-Marxist, a judicial supremacists in the federal judiciary, it's got to be taken care of.

They asked me at the Financial Times situation on Saturday night, what happens to the Supreme Court's rules? I said, hey, we're going to see at the time. It's that open a question.

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POLITICO

New Jersey Mayor Ras Baraka arrested at ICE facility

The Democrat, who is also running for governor, was involved in a scrum with three members of Congress seeking a tour of Delaney Hall.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was detained while at Delaney Hall, a facility to house migrants. | Seth Wenig/AP

By Ry Rivard

05/09/2025

NEWARK, New Jersey — The mayor of New Jersey’s largest city, who is also a Democratic candidate for governor, was handcuffed and detained by federal officials on Friday at a protest ofan immigration detention centerfollowing a scrum involving federal agents and three members of Congress seeking a tour of the facility.

The arrest followed a chaotic scene in the detention facility’s parking lot involving protesters, federal law enforcement officers and the three Democratic members — Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Rob Menendez and LaMonica McIver — at Delaney Hall. It is the Trump administration’s newest Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility, which is expected to play a major role in its Northeast immigration operations.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was being held at a separate ICE field office in his own city as elected Democrats in New Jersey scrambled to get him released.

House members, protesters clash with authorities at New Jersey ICE facility

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The members of Congress all said they were touched to varying degrees and, in one case, assaulted by federal authorities at the facility.

“This most assuredly is the most discomforting, concerning visit we have had. And what we experienced was the weaponization, of the abuse of power, that this administration has given ICE to do,” Watson Coleman said. “ICE is out of control.”

The mayor and the three members of Congress had been visiting Delaney Hall hoping to inspect conditions inside. While the members were inside, Baraka waited in a fenced in parking lot at the facility while protesters gathered outside the fence.

The roughly 1,000-bed facility just recently started taking detainees. The Baraka administration has tried to prevent it from opening, taking the private prison operator that runs the facility to court and alleging it does not have proper city permits.

The detention unfolded after Baraka was apparently allowed inside the fenced parking lot at the facility and then later told to leave.

The three House members had been inside the facility waiting for a tour [for two hours?] but then came out after officers wearing gear that identified them variously as federal police, ICE and Homeland Security personnel began gathering near Baraka in the parking lot. At one point, the three Democratic members came out as authorities threatened to arrest Baraka. They all exited to a parking lot outside the fence where protesters had gathered in an attempt to defuse the situation and to avoid Baraka getting arrested.

The three members then reentered the fenced area while Baraka waited outside the fence, but Menendez quickly came back and warned Baraka that the authorities still wanted to arrest him. When Menendez came to warn Baraka, he looked through the fence and told the mayor, “They are talking about coming out to arrest you.”

Later, Menendez told POLITICO that he’d witnessed an agent inside the fenced area talking on the phone with someone who told the agent to arrest Baraka, who by then was outside of the fenced area. McIver gave a similar account in a press conference.

Then law enforcement officials all came out, setting off a scrum in the parking lot area outside the fence, with Baraka and 80-year-old Watson Coleman near its middle.

It was a chaotic scene.

The group then moved to reenter the fenced-in area as Baraka was handcuffed and detained.

The interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, Alina Habba, confirmed that Baraka was in custody.

“The Mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself from the ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey this afternoon,” shewrote on X. “He has willingly chosen to disregard the law. That will not stand in this state. He has been taken into custody. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW.”

But the members of Congress also said they had been touched.

McIver, who represents Newark, said she and her colleagues came to the facility for a “simple oversight visit” but they had to wait about two hours to get inside. She and Watson Coleman were “assaulted” and Menendez was “roughed up” afterward. Menendez said that “all of us were touched,” calling what happened to McIver an “assault.”

As they reached the gate after the scrum to reenter the secure area of the facility, Menendez said he witnessed a federal law enforcement official assault McIver.

“It was a complete shove,” Menendez said in an interview.

McIver gave a similar account.

But even after that, the three members of Congress continued inside the secure area and received a tour. None of the members said they witnessed deplorable conditions at the facility, but by then the mayor’s arrest had overtaken the inspection.

“What we just witnessed was disgusting,” McIver told reporters. “If they can treat three members of Congress like that, just imagine how they can treat people on the street each and every day.”

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, described the events differently. It said in a statement that as a bus of detainees was entering the security gate of Delaney Hall a group of protesters and two members of Congress — Menendez and Watson Coleman — “stormed the gate and broke into the detention facility.”

:{MOST READ

“These members of Congress storming into a detention facility goes beyond bizarre political stunt and puts the safety of our law enforcement agents and the detainees at risk,” the agency said. “Members of Congress are not above the law and cannot illegally break into detention facilities. Had these members requested a tour, we would have facilitated a tour of the facility. This is an evolving situation.”

protesters on the scene, which included members of the SEIU union, began moving to the field office across town when they learned Barak was being taken there.

By late afternoon, the three members of Congress reassembled at the field office and began pushing back against claims that they had stormed the facility. At least 100 protesters remained outside the facility in the rain Friday evening, chanting “free Ras Baraka.”

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Baraka, astaunch progressive and one of six Democrats running for governor this year, has been a vocal opponent of the Trump administration’s plans for the immigration detention facility. While other Democratic candidates have spoken out against the Trump administration’s recent immigration actions, none have done so as forcefully as Baraka. He took part in a rally against the reopening of the facility in March — footage of which hasappeared in his campaign ads — and has been “demanding entry” into Delaney Hall throughout the week since its opening.

Newark, which is home to a diverse population, previously filed a complaint with the Essex County Superior Court, alleging that ICE was planning to open Delaney Hall “without following proper building safety protocols.” (DHS told POLITICO in a statement that the facility has “valid permits and inspection from plumbing, electricity to fire codes has been cleared.”) GEO Group, the private prison contractor that owns the facility, has accused the legal action of being “politically motivated.” GEO Group referred POLITICO to ICE for comment.

At the March rally, Baraka told reporters that he would “love to see action” from his fellow Democratic candidates regarding immigration.

“They say they are against the detention facility in Newark, and that’s the talk,” Baraka said at the time. “I would love to see them out to help us in this effort. I mean, it is a competition, so maybe they feel like coming here supports me. I don’t know what it is. I can’t speak for them, but I would love to see them out here.”

The arrest puts Baraka in the national spotlight with a month to go before the June 10 primary. Just two hours after he was led away in handcuffs, Baraka’s campaign sent out a text message asking for donations. “Ras was at Delaney Hall today demanding entry into the ICE detention center where Trump and MAGA extremists are illegally detaining people,” it read. “Ras is ready to do whatever it takes to stop Trump and to protect New Jerseyans from his extreme agenda. We need you with us now more than ever.”

Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement he was “outraged by the unjust arrest” of Baraka. The governor noted that he signed a law several years ago that aims to ban private immigration detention facilities, but the law has not been enforced amid a pending lawsuit.

“Mayor Baraka is an exemplary public servant who has always stood up for our most vulnerable neighbors,” he said. “I am calling for his immediate release by federal law enforcement.”

The arrest alarmed other pro-immigrant activists who were in attendance.

“If they can do this to a mayor that has a profile as large as Mayor Baraka, what are they going to do to people protesting at Tesla stores?” said Amy Torres, executive director of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice.

Other Democratic candidates running for governor condemned the arrest. Rep. Mikie Sherrillcalled it an “absolute outrage,” while Steven Fulop, mayor of Jersey City,said it was “a dangerous precedent — and it demands condemnation in the strongest possible terms.” Former state Senate President Steve Sweeney called for his release, as did Rep. Josh Gottheimer, who said that Delaney Hall has “an environment ripe with mistreatment and abuse.”

New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller said that he will go to Delaney Hall tomorrow, and called on the other candidates to join him “in standing together for justice.”

Meanwhile, Republicans attacked Baraka. Bob Hugin, the state Republican Party chair, warned that Baraka would be a governor “who puts political theater ahead of public safety and the rule of law.” The GOP gubernatorial hopefuls also went after him, with former radio host Bill Spadea saying that he “should be embarrassed by his behavior” and former Assemblymember Jack Ciattarelli calling Baraka “shameful.”

“In Newark, the airport is in the midst of an unprecedented & dangerous meltdown, the public schools are failing students & families, and there is crime in the streets every day,” Ciattarelli wrote. “And yet its Mayor and leading Democrat candidate for Governor … is busy shilling for illegal Immigrants at an ICE detention center with a cheap publicity stunt.”

*Madison Fernandez and Daniel Han contributed to this report.

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AN 4 25

The Trump lawyer who is now New Jersey’s acting U.S. attorney ratcheted up the buffoonery this week with her claim that she will investigate our governor and attorney general.

Alina Habba appeared on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show Thursday to say she’s opening an investigation into Gov. Phil Murphy and Attorney General Matt Platkin over the Immigrant Trust Directive, a state order that bars state and local police officers from becoming de facto immigration agents.

“We are to take all criminal, violent criminals and criminals, out of this country and completely enforce federal law, and anybody who does get in that way, in the way of what we are doing, which is not political, it is simply against crime, will be charged in the state of New Jersey for obstruction, for concealment, and I will come after them hard. Those investigations will start immediately,” Habba told Hannity.

A normal prosecutor would probably keep this under wraps so her targets wouldn’t know from minute one that they’re being investigated. But for all we know, there is no actual investigation. Habba, clearly reveling in the attention this high-profile appointment has granted her, wanted to say something that would make headlines, so she did. I wouldn’t be surprised if her on-air threat is as far as this alleged investigation goes.

That Habba is targeting Murphy and Platkin for the Immigrant Trust Directive is not a surprise. Anti-immigration hard-liners like Habba have twisted efforts like the directive to claim that it does something it does not. It does not bar police from working with immigrant agents to arrest suspected criminals. What it does is prevent local cops from seeing a brown person on the street and asking for their papers. But the facts about the directive are not important for Habba; what’s important is she can use it to promise retribution for her — and President Trump’s — political foes.

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Multiple judges have rejected legal challenges to the Immigrant Trust Directive, including one judge appointed by President Trump himself.

Murphy was asked about Habba’s claim on a podcast recorded Friday. His response was fairly muted considering Habba basically threatened to arrest him, but at least he defended his administration’s efforts to protect the countless immigrants living in New Jersey who have done nothing wrong.

“We go after criminals hard, period, full stop, regardless of their immigration status. What we don’t do is we don’t go after somebody for jaywalking or where there’s no probable cause of a crime. And we’re very clear about that,” Murphy said.

Platkin, speaking at an unrelated press conference in Newark, was a bit more knives-out when asked about Habba.

“I hope she starts doing her job,” Platkin said.

Seems unlikely. The U.S. attorney gig is a plum appointment, but it’s probably a bit of a slog overseeing nearly 200 attorneys and handling some complicated cases. That’s probably why we didn’t see a lot of Habba’s predecessors, Craig Carpenito and Philip Sellinger, yet Habba is out here cosplaying as a cop for the New York Post and targeting Democrats on Fox News. That sounds a lot more fun than doing work.

Amy Torres, executive director of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, told me Habba’s threat against Murphy and Platkin is in line with the Trump administration’s focus on TV ratings and viral social media posts rather than governing. It’s also part of a broader attempt by the administration to make sure their opponents know they could end up in jail or, if possible, deported.

“They’ll go after political opponents, whether those are individuals, whether those are student protestors, whether those are institutions like law firms and universities, or whether those are state governments,” Torres said

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she was near musk in cabinet foto op pseudo-event? 2 25

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an 2 25

A Florida Republican group is facing backlash after extending a formal invitation to Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan, who arrived in Florida on Thursday from Romania. The accused human traffickers were reportedly granted travel clearance following intervention from high-ranking Trump administration officials who “took an interest in their case.”

38-year old Andrew Tate, along with Tristan, 36, are under investigation in both Romania and the UK.

According to the BBC, they were first arrested in Romania in 2022, where they “face trial on allegations of rape, trafficking minors and money laundering, all of which they deny.” They are also, BBC reported separately, “facing separate, unrelated charges of rape and human trafficking in the UK.”

The Tates are “vocal supporters” of President Donald Trump, “have a large US following and are popular figures among some elements of the American right.” Andrew Tate has been called a self-professed misogynist influencer.

President Trump’s special envoy Richard Grenell, “raised the Tate brothers with Romania’s Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu at the Munich Security Conference,” BBC notes. “Hurezeanu said he had not considered Grenell’s approach as a ‘form of pressure.’ Grenell told the Financial Times his support for the brothers was evident.”

On Thursday, Vox reported on the “intra-MAGA fight playing out right now over Andrew Tate,” and explained that “Tate became a far-right podcasting star in the 2020s with his explicitly sexist philosophy of masculinity. He quickly gained a wide following among both young men specifically, and several MAGA, including Trump’s own former personal attorney and current adviser, Elon Musk, and Donald Trump Jr.”

Indeed, last month Tate appeared on “The Benny Show,” with guest Alina Habba, formerly President Donald Trump’s personal attorney and now Counselor to the President.

“I’m a big fan,” Habba told Tate, as Mediaite reported.

“I think that your anger is the same that President Trump has for our country and the time is now for us to stop being wimps. I think that’s exactly the right sentiment. And I also have to say that I sympathize with you because I think you go through a lot of the same show me the person, I’ll find the crime that President Trump has gone through.”

IFrame Content

Currently pinned to the top of the Tampa Bay Young Republicans’ page on the social media site X is their invitation to the Tate brothers.

Bipartisan condemnation against the Tampa Bay Young Republicans came quickly.

“They BRAGGED about their abuse of women. On VIDEO. What the hell has happened to the Republican Party?” asked former Republican Ron Filipkowski, now the editor-in-chief of MeidasTouch.

Well-known veteran journalist Charlie Sykes, the former Bulwark editor-in-chief, remarked, “Florida YRs embrace sex traffickers.. because of course.”

Mediaite contributing editor Sarah Rumpf commented, “Tampa Bay YRs endorsing abusing women and sex trafficking. Take note, YR women. The Tates’ criminal cases in multiple countries are still pending, but what they’ve admitted — bragged about! — is enough to make the moral decision clear here.”

CNN’s S.E. Cupp, a Republican, wrote: “YRs…I know it seems that way, but you don’t HAVE to embrace every evil asshole just to ‘own the libs.'”

Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said the Tate brothers are not welcome in his state. His communications director, Bryan Griffin, separately wrote: “It’s not a matter of speech. It’s a matter of conduct. Conservatism is not impartial to morality. In fact, the right must become more selective about the people we amplify. This is a different situation from the smear campaigns of the left. Their admissions alone are repugnant.”

“Wrong move,” remarked Florida State Senator and former Florida Republican Party Chair Blaise Ingoglia. “You can believe in free speech and still not give women-abusing scumbags a platform.”

One of the sharpest criticisms came from Rafael E. Struve, the Director of Communications at Bienvenido, which he describes as “a national political organization that specializes in mobilizing Hispanic conservative voters” to elect Republicans.

“As a former YR club chair,” Struve wrote, “I get it—any press is good press, and controversy’s a cheap thrill. I’ve seen some dumb moves for clicks, but come on Tampa Bay…what the hell is this? You’re rolling out the red carpet for a pair of self-styled pimps and predators, calling it ‘free speech’ as if you’re some sort of First Amendment heroes? These creeps are on record bragging about pimping out and battering women, and you’re still handing them a mic—and then you have the gall to compare them to President Trump?”

“I’m trying to understand what broke in your heads to greenlight this,” he continued. “Platforming trafficking suspects and porn peddlers doesn’t make you free speech rebels—it makes you look desperate and dumb. Dragging President Trump into this, as if his fight’s anything like their circus, is especially insulting. You’re better than this—for your club’s sake, I genuinely hope you’ll ditch the graphic, delete the post, and figure out why you thought this was a win.”

Watch the video above or at this link.

===

ggl radom 2 25

Fox News

Trump is doing business with China 'the right way': Alina Habba

Trump counselor Alina Habba responds to concerns of China buying up American real estate on 'The Ingraham Angle.'

.1 day ago

Yahoo News Canada

Alina Habba’s Attempt To Defend Donald Trump Comes With A Cringeworthy Twist

White House counselor Alina Habba's explanation of how President Donald Trump's administration is running the government prompted awkward...

.2 days ago

Fox Business

DOGE is cracking down on 'acronym mayhem' in DC: Alina Habba

Counselor to President Donald Trump, Alina Habba, on intentions to defend DOGE actions in court and the administration's plan to hold...

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Daily Mail

Alina Habba says there will 'absolutely' be new criminal prosecutions from Epstein list release

Americans should expect to see new criminal prosecutions brought against individuals revealed to be involved in Jeffrey Epstein's pedophilic...

.24 hours ago

Mediaite

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes Lashes Out At Trump Over Andrew Tate, Roasts ‘Starstruck’ Alina Habba For Fawning Encounter

MSNBC host Chris Hayes lashed out at President Donald Trump over the release of the Tate brothers, and roasted Trump counselor Alina Habba.

.5 hours ago

OutKick

Alina Habba Gives The Libs A Tongue-Lashing, Jon Stewart's Bloody DOGE Rant & Twin Peaks Girls Set Booby Traps

Alina Habba is done with the nonsense, Jon Stewart's nasty injury and the Twin Peaks girls are here to stay.

.1 day ago

RealClearPolitics

WH Counselor Alina Habba: Epstein Documents Released, "I Won't Say They're Guilty Until They Go Through Their Time In Court"

White House counselor Alina Habba told Piers Morgan during an interview Thursday that she spoke with Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI...

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Kash Patel vows to redouble search for missing Jeffery Epstein documents after Pam Bondi phase one 'dud'...

READ MORE: Alina Habba says there will 'absolutely' be new criminal prosecutions from Epstein list release; PODCAST: All the biggest news...

.1 day ago

FOX News Radio

Inside President Trump’s First Cabinet Meeting

Counselor to President Trump, Alina Habba, recaps the first cabinet meeting of President Trump's second term. She shares the collaborative...

.5 hours ago

MMA

Published 02/21/25 10:23 AM EST

Top Trump administration officials have appeared on Fox News 124 times since President Donald Trump was sworn in. At least one key nominated or appointed official appeared nearly every day of the past month.

Trump's “border czar,” Thomas Homan, has been the most prominent administration official on the network, appearing 20 times in total, on over half of the days of the month. Counselor to the president Alina Habba (15 appearances), White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt (12), and deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller (11) were also prominently featured....

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As part of an interview with the executive director of America’s Voice, Greg Sargent claimed that Donald Trump confidante Alina Habba used word games during a recent Fox News interview to disguise the president-elect's real plan for dealing with the families of undocumented migrants.

In a transcript from his New Republic "Daily Blast" podcast, Sargent asked Vanessa Cardenas to dig into Habba's defense of the first Trump term when migrant families were torn apart as they were put in detention centers, denying it had ever happened, and then asserting it would not happen after he is sworn in next January.

Speaking with the Fox host, Habba, recently appointed by Trump as counselor to the president, complained, "Nobody is breaking up families. Nobody is targeting individuals and making sure that one over the other goes out. That doesn’t happen under President Trump. It didn’t happen before. But you do not have a right to come here to endanger us or to not come in here the right way."

She then added, "I can assure you, [Trump 'border czar'] Tom Homan, as tough as nails as he is—he’s looking out for us, and child trafficking is something he’s spoken about extensively. And that is why he wants to get families, if they will cooperate, out and in the right way."

According to Sargent, Habba's mention of "families" being forced out and given a chance to come back in was a tipoff.

Calling it "spin," he asked his guest, "Habba clearly is trying to say, 'Don’t worry, you won’t see families separated like during Trump’s first term.' But then she gives away the game at the end saying we’re going to have to 'remove entire families.' Your thoughts?"

Cardenas admitted, "It sounds like they are rewriting their whole script."

"We all remember the family separations that occur; we all remember the kids in cages; we all remember the kids that were forced to be removed from their parents’ arms. And that was not something that we imagined. It’s something that actually happened, and that’s why the American public revolted against those policies," she continued before adding, "The last piece of evidence for that is people like Stephen Miller and Tom Homan, who are obviously key figures in the Trump administration, have the intention and the desire, and they have been very clear about their plans to target as many people as possible. Tom Homan, in previous interviews, have said things like no one is off the table, meaning that they’re going to deport anyone that they deem should not be here. From what we have heard, it’s pretty much undocumented immigrants, period."

You can read more here.

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12/09/2024 rww

Kyle Mantyla

Kipp Jones @ Mediaite: White Nationalist Nick Fuentes Arrested After Allegedly Throwing Woman Down Stairs and Pepper Spraying Her

White nationalist and anti-Semite Nick Fuentes was arrested in Illinois last week on a charge of battery after he allegedly pushed a woman down the stairs of his home and pepper sprayed her last month.

Molly Olmstead @ Slate: A QAnon Enthusiast Leading the FBI: What Could Go Wrong?

Kash Patel’s history of railing against the deep state says less about his outrageous fantasies than it does about his sinister opportunism.

David E. Sanger, Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman @ The New York Times: Want a Job in the Trump Administration? Be Prepared for the Loyalty Test.

Applicants for government posts, including inside the Pentagon and the intelligence agencies, say they have been asked about their thoughts on Jan. 6 and who they believe won the 2020 election.

Kelby Vera @ HuffPost: Trump Plans To Pardon Jan. 6 Rioters As Soon As He Returns To Office

Donald Trump confirmed his plans to pardon supporters who were involved in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, during a Sunday interview on “Meet the Press.”

Hafiz Rashid @ The New Republic: Trump’s Dumbest Lawyer Will Play Starring Role in Second Term

Donald Trump has just rewarded his lawyer Alina Habba with a plum job in his new administration: counselor to the president.

Jason Salzman @ Colorado Times Recorder: Christian Nationalist College Celebrates Its ‘First-Ever’ Graduate To Be Elected to Congress

A Christian nationalist college founded by one of the country’s top anti-gay and anti-abortion conservatives is celebrating U.S. Rep.-elect Gabe Evans (R-CO) as its “first-ever graduate to be elected” to Congress.

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no lnx?

Breaking

Giuliani Disbarred In D.C.: Here Are All The Other Ex-Trump Lawyers Now Facing Legal Consequences

Alison Durkee

Forbes Staff

Alison is a senior news reporter covering US politics and legal news.

Sep 26, 2024,12:38pm EDT

Updated Sep 27, 2024,

Topline Ex-Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani was formally disbarred in Washington, D.C., on Thursday—months after being disbarred in New York—as a string of lawyers are now facing consequences for their work with former President Donald Trump.

Rudy Giuliani

Key Facts

Rudy Giuliani: Giuliani, who led Trump’s post-election efforts, was formally disbarred in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, with the District of Columbia Court of Appeals ordering the penalty based on New York disbarring the attorney in July. The former New York City mayor has also been criminally charged in Arizona for his role in trying to overturn the 2020 election—where he initially tried to evade being served—after already being charged in Georgia, and he’s also been sued for defamation by voting machine companies Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic. He was ordered to pay $148 million to Georgia election workers whom he defamed, which resulted in Giuliani declaring bankruptcy.

Jenna Ellis: Ellis was charged in Arizona after previously being indicted in Georgia and taking a plea deal in that case, and she took another deal in August that requires her to provide “truthful, honest, candid, and complete” testimonies after being suspended from practicing law for three years as a result of her Georgia guilty plea. She was also previously censured for violating rules that bar attorneys from engaging in “dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation,” with the attorney admitting in court she had made “misrepresentations” while representing Trump after the election that had a “selfish motive.”

Kenneth Chesebro: The attorney, who is described as the architect of the Trump campaign’s “fake electors” scheme—in which GOP officials in battleground states submitted false slates of electors to Congress claiming Trump won—was criminally charged in Wisconsin on one count of forgery, after previously being indicted in Georgia, though he took a plea deal right before his case went to trial.

James Troupis: Troupis was also reportedly charged in Wisconsin in June; another Trump attorney who helped organize the false electors scheme, the lawyer had previously avoided criminal charges in other states and settled a civil lawsuit regarding the electors plot in Wisconsin in March.

John Eastman: Eastman was also charged in Arizona, after already being indicted in Georgia and having 11 charges filed against him by counsel for the California State Bar stemming from his efforts to challenge the election results with Trump. A judge recommended in March that Eastman be disbarred and sanctioned $10,000 for his post-election efforts, which the lawyer intends to appeal.

Christina Bobb: Bobb was charged in Arizona, the first charges the attorney and former One America News anchor—who now serves as an attorney for the Republican National Committee—has so far faced. The lawyer joined Trump’s legal team in November 2020, according to the Washington Post, and the indictment cites a text message that ties the lawyer to the “fake elector” scheme in which GOP officials submitted false slates of electors to Congress claiming Trump won their states.

Jeffrey Clark: Former DOJ attorney Clark, who faced charges from the D.C. bar for aiding Trump’s post-election efforts from within the agency, broke at least one rule of professional conduct related to his actions after 2020 election, a D.C. ethics committee found in a preliminary ruling, with a disciplinary panel ruling in August he should be suspended from practicing law for two years—Clark was also criminally charged in Georgia.

Sidney Powell: A judge dismissed an attempt by the Texas State Bar to discipline Powell in February after the bar alleged Powell’s post-election efforts had violated rules for professional conduct, though she now faces a separate disciplinary investigation in Michigan after being sanctioned for her post-election lawsuit in that state. After advising Trump and bringing her own post-election lawsuits in four states, Powell also still faces defamation lawsuits from Dominion and Smartmatic, a reported federal investigation into her organization’s fundraising arm and was criminally charged in Georgia, though she later reached a plea deal.

Michael Cohen: Trump’s longtime attorney served a three-year sentence in prison and home confinement for tax evasion and campaign finance-related crimes, after he orchestrated a series of “hush money” payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal over allegations they had affairs with Trump.

Alina Habba: Habba, who’s representing Trump in many of his post-presidency legal battles, has been sanctioned multiple times in Trump’s failed lawsuit against Hillary Clinton; she was first ordered to pay with her co-counsel $50,000 in sanctions and $16,274 in attorneys’ fees to one defendant in the case, and she and Trump were then sanctioned in January for nearly $1 million payable to Clinton, her campaign and other Democratic operatives.

Cleta Mitchell: Mitchell, who participated in Trump’s phone call in which he urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to overturn the state’s election results, resigned from her law firm Foley & Lardner in January 2021, saying she left the firm due to a “massive pressure campaign” against her from the left to oust her over her associations with Trump.

Other Georgia Attorneys: Attorneys Ray Smith and Robert Cheeley were also indicted as part of the Georgia case against Trump and his allies, after Smith worked on behalf of the Trump campaign in Georgia and Cheeley pushed false claims of election fraud at a legislative hearing in the state.

Pending Complaints: Ethics complaints urging state bars and disciplinary boards to investigate attorneys have been filed and remain pending against multiple Trump lawyers who aided his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, including Mitchell and Boris Epshteyn, though court records show another complaint against Trump attorneys in New Mexico was dismissed.

Attorneys’ Fees: Trump and his campaign have been ordered to pay attorneys’ fees in a number of failed lawsuits—though it’s unclear if his attorneys have been forced to personally shoulder any part of those costs—including more than $20,000 to two Georgia counties over post-election litigation, $1.3 million to former White House advisor Omarosa Manigault and more than $54,000 to Daniels.

What To Watch For

Giuliani, Eastman and Bobb have all pleaded not guilty in Arizona, and their cases will still continue as Ellis’ charges are dropped. It’s unclear how long it will take for the criminal cases in Arizona and Wisconsin to play out. No trial date has yet been set for the defendants in Georgia who haven’t taken plea deals. (Giuliani, Eastman, Clark, Smith, Cheeley and other defendants have all pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.)

Crucial Quote

“The seriousness of [Giuliani’s] misconduct cannot be overstated,” a panel of New York appeals court judges wrote in their July ruling disbarring Giuliani—which formed the basis of the Washington, D.C. decision—arguing he “flagrantly misused his prominent position” as Trump’s personal attorney and “repeatedly and intentionally made false statements ... in which he baselessly attacked and undermined the integrity of this country’s electoral process.” “In so doing, respondent not only deliberately violated some of the most fundamental tenets of the legal profession, but he also actively contributed to the national strife that has followed the 2020 Presidential election, for which he is entirely unrepentant.”

Tangent

A number of lawyers who aided Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, but did not directly represent him in court or advise him, have also faced punishments. Powell’s co-counsel in the Michigan case—in which Trump was not a plaintiff—were all sanctioned and jointly forced to pay more than $175,000 in attorneys’ fees, as well as ordered to undergo legal education and referred to their respective state bars for potential discipline. Attorney Lin Wood, who was involved with the Michigan litigation along with other post-election lawsuits, has been under investigation by the State Bar of Georgia for his efforts since even before the Michigan order was issued. He ultimately retired before the State Bar could formally discipline him.

Chief Critic

Giuliani spokesperson Ted Goodman has not yet responded to a request for comment, but previously called the former mayor’s disbarment in New York a “politically and ideologically corrupted decision” in a statement, adding they “will be appealing this objectively flawed decision in hopes that the appellate process will restore integrity into our system of justice.” Giuliani has previously opposed his other punishments, with Goodman calling the Arizona case an effort to “eviscerate” the justice system and saying the former New York City mayor is “proud to stand up for the countless Americans who raised legitimate concerns surrounding the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election.”

Trump’s attorneys have largely denied wrongdoing and opposed the efforts to punish them, with the exception of Cohen, who pleaded guilty to his crimes, and the attorneys who have taken plea deals. In a statement after she pleaded guilty in Arizona, Ellis said she had agreed to cooperate with the investigation and was told she wasn’t a target before being indicted, but “neither the AG nor I control the grand jury.” “So both sides are just following through with our original agreements: I’m telling the truth and they’re not prosecuting me.”

Powell still denies the defamation allegations against her, and told Forbes the sanctions against her in Michigan set a “dangerous precedent to stand that puts at risk every lawyer who represents an unpopular cause or client.” In a statement after the ruling on his disbarment, Eastman’s lawyer said the attorney “maintains that his handling of the legal issues” over whether the 2020 election could be overturned was based on reasonable legal precedent and that Eastman was following “the same process taken by lawyers every day and everywhere.” He also opposed Eastman not being able to practice law to pay his legal fees while he faces the charges in Georgia, saying, “That is not justice and serves no legitimate purpose to protect the public.”

Surprising Fact

After the court ordered sanctions in the Clinton case against Trump and Habba, Trump and Habba went on to voluntarily withdraw two cases stemming from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ civil fraud litigation against the Trump Organization, which courts had suggested could be viewed as frivolous and result in sanctions.

Key Background

Trump and his allies filed approximately 60 court cases in the aftermath of the 2020 election seeking to change its outcome, ultimately losing all but one case, which was a minor dispute in Pennsylvania that did not impact the overall results. Since leaving office, Trump has continued to be deeply ensnared in legal issues, as he’s faced numerous lawsuits over his alleged role in the January 6 riot at the Capitol building, four criminal cases, James’ civil fraud case against him and his company and two defamation lawsuits from writer E. Jean Carroll. The fraud and Carroll cases have resulted in Trump being ordered to pay a combined $540 million to James and Carroll, though the former president has maintained the cases against him are “witch hunts” designed to harm his presidential campaign, and has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges against him.

“i I really can’t be fact-checked': Trump attorney Alina Habba amplifies bizarre childhood claim

David Edwards Raw Story

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... ‘Fantastical’ claims

Courts in other states have taken similar action to hold accountable attorneys who filed abusive or frivolous lawsuits challenging presidential election results:

Colorado: A federal district court penalized two attorneys, Ernest Walker and Gary Fielder, for filing a complaint seeking $160 billion in damages from 19 defendants for alleged misconduct related to the 2020 presidential election. After finding its claims were “fantastical” and “filed in bad faith,” the court ordered Walker and Fielder to pay defendants’ attorney fees totaling $187,000. Appeals to the 10th Circuit and Supreme Court failed.

Arizona: A federal district court imposed similar sanctions on three attorneys – Andrew Parker, Kurt Olsen and Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz – who challenged the 2020 presidential election results in Arizona. The court found their complaint contained “false, misleading, and unsupported factual assertions” and “did not have an adequate factual or legal basis.” It ordered the attorneys to pay defendants’ attorney fees totaling $122,200. The attorneys have appealed.

Florida: One federal district court even confronted a 193-page lawsuit filed by Donald Trump in 2022, claiming 31 defendants disseminated false information about him to rig the 2016 presidential election. The court wrote: “This case should never have been brought. … No reasonable lawyer would have filed it.” The court ordered Trump and his lead counsel, Alina Habba, to pay defendants’ attorney fees totaling $938,000. Both are appealing.

These cases create a solid body of precedent for inflicting penalties on attorneys who file abusive pleadings challenging election results.

'Bogus motion by the Trump team': Legal experts mock Habba’s latest 'nonsense' filing - Alternet.org

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msnbc not impressed w lawyer but sayas skilled polit comm

Trump lawyer is now persona non grata at her Pennsylvania law school - Alternet.org

snl 'I am new at this and I am learning': SNL buries Trump’s bumbling attorney Alina Habba - Alternet.org

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RWW 1 24

The night before the Iowa caucus, self-proclaimed “prophet” Amanda Grace hosted a ” livestream event that featured several members of former President Donald Trump’s family and inner circle, among them Trump’s son Eric and his wife Lara, and his attorney Alina Habba.

The Trumps and Habba were joined by the likes of Trump confidante Roger Stone, conspiracy theorist Clay Clark, MAGA pastor Jackson Lahmeyer, and “prophet” Robin Bullock, who collectively made the case for Trump heading into the caucus.

The program began with Grace interviewing Eric and Lara Trump, and Eric declaring that his father is being guided by God.

“I think he’s created the greatest political movement in history,” Eric Trump said. “And I really do believe that someone, something is looking down and guiding him every single day because there’s no way in the world he could have been where he is today without the intervention of God.”

“I feel it. I know it,” Trump added. “I really do believe that there’s divine intervention there. I think somebody was guiding him. He’s a remarkable father. He did a remarkable job for the United States of America, and I truly pray to the Lord that he wins again [and] he sorts out this country because we are in dangerous times, and it’s scary.”

IFrame Content

The Trumps were followed by Habba, who proclaimed that Trump’s myriad legal problems are all of “demonic plan.”

“I think that there is a plan,” Habba said. “There’s God’s plan, and then there’s a demonic plan. And the demonic plan is very easily confused with real life. There’s an orchestrated thing going on here. Don’t get it twisted. We have cases lined up intentionally during election time, intentionally trying to get negative attention right before an election.”

“He’s being pulled from the campaign time and time again to be deposed, to be subpoenaed, to go to trial, to fight the fight to clear his name,” she continued. “But the people that know him and the people that have faith and are reading—the people that are educating themselves, the people that are not listening to the fake news—they will understand and they do understand and they stand with him. And honestly, we’re flipping the ones that don’t know, because their demonic plan is so obvious.”

IFrame Content

“Pray for people to open their eyes,” Habba concluded. “They like to call MAGA Republicans a cult mentality. We’re not a cult mentality; we love America. If that’s a cult, I’m happy to love America. I’m happy to be part of that.”

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NY trial judge ruled fraud from git

'I’m gagged': Alina Habba complains on Fox News because she can’t attack judge’s clerk - Alternet.org

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ruling is end nor start of discussion

'None. Do you understand that word?' Judge Kaplan smacks down Trump lawyer Alina Habba - Alternet.org

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Alina Habba ridiculed for 'odd' advice she provided Trump about testifying - Alternet.org

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Trump attorney rambles incoherently about Hunter Biden when asked why her client predicted a Tuesday arrest

Sarah K. BurrisandRaw Story March 19, 2023

Donald Trump's lawyer Alina Habba employed the defense of "I know you are, but what am I" while in an interview on CNN Sunday about the Manhattan grand jury finishing up in the coming days. When asked about Trump's claims on his personal social media site, she dodged. Instead, she gave a confusing statement that involved Hunter Biden.

Habba began by saying that she could confirm that Rudy Giuliani's pal Robert Costello was asked by Trump to speak on his behalf before the grand jury. She said that Costello had been a critic of Cohen in the past, but Costello is the one said to have dangled a pardon before Cohen when the one-time Trump lawyer was still carrying the president's water.

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"He has some information, we're told, that is going to assist in acknowledging, which Michael Cohen has done in front of Congress and other places, that this is something that he coordinated," Habba claimed. "He made the payment himself. And effectively, it was no different than a settlement. I'm interested to see what Mr. Costello has to say. I think he has inside knowledge, and we should be paying attention."

Trump's lawyers have tried the defense that it was nothing more than a settlement, but there was no court case with Daniels. Neither party was suing the other. Trump paid her to stay quiet, which is why it's not a settlement but characterized as a hush money payment week before the 2016 election when some states were already voting. If it was a legal case it would have been public.

But it was when Habba was asked about Trump's panic on social media, saying that he was going to be arrested on Tuesday before the grand jury even voted on whether to recommend an indictment. The CNN host, who was filling in for Jim Acosta, said that their reporting confirmed Trump's claim wasn't true.

"I think it's a very important thing that he does, quite honestly,' Habba said. "We've got Hunter Biden, who we've seen has ties to China. We have his dead brother's wife, who's now, we've heard this week, has been funneling money from China as well and is on payroll. So, what happens is the Democrats now have to pull the wool over our heads."

She then made an unclear statement about "memes" that "say, okay, arrest Donald Trump, but that's exactly what that is. My client is getting ahead of it, and he's smart to do so. When you hear a lot of noise like this, we have to, uh, uh, pull the curtains back and say, this is a problem for Democrats. They're losing in the polls. He's ahead. And we've got major crises happening. In New York, we have people dying. That is what a state D.A. is doing after a failed federal D.A. couldn't do it."

It's not clear what Habba is saying here. District Attorney Alvin Bragg isn't a state attorney, he's the county attorney for New York county. The possible reference she made for the "federal D.A." could be about the Justice Department's rule not indicting the sitting president.

She went on to call it "a very scary time in our country" and claimed that Trump didn't even do the hush money payments, Cohen did it.

Stand-in host Paula Reid asked again about Trump's claim that he would be arrested Tuesday and calling for people to protest. When asked if Trump was inciting violence, she said that Bragg was the one inciting people.

"I don't think he's speculating at all," Habba said. "I think that's the reason you're covering it at the top of the hour, right? We're all hearing it. And we're all hearing leaks from the D.A., which is very typical. So, to not address something like that would be irresponsible. He's a candidate for the presidency. He is a former president. Somebody is leaking that he is getting arrested."

There haven't been any leaks that Trump is getting arrested, as there hasn't been a decision by the grand jury yet.

"We're hearing about meetings, we're hearing about people going into the grand jury with information," Habba said. Grand juries generally ask people with information to come in and testify about the case. It's exceptionally rare that grand juries have people talk to them that have nothing to do with the case.

"We actually heard a lie about somebody saying that they went into the grand jury and they didn't. How can he not address it? He's a key political figure, if not the political figure. So, I think it's not speculation, it's something that we're hearing, and I'm glad he's addressing it. If it is true, he needs to get ahead of it," Habba continued admitting she doesn't know if it is true or not.

When asked if Trump would surrender himself to police, Habba said he's not one to "hide under the covers," implying that Trump would not go peacefully.

See the interview below or at the link here.

Trump attorney babbles incoherently about Hunter Biden when asked why her client predicted arrest

youtu.be

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The “Russiagate” RICO suit

Hannity’s mood was celebratory on his March 24 broadcast as he announced the action Trump’s lawyers had taken just hours earlier.

“Former President Trump filed an explosive lawsuit against Hillary Clinton, Christopher Steele, and others for their role in pushing their years-long Russian conspiracy hoax and lies, laying out evidence of racketeering, a conspiracy to commit injurious falsehood, among other claims,” Hannity said.

“As the lawsuit reads: ‘The defendants maliciously conspired to weave a false narrative that their Republican opponent Donald J. Trump was colluding with a hostile foreign sovereignty’ -- which, of course, we expose right here on this program,” he added.

Hannity then turned to Trump lawyer Alina Habba and Fox legal analyst Gregg Jarrett, to discuss the “very valid suit.”

“It's wonderful when you can actually file a suit that is in the most part proven, which is the situation that I find myself in,” Habba said, before praising Hannity for “calling it out from the beginning.”

Indeed, Hannity had spent years helping to concoct the sprawling “Russiagate” conspiracy theories at the heart of Trump’s complaint. But while he was cheering on Trump’s attempt to effectively take Fox monologues before a judge, legal experts were mocking the former president’s complaint and warning that it would go nowhere.

But Hannity claimed the lawsuit “has great merit,” then asked Jarrett for his opinion. Jarrett praised the complaint, saying that Habba and her co-counsel had provided “all the necessary predicates for a racketeering case.”

“This was a criminal enterprise run by Hillary Clinton, approved by Hillary Clinton, the false information disseminated by Hillary Clinton and her cronies,” Jarrett added. “And it's got everything in it, that is necessary to prove the case: obstruction of justice, fraud, conspiracy, theft of trade secrets. The list goes on and on."

[twt]

"I can't wait for discovery and depositions,”Hannity said at the end of the segment, before asking Habba, “I hope we get to that point. You think we'll get there?”

“We're going to get there,” she replied.

They are not going to get there.

Hannity reconvened the panel on Friday night following the suit’s dismissal. The host introduced the segment by painting the judge’s action as evidence of the “two-tiered system of justice in this country” that is “undermining faith in our most important institutions” and “shredding our Constitution” before turning it over to his guests.

[vid 9/12]

habba blamed the suit’s failure on drawing “a Clinton judge … who I had asked to recuse himself but insisted that he didn’t need to; he was going to be impartial.”

Jarrett also took issue with the ruling, saying, “It appears to me here that this judge in Florida wanted to be both judge and jury. He wanted to be the trier of the fact here. And he simply states and declares that Trump hasn’t stated a cognizable claim under the law. Well, I think he has!”

The suit to stop New York’s Trump Organization probe

Hannity had already started his Christmas vacation on December 20, 2021, when Trump’s lawyers filed suit against James, seeking to force her to call off the state attorney general probe into the Trump Organization on the purported grounds that she had violated his constitutional rights by bringing the suit due to “political animus.”

But Hannity’s guest host, Tammy Bruce, filled in in his stead that night. While legal experts had warned the effort was far-fetched, Bruce gave Habba a friendly platform to tout the supposedly “pretty clean and cut” case.

“You can't scrutinize somebody,” Habba claimed. “It's called viewpoint discrimination. It's unconstitutional. The country doesn't allow it, and Letitia James has to be stopped.”

A few weeks later, Hannity hosted Trump’s adult son Eric, who brought up the suit.

“It's going to stop because frankly we've assembled the best legal, ethical minds, and we're going to sue her for this abuse of power.And that's the only way we can fight back, to sue her for this abuse of power,” Trump said.

“We don't have equal justice under the law or application of our laws anymore, and I say that sadly. We're now criminalizing political differences. I say that sadly,” Hannity replied.

A federal judge dismissed Trump’s suit in May.

The class action suit to get back on social media

“First tonight, President Trump is fighting back against Big Tech and today, he announced a brand-new class action lawsuit against Facebook, Twitter, and Google,” Hannity said at the top of his July 7, 2021, program.

“Now, with a team of high-powered attorneys, President Trump is now taking aim at what we have discussed at length on this program,” Hannity explained. “That Section 230 protections. Now, it's enjoyed by many Big Tech giants because supposedly they don't involve themselves in editorial. But in reality, they do.”

Legal experts scoffed at the class action lawsuits Trump’s lawyers filed, calling them “sure losers” due to the First Amendment protections the platforms enjoy.

But Hannity called it a “strong case,” and the people he turns to for discussions of legal issues were on board.

Alan Dershowitz, who served as one of Trump’s impeachment lawyers, called it “the most important First Amendment case of the 21st century,” adding, “There are cases, precedents going both ways and no one can predict what the outcome would be.”

And Jarrett told Hannity that “the argument that Trump makes in his lawsuit is a compelling one” and that it was “a solid argument to be presented in court.”

It wasn’t. A judge dismissed the Twitter lawsuit in May.

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A federal judge in Florida delivered a sharp, strong, and devastating 65-page rebuke as he dismissed Donald Trump’s lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and more than two dozen others including the Democratic National Committee and, initially, five former FBI officials who were later dropped from the $24 million suit. U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks said the lawsuit was so weak he agreed with the defendants who described it as “a fundraising tool, a press release, or a list of political grievances,” and added, “it has no merit as a lawsuit.”

The lawsuit was filed by Alina Habba, who “previously worked as general counsel at a parking garage company.”

It “blamed Hillary Clinton and others for conspiring to malign his character,” Bloomberg reports, and “accused more than two dozen defendants of orchestrating ‘a malicious conspiracy to disseminate patently false and injurious information about Donald J. Trump and his campaign, all in the hopes of destroying his life, his political career and rigging the 2016 Presidential Election in favor of Hillary Clinton.’ It was filed in March under the civil version of a racketeering law normally used against organized crime.”

Judge Middlebrooks, in tossing Trump’s suit, wrote: “At its core, the problem with plaintiff’s amended complaint is that plaintiff is not attempting to seek redress for any legal harm; instead, he is seeking to flaunt a two-hundred-page political manifesto outlining his grievances against those that have opposed him, and this court is not the appropriate forum.”

The lawsuit claimed Trump suffered “injurious falsehood,” “malicious prosecution,” “violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act,” “theft of trade secrets under the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016,” and “violations of the Stored Communications Act,” along with “various conspiracy charges and theories of agency and vicarious liability.”

Calling it “a scathing dismissal,” Politico’s Kyle Cheney notes Judge Middlebrooks “says the Alina Habba-led suit was devoid of facts, premised on nonsense legal claims, and late.”

Middlebrooks blasted Trump’s attorney, writing, “Plaintiff’s theory of this case, set forth over 527 paragraphs in the first 118 pages of the Amended Complaint, is difficult to summarize in a concise and cohesive manner. It was certainly not presented that way.”

At one point Middlebrooks writes, “the claims presented in the Amended Complaint are not warranted under existing law. In fact, they are foreclosed by existing precedent, including decisions of the Supreme Court. To illustrate, I highlight here just two glaring problems with the Amended Complaint. There are many others. But these are emblematic of the audacity of Plaintiff’s legal theories and the manner in which they clearly contravene binding case law.”

“What the Amended Complaint lacks in substance and legal support it seeks to substitute with length, hyperbole, and the settling of scores and grievances,” Middlebrooks added.

Former FBI officials James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, Kevin Clinesmith, and Bruce Ohr were named as defendant in the original lawsuit but later dismissed.

Judge Middlebrooks was so angered by the fact the lawsuit was even filed he noted, “I reserve jurisdiction to adjudicate issues pertaining to sanctions” against Trump’s attorneys.

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go back to defending parking garages?

rww 8 22

ben Jacobs @ Vox: The DOJ’s latest filing has even more damning claims against Trump.
Alex Griffing @ Mediaite: Trump Lawyer Complains DOJ is Seeking to Charge Ex-President Under ‘Mundane Statutes: Espionageand Two Others.’
Areeba Shah @ Salon: Republicans react to damming DOJ filing of found Mar-a-Lago docs with cries of “staged” evidence.
Charles Homans @ The New York Times: The Extremely Online Rise of Doug Mastriano.
Matt Gertz @ Media Matters: Fox’s disingenuous meltdown over Biden’s “semi-fascism” comment.
David Gilbert @ Vice News: How LibsOfTikTok Is Helping the Kremlin Boost Anti-LGBTQ Disinformation.
Hemant Mehta @ OnlySky: Texas lawmaker: Those Arabic ‘In God We Trust’ posters don’t count!
Will Sommer @ The Daily Beast: Gavin McInnes Allies Believe Proud Boys Founder Faked Arrest.

Tags: Doug Mastriano Gavin McInnes Round-Up Fox News Channel

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This 'attack dog Trump lawyer' is so extreme that even fellow Trumpists 'can’t stand her': report

Alex Henderson March 23, 2022

New Jersey-based attorney Alina Habba, who joined Donald Trump’s legal team in 2021, has represented the former president on a variety of cases — including his lawsuits against his niece Mary Trump and journalist E. Jean Carroll. Habba has drawn a lot of attention in Trumpworld because of her in-your-face antics, which — according to Daily Beast reporters José Pagliery and Asawin Suebsaeng — are so over-the-top that she has even alienated other members of Trump’s legal team.

“Her name is Alina Habba, and — almost out of nowhere — the relatively unknown New Jersey lawyer went from representing a college student ticked off at COVID-19 virtual learning to being one of the top attorneys defending the twice-impeached former president in some of the country’s most high-profile cases,” Pagliery and Suebsaeng explain in an article published on March 21. “There’s just one problem for Habba: There’s hardly anyone in the Trump legal universe who can stand her.”

Axios’ Jonathan Swan reported on Habba’s tactics in an article published on January 20. Similarly, Pagliery and Suebsaeng note some of the criticisms that others in Trumpworld have of her.

“Many of Habba’s fellow senior Trumpland attorneys — including but not limited to Alan Garten — have all privately vented that she has botched things or doesn’t know what she’s doing, according to Trumpworld legal sources intimately familiar with the topic,” Pagliery and Suebsaeng report. “Some of them want her fired or sidelined. Some of the Trump lawyers think her work is so bad — so self-interested, pointlessly aggressive, and sloppy — that they think Habba’s mere presence on the team increases the likelihood of Trump and his family facing court losses and legal peril…. Habba’s professional conduct, decisions, and courtroom theatrics have routinely embarrassed her Trumpworld legal colleagues.”

The Daily Beast interviewed some attorneys in and around Trumpworld.

Pagliery and Suebsaeng explain, “One lawyer in the Trump orbit, who acknowledged they had never met Habba, simply had this to say of her legal analysis on TV: ‘Ouch’…. Another attorney pointed out thatHabba seems to be filling a spot that was once reserved for Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell: an attack-dog lawyer who serves as a mouthpiece for Trump…. Habba has also taken her role as Trump’s personal litigator and turned what would normally be staid courtroom arguments into showy antics that — to her deeply disdainful colleagues — seem like a constant audition for conservative television.”

An attorney told the Beast, “If you want to be a lawyer, you stick to the facts in the case. Stick to the law. If you want to be on some news show.… then that’s probably where you should be.”

Habba’s “theatrics,” according to Pagliery and Suebsaeng, “were on full display last month in New York state court, when Habba argued against having Trump testify before New York Attorney General Letitia James by casting the entire investigation as a smear job and making snarky speeches parroting right-wing political talking points — including a non sequitur argument about Hillary Clinton.”

“Habba was repeatedly reprimanded by a clerk for interrupting the judge and talking over him,” the Beast reporters note. “But it hasn’t just been her courtroom lawyering that’s drawn the ire of fellow Trump lawyers…. In recent months, Habba has done several TV appearances on Fox News and Newsmax, railing against a legal system she claims is stacked against conservatives.”