Tag: Donald Trump

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Georgia: Trump Asks Governor To Overturn Biden Victory

Donald Trump, Gov. Brian Kemp
Even after making the Governor of Georgia his punching bag, Donald Trump reportedly called on Gov. Brian Kemp this morning asking him to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in his state. From the Washington Post:

President Trump called Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) on Saturday morning to urge him to persuade the state legislature to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the state and asked the governor to order an audit of absentee ballot signatures, the latest brazen effort by the president to interfere in the 2020 election.

Hours before he was scheduled to hold a rally in Georgia on behalf of the state’s two GOP senators, Trump pressed Kemp to call a special session of the state legislature to get lawmakers to override the results and appoint electors that would back him, according to a person familiar with the conversation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private call.

He also asked the governor to demand an audit of signatures on mail ballots, something Kemp has previously noted he has no power to do.

Trump went on to question whether Kemp was a real Republican in a tweet wherein he publicly called on the governor to permit the ‘simple signature verification.’ But Georgia state law prohibits the governor from interfering in elections. After Kemp responded to Trump’s tweet saying he’s publicly called for the signature audit in the past, Trump came back at Kemp again. In related news, the Trump campaign lost legal challenges in six states on Friday.

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Trump Considering ‘Preemptive’ Pardons For As Many As 20 Allies

The list of possible “preemptive” pardons from Donald Trump is apparently even longer than originally thought. From Politico:

President Donald Trump is considering preemptively pardoning as many as 20 aides and associates before leaving office, frustrating Republicans who believe offering legal reprieves to his friends and family members could backfire.

Trump’s strategy, like much of his presidency, is nontraditional. He is eschewing the typical protocol of processing cases through the Justice Department. And he may argue that such preemptive pardons for his friends and family members are necessary to spare them from paying millions in legal fees to fight what he describes as witch hunts.

Those up for clemency include everyone from Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, to several members of his family — all people who haven’t been charged with a crime.

The Donald is reportedly concerned that pardoning these folks ‘would look like an admission of guilt.’ Which, by the way, is what it would be.

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Wisconsin & Pennsylvania To Team Trump: ‘No’ And ‘No’

Donald Trump

Donald Trump speaking to Axios (screen capture)
First, the Wisconsin Supreme Court threw out Donald Trump’s election lawsuit today. The response comes just two days after the Donald asked the high court to toss the certification of a contest he lost by nearly 21,000 votes. From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “In the 4-3 decision, the justices said they would not accept the case he filed directly with them. The president can try to pursue the matter in a lower court, but Thursday’s ruling is a setback that shows he is near the end of the road with his legal challenges in Wisconsin.”

And then, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied Congressman Mike Kelly’s request to declare universal mail-in voting unconstitutional in the state. Kelly and other GOP plaintiffs were asking the high court to either invalidate 2.5 million mail-in votes or to completely erase the 2020 results in the Keystone State and order the GOP-controlled legislature to pick the presidential electors who will vote in the Electoral College. Kelly and company got a one sentence response.

#SoMuchWinning

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NY Times: Rudy Giuliani Discussed Pre-Emptive Pardon With Trump

Rudy Giuliani at Trump press conference (screen capture)
If anyone was wondering why Rudy Giuliani has argued so voraciously on Donald Trump’s behalf regarding the results of the 2020 presidential election, perhaps this is why. The New York Times reports Giuliani has broached the idea of a “pre-emptive pardon” with Trump before the Donald leaves office. From the Times:

It was not clear who raised the topic. The men had also talked previously about a pardon for Mr. Giuliani, according to the people. Mr. Trump has not indicated what he will do, one of the people said.

Mr. Giuliani’s potential criminal exposure is unclear. He was under investigation as recently as this summer by federal prosecutors in Manhattan for his business dealings in Ukraine and his role in ousting the American ambassador there, a plot that was at the heart of the impeachment of Mr. Trump.

Giuliani clapped back at the idea that he’s asked for a pardon on Twitter after the Times posted its report.

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Maria Bartiromo Trends On Twitter After Disastrous Trump ‘Interview’

Fox News Channel host Maria Bartiromo began trending on Twitter this morning after allowing Donald Trump to call into her ‘Sunday Morning Futures’ program where he ranted on several baseless claims about the results of the 2020 presidential election without one fact check in sight. As Trump threw blame left and right — at one point suggesting the FBI and Justice Department might be involved in a conspiracy to stop his reelection — Bartiromo sat silently with only an occasional tilt of her head to indicate any sense of journalistic curiosity. The Donald complained about ‘massive dumps’ (poor choice of words considering #DiaperDon recently trended on Twitter) which we can only guess referred to the adding of mail-in ballots in some states that weren’t allowed (by law) to be counted until after the polls closed on Election Day. #MassiveDumps soon began to trend on social media as well. Trump also attacked Dominion Voting Systems saying the machines and software were defective. What he didn’t address, however, is that Dominion systems were used in 24 states during the 2020 election, including states Trump won like Louisiana, Iowa, Missouri, and Ohio. And yet, Trump hasn’t challenged the veracity of the voting there… During one exchange, Bartiromo posited, “If you take out the swing states…” which makes no sense, obviously. We can’t just pretend Nevada, Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan don’t exist. “So this is no longer about you, President Trump. This is about America and many people agree with you,” Bartiromo actually said out loud.

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Trump Pays $3 Million For Wisconsin Recount, Biden Wins Again

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has cleared the way for a state ban on the harmful practice of conversion therapy

The recount of the presidential vote in Wisconsin – requested and paid for by the Trump campaign to the tune of $3 million – is complete and it appears Joe Biden’s lead increased by 87 votes. From the Washington Post:

The recount of presidential ballots in Wisconsin’s two largest counties finished Sunday, reconfirming that President-elect Joe Biden defeated President Trump in the key swing state by more than 20,000 votes.

After Milwaukee County completed its tally Friday and Dane County concluded its count Sunday, there was little change in the final breakdown of the more than 800,000 ballots that had been cast in the two jurisdictions. As a result of the recount, Biden’s lead over Trump in Wisconsin grew by 87 votes.

“The Wisconsin recount is not about finding mistakes in the count, it is about finding people who have voted illegally, and that case will be brought after the recount is over, on Monday or Tuesday,” tweeted Trump on Saturday as he saw the writing on the wall. “We have found many illegal votes. Stay tuned!”

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PA Supreme Court Unanimously Rejects Another Trump Election Challenge

Donald Trump (image via Flickr/WhiteHouse – public domain)
Another loss for Team Trump as the Pennsylvania Supreme Court dismissed an election challenge led by U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, who attempted to argue that universal mail-in voting violated the state constitution. From NBC News:

Kelly, along with several other Pennsylvania Republicans, sought to invalidate millions of mail-in votes, which could have ceded a key state won by President-Elect Joe Biden to President Donald Trump.

The ruling said, “Petitioners sought to invalidate the ballots of the millions of Pennsylvania voters who utilized the mail-in voting procedures. … Alternatively, Petitioners advocated the extraordinary proposition that the court disenfranchise all 6.9 million Pennsylvanians who voted in the General Election and instead ‘direct the General Assembly to choose Pennsylvania’s electors.'”

The high court ruled no on all counts and said, “All other outstanding motions are dismissed as moot.” It said the claim could have resulted in the “disenfranchisement” of millions of voters.

The court also criticized Kelly and company for filing their lawsuit more than a year after the law establishing universal mail-in voting was passed by the state legislature. Today’s ruling wipes out a lower court order that had blocked officials from certifying the Keystone State’s election results. More than 26  election challenges filed by Team Trump have now been dismissed by courts in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and elsewhere. So. Much. Winning.

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Trump Loses PA Challenge In 3rd Circuit Court Of Appeals

Donald Trump

Donald Trump on 60 Minutes (screen capture)
The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed last weekend’s ruling dismissing the lawsuit brought by Team Trump in Pennsylvania that was argued by Rudy Giuliani. Pennsylvania has already certified its election results which show President-elect Joe Biden won the Keystone State by 81,660 votes. And Trump can’t blame the judge in this new ruling – it was one of his own nominees. The all-GOP panel agreed the case had ‘no merit.’ From the New York Times:

The 21-page ruling by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals was a complete repudiation of Mr. Trump’s effort to halt Pennsylvania’s certification process and a full-throated affirmation of a decision last Saturday by Judge Matthew W. Brann of Federal District Court in Williamsport, Penn., who dealt the Trump campaign its initial defeat in the case.

“Free, fair elections are the lifeblood of our democracy,” Judge Stephanos Bibas, a Trump appointee, wrote on behalf of the appeals court. “Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here.”

Trump’s lawyers have already announced they plan to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court where Trump believes his 3 handpicked justices would give him a win. BUT – most legal eagles doubt the high court would be willing to take up a case where the evidence is lacking and ultimately won’t change the outcome of the race. Even if SCOTUS were to take the case and rule in Trump’s favor, Biden would still have 286 votes in the Electoral College – far more than the required 270 to win the White House.

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Snappish Trump Loses Cool At Press Conference

During his Thanksgiving Day address at the White House on Thursday, Donald Trump told reporters that if the Electoral College confirms president-elect Joe Biden’s victory, “they’ve made a mistake,” but he would give up power and leave the White House. When Reuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason asked to clarify his response in a follow-up question, Trump blew his cool and snapped at Mason, “Don’t talk to me that way – you’re just a lightweight. Don’t talk – I’m the president of the United States. Don’t ever talk to the president that way.” Note – Jeff Mason is no ‘lightweight.’ He’s an experienced journalist and highly regarded in Washington, D.C. Trump did not confirm whether he would attend Biden’s inauguration in January. Experts and officials have said there has been no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 US elections.

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Rudy Giuliani Claims Trump ‘May Have Actually Won Virginia’

Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani

Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Guiliani, told Republican lawmakers at a meeting in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, that – in addition to believing Donald Trump won the Keystone State (he didn’t) – Trump “may have actually won Virginia” as well. Trump lost Virginia to Joe Biden by a margin of 451,138 votes. If Team Trump had come within 1 percent of winning in Virginia, don’t you think those results would have been bandied about and challenged publicly these last few weeks??? At the end of the day, Rudy and his team did not present ANY actual evidence of vote tampering or voter fraud. But keep talking Rudy… Bloomberg reporter Josh Wingrove followed the event on Twitter here.