Trump supporters and conspiracy theory - Part 2

[Rick Plant]

A new clue in the Fani Willis investigation

Willis' latest motion appears ominous for a pair of defense lawyers — and signals accelerating accountability for fake elector ringleaders.

One of the many unusual features of Donald Trump’s endless head-on collisions with the rule of law is the collateral damage done to lawyers. The latest example is Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ motion to disqualify one of the attorneys representing 10 of the Georgia fake electors tied up in the investigation into efforts to subvert the will of voters. The motion’s claims appear ominous for the defense lawyers involved — and signal accelerating accountability for fake elector ringleaders.

Willis’ motion is based upon new interviews with some of the fake electors in the presence of their lawyer Kimberly Debrow. Several of these electors apparently alleged that another fake elector represented by Debrow had committed further (unspecified) violations of Georgia law. The motion also alleges that Debrow failed to communicate an immunity offer to the group, despite her former co-counsel Holly Pierson’s representation to the court that it had been communicated.

The motion suggests Willis is willing to offer immunity to some or even most of the fake electors. That is consistent with what we already know; the conclusion that a small subset was principally responsible for the election fraud scheming was also the view of the Jan. 6 House committee. Its report highlights, for example, testimony from Georgia Trump campaign official Robert Sinners claiming that most of the fake electors were treated as “useful idiots or rubes.”

All of this is good news for innocent electors. The revelations in the motion seem to be positive for Willis as well, because they suggest electors are already working with her to build her case. And the more blameless they are, the better. (This situation may also help explain the delay in bringing charges, despite Willis saying months ago a decision was "imminent.")

The motion is not such good news for the fake elector who allegedly committed an as-yet-unrevealed “further crime.” It’s not clear whether that possible offense relates to the fake electoral slates or something else. In either event, the development could serve as an important breakthrough for the district attorney. When a prosecutor has that kind of proof with a culpable party, they are better able to negotiate cooperation. Instead of offering immunity and hoping for assent, for example, Willis can push for a plea deal with the credible threat of prosecution. 

Nor is the motion encouraging for Trump. Willis appears to be gathering momentum. Trump already faces prosecution in New York and, once Willis secures her cooperators, a Georgia indictment may not be far behind.

But perhaps the biggest loser is Debrow. Failing to communicate an offer of immunity to a client is a serious violation of professional ethics. And if she played a part in her co-counsel Pierson’s alleged misrepresentations to the court, that would be a serious matter as well. (Of course, none of this makes Pierson look good either. She may well be facing her own ethics investigation, especially if she knowingly made a false statement to the court. Judges look askance at this kind of thing, as we just saw from the reprimand doled out in Delaware to the lawyers for Fox.

Debrow has strongly denied the allegations and has issued a statement calling the claims “baseless, false and offensive,” and further describing the investigation as “politically motivated.” She also said she has recordings that will support her position. Like Debrow, Pierson has also categorically denied the allegations and has said she can prove she is right.

If Willis prevails on the motion, Debrow will likely have to stop representing some of her elector clients. All state attorney’s codes of ethics, including Georgia’s, prohibit lawyers from representing a client “if there is a significant risk that the lawyer’s own interests or the lawyer’s duties to another client, a former client, or a third person will materially and adversely affect the representation of the client.”

It seems clear that, in the criminal context especially, a lawyer would face an impossible task of serving each of their clients’ interests if one or more of those clients is a cooperating witness against another. In fact, Georgia’s rules state that the potential for conflicts of interest in this type of scenario “is so grave that ordinarily a lawyer should decline to represent” more than one party.

Indeed, if Willis proves her claims, Debrow may be compelled by ethical considerations to step down from representing any of the electors, given “there is a serious possibility of future ethical problems concerning confidentiality of information obtained in the course of her representation thus far.”

This is just the latest example of lawyers tied to the Trump probes being accused of potential wrongdoing. Thankfully, prosecutors and the courts are well equipped to handle these problems as they arise. Willis has done just that here and — given Judge Robert McBurney’s careful consideration of the case thus far — we are confident that he will get to the bottom of the matter. Justice demands nothing less.

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/lawyers-tied-trump-investigation-georgia-land-hot-water-rcna80868

[Rick Plant]

Just a reminder of what a failure Donnie was. Worst job loss on record.

Trump’s job losses are the worst of any American president on record
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/04/economy/august-jobs-report-trump-jobs-record/index.html

[Rick Plant]

Professional liar Tucker Carlson has been let go at Faux News. Hannity should be next!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2023/04/24/tucker-carlson-leaves-fox-news/

[Rick Plant]

Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis will announce potential indictments of Trump and or others between July 11 and September 1, per @ajc.

Willis revealed the timetable in a letter to local law enforcement in which she asked them to be ready for “heightened security and preparedness” because she predicted her announcement “may provoke a significant public reaction.”


EXCLUSIVE: DA says indictment announcement coming this summer in Trump probe

Fulton DA Fani Willis urging law enforcement to ramp up security planning



Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on Monday said she would announce this summer whether former President Donald Trump and his allies would be charged with crimes related to alleged interference in Georgia’s 2020 election.

Willis revealed the timetable in a letter to local law enforcement in which she asked them to be ready for “heightened security and preparedness” because she predicted her announcement “may provoke a significant public reaction.”

In the letters, Willis said she will announce possible criminal indictments between July 11 and Sept. 1, sending one of the strongest signals yet that she’s on the verge of trying to obtain an indictment against Trump and his supporters.

“Please accept this correspondence as notice to allow you sufficient time to prepare the Sheriff’s Office and coordinate with local, state and federal agencies to ensure that our law enforcement community is ready to protect the public,” Willis wrote to Fulton Sheriff Patrick Labat.

Similar letters were hand delivered to Darin Schierbaum, Atlanta’s chief of police, and Matthew Kallmyer, director of the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency.

“We have seen in recent years that some may go outside of public expressions of opinion that are protected by the First Amendment to engage in acts of violence that will endanger the safety of those we are sworn to protect,” Willis wrote. “As leaders, it is incumbent upon us to prepare.”

Trump has called for mass demonstrations in response to overreach from prosecutors — triggering concerns about violent unrest not unlike the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection he promoted.

Several legal observers closely following the Fulton investigation, which Willis launched more than two years ago, said the letters suggest that Willis will seek charges against the former president.

“It obviously seems to imply the case against Trump will be presented to a grand jury,” former Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter said. “I don’t think any of the other targets would raise that level of caution. I think that’s the obvious implication.”

Norm Eisen, a former ethics czar under President Barack Obama who co-authored a Brookings Institute report on the Fulton probe, agreed.

“While she does not have the former president’s name in her letter, the evidence and the applicable law in Georgia point to the substantial likelihood that Donald Trump and his principal co-conspirators will be included when she follows through on the plans she confirms in this letter,” Eisen said.

For inspiration, Fulton authorities can look to the preparations that took place in Manhattan ahead of Trump’s arraignment earlier this month in a separate criminal case involving hush money payments.

Authorities erected barricades and shut down streets surrounding the courthouse. The police issued a stand-ready order for roughly 35,000 officers in the region as well as city, state and federal law enforcement agencies. About an hour before Trump’s afternoon court appearance, a number of Manhattan courtrooms were closed, according to published reports. There was also a total shutdown of the route the former president took to the courthouse from Trump Tower and from the courthouse to board his plane at LaGuardia Airport.

The Fulton sheriff’s office referred any questions about Willis’s letter to the DA’s office. An APD spokesman said the department stands “ready to respond to demonstrations to ensure the safety of those in our communities and those exercising their First Amendment right, or to address illegal activity, should the need arise.” A spokeswoman for the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This isn’t the first time law enforcement in Atlanta has been ramped up in response to the Fulton DA’s Trump investigation.

Last May, as a Fulton judge selected members of the special grand jury, the Fulton Sheriff’s office blocked off vehicle traffic on the streets surrounding the courthouse and stationed deputies with guns on many street corners with semi-automatic rifles. Snipers patrolled nearby rooftops as helicopters circled overhead. Law enforcement also deployed a SWAT team to protect jurors as they returned to their cars at the end of the day.

Six months later, before jurors interviewed Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, they assigned heavily armed officers to guard the courthouse steps and brought in a bomb-sniffing dog.

Willis herself travels with a security detail and has equipped some members of her team with bulletproof vests and keychains with panic buttons.

Porter, a Republican, said he was somewhat surprised that prosecutors are waiting until the July term of the grand jury to present a potential case to a grand jury.

“I thought she’d do it faster,” he said. “But there is probably a tremendous amount of documentary evidence in terms of emails and texts they are having to go through.”

Willis had previously told a Fulton judge that indictment decisions were “imminent” back in January.

Since then, Trump’s attorneys have filed a wide-ranging motion seeking to dismiss Willis from the case, as well as any evidence compiled by the special grand jury. And prosecutors recently acknowledged they were interviewing several of the “alternate” GOP electors who had previously been labeled investigation targets, suggesting they had cut immunity deals with them and were learning brand new information.

After news of the letters became public, Trump’s legal team said in a statement that the correspondence does “nothing more than set for a potential timetable” for charging decisions.

“On behalf of President Trump, we filed a substantive legal challenge for which the DA’s Office has yet to respond,” attorneys Drew Findling, Jennifer Little and Marissa Goldberg said. “We look forward to litigating that comprehensive motion which challenges the deeply flawed legal process and the ability of the conflicted DA’s Office to make any charging decisions at all.”



https://www.ajc.com/politics/trump-probe-da-urges-law-enforcement-to-prep-for-indictments-this-summer/56OGCLMNOVGPXMJ6YXDPXQOSWY/

[Rick Plant]

Georgia prosecutor in Trump probe urges law enforcement agency to ready for indictments



A Georgia prosecutor investigating Donald Trump over allegations of interference in the 2020 elections said Monday her office is nearing a decision on whether to indict the former president and urged local enforcement to ready for what she described as a “significant public reaction,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in a letter to Sheriff Patrick Labat said she plans to announce possible indictments between July 11 and Sept. 1, and the report by the AJC’s Tamar Hallerman and Bill Rankin describes the announcement as among the “strongest signals yet that she’s on the verge of trying to obtain an indictment against Trump and his supporters.”

“In the near future, I will announce charging decisions resulting from the investigation my office has been conducting into possible criminal interference in the administration of Georgia’s 2020 General Elections,” the letter said.

"I am providing this letter to bring to your attention the need for heightened security and preparedness in coming months due to this pending announcement.”

Trump has called for demonstrations over prosecutions, which has prompted concerns of unrest similar to that which occurred in the Jan. 6 insurrection, the report said.

"Open-source intelligence has indicated the announcement of decisions in this case may provoke a significant public reaction. We have seen in recent years that some may go outside of public expressions of opinion that are protected by the First Amendment to engage in acts of violence that will endanger the safety of our community. As leaders, it is incumbent upon us to prepare.”

The report notes that such preparations have recent precedent.

In May 2022, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office blocked vehicle traffic on the streets surrounding the courthouse and stationed armed deputies, some of which had semi-automatic rifles, when a judge empaneled a special grand jury.

Hallerman and Rankin write: “Snipers patrolled nearby rooftops as helicopters circled overhead. Law enforcement also deployed a SWAT team to protect jurors as they returned to their cars at the end of the day.”

“Six months later, before jurors interviewed Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, they assigned heavily armed officers to guard the courthouse steps and brought in a bomb-sniffing dog.”

“Please accept this correspondence as notice to allow you sufficient time to prepare the Sheriff’s Office and coordinate with local, state and federal agencies to ensure that our law enforcement community is ready to protect the public,” Willis wrote.

AFP



George Conway suggests DA memo means grand jury will likely indict Trump

Responding to news that Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis has told law enforcement to prepare for an announcement this summer, attorney George Conway is suggesting it likely means her special grand jury is expected to indict Donald Trump.

Willis “on Monday said she would announce this summer whether former President Donald Trump and his allies would be charged with crimes related to alleged interference in Georgia’s 2020 election,” The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported late Monday afternoon. “Willis revealed the timetable in a letter to local law enforcement in which she asked them to be ready for ‘heightened security and preparedness’ because she predicted her announcement ‘may provoke a significant public reaction.'”

“Willis said she will announce possible criminal indictments between July 11 and Sept. 1,” the AJC adds, “sending one of the strongest signals yet that she’s on the verge of trying to obtain an indictment against Trump and his supporters.”

“We have seen in recent years that some may go outside of public expressions of opinion that are protected by the First Amendment to engage in acts of violence that will endanger the safety of those we are sworn to protect,” Willis wrote, the AJC reports. “As leaders, it is incumbent upon us to prepare.”

Conway strongly suggests he believes Willis would not have issued her “red-alert all-hands-on-deck memo” if she did not expect her special grand jury to return an indictment against Trump, although he does not name the ex-president.

“If DA Willis is putting out a red-alert all-hands-on-deck memo to law enforcement like this,” Conway tweets, “you can be reasonably confident the caption on the indictment isn’t going to be ‘State v. Giuliani et al.’ or ‘State v. Meadows et al.’ The lead defendant will probably be someone else.”

The AJC’s Tamar Hallerman, who co-wrote the article about Willis and her memo, tweeted: “The letters amount to one of the strongest signals yet that Willis is on the verge of trying to obtain an indictment against Trump and his supporters.”

AFP



Fani Willis will highlight Giuliani’s efforts to snag voting software: Jan. 6 investigators



MSNBC Nicolle Wallace began her second hour on the recent reports that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis will be announcing potential indictments between July and September and is urging officers to be prepared for attacks at the county courthouse.

House Select Committee investigator Marc Harris was behind the electronic voting machines piece of the probe and he thinks that the Fulton County case "draws heavily on some of the material that's come out in the litigation in Georgia and the Curling vs. Raffensperger case that's referenced in the letter."

Harris explained that in that case, those involved want to see some of the findings be made public.

"They've had the [Select Committee] report and they can see some of the material that maybe we didn't highlight in the hearings or in the report per see, but they've read the transcripts, and there is a fair amount of material in there that for various space reasons and otherwise wasn't necessarily highlighted and they seem to think that they want to call attention to it apparently."

Wallace pointed out that in defense of the committee, they were being shoved out the door while they were trying to ensure everything was made public.

"Well, this has been going on for over a year now of people who feel that based on what they've seen that charges should be brought and they're not happy with the pace at which things are developing and so oftentimes we see reports or people speaking out publicly saying, 'Well, nothing's happening, Jack Smith isn't doing it. What's Fani Willis up to?"Harris said.

Harris explained that he was a federal prosecutor for many years and knows that things are moving quietly, but they are moving forward.

"I think the anxiety comes from two things," Wallace explained. "The reality that the behavior's ongoing on Trump's part and the reality that we are a country at greater risk because violent domestic extremism has intersected with lies about the 2020 election. It's not the fault of either of you two. You've worked to make sure that the truth gets out and gets out quickly."

Rep. Zoe Lofgren went on to note that Donald Trump was involved in the conversations about getting the voting machines. According to testimony, Rudy Giuliani thought they could get them voluntarily, whereas Trump wanted the White House to seize the voting machines.

"He had others do the nitty-gritty to preserve a little deniability, but there's no question he knew about it, and I think it's obvious he was interested in any scheme that would promote his goal of overturning the election. At one point the acting director, the Department of Homeland Security, had to tell him we can't do that. I mean, it's not permissible so certainly, he was aware of the whole thing. We have testimony from Mr. Giuliani," said Lofgren.

She went on to say that the goal was to push out every piece of text they gathered so that the Justice Department and state prosecutors would have what they needed to move forward.

"From your lips, Congresswoman," said Wallace.

She asked both Lofgren and Harris if they were able to guess if there would be anything come of the electronic voting scheme, and both said they didn't want to speculate but that they think it will ultimately be part of Willis' case in Fulton County.

Watch:

[Rick Plant]

Donald Trump goes to trial, accused of rape



NEW YORK (Reuters) - Donald Trump goes to trial on Tuesday, where the writer E. Jean Carroll is accusing the former U.S. president in a civil lawsuit of raping her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s.

Jury selection is expected to begin in Manhattan federal court, where the former Elle magazine advice columnist is also accusing Trump of defamation.

Trump, 76, has denied raping Carroll, 79, He called her claim a "hoax" and "complete Scam" in a October 2022 post on his Truth Social platform. He has said she made up the encounter to promote her memoir and declared that she was "not my type!"

Trump is not required to attend the trial. His lawyers have said he may not appear, citing the likelihood of security concerns and traffic delays. Carroll's lawyers have said they do not plan to call Trump as a witness.

If Trump testified, he would likely face an aggressive cross-examination. Trump has repeatedly attacked Carroll and in personal terms since she first publicly accused him of rape in 2019. He has claimed she is mentally ill.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who oversees the case, is keeping jurors anonymous from the public, including the lawyers, to shield them from potential harassment by Trump supporters.

The trial could last one to two weeks.

Trump, the Republican front-runner for the 2024 presidential election, faces a slew of lawsuits and investigations.

These include Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's criminal charges over hush money payments to an adult film star.

Trump pleaded not guilty to those charges on April 4 at a New York state courthouse, a three-minute walk from Tuesday's trial.

The former president also faces civil fraud charges by New York Attorney General Letitia James into his namesake company.

Trump also faces criminal probes into interference in Georgia's 2020 presidential race and into classified government documents recovered at his Mar-a-Lago residence, plus inquiries into his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

In all of these cases, Trump has denied wrongdoing.

OTHER ACCUSERS MAY TESTIFY

Carroll said her encounter with Trump at the Bergdorf Goodman store occurred in late 1995 or early 1996.

She said Trump recognized her, calling her "that advice lady," and asked for help in buying a gift for another woman.

Carroll said Trump "maneuvered" her into a dressing room where he shut the door, forced her against a wall, pulled down her tights and penetrated her. She said she broke free after two to three minutes.

Trump's lawyers may try to undermine Carroll's credibility by noting that she did not call the police, and remained publicly silent for more than two decades.

They may also challenge her inability to remember the date or even the month of the alleged attack.

Carroll has said the #MeToo movement inspired her to come forward.

Two women in whom she said she confided after the attack, author Lisa Birnbach and former news anchor Carol Martin, are expected to testify.

Carroll's witness list also includes two other women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct, which Trump denies.

Lawyers for Carroll could use their testimony to establish a pattern of Trump's alleged mistreatment of women.

They are also expected to play for jurors a 2005 "Access Hollywood" tape where Trump made graphic, vulgar comments about women.

Carroll is also suing Trump for defamation after he first denied her rape claim in June 2019, when he was still president. That case remains pending before Kaplan.

© Reuters



Trump's lawyers are getting 'totally outmaneuvered' in civil rape trial: expert



Lawyers for Donald Trump are trying to block a woman who accused him of forcibly kissing her from testifying in his upcoming rape and defamation civil trial brought by writer E. Jean Carroll.

Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina asked the judge to reconsider whether Trump's alleged forced kissing of Natasha Stoynoff after pushing her against a wall should be brought up during trial.

"You will recall that Ms Stoynoff testified in her deposition that Defendant escorted her into a room, and then grabbed her shoulders and pushed her against a wall and started kissing her. Then someone allegedly came into the room and the incident ceased. Defendant's motion in limine sought to exclude this testimony under Federal Rule of Evidence 413(d). Your Honor denied our Motion; however, we request clarification with a proposed solution," Tacopina wrote in the motion.

Trump has repeatedly denied Carroll's allegation that he sexually assaulted her in the dressing room of Bergdorf Goodman in the mid-1990s. Carroll sued Trump for defamation in 2019 and later added a charge of battery after New York's laws on statutes of limitations regarding civil lawsuits were updated.

Speaking to Salon, former U.S. attorney and current law professor at the University of Michigan, Barb McQuade, said these kinds of motions "are fairly typical just before trial starts."

Former U.S. Attorney Harry Litman tweeted that the upcoming trial will be one to watch.

"Trump's lawyer in E Jean Carroll case, Joe Tacopina, is getting totally outmaneuvered," tweeted Litman. "He is trying to get judge to revisit ruling about one of the women who will testify that Trump assaulted them. It's too late for that though. And the evidence will be brutal."

https://twitter.com/harrylitman/status/1650347180287459329



Tucker Carlson's ouster shows MAGA’s waning influence: columnist



Some of the top MAGA figures were quick to assail Fox News over its surprising decision to cut ties with right-wing opinion host Tucker Carlson.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) tweeted: “Cable news is about to be taught a powerful lesson after Fox News caved to the woke mob and fired Tucker Carlson.”

It’s not yet known exactly what it was that compelled Fox News to dismiss the network’s top-rated host.

Texts and emails revealed during discovery in the Dominion case that resulted in a $787.5 million settlement show the network was fearful enough of MAGA viewers abandoning Fox News for rival right-wing outlets Newsmax and OANN that it coddled its election denying audience.

But the decision to let Carlson go at least in part reflects the waning influence of the MAGA movement, Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent writes.

Sargent asserts that Carlson’s dismissal shows that a movement that helped propel Donald Trump to the White House is in decline.

Sargent notes that Ray Epps, a figure at the center of Jan. 6 false flag conspiracy theories promoted by Carlson, among others , who on Sunday night was the subject of a “60 Minutes” segment, to be among the most recent examples of MAGA’s waning influence.

Epps has been depicted as an FBI plant who helped inspire the breach of the Capitol. Conspirators have pointed to a video that shows Epps whispering to a man before a crowd pushed past a barrier, knocking a female police officer to the ground.

Sargent writes that the news show “debunks this with additional video of Epps just after he whispered to the man. It shows Epps repeatedly urging the rioters to calm down and refrain from violence. ‘They’re not the enemy', Epps told the rioters, speaking about the police.”

Epps remains an election denier despite receiving death threats over the conspiracy theories, and he singled out Carlson in particular during his appearance on “60 Minutes.”

“He’s obsessed with me,” Epps said.

Sargent writes that the “toll of this obsession was severe,” noting it led to death threats and prompted Epps to sell his Arizona ranch.

“In the end, the Epps saga exposes the insurrectionist wing of the MAGA movement for what it is: violent, destructive and lawless, with tentacles reaching into the highest ranks of the GOP, and Carlson as its willing accomplice,” Sargent writes.

“At the same time, this saga is part of a largely positive story about our institutions and their performance in the face of extraordinary strains exerted by the largest outbreak of political violence in recent U.S. history.”

Read More Here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/04/24/ray-epps-60-minutes-tucker-carlson-jan-6/?itid=ap_gregsargent

[Rick Plant]

'Dangerous misinformer': Tucker Carlson's legacy of falsehoods



Incendiary host Tucker Carlson, who exited Fox News Monday, repeatedly aired falsehoods on his top-rated show, from anti-vaccine to anti-immigrant propaganda -- and even his departure was wrapped up in conspiracy theories.

Night after night, Carlson launched into what American media pundits and researchers described as divisive, racist and conspiracy-laden monologues to millions of viewers of his 8 p.m. prime-time show on Fox News.

"Tucker Carlson Tonight," a program he described as a "sworn enemy of lying," amplified debunked claims about the safety of Covid-19 vaccines, immigration and the transgender community.

"Tucker Carlson is a dangerous misinformer," said Angelo Carusone, president of the advocacy group Media Matters for America.

"Tucker served as the bridge between Fox News and the most extreme parts of the right-wing base -- laundering anti-trans paranoia, election lies, and venomous rhetoric including the great replacement conspiracy theory nightly."

Last year, Media Matters declared Carlson the "Misinformer of the Year," a designation reserved for the most influential purveyor of misinformation in the American media.

The nonprofit also released what it called a noncomprehensive research file that included more than 350 examples of falsehoods spread by the star anchor.

Carlson sprang to the defense of the rioters who stormed the US Capitol two years ago -- in support of Donald Trump's false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him. Downplaying the episode, he insisted that it was not an "insurrection."

In a claim debunked by AFP last month, Carlson said police officers "helped" and acted as "tour guides" for a rioter dubbed "QAnon Shaman" for his infamous horned headdress.

That was false -- the rioter, Jacob Chansley, pleaded guilty to a felony crime after videos showed him disobeying police orders.

Carlson also called Ray Epps, a former Trump supporter who participated in the Capitol attack, an FBI informant, according to CBS's 60 Minutes. The FBI denied he ever worked for them and Epps said he received death threats as a result of the false claim.

'Dangerous stuff'

Last year, AFP also reported that Carlson misrepresented government data on Covid-19 vaccines and offered misleading claims on vaccine mandates for schoolchildren.

In 2021, the Anti-Defamation League called for Carlson's firing after he presented an impassioned defense of the "great replacement theory," a hateful notion that white people would be replaced by immigrants and people of color.

"Make no mistake: this is dangerous stuff," ADL wrote in an open letter to Fox News chief executive, warning that the theory had helped fuel a string of mass shootings.

"Carlson's full-on embrace of the white supremacist replacement theory... and his repeated allusions to racist themes in past segments are a bridge too far."

News of Carlson's departure on Monday sparked a string of supportive reactions from right-wing politicians, media figures and conspiracy theorists.

Anti-vaccine propagandist Robert F. Kennedy Jr called Carlson "breathtakingly courageous," linking his ouster to a recent monologue decrying Covid-19 jabs. He offered no evidence to support the claim.

Fox News did not explain Carlson's abrupt exit from the network.

US media linked his departure to a lawsuit filed by former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg, who claimed that Carlson presided over a hostile and discriminatory workplace culture.

Last week, the influential broadcaster agreed to a $787.5 million settlement in a lawsuit by voting technology company Dominion over its coverage of false rigging claims in the 2020 election that Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden.

"Tucker's departure from Fox is mostly remarkable for what he was able to get away with and how long he was able to get away with it," Carusone said.

"If anything, that reign illustrates how committed Fox is to lies and extremism."

© Agence France-Presse



Fox News staff bewildered after being blindsided by Tucker Carlson departure: report



Many people within Fox News were reportedly shocked on Monday to learn that firebrand Tucker Carlson, the host of Fox News' most popular show, had left the conservative network.

According to The Washington Post, Carlson’s colleagues at Fox News were “stunned” by the news.

“We’re just learning of this like everyone else, total surprise on my end," one staffer told the publication.

The chairman of Fox Corporation, Rupert Murdoch, personally made the decision to fire Carlson, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

“This is major,” an on-air Fox News personality told The Washington Post. “It sends a message that even the guy with the highest ratings of all, by a long shot, doesn’t get to survive this disaster.”

Carlson was the best-known personality on Fox's presenting roster, hosting a prime-time evening show that resonated with the broadcaster's substantial number of right-wing viewers.

A key figure in Republican politics, he often interviewed Donald Trump and has been widely criticized for his alleged lack of journalistic rigor and -- to his critics -- his stream of disinformation and racist and hate-filled rhetoric.

"Fox News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways. We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor," the network said in a statement, giving no reason for his departure.

The 53-year-old Carlson, who joined Fox in 2009, provided no immediate reaction.

Railing against everything from immigration policies to gun controls, "Tucker Carlson Tonight" pilloried liberal trends in modern America, appealing to viewers' outrage and propelling the show to the heights of cable television.

The $787.5-million defamation settlement last week meant that neither Murdoch nor hosts such as Carlson would have to testify in what was expected to be an explosive trial.

But internal Fox News communications released ahead of the scheduled trial had suggested senior figures at the network were prepared to spread falsehoods about the election for fear of losing viewers to rivals.

In the messages, Carlson also said he couldn't wait until he could "ignore Trump most nights," adding: "I hate him passionately."

But Carlson's relationship with Trump appears to still be close, with the former president sitting for a friendly hour-long interview on the show on April 11 after being arraigned on criminal charges in New York.

© Agence France-Presse



Writer E. Jean Carroll’s rape allegation against Trump goes to trial in New York
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-e-jean-carroll-trial-begins-alleged-rape-rcna80049

[Rick Plant]

There might be a grand jury in Michigan probing plots to seize voting machines in 2020: report



On the heels of the announcement from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis that indictments might be handed down between July and September of this year, it appears Michigan has its own case.

According to The Detroit News, a special prosecutor was appointed and a grand jury was already impaneled to probe the attempt to snag voting machines and software in the 2020 election. While special counsel Jack Smith at the Justice Department is exploring a number of issues related to the plot to overturn the election, it's not clear whether the multi-state effort to get the voting machines is one of them.

"The grand jury has sought testimony from individuals as recently as early March in Oakland County," the paper said, citing three sources familiar with the investigation. The case "centers on allegations of tampering with voting equipment. The sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss grand jury activity."

The alleged plot was an attempt to convince local clerks to hand over five vote tabulators, taking them to hotels or rental properties and breaking into them to print "fake ballots" and do their own "tests" on the machines, Chief Deputy Attorney General Christina Grossi said in an Aug 2022 letter.

Text messages last week showed Trump operatives wanted to use voting data from breached machines to keep Republican control of the U.S. Senate, CNN reported. It was revealed Monday that Willis' probe in Georgia would also focus on Rudy Giuliani's efforts to get the voting machines "willingly" from Republican-run counties.

Previously, Trump had wanted agents and law enforcement to go in and get the machines. He went so far as to have an executive order drafted to that effect.

Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. Hilson made it clear that grand jury investigations are secret and if there were one convened, he would be prohibited from saying so.

What he did do, however, was cite a state law that makes it a misdemeanor for anyone to "publish or make known" the testimony at a proceeding connected with a grand jury. If there wasn't a grand jury, however, there wouldn't be anything to "publish or make known."

"Multiple sources told The News in recent days they were legally barred from discussing what was happening behind the scenes with the investigation," the paper explained.

"The investigation involving allegations that voting tabulator machines were improperly possessed remains pending, and therefore, any comment is improper," Hilson said on Friday in a press conference, "Additionally, any comments about any investigators or potential witnesses are unreliable."

Last year, Attorney General Dana Nessel (D-MI) announced that she was appointing a special prosecutor to consider whether to charge nine people for being part of a "conspiracy" to gain access to voting machines. It included her former general election opponent, Republican Matt DePerno.

Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf was the other named. He's been faced with a number of legal issues since the 2020 election. The group American Oversight sued Leaf last year for "records related to a baseless 'investigation' that relies on debunked allegations of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election." Last Aug., a judge dismissed a suit by Leaf against Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, in which he alleged the state interfered in his 2020 election probe.

Hilson was chosen to handle the investigation in Sept. 2022, and two sources told The Detroit News that he immediately sought a grand jury.

"My client, attorney Stefanie Lambert, is in possession of a statement from (Michigan State Police) Trooper David Geyer, the lead investigator assigned to the investigation of my client, and Geyer states that the entire voting investigation was dumped on him because AG Nessel had a known conflict of interest for six months, that he was being used to obstruct justice, and that he believes there was in fact voter fraud," claimed Michael J. Smith, the attorney for one of the nine individuals.

"There is no grand jury convened at this time because the prosecutor had to ask the court for clarification on the law," he continued. "My client has done nothing illegal but looks forward to any opportunity to compel AG Nessel and SOS (Secretary of State Jocelyn) Benson to testify."

Lambert was one of nine lawyers sanctioned by a federal judge in Aug. 2021 for her role in attempting to overturn the Michigan election in 2020. All of the lawyers have appealed.

The paper found that there were two trips to Oakland County in 2023 that employees were reimbursed for by Muskegon County. The records don't say what the trip was for, however.

Former acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and his former deputy Ken Cuccinelli testified earlier this year about conversations they had with the Trump White House about their department seizing voting equipment, three sources familiar told CNN earlier this month.

Read more at The Detroit News: https://www.detroitnews.com/restricted/?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.detroitnews.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Fmichigan%2F2023%2F04%2F24%2Fmichigan-secret-grand-jury-investigation-2020-election-equipment-tampering-donald-trump-matt-deperno%2F70127775007%2F