Judge tosses Donald Trump's lawsuit against New York TimesA New York judge on Wednesday has tossed a lawsuit Donald Trump filed against The New York Times, The Daily Beast reports.
Trump’s 2021 lawsuit alleged a “insidious plot” between the newspaper and his niece, Mary Trump, to obtain his private tax records for a 2018 Pulitzer-winning article.
New York Supreme Court Justice Robert R. Reed in his ruling filed Wednesday afternoon wrote that the claims “fail as a matter of constitutional law” and determined that the NYT’s reporting was “the very core of protected First Amendment activity.”
CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy obtained a statement from a New York Times spokesperson that said: "The New York Times is pleased with the judge's decision today. It is an important precedent reaffirming that the press is protected when it engages in routine newsgathering to obtain information of vital importance to the public."
Donald Trump's lawsuit concerning Mary Trump has yet to be ruled on.
Read More Here: https://www.thedailybeast.com/judge-tosses-trumps-lawsuit-against-ny-times-orders-him-to-pay-legal-feesSpecial counsel investigating Trump Org's handling of Mar-a-Lago security tapes: reportJustice Department special counsel Jack Smith is now investigating how the Trump Organization handled surveillance tapes from his Mar-a-Lago country club as part of the probe into classified documents illegally stashed on the property, reported CNN on Wednesday.
"The handling of the footage, and how employees within the Trump Organization responded to the Justice Department’s demand for it, have prompted a new round of grand jury subpoenas to top Trump employees in the last few weeks, the sources told CNN," reported Katelyn Polantz and Paula Reid. "Longtime Trump Organization executives Matthew Calamari Sr. and his son Matthew Calamari Jr. are expected to appear Thursday before the grand jury investigating possible mishandling of classified documents brought to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, sources said. Prosecutors are expected to ask them about the handling of the surveillance footage and Trump employees’ conversations following the subpoena, according to the sources."
The classified document probe is one of two major cases involving former President Donald Trump that Smith is overseeing, the other being the investigation into the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
"The footage has been a part of the Justice Department’s investigation into possible mishandling of classified records at the Florida beach club after Trump left the presidency and possible obstruction of justice. No charges have been brought in the case, and Trump has denied any wrongdoing," said the report. "CNN has previously reported the footage captured Walt Nauta, an aide close to the ex-president, Nauta and another Mar-a-Lago employee moving boxes containing documents out of a storage closet."
"The Calamaris are among several witnesses expected to testify in Smith’s investigation on Thursday, sources said," the report continued. "Prosecutors have previously brought in lower-level Trump employees for questioning about the surveillance footage, including how it may have been handled in response to the subpoena for it and if it could have been tampered with, two sources told CNN this week."
Trump has fiercely resisted the investigation, claiming he had a right to take the documents. However, he has also justified his actions by boasting that Mar-a-Lago is a "highly secured facility." In reality, the country club has seen numerous security breaches, including by nationals from hostile foreign powers.
Read More Here: https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/03/politics/maralago-footage-trump-special-counsel-calamari/index.htmlBeyond insane': Another billionaire donor drops Trump over election liesA Georgia billionaire who was one of the state’s biggest financial backers of Donald Trump has dropped the former president over election fraud lies, according to a leaked recording.
Tommy Bagwell announced his decision at a closed-door RNC donor retreat in Nashville, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.
The recording was first aired by activist Lauren Windsor.
“I want to, unfortunately, say something that’s probably not very popular in this crowd,” Cummings, a former poultry magnate, said, according to the AJC.
“So, to keep you from throwing things at me, I figure I’d say it.”
He went on to call election denial claims “beyond insane.”
“One of the worst things you can do in this stuff is start repeating and promoting stuff that absolutely just didn’t happen. And Georgia’s election was pretty damn clean,” he said.
“Everything, especially that Mr. Trump promoted that I heard, was roundly and convincingly debunked.”
He pointed out that he had given a fortune to Trump, then added: “Not anymore.”
The meeting was attended by Trump attorney Cleta Mitchell, the AJC reported. She responded by repeating the election fraud conspiracies.
“There are problems in Fulton County,” she said. “There are problems in DeKalb County. And we know what they are now,” she said to applause. “I just want to prepare for those before 2024.”
Read More Here: https://www.ajc.com/politics/politics-blog/the-jolt-georgia-megadonor-tells-trump-attorney-election-was-clean/3PQ5RH7SWRFPDI2S45RZSZ7ZKQ/Pence meeting shows Jack Smith is pursuing a different approach than Robert Mueller
In an unusual move, January 6 special counsel Jack Smith sat in on the grand jury testimony of former Vice President Mike Pence — testimony that was the culmination of months of back-and-forth legal wrangling over whether the Justice Department had the constitutional authority to compel Pence in the first place.
Speaking to CNN's "The Situation Room" on Wednesday, former prosecutor Shan Wu outlined how this represents a huge difference between the approaches of Smith and former special counsel Robert Mueller, who oversaw the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
"What does it suggest to you, that Jack Smith actually sat in during the grand jury testimony?" asked anchor Wolf Blitzer
"Besides the historic nature ... from a prosecutorial and defense counsel, it signals it's active and operational," said Wu. "Very rare for a leader to be personally sitting there in the grand jury room during that testimony. And I think it signals that he's — it's a very vigorous style of leadership. I mean, it's a little bit of a contrast to the approach we saw in the Mueller investigation, where, from what we understand and what I personally saw, Mueller himself did not participate in most of the interviews leading through his staff. Mueller coming from being the head of the FBI for many years, very large institution. Different place in his career than Smith, who was very much coming to this from being an operational prosecutor. So I think we're seeing a contrast in those styles."
"Do you think Jack Smith will continue his role in other key testimony going forward?" Blitzer pressed him.
"He may," said Wu. "I think it probably depends on the individual witness whether he would be there or not. But I think his mere presence signals he has a very hands-on role in directing the operation. The caution, not always good to have the top person be too hands-on. You might compare [special counsel John] Durham's efforts of leading the investigation, but there are very different kinds of prosecutors. I think this signals he has a steady and active hand on the controls."
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