Watch: Senator Orrin Hatch gets choked up as he thanks Trump for getting alleged gun-toting Mormon missionary out of Venezuelan prison
May 26, 2018, 9:24 PM ET
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Even if Trump was fibbing about having a document outlining a potential attack on Iran, the audio of him claiming to have it provides enough evidence for investigators, according to a former Justice Department official.
Mary McCord previously worked as the acting assistant attorney general for national security at the U.S. Department of Justice, so when it comes to Donald Trump's document scandal, she's well-schooled on the specifics of the law. Speaking to MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace on Wednesday, McCord addressed the bombshell CNN report saying Trump was caught on tape admitting to having classified documents about a possible war in Iran.
Speaking to biographers working with Mark Meadows, Trump “recalls a four-page report typed up by (Trump’s former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) Mark Milley himself. It contained the general’s own plan to attack Iran, deploying massive numbers of troops, something he urged President Trump to do more than once during his presidency," the report said.
The report describes Trump rustling around papers on his desk at his Bedminster Golf Club in New Jersey, acting as if he had them in his hand. Trump explained he couldn't show them to the biographers.
The reporting made some wonder if it was a legitimate claim from Trump or another example of Trump lying to make himself seem more remarkable. According to McCord, it doesn't matter because special counsel Jack Smith already has enough evidence that Trump stole documents, showed them to people, was careless with them, refused to return them, and obstructed justice.
What the new findings reveal is that he knew what the law was. She cited General Mark Milley, who Trump said crafted the document. He would have been asked by Smith whether such a document existed and if he had given it to Trump.
"If Milley says there is no such document, again, it just shows, again, the lies of a serial liar, but it doesn't change the important aspect of that recording that shows that Donald Trump knew he couldn't share classified information," said McCord.
An earlier report about Trump and Milley revealed that the former president wanted information that specifically mentioned Milley.
"Investigators have also asked witnesses if Trump showed a particular interest in material relating to Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff," said the April 2023 Post report, citing people familiar with those interviews. Milley was appointed by Trump but drew scorn and criticism from Trump and his supporters after a series of revelations in books about Milley’s efforts to rein in Trump toward the end of his term. In 2021, Trump repeatedly complained publicly about Milley, calling him an “idiot.”
"This is the reason why I suggested that Donald Trump could have made up the existence of this document because he was responding to these press reports because he was so annoyed with Gen. Milley and he wanted to essentially plant the seed with these journalists that Milley is lying," McCord said. "But it also could be if there really is such a document, as I understood it, he gave this interview at Bedminster in 2021. And there is some reporting also that on the audio recording, you can hear the rustling of papers. That could be the classified information, or it could be something else that he is rustling in his hands, trying to suggest that he actually has classified information. But if there is a classified document and it was at Bedminster, that raises a whole host of issues."
She recalled former Trump lawyer Tim Parlatore, who spoke to CNN after he resigned. He said that Trump aide Boris Epstein was acting against him, making it more difficult for the team to help Trump. Specifically, the lawyers said Epstein blocked his and Evan Corcoran's attempts to search Bedminster for all the White House documents.
"There is really recent reporting that one of the employees at Mar-a-Lago, who has apparently been cooperating with Jack Smith also told Jack Smith about loading some boxes into a truck to go up to Bedminster from Mar-a-Lago," McCord also recalled.
She closed by paraphrasing Sir Walter Scott: "What a tangled web we have here."
See the video below or at the link.
It doesn’t matter if Trump was lying about documents — the tape is all special counsel needs youtu.be
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Alaska governor's 'pro-family' adviser resigns after pro-Hitler and pro-rape comments resurface
May 31, 2023
A key policy adviser for Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R-AK) has resigned after the release of a series of inflammatory statements he made on a podcast praising Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler and defending the right of husbands to rape their wives, among a number of other things, reported Alaska Public Media this week.
Jeremy Cubas had been serving as Dunleavy's counsel on "pro-family" policies after previously serving as the governor's staff photographer, and, according to the report, his main job in his new role had been setting up a "pro-family" website for the state.
"Cubas aired those and other extreme views on the podcast he co-hosts, Contra Gentiles, whose Latin title translates to 'against the non-believers,'" reported Nathaniel Herz and Curtis Gilbert. "The program, which has been published for the past three years, was available for anyone to hear on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube when Dunleavy, in April, promoted Cubas to a $110,000-a-year job as his policy adviser on 'pro-family' issues."
Among many other things, Cubas claimed that anti-Semitism is fictional, that Hitler only targeted Jews because they were "homeless people just taking over the country," and he really just "wanted the races in their respective areas to remain pure, so Europe remains Europe." He also called civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. a "loser," and said people should just "get violent on" transgender activists to stop them.
Cubas also had a lot to say in defense of rape, particularly spousal rape, which he claims is not possible because "When you signed the contract, you have already consented. You’re consenting until the end of time, until you’re dead." He added that rape in general is "pretty low on the totem pole of grave immoral actions," especially if the victim is impregnated, and that "divorce is worse than rape."
IN OTHER NEWS: Ron DeSantis promises 400-word email but sends out 2,000-word solicitation message instead
Speaking to APM, Dunleavy's spokesman Jeff Turner reportedly condemned Cubas' controversial statements.
“Gov. Dunleavy sincerely believes that the differences between people are what makes all of us stronger,” said Turner. “The governor represents all Alaskans, regardless of their faith, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation or gender. Derogatory statements about individuals and groups within our society do not in any way reflect the values of Gov. Dunleavy or his administration and will not be tolerated.”
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Ron DeSantis promises 400-word email but sends out 2,000-word solicitation message instead
May 31, 2023
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis promised his supporters an email he sent requesting new donations would be fewer than 400 words, but an analysis shows that the funds request was more than 2,000 words.
Ron DeSantis for President sent the email, which touted the policy positions and state-level accomplishments of DeSantis, who has argued in the past that truth is "essential." DeSantis is currently Trump's top competitor for the GOP nomination for president in 2024.
The group sent the email Wednesday, with the subject line saying, "My email is less than 400 words."
The email begins with a promise that, to DeSantis, politics isn't about "virtue signaling."
"Ultimately, politics is about WINNING and about PRODUCING RESULTS," the email says. "So instead of writing you a long email about what I believe, I just want to show you what I've DONE in Florida."
IN OTHER NEWS: Trump asks whether leaker of bombshell recording news will be forced to resign
The email goes on to list various "results" DeSantis was able to achieve in Florida. Among them, according to the campaign email, is a rule that "allows Floridians to carry concealed weapons without a government-issued permission slip."
But the subject line of the email appears to be completely forgotten about. The email, per a cut-and-paste in Microsoft Word, appears to be more than 2,025 words.
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