Alina Habba

House Republicans are the 'dog that caught up to the bus': ex-GOP staffer

Matt Gaetz recently said he regretted not having Kevin McCarthy's vote for GOP priorities, despite heading the successful effort to oust the former speaker, prompting a former Republican staffer Saturday to suggest the party is a dog catching a bus.

Kurt Bardella, a former staffer for Republican Senator Olympia Snowe and Republican Congressman Darrell Issa, appeared on MSNBC's Ayman to discuss the state of the Republican party.

Keep reading... Show less

'I am concerned': Trump's former defense secretary predicts what he would do in a new term

Former Trump Defense Secretary Mark Esper said he is "concerned" about international relations under a second term for his ex-boss, and then predicted what it might look like.

Esper appeared on CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta, where the two discussed everything from Trump's recent attacks on a deployed service member to the former president's story about denying NATO allies assistance when they're attacked by Russia, unless they put up cash.

Keep reading... Show less

Trump's latest 'breathtaking' rally comment has experts sounding the alarm

Donald Trump just made the most "important" and "dangerous" statement of the election cycle, according to one democracy expert.

Trump spoke at a rally in South Carolina on Saturday, telling attendees that he wouldn't defend NATO allies from Russia. Specifically, he said, "One of the presidents of a big country stood up and said, 'Well, sir, if we don't pay and we're attacked by Russia, will you protect us?' I said, 'You didn't pay? You're delinquent?... No I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want.'" He ended by saying you, "gotta pay your bills!"

Keep reading... Show less

'Sick individual': Conservatives bury Trump for attacks on deployed service member

Donald Trump on Saturday slammed Nikki Haley's husband, saying, "Where's her husband? He's away. He's away. What happened to her husband? What happened to her husband? Where is he? He's gone."

The former president made the comments at a South Carolina rally. CNN pointed out the hypocrisy of the comments, considering Melania Trump doesn't campaign by his side.

Keep reading... Show less

CNN's Jim Acosta hammers Republican lawmaker on impeachment vote hypocrisy

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) and CNN host Jim Acosta got into a heated debate on the topic of impeachment on Saturday.

Burchett appeared on Acosta's CNN Newsroom, where the two discussed a variety of topics. At the end of the interview, Acosta asked Burchett to defend the notion of the House holding an immigration-based impeachment proceeding while at the same time killing an active deal on immigration.

Keep reading... Show less

'Music to Putin's ears': Experts fact check Trump's rally lies and missteps

Donald Trump had a rally in South Carolina on Saturday at which he purportedly lied, misspoke, and promised dangerous policies favoring Russia.

The former president in one instance at the rally said, "One of the presidents of a big country stood up and said, Well, sir, if we don't pay and we're attacked by Russia, will you protect us? I said... No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want."

Keep reading... Show less

CNN reporter uses Melania to highlight hypocrisy of Trump's latest attack line

Donald Trump on Saturday launched an attack on Nikki Haley's husband, criticizing him for not standing by Haley's side as she campaigns, but a CNN host and reporter were quick to point out the multiple reasons the attack is hypocritical.

Trump at his South Carolina rally said, "Where's her husband? He's away. He's away. What happened to her husband? What happened to her husband? Where is he? He's gone."

Keep reading... Show less

Another House Republican just announced he's not running for re-election

Yet another House Republican representative announced on Saturday that he is not running for re-election in this cycle.

This time the news comes from the GOP's Congressman Mike Gallagher, who said he's "accomplished more on this deployment than I could have ever imagined."

Keep reading... Show less

'Is he gone?' Trump stunned after protester disrupts his rally

Donald Trump was speaking at a South Carolina rally on Saturday, when it appeared a protester disrupted the ex-president's speech.

The former president was headlining a "Get Out the Vote Rally" at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina, the home state of his only remaining GOP challenger for the presidential nomination, Nikki Haley.

Keep reading... Show less

Neurologists pour cold water on GOP attacks on Biden's memory

Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans have spilled a lot of ink attacking President Joe Biden for purported memory lapses, but neurologists are reportedly saying not so fast.

Special Counsel Hur's report on Biden's classified document handling included a line about how the president is a well-meaning but forgetful man, and the conversation since that time has drifted toward whether that means he can't be president.

Keep reading... Show less

Watch: Trump scheduled to speak at South Carolina rally

Donald Trump is expected to walk on stage any minute to speak at a rally in South Carolina.

Trump is headlining a "Get Out the Vote Rally" at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina. It is the home state of his only remaining GOP rival seeking the presidential nomination, his former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley.

Keep reading... Show less

Judge Cannon's conduct 'is the kind of thing that can get an appellate panel really angry'

Appearing with former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance and conservative lawyer George Conway, former FBI General Counsel Andrew Weissmann claimed Judge Cannon is "playing with fire" by not adhering to the law in Donald Trump's Florida trial.

Speaking with MSNBC host Katie Phang, Weissmann noted that Cannon has previously butted heads with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in matters related to Donald Trump, and her latest failure to adhere to the law will not be looked kindly upon.

Asked by the host what comes next for special counsel Jack Smith with the prospect he may turn to the court of appeals over a demand for evidence, Weissmann replied, "I think is going to be fascinating to see what he does. We don't know the underlying facts, but we do have a sense of them from Jack Smith's submission, as you noted with respect to the concern about safety."

"If you put that together with what George [Conway] pointed out, which is to remind everyone about Judge Cannon's really truly horrific history in sort of the pre-indictment phase where she was reversed from the 11th Circuit not once but twice in fairly scathing language, what Jack Smith may very well do today is seek what is called a writ of mandate," he explained.

ALSO READ: Alina Habba is persona non grata at her Pennsylvania law school

"It's a form of appeal, without getting into the technicalities to say, once again, she is really not adhering to the law here," he continued. "And I do think if she is doing something that would hurt the witnesses unduly, where this is the kind of thing that I think any other judge in the case would not take that step, that is the kind of thing that, depending on who the panel is, and again, I always refer to Joyce [Vance] on all things 11th Circuit, and frankly everything else."

"I do think that is the kind of thing that can get an appellate panel really angry about the way in which this is handled, and that was very much what we saw and was evident in the 11th Circuit's reversal of her twice," he added. "[It] was a real concern about her disregard of classified information of the role of the intelligence community interfering with normal criminal investigations and explicitly saying that Donald Trump will be treated differently and more favorably than other defendants. And she was rebuked twice, saying that is not the standard, he is to be treated no better and no worse than anyone else."

"So she could really be playing with fire here in this ruling, but it remains to be seen, the underlying facts in what Jack Smith does," he remarked. "I do think if he takes it up, basically as you said, fasten your seatbelts as to what could happen."

Watch below or at the link.

Keep reading... Show less

'Why are they charging me': Trump melts down over reporting on Biden probe

Early Saturday morning, Donald Trump went off on another all-caps tirade in response to an Associated Press report on special counsel Robert Hur's probe of President Joe Biden's handling of government documents.

On Truth Social, the former president cut and pasted AP reporting, "Special Counsel Robert Hut released a long-awaited and bitingly critical report that concluded criminal charges against President Joe Biden were not warranted but said there was evidence Biden WILLFULLY RETAINED & SHARED HIGHLY CLASSIFIED Information when he was a private citizen, including documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan. The report repeatedly pointed to Biden’s hazy memory in language that has raised new concerns about the president’s competency and age - a top concern for Voters.”

Notably, Trump all-capped his main complaint about the AP report.

ALSO READ: Alina Habba is persona non grata at her Pennsylvania law school

He then launched into a rant, writing, "SO THEN WHY ARE THEY CHARGING ME, I DID NOTHING WRONG??? PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS ACT! A TWO TIER SYSTEM OF JUSTICE."

"THIS IS AN ATTACK ON SLEEPY JOE’S POLITICAL OPPONENT, ME. IT IS LARGE SCALE ELECTION INTERFERENCE!" he added.

Keep reading... Show less