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Florida GOP lawmaker who wrote ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill facing up to 35 years after pleading guilty in COVID fraud case
March 21, 2023
Joe Harding, the now-former Florida Republican lawmaker who authored the extremist “Don’t Say Gay” bill could face up to 35 years in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday afternoon to federal felony fraud charges in a scheme to obtain $150,000 in COVID-19 relief funds, according to Florida Politics‘ publisher Peter Scorsch.
Harding, 35, was a construction project manager who started his own lawn care company. He quickly became a right-wing darling after his anti-LGBTQ legislation, officially the Parental Rights in Education Act, was embraced by Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantis, who signed it into law.
Harding was charged in a December federal indictment with six counts of wire fraud, money laundering, and making false statements in his plot to obtain $150,000 in COVID funds.He resigned from the legislature the following day. He originally pled not guilty.
After Harding was charged and resigned, Nadine Smith, the executive director of Equality Florida, responded via social media, saying: “So much harm to students, parents and teachers because of his raw political ambitions. He slandered entire communities and trafficked in lie after lie that has emboldened violent bigotry. He will have his day in court but his legacy is already a despicable one.”
Harding is not the only family member accused of criminal acts.
“Harding’s indictment follows a September guilty plea from his brother-in-law, Patrick Walsh,” Florida Politics reported in December. “As reported by Fresh Take Florida, Walsh pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges connected to his receipt of nearly $8 million in disaster relief loans.”
Unrepentant to the harm many feel he has done to children and the LGBTQ community, in a statement Tuesday Harding said: “During the past legislative session I have felt the support of millions of Americans while fighting for our shared concerns and for the rights of parents. I will never forget the support I received from every corner of this great country.”
Harding will be sentenced in July.
Florida’s Voice also reported Harding’s guilty plea Tuesday.
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Trump 'deliberately misled' his own lawyers about classified document stash: special counsel
March 21, 2023
Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith reportedly has claimed in sealed court filing to have obtained evidence that former President Donald Trump misled his own attorneys in the classified documents probe, reported ABC News on Tuesday.
"Prosecutors in the special counsel's office have presented compelling preliminary evidence that former President Donald Trump knowingly and deliberately misled his own attorneys about his retention of classified materials after leaving office, a former top federal judge wrote Friday in a sealed filing, according to sources who described its contents to ABC News," reported Katherine Faulders, Alexander Mallin, and Lucien Bruggeman. "U.S. Judge Beryl Howell, who on Friday stepped down as the D.C. district court's chief judge, wrote last week that prosecutors in special counsel Jack Smith's office had made a 'prima facie showing that the former president had committed criminal violations,' according to the sources, and that attorney-client privileges invoked by two of his lawyers could therefore be pierced."
"In her sealed filing, Howell ordered that Evan Corcoran, an attorney for Trump, should comply with a grand jury subpoena for testimony on six separate lines of inquiry over which he had previously asserted attorney-client privilege," said the report. "Sources added that Howell also ordered Corcoran to hand over a number of records tied to what Howell described as Trump's alleged 'criminal scheme,' echoing prosecutors. Those records include handwritten notes, invoices, and transcriptions of personal audio recordings."
According to the report, Trump continues to vehemently deny any wrongdoing in this case.
IN OTHER NEWS: Furious Trump erupts after judge refuses to delay $250M fraud trial
"Shame on Fake News ABC for broadcasting ILLEGALLY LEAKED false allegations from a Never Trump, now former chief judge, against the Trump legal team," one Trump spokesperson responded when reporters reached out on the matter.
The classified documents case, which exploded into public consciousness after the FBI executed a search at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in South Florida and carted off hundreds of classified documents, was subsequently turned over to Smith, who is also investigating the plot to overturn the 2020 presidential election by Trump's allies.
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A small group of Louisiana Republicans rallied Tuesday outside the State Capitol in support of former President Donald Trump amid rumors that he will be arrested in New York City.
The rally, one of several held across the country, was spurred by a social media post in which Trump claimed that he would be indicted. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is investigating Trump in connection with an alleged hush-money payment made to former pornography actress Stormy Daniels.
As of the time of publication, Trump has not been arrested and there has been no indication from anybody other than Trump that an arrest is imminent.
Approximately 50 Trump supporters showed up to the demonstration, sponsored by the Republican Party of East Baton Rouge Parish, many of them toting Trump flags and wearing “Make America Great Again” ball caps.
Before the rally began, several activists waved signs bearing messages such as “Arrest Biden, not Trump.”
Supporters of former President Donald Trump pose for a photo Tuesday, March 21, 2023, on the Louisiana State Capitol steps during a rally against Trump’s arrest. (Photo by Matthew Perschall)
Several speakers decried what they view to be the politicization of the justice system.
“America is in a crisis today as we struggle with the politicalization [sic] of our legal system for partisan purposes,” former state Rep. Woody Jenkins said.
Jenkins’ remarks were followed by a string of conservative activists, including controversial Central pastor Tony Spell.
Jenkins compared Trump’s treatment at the hands of Bragg to Spell’s legal battle to keep his church open during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Spell was arrested in 2020 for violating a stay-at-home order Gov. John Bel Edwards issued.
“When you see that your laws do not protect you against them, but protect them against you, then you may know that your society is doomed,” Spell said.
Several speakers claimed the allegations against Trump were unfounded and that he was being persecuted for fictitious crimes.
“I forgot who it was that said, ‘You show me the man, and I’ll show you the crime,’ and we just cannot let that happen,” Rep. Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs, said. “This is America. This is not Nazi Germany.”
“The men that stormed the beaches of Normandy, those that died in Vietnam, Korea, in all the world wars, did not die so that our president and commander-in-chief could go behind bars for erroneous crimes, for fictitious crime,” Spell added.
Some predicted Louisiana would also face a dark future if a Republican governor and ultra conservative lawmakers are not elected. Several conservative candidates for the state legislature also appeared at the rally to appeal to voters.
Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com. Follow Louisiana Illuminator on Facebook and Twitter.
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