Jeff Clark: Trump not guilty of insurrection because 'he left office on time'

Jeff Clark: Trump not guilty of insurrection because 'he left office on time'
Real America's Voice/screen grab

Former United States Assistant Attorney General Jeff Clark argued that Donald Trump could not be guilty of an insurrection because his efforts to stay in office ultimately failed.

During a Thursday interview with right-wing podcaster Steve Bannon, Clark disagreed with a Colorado Supreme Court decision that bars Trump from the state's primary ballot based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

Clark said the 14th Amendment did not apply to Trump because the president and vice president were not explicitly named in the text.

"MSNBC, CNN, they try to portray it as some kind of technicality," he scoffed. "And the trial judge was willing to obey it, but not four out of the seven justices of the Colorado Supreme Court."

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"Their next argument is that, you know, they conclude President Trump committed an insurrection," he continued, noting "dozens and dozens" of pages backing up the court's ruling.

But Clark, who was one of 18 co-defendants charged alongside Trump in the Fulton County racketeering case, insisted that Trump did not meet the qualifications for an insurrectionist.

"But whether someone engaged in an insurrection requires scienter, which is the fancy legal term for the intent, you need to have the intent to try to overthrow the government," Clark opined. "And it's ridiculous to say that President Trump had that intent, because he specifically said — first of all, he left office on time, right?"

"But second, he told people to march peacefully and patriotically down to the Capitol, let their voices be heard," he added. "And so it's ludicrous to imagine that he could ever be found guilty of insurrection, which is why Jack Smith didn't charge him with it."

Watch the video below from Real America's Voice.

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Jon Stewart has mocked Donald Trump for a press conference slip up and has warned the administration are making a "tough bet" on the country.

The president was seen earlier this week wandering off in the middle of a press conference to admire the ongoing renovations of the White House ballroom. Trump, who had been seated between Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, would make a handful of errors in the speech. Not only did he wander off to admire the building project but he read aloud a note from Rubio which was intended to be a private comment.

The Daily Show host tied in this blunder with commentary on the Minneapolis ICE shooting, which left Renee Nicole Good dead after she was shot by an agent.

Stewart said, "We are in a confusing, dark place. This is where, quite frankly, the rule of law and institutions are kind of an important framework. But now that those are gone, what's our North star?"

"In America today, Donald Trump is the sun, and if you revolve around him and worship him, his warmth shines upon you. You could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and not lose his support, as long as it's done on his behalf."

"His people are making a bet that adhering to a principle of forced compliance and coercion will give us a more stable and prosperous America than a principle of shared alliance and common interest. It's kind of a tough bet, because I read somewhere that people have inalienable rights granted by a creator not a king.

"So holding that coerced world together is gonna be a tall task. But if anybody's up for it, it's Donald Trump." Stewart's mockery continued as he wandered off mid-speech to look out of the windows of a double door to the side of the stage.

Just before getting up from his desk, Stewart joked that Trump had an "unbridled focus" which would serve him and the country well.

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Immigration agents are privately expressing hesitation about their deployments as they face growing backlash from lawmakers and civilians alike, according to a new report.

A Department of Homeland Security memo that was leaked to independent journalist Ken Klippenstein appears to show the agency calling on agents to volunteer for the surge in Minneapolis. However, agents who spoke with Klippenstein said some are hesitant because of the dangers it entails.

The memo tells agents to keep a low profile, hide any insignia that could tie them to Border Patrol or Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and to be mindful of what they post on social media.

"A Border Patrol agent familiar with the discussions said the volunteer push reflects real unease in the ranks about the Good shooting in Minneapolis and the related surge," Klippenstein reported.

He spoke with one agent that DHS has the manpower for its surge already, but "some just don't want to go."

“There might be some immature knuckleheads who think they are out there trying to capture Nicolas Maduro, but most field officers see a clear need for de-escalation,” a high-level career official at Homeland Security headquarters told Klippenstein. “There is genuine fear that indeed ICE’s heavy-handedness and the rhetoric from Washington is more creating a condition where the officers’ lives are in danger rather than the other way around.”

The hesitation comes at a time when tensions are running high in Minneapolis following the killing of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother who was protesting an ICE raid. Good was shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross while she was trying to leave the scene. Good's killing sparked protests nationwide.

Law enforcement experts have pointed out that Ross appears to have violated several ICE policies during the shooting. Trump administration officials have defended Ross's actions and said he enjoys "absolute immunity."

Read Klippenstein's entire report by clicking here.

A prominent columnist flagged the latest sign that parts of President Donald Trump's brain may not work anymore during a new podcast interview.

David Rothkopf, a columnist for The Daily Beast, discussed Trump's seemingly erratic behavior over the last couple of weeks on a new episode of "The Daily Beast Podcast" on Monday. For instance, Rothkopf noted the increase in immigration agents on the streets, his threats to invade and take over Greenland, and the opening of an investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell over the central bank's headquarters renovation project.

But there was one particular sign of Trump's decline that caught Rothkopf's eye.

"He put out on True Social that he's the acting president of Venezuela, which I thought was cuckoo," Rothkopf said. "But you get an idea of how the Trump administration is currently working because [Secretary of State] Marco Rubio folded up a little note, handed it to Trump, Trump opened up the note and he's like, 'Go back to the guy from Chevron' ... and Trump just read it out loud straight because those parts of his brain just aren't working anymore."

Questions about Trump's health have swirled throughout his second administration. The president's bruised hands and swollen ankles are well documented, and he has been caught nodding off in the Oval Office during press events.

Trump has lashed out at publications like The New York Times for reporting on his health.

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