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'Lawyer up and shut up': Defense lawyer has advice for RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel

"Don't talk about it anymore" is the advice one defense expert would give to Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, who could face potential criminal charges for pressure she and Donald Trump reportedly put on election workers to refuse vote certification.

Shan Wu, a defense attorney and a former federal prosecutor, appeared on CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta on Saturday, where he was asked about reports out of Michigan which say the former president and McDaniel offered county-level election workers legal services in exchange for refusing the certification.

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'You should resign': GOP lawmaker deletes post about hate speech after brutal fact check

A New York Republican congressman got harsh feedback on Saturday after he apparently misstated what the U.S. Constitution says about hate speech.

Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY), one of the lawmakers who called for George Santos to be expelled, posted on social media that hate speech is excepted from the freedom of speech that's protected in the American constitution.

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Trump fans cheer support from Nation of Islam's Farrakhan — but the video is old

A pro-Trump influencer who recently interviewed Tucker Carlson celebrated on Saturday that the former president got the "nod" from Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis Farrakhan, but the video dates back to at least 2018, according to various news reports.

Tim Pool, who recently got Carlson to say that he wouldn't support Trump if Nikki Haley was the V.P. on the ticket, posted on social media that "Trump got the farrakhan nod." With that caption, Pool shared someone else's video in which Farrakhan is seen praising Trump and calling him an "anomaly."

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'We were briefed': Ex-GOP lawmaker blows up popular right-wing conspiracy theory

Former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) on Saturday blew up a popular right-wing conspiracy theory, saying some who spread the misinformation were briefed alongside him on the facts.

Kinzinger, who has recently been in the news for jumpstarting a meme about how bad "Trump smells," took to social media to destroy the "Seth Rich" theory. The conspiracy theory, which some say helped propel Donald Trump to the White House, alleges that the slain Democratic National Committee staffer was killed because he was somehow involved in leaking stolen emails to WikiLeaks during the 2016 election campaign.

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'Is that you Donald?': Former Republicans drop new ad about how bad 'Trump smells'

Donald Trump smells really bad, according to a new ad released by The Lincoln Project, made up of a cadre of GOP and ex-GOP anti-Trumpers.

The notion that the former president stinks isn't a new one. Actress Kathy Griffin has described Trump as smelling similar to "body odor with kind of like a scent of makeup products." But the idea gained steam recently when former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-IL-Ret.), who said earlier this year that he was worried Trump was "going insane," raised the issue on social media.

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'Explosive charge': Here's the far-right Jack Smith conspiracy theory used to help Trump

A new conspiracy theory about Special Counsel Jack Smith is reportedly getting ready to hit mainstream Republican discourse.

Smith, the prosecutor who charged Trump with crimes in connection with the ex-president's alleged attempts to subvert the 2020 election as well as his alleged retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort, is now the victim of a disinformation scheme, according to a Mother Jones report.

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Lauren Boebert's 'improper behavior' causing her challenger to gain endorsements: report

Colorado GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert could be sweating recent news that her own "improper behavior," such as being kicked out of a musical after vaping and fondling, is causing her Republican challenger to gain more endorsements and bring in even more cash.

Boebert, who at first denied vaping in the theater but ultimately apologized after security footage revealed her conduct, is facing an intra-party challenge from Grand Junction attorney Jeff Hurd. Boebert has been bleeding support for months after being politically "wounded" by her own antics and scandals.

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Political expert shows how Trump's campaign could be 'finished within the next two weeks'

Donald Trump's presidential campaign could be two weeks from being over, a political strategist argues.

The former president was hit with some bad election news recently when the Colorado Supreme Court took the unprecedented move of striking him from the state's GOP primary ballot because he "engaged in insurrection" with his actions leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.

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D.C. Appeals Court could throw Trump a curveball with SCOTUS out of the way: expert

Reflecting on the Supreme Court's curt denial of special counsel Jack Smith's filing to intercede at the earliest date and rule on whether presidential immunity should be extended to Donald Trump's actions before and during the Jan. 6 riot, former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance presented a "fantasy scenario" that would create problems for the former president's legal team.

On her Civil Discourse Substack platform, Vance pointed out that Trump's attempt to slow-walk his multiple trials with "frivolous" motions that stand no chance of being successful are at the heart of his legal team's strategy. But the judges seated on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit could make their ruling quickly while at the same time giving Judge Tanya Chutkan the go-ahead to proceed with her schedule.

As Vance noted, Chutkan's trial of Trump is dead in the water due to a stay from the court while it considers the issue of presidential immunity and how it applies to Trump's actions.

In her "fantasy scenario," Vance claimed the judges could lift the stay which would take away the ability of Trump to stall his appeal to the Supreme Court and delay the proceedings even more.

"The fantasy scenario obviously depends on a lot of things going right, and it’s too early to have any sense about whether this is even a possibility," the former prosecutor conceded. "Although the court of appeals is on a fast track, we don’t know how long it will take them to issue a decision. Trump will presumably play out the time to ask for rehearing to the full extent possible."

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She suggested, "The court could, perhaps, decide a stay was no longer warranted and permit Judge Chutkan to restart her pretrial proceedings, which could incentivize Trump to move more quickly, but again, there are a lot of different considerations involved and no certainties. The most honest conclusion I can give you tonight is that we just don’t know for sure how the schedule will shape up."

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Door left open by Michigan official for state to criminally charge RNC's Ronna McDaniel

According to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, her office will cooperate with the office of her state's attorney general on possible charges to be filed against Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel based upon bribery allegations.

Reacting to the bombshell revelation that McDaniel participated in a phone call with Donald Trump attempting to get state election officials to not certify the 2020 presidential election results, Benson said there are already criminal investigations underway and McDaniel could be swept up in them.

Speaking with host Alex Witt, Benson, who noted she was a former dean at Wayne State University Law School, said she was not overly surprised by the phone call that likely will be part of the special counsel Jack Smith's pursuit of Trump for fomenting an insurrection on Jan. 6.

"I'm curious of your thoughts of her [McDaniel], a fellow Michigander, essentially playing the role of an accomplice, saying the RNC would provide those canvassers with legal representation to break election laws. Was this a surprise to you? Do you think that she may be investigated for potential crimes?" the MSNBC host asked.

"I think it is possible," Benson conceded. "We know under Michigan law if you offer someone something of value in order to compel them to not fulfill their legal duty, that constitutes bribery. So, will that be captured in criminal proceedings? We will have to wait and see."

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"Miss McDaniel is no stranger to these conspiracy claims," she added. "She held a press conference a few weeks earlier with a number of lies about our elections in Michigan. It was no surprise to me to hear of her involvement. What it does underscore is how high these are national figures, the president of the United States, just how high this went."

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Trump's insurrection 'due process' complaints burned to the ground by legal expert

Complaints by Donald Trump and his allies that he should be allowed to remain on ballots in multiple states contesting his eligibility because he has been denied "due process" was dismantled by a former U.S. attorney on Saturday morning.


Speaking with host Ali Velshi, former prosecutor Barbara McQuade claimed there is a basic misunderstanding about how "due process" is applied and that the former president and his defenders have it all wrong when they complain that he has not been found to be an "insurrectionist."

"There is now this growing record of legal opinions affirming that what happened on January 6th wasn't insurrection," host Velshi prompted. "The Supreme Court, ultimately I think, is going to have to at some point or another address that particular question."

McQuade argued with the conventional wisdom about how the law arrives at a determination of insurrection.

"I think one of the things that was important about the litigation was there was a trial," she reminded the MSNBC host. "There was an actual fact-finding mission. They heard testimony from members of Congress who were there as well as experts, who reached that decision. I think it is very important for both history and for this case."

"There are those complaining that Donald Trump has been denied due process in some way," she began. "But I think they're conflating a finding of a criminal violation of insurrection, it is a crime to engage in insurrection, where you have due process rights like the right to confront your accusers, the right to testify, the right to cross-examine witnesses. But that is when one's liberty is at stake."

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GOP’s supposed smoking gun in Biden impeachment inquiry revealed to be a dud

House Republicans have been criticized for authorizing an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden with no evidence of the "high crimes and misdemeanors" that typically merit the process. A recent New York Times report has now revealed that one of their chief pieces of evidence doesn't pass muster when analyzing it in its proper context.

While questioning a forensic accountant in September, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Florida) alleged that a text message from Hunter Biden to his daughter, Naomi alluding to giving half of his salary to his father constituted "a potential money laundering operation or potential pay-for-play operation." hinting at illegal "money going from son to father."

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'Ask Jeb Bush': Former GOP lawmaker breaks news to DeSantis his career is over

On Saturday morning, former Rep. Dave Jolly (R-FL) laughed when told how far Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is trailing Donald Trump in the race to be the 2024 Republican party presidential nominee and then noted that DeSantis' career in politics is coming to an ignominious and abrupt end.

With the Florida governor ineligible by state law to run for a third term, and the state already represented by two Republicans in the U.S. Senate, Jolly said DeSantis jumped the gun on starting his national career by taking on the former president who has the solid backing of the MAGA faithful.

With that in mind, the former GOP lawmaker said DeSantis is headed down the same road traveled by former Govs. Jeb Bush (R-FL) and Mike Huckabee (R-AR), both of whom launched humiliatingly bad presidential bids that failed.

"Why is Ron Desantis still in the race?" host Jonathan Capehart pressed, which set Jolly off laughing.

"Exactly, Jonathan. I heard that clip and I thought, 'Okay, we've now reached the excuses stage of his political campaign,' which is always the last one before withdrawal," Jolly stated while smirking.

"Look, the storyline on Ron Desantis is this, and on Saturday morning we can be light-hearted about it, but Republicans jumped into a hot and heavy dating relationship with him. He was the prom king. He was, Time magazine said, the future. His opening ad said on the eighth day God created him: Ron DeSantis."

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"And so they jumped into this heavy dating relationship with him, they thought he was all that — they realized he wasn't," he continued. "That he was just into himself and not into them. He was a little boring, he had lost his moves, he was stale. Republican voters have moved on and, just like a bad boyfriend, Ron DeSantis doesn't realize that."

After noting that former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) has blown by the Florida governor in the polls, he added, "Ron DeSantis' presidential run is likely over. The question is, is his political career over as well? Because where does he go after leaving the governorship? Ask Jeb Bush and Mike Huckabee how that went. It doesn't go well."

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