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'Ongoing security risks' due to Trump detailed in new Letitia James filing

Late Sunday the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a new filing aimed at tightening up the gag order imposed on Donald Trump citing the continuing flood of threats being faced by court employees and her staff.

According to a report from Newsweek's Sean O'Driscoll, the filing takes pains to point out that the former president's untrammeled attacks are directly responsible "ongoing security risks."

The filing made to the New York First Division Appellate Court makes liberal use of a statement from Charles Hollon, of New York's Judicial Threats Assessment Unit which pointed to, "the hundreds of threatening, harassing, and anti-Semitic messages that Supreme Court and its staff have received as an evident result of the personal attacks that triggered the [gag] orders."

Cleland B. Welton II, an assistant solicitor general in the AG's office wrote Trump's "asserted free-speech injuries are insubstantial in light of the narrow scope of the challenged orders. Those orders do not prevent petitioners or their counsel from criticizing the [New York] Supreme Court, the presiding justice, the plaintiff, the witnesses, or the substance of the proceedings."

Welton also noted, for the court's consideration that the earlier gag order "led to a decrease in the number of threatening messages that the court and its staff received," while asking the court to keep the gag order in place.

You can read more here.

Trump is demanding prosecutors find 'evidence that probably doesn't exist': legal expert

Former President Donald Trump recently made a demand that special counsel Jack Smith turn over evidence as part of the discovery process to help him prove the 2020 election was really "stolen" from him.

While such evidence would likely be helpful to Trump at his upcoming election subversion trial, it also is highly unlikely to actually exist since multiple recounts and audits have repeatedly affirmed that Trump legitimately lost the 2020 election.

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'All hat, no cattle' Trump likely ducked testimony to avoid embarrassing himself: expert

Donald Trump's last-minute decision to not appear as a witness for his own defense in the $250 million financial fraud trial being conducted in a Manhattan courtroom was likely due to his fears of having to plead the 5th Amendment while being grilled by prosecutors.

That is the opinion of former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance, who suggested the former president and his legal team talked a big game up until it was go-time before pulling the plug on Monday's court appearance.

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Geraldo wants Americans to focus on Republican Trump enablers, not the dictatorship pledge

In a debate over whether Donald Trump's fantasies about having a dictatorship were serious enough to warrant the past week of concern, former Fox host Geraldo Rivera said that the focus should instead be put on Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate who continued to enable Trump.

Speaking to CNN's Jim Acosta with former Mike Pence adviser Olivia Troye, Rivera said that they should be focusing on how Trump has already behaved like a dictator.

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The same Republicans downplaying Trump 'dictatorship' lines begged Pence to stop him: aide

In a discussion between Geraldo Rivera and Olivia Troye, host Jim Acosta couldn't help but blame Republican lawmakers for being the ones to encourage Donald Trump's dictatorship fantasies.

On Thursday, CNN's Manu Raju interviewed several lawmakers asking about Trump's comment that he wanted to be a dictator for "one day" so he could build his wall and drill wherever he wanted.

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Michael Cohen mocks Trump for 'not having the guts to appear'

Donald Trump invoked his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, in his Sunday rant on social media, and the Trump foe is hitting back.

In his all-caps post, Trump claimed that as a "star" witness, the "sleazebag and disbarred former lawyer Michael Cohen admitted in court to repeatedly lying under oath. It was a total breakdown, a non-recoverable Perry Mason moment. That alone ends this Biden Driven Witch Hunt. Election Interference!"

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'Bogus excuse': Ex-prosecutor debunks Trump's claim the gag order prevents his testimony

A former prosecutor is debunking Donald Trump's claim that he can't testify on Monday because of the gag order.

Responding to Trump's lawyer, Alina Habba, saying she wouldn't recommend testifying with a gag order in place. But CNN legal analyst Elie Honig called it a fake excuse.

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Jack Smith tells judge: Nothing in Trump's appeal stops the Jan. 6 trial

Special counsel Jack Smith filed a short response to Donald Trump's demand to delay his trial about the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 attacks. According to Smith, there's no good reason to delay pending appeal.

"The Court should not assume at this juncture that no issue can arise that is not involved in the appeal," wrote the Justice Department team. "Likewise, nothing about the defendant’s appeal prevents the Court from continuing to enforce — including, if necessary, by ordering briefing or holding hearings — the protective orders governing discovery ... and the order imposing conditions of release on the defendant. ... In addition, while the appeal is pending, the Court can make headway on the motions already before it, including the defendant’s motions to dismiss based on statutory grounds and selective and vindictive prosecution."

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'People who are afraid cower': Trump's lawyer Alina Habba before he backed off testifying

It didn't take long for the former president to withdraw his lawyer's promise.

It's been just a few days since Donald Trump's lawyer Alina Habba proclaimed he was not afraid and that's why he would testify on Monday.

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Legal analyst: Trump 'generally gets himself in more and more trouble' opening his mouth

MSNBC news reporter Adam Reiss explained on Sunday that Donald Trump "couldn't control himself" the last time he tried to testify before the New York fraud trial. It's unclear if that's the reason Trump withdrew from testifying on Monday, but there are some educated guesses from two analysts.

"We had this exact conversation as to whether or would he not testify on Monday," said Sunday host Yasmin Vossoughian. "You said to me, listen, at this point, he's going to testify. But you really never know with the former president. We will really know, and he actually shows up on Monday morning for that testimony. You predicted, accurately, that he was not going to be there. He's not going to testify."

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'I will not be testifying on Monday. MAGA!' Trump flips out on court in all-caps tantrum

Any question that Donald Trump might take the stand on his own behalf Monday as part of the $250 million financial fraud case being heard in Judge Arthur Engoron's court was put to rest on Sunday afternoon.

Taking to his Truth Social platform, the former president launched into a two-part, all-caps rant about how he is being persecuted and then declared he won't take the stand -- likely to the relief of his legal team which has been trying to talk him out of it.

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'Uniquely pathetic': McCarthy slammed by MSNBC host as he exits Congress supporting Trump

MSNBC host Ayman Mohyeldin had some tough words for Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) after the former speaker unexpectedly announced he would resign from Congress.

"McCarthy follows two other leaders, Eric Cantor and Paul Ryan, the trio, believe it or not, this is a real book, were once called the 'Young Guns' of the GOP," Mohyeldin told the audience on his Saturday show. "And now, as you can see, they're all out of Congress. And yet there is something about McCarthy throwing up the white flag that feels uniquely pathetic, I should say."

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Trump may have already flouted D.C. gag order at Young Republicans Gala on Saturday night

Donald Trump may already be in violation of a limited gag order affirmed by a U.S. Appeals Court late Friday after giving a speech at the 111th New York Young Republicans Gala on Saturday night.

According to the Guardian's Hugo Lowell, the former president lashed out at former Attorney General Bill Barr who is expected to be called as a witness where he will testify about his admonishments to Trump that there was no evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election that he lost.

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