Diversity of Census, Cult of DDT

No matter how hard Dictator Donald Trump (DDT) tried to keep racial and ethnic minorities from responding to the census, the final result reflects an increasing diversity. The two most important reasons for the census every ten years are voting districts and federal funding of $675 billion to state and local governments. DDT tried to block minorities being counted through questions about undocumented immigrants and delays in the process. Despite the lies DDT’s Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross told during his testimony before Congress, according to the Supreme Court, and the problems created by the pandemic, census takers proceeded to go door to door where people had not submitted their census forms.   

Results about the 2020 census released on Thursday, August 12:

The United States is more diverse and more multiracial than ever before with the percentage of White people shrinking for the first time in census-taking history. People of color represented 43 percent of the U.S. population, up from 34 percent in 2010, with non-Hispanic Whites dropping to 57 percent. The share of Hispanic, Latino, or multiracial grew the most.

The total population grew from about 308.7 million in 2010 to 331.4 million, a 7.35 percent increase. It is the slowest population growth since 1930-1940, dominated by the Great Depression.

The number of adults grew from 237 million in 2010 to 261 million in 2020, an increase in the share of the adult population from 76 percent to 78 percent. With the decrease of those under 18-years-old, Whites now make up only 47 percent of that age group, down from 53 percent in 2010.

In every state, the percentage of Whites dropped, and large cities are becoming majority people of color. Population growth in metro areas during the past decade grew 8.7 percent since 2010. Over half of the nation’s 3,183 counties lost population in the last decade with counties under 50,000 residents most likely to lose.

Washington was the most changed state, its non-Hispanic White population dropping 8.7 percent since 2010, but Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Nevada also had declines over 8 percent. The White states of New Hampshire, Vermont, and West Virginia dropped below 90 percent White; only Maine stayed over 90 percent non-Hispanic White.

Non-Hispanic Whites are now the minority in seven states and territories — California, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, Maryland, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. In California, that percentage dropped to 34.7 percent, meaning the non-Hispanic White population in the state is almost down to one-third.

The shifting population means 13 states would gain or lost seats in the House of Representatives, thus needing to redraw boundaries. Changes:

• States gaining seats: Texas (2), North Carolina, Florida, Oregon, Montana, and Colorado.
• States losing seats: New York, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, California, Michigan, and West Virginia.

Niall Stanage, editor of the conservative Hill, writes about how the census may “fan the flames of nativism” (aka white supremacy) in U.S. politics, “a fire that … has burned brightly since former President Trump began his 2016 campaign with a speech maligning many immigrants.” According to Stanage, the census may support the far-right argument “that white Americans are under siege, their culture under threat from the rising numbers of immigrants and people of color.” Conservatives spread the myth that a majority non-white population will “take revenge on white people.”

The changing racial makeup of the U.S. may contribute to conservatives’ fascination with Hungary’s authoritarian rule under Viktor Orbán. Immigration, however, may not be responsible for the shrinking number of Whites. One demographer attributed the change to the opioid epidemic and the lower birthrates among millennials since George W. Bush’s Great Recession. Other reasons may come from economic hopelessness and affluence.

You can find changing demographics for where you live on this interactive map.

Meanwhile, news about the cult of DDT continues, with a rally on September 16 demanding “justice” for the January 6 insurrectionists facing prison time. Multiple people, including law enforcement, died, and another 140 police officers were wounded. Leader of the debacle is DDT’s campaign data person Matt Braynard who extolls the “American heroes” perpetrating the violent treasonous attempt to overturn the election of President Joe Biden. Braynard had raised over $700,000 in his search for “voter fraud” and was paid for helping Rudy Giuliani spread false claims about the election. 

One definition of a cult is that members cannot police their own. While sexual-assaulter DDT has escaped any charges for his crimes, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned after the report about his sexual attacks. He denied them, but Democrats, his own party, have forced him out. On the other hand, Republicans chose to exonerate DDT during his impeachment trials—twice—despite his obvious guilt. Yet DDT, a possible sex-offender, called on “loser” Cuomo to resign while Republicans ignore claims of sexual impropriety of a number of GOP officials such as Reps. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL) as well as the Republican Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Damon Linker writes:

“The GOP has adopted an ethos of merciless bellicosity. Fighting is what counts and what gets rewarded. Sacrificing for the sake of principle is denigrated and dismissed. To resign is to give up power voluntarily. It’s therefore a choice reserved only for suckers and chumps.

“Add in the cult of personality that has accompanied this shift in moral orientation and we’re left with a party overwhelmingly predisposed to forgive transgressions of the most charismatic and politically potent members of the team. Not even overwhelming evidence of treasonous acts, and certainly not accusations of sexual misconduct and violence, is sufficient to get large numbers of Republican voters to turn on their own.

“That makes the GOP America’s party of political shamelessness. One wonders if Andrew Cuomo sometimes wishes he were a Republican.” 

Judges also continue to reject the GOP myth of a “stolen election.”  A federal judge denied appeals from DDT’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, pro-DDT attorney Sidney Powell, and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell to dismiss Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuits against them. Lawsuits for $1.3 billion each fight the claims that Dominion rigged the 2020 presidential election for Biden. Dominion is also suing Newsmax, One America News Network (OAN), and former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne, the first two for airing false reports about Dominion switching votes from DDT to Biden and Byrne for his “stolen” election conspiracy theories. Each lawsuit is for over $1.6 billion.

Part of Dominion’s lawsuit against OAN concerns a segment from “expert mathematician” Ed Solomon who claims he discovered evidence of an algorithm-rigged result within precinct-level reporting. His prediction of this occurrence was “an exponent so large there’s not enough stars in the universe—there’s not enough atoms in the universe to explain the number.” An odd response for a mathematician, but Solomon is a convicted drug dealer serving two years in prison who had a job installing swing sets when he was interviewed. His math expertise comes from a few math classes at Stony Brook University between 2008 and 2015 with no degree. Actual experts found that different precincts can logically have the same vote shares at different times in different parts of the county.

The source of Solomon’s purported information is not known although he said he used “data from the NYT feed from PA on November fourth” and the link to the “original data sets” is dead. After Dominion demanded retractions to Solomon’s statements, OAN removed the video and story at its website but left it on the network’s video platform, Rumble Page, with the title “Smoking Gun.” Solomon has since posted YouTube videos of his election analysis, including one almost 12 hours long about the fraudulent Maricopa County (AZ) ballot count.

Far-right media network Newsmax was on a roll in 2020 when DDT became angry with Fox network’s failure to be sufficiently conservative, but this year its ratings dropped 50 percent. One theory for its failure is that Joe Biden moved into the White House, despite the conspiracy theories spread on Newsmax, and the other that the network is “incredibly dull and incredibly boring,” according to Media Matters expert on Newsmax, Jason Campbell.  

The possible arrest of Texas Democratic lawmakers bounces back and forth among courts. A district judge ruled they won’t be arrested for missing a special session focusing on anti-voting bills, but the state Supreme Court overturned the decision. Texas law enforcement was deputized this week to find missing Democrats and haul then off to the state Capitol. The Texas Senate chamber doors are locked, lawmakers must appear daily, and then must obtain permission slips each day to leave. Gov. Gregg Abbott wants a quorum for the GOP majority to push through punitive laws keeping minorities and low-income people from voting. Arrest merely means being forced to be present for the voting. Democrats plan to request a temporary injunction on August 20, in a quest for protection.

Yesterday’s “Reinstatement Day” came and went without DDT’s “reinstatement” in the Oval Office. But did he get out his Sharpies? In an odd coincidence, yesterday was also National Kool-Aid Day. August 13, which fell on a Friday, is the fourth failed reinstatement day after January 20 when Biden was inaugurated, March 4 when QAnon conspiracies believed was Inauguration Day, and June 23. 

DDT’s Life Goes Downhill

In his first rally since Joe Biden became president of the United States, Deposed Donald Trump (DDT) whined and ranted through 90 minutes of lies about being defrauded out of his re-election and his bad treatment since he lost the election on what he called his “revenge” tour. Mainstream networks avoided DDT’s rally speech although CSPAN ran it as part of his presidential campaign for 2024, and people left the rally before he was finished.

Two days after DDT delivered his lies, the Trump Organization “will be criminally charged” and “will have faced criminal charges” from an investigation by the Southern District of New York City. Charges will deal with whether taxes were paid on the company’s fringe benefits for a top executive and false valuations of properties to obtain large loans and pay small taxes.  

Prosecutors gave DDT until tomorrow afternoon to make final arguments about why DDT’s business should not face these criminal charges. The Trump Organization, controlled by a DDT-owned trust, uses a web of hundreds of individual limited liability corporations. The case against the company is moving forward because DDT’s CEO Allen Weisselberg wasn’t “cooperating.” Weisselberg went to Trump Tower while DDT was in residence. 

Since the investigation into DDT and his business, most of its longtime employees, DDT’s family members who worked there, and some of his protectors such as former lawyer Michael Cohen left. After being his fixer for decades, Cohen turned on DDT. Now DDT works at the business, mostly alone, with two assistants and a few body men. A grand jury, convened earlier this year, is to consider indictments from the investigation.

Indictments could financially destroy DDT and his family, driving DDT into bankruptcy. DDT almost may owe hundreds of millions of dollars to the IRS, and his loans of hundreds of millions of dollars to foreign banks like the Chinese are coming due soon. Even without criminal indictments of the Trump Organization, DDT’s money-making could be shut down.

Rudy Giuliani’s former lawyer, replacement for Cohen, is also in trouble: the New York Supreme Court suspended his law license, and he can not practice law at this time. He faces disbarment for making “demonstrably false and misleading statements” while pushing DDT’s multiple court cases challenging the legal 2020 election. The court called Giuliani an “immediate threat” to the public who had “directly inflamed” the tensions leading to the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. “This country is being torn apart by continued attacks on the legitimacy of the 2020 election and of our current president, Joseph R. Biden,” according to the court. 

DDT angrily attacked “the same court that would handle any appeals in any prosecution the Manhattan DA may bring against the Trump Organization or any of its principals or employees,” according to George Conway’s tweet.

Examples of Giuliani’s incompetence and dishonesty:

Told a court that voter fraud cost DDT the election before Giuliani admitted he isn’t claiming voter fraud.

Defended lies about absentee ballots by saying he sincerely believed the lies at one time.

Lied to a court about a dead boxer voting in Philadelphia.

Claimed underage Georgia residents gave President Joe Biden up to 165,000 votes when the number was zero.

Repeatedly claimed “a few hundred thousand” undocumented immigrants voted for Biden in Arizona after being told no data existed to support his statement.

Giuliani is bringing down others with him.  FBI agents searched the home of George Dickson, a marijuana entrepreneur who worked with Giuliani for financing a documentary, never completed, to present the lies about Joe and Hunter Biden’s corruption in Ukraine. Giuliani thought the film would kill Biden’s chances to be elected. Federal prosecutors are probing Giuliani’s actions for violating foreign lobbying laws when he worked with former Ukrainian government officials and Russian agents to spread lies about false allegations about Biden.

DDT has faced a few others disasters:

A Georgia Superior Court dismissed seven of nine claims in a lawsuit alleging 147,000 fraudulent ballots were cast in the Fulton County 2020 election. Two of them were argued under a different claim, but the Fulton County elections board intends to file to get those claims dismissed as well. The ballots have been legally audited three times, including one hand recount with finding no evidence of widespread fraud.

The United States AG, Merrick Garland, announced a DOJ lawsuit against Georgia for its new anti-voting laws. Garland stated Georgia’s law was intended to be discriminatory against people of color instead of doing so accidentally. The DOJ is also following anti-voting bills and laws in other states for possible more lawsuits, according to Garland. Federal prosecutors are to make voter intimidation a priority, and Georgia may end up on preclearance requirements again. As states move to strip powers from elected secretaries of state, the DOJ lawsuit plans concrete steps to protect their legal powers.

In another move, the DOJ has established a task force to deal with the growing threats against election workers. In a number of states—including Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin—intimidation and threats have resulted in these officials’ early retirement. Pennsylvania lost at least one-third of county election officials. Last May during the Pennsylvania municipal primary, new election directors with no experience or knowledge took control. Untrained staffers can make mistakes programming races into the right districts, and the ignorance can lead to lack of consistency. Some counties haven’t even replaced election directors who resigned.

But it’s not just high-profile officials. One-third of election officials don’t feel safe in their jobs, and one-fifth have received death threats related to their jobs. Garland said, “The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, the right from which all other rights ultimately flow.” In Georgia, new ordinances or state laws have removed or eliminated positions of members of at least ten county election boards, mostly Democrats and some people of color. Republicans have largely replaced these people.  

The DOJ also told Missouri that states cannot overturn federal laws after Republicans passed a law not to enforce federal gun laws in the state. Gov. Mike Parsons signed the bill fining any local law enforcement agency $50,000 if it enforces federal gun laws and regulations constituting “infringements” of the Second Amendment. The DOJ told Missouri the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause outweighs Parson’s measure. Missouri’s law doesn’t even refer to current federal law; GOP legislators merely passed the law in case Congress passed a law that Missouri didn’t like. Eight other states have already passed similar laws, and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) said federal legislators should not pass any laws that any states would consider “nullifying.”

Other GOP governors are trying to keep members of Congress from supporting voting rights by lying about the proposed federal bill and their own anti-voting laws:

Florida: Ron DeSantis claimed that the laws were passed “so that someone can’t dump 100,000 votes two or three days later.” It didn’t happen, and DeSantis didn’t try to identify when his claim occurred. Sen. Rick Scott had falsely claimed in his 2018 race that “they found 95,000 votes after election night.”

Georgia: Brian Kemp claimed the new restrictions on drop boxes expanded the number, but it limits the number of drop boxes per county to “either one drop box for every 100,000 registered voters or the number of advance voting locations.” Larger counties, predominantly Black, are limited to 23 or fewer drop boxes, down from 94 in the 2020 election. Drop boxes, available only during early voting hours, are located inside. My Oregon county in Oregon has seven drop boxes, one per 5,467 voters, accessible 24 hours a day.

Arizona: Doug Ducey said no one loses their right to vote with Arizona’s new law, but the state automatically removes everyone from the early voter list, determining who receives mail ballots, if they don’t vote in a two-year cycle, removing over 100,000 Arizonans.

The Arizona ballot “fraudit” or ballot count or whatever is over after two painful months, but news about it is still available. Doug Logan, head of Cyber Ninjas running the operation, has claimed to be completely unbiased, but his possible appearance in the documentary Deep Rig belies his claims. Directed by a man whose work claims aliens were behind the 9/11 attack, the current conspiracy theorist film trying to prove the 2020 presidential election was rigged againt DDT uses Logan as the voice of “Anon.” 

The star of the film, Patrick Byrne, wrote the book used for the documentary and is working to get $2.8 million funding for the Arizona fake audit. Former Secretary of State Ken Bennett, liaison for the “fraudit,” also took part in the film. The movie showed scenes of the audit floor, including close-ups of ballots with clearly visible choices, although a journalist was thrown out of the counting site for accidentally taking a photograph of this. Some GOP lawmakers, including Senate President Karen Fann, attended the premier of the film, filled with QAnon conspiracy theories and other lies about voter fraud.

The Men in DDT’s Life

Furious with being mocked, Dictator Donald Trump (DDT) killed his “social-media platform” (aka blog) after only 29 days. Another problem with From the Desk of Donald J. Trump was almost no engagement, probably because people had to donate to him to make for responses. Senior DDT aide Jason Miller said the blog “will not be returning.” That’s the tip of the iceberg for DDT ridicule.

Comments by DDT’s main man, Russian President Vladimir Putin, at an economic forum today echoed GOP lies about the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. “They came with political demands,” Putin said, because they were justifiably angry with the election results. Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) described the violent riot as “a normal tourist visit,” and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) referred to the attack as a largely “peaceful protest.” Three days ago, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov accused the U.S. of violating attackers’ human rights and said these people faced “persecution.” President Joe Biden plans to meet Putin on June 16 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Former VP Mike Pence, quiet about the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol for almost five months, has finally spoken out. He said he and DDT may never “see eye to eye” on the event, which he called “a dark day in the history of the United States,” but “I will always be proud of what we accomplished for the American people over the last four years.” Pence is definitely running for president in 2024.

After stalling two years, former White House counsel testified before the House Judiciary Committee about DDT’s attempts to block a federal investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) said McGahn’s appearance “vindicates the congressional subpoena right” and “McGahn was clearly distressed by President Trump’s refusal to follow his legal advice, again and again.” Nadler added the testimony “shed new light on several troubling events” although DDT has repeatedly said, “I never suggested firing Mueller.”

Both Jim Jordan (R-OH), accused of permitting a doctor to sexually abuse athletes while he was an assistant coach at OSU, and Mat Gaetz (R-FL), under FBI investigation for a number of crimes including sex-trafficking, considered the hearing a waste of time. A transcript of the hearing will be publicly released within a week.

Getting rid of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy seemed difficult, even after President Joe Biden replaced three USPS board members, but an FBI investigation may speed DeJoy’s exit. The probe involves campaign fundraising activity before he left his former business when he allegedly pressured employees to attend political fundraisers and contribute to GOP candidates before being reimbursed with bonuses. In 14 years, 124 employees gave over $1 million to federal and state GOP candidates, many of the donors giving for the first time. DeJoy may escape charges because straw-donor schemes have a five-year statute of limitations, and the donations were made before 2015.

DeJoy is the fourth and last of the 2016 RNC finance team leadership to face DOJ investigations:

Steve Wynn: Sexual misconduct allegations forced him to resign, and last week the Wall Street Journal reported DOJ examinations into Wynn’s 2017 efforts in support of Chinese officials when he wasn’t registered as a lobbyist.

Elliott Broidy: Faced with multiple controversies, he pled guilty to federal charges of illegal lobbying. DDT pardoned him earlier this year.

Michael Cohen: The center of many DDT-related scandals, DDT’s former attorney/fixer was sentenced to prison before he turned against DDT.

Mike Lindell, MyPillow CEO, announced he is filing a lawsuit to force the Supreme Court to declare the 2020 election null and void, thus returning DDT to the White House. Lindell’s defamation-RICO-libelslander suit for $2 billion damages against Dominion Voting systems and its competitor Smartmatic wasn’t approved by MyPillow, and the company immediately fired the attorney representing Lindell when it heard about the case. Oddities in the case:

A civil rights claim that voting machine vendors are the government and that communication from Dominion to Lindell requesting he stop the lie about the voting machine company stealing the election for Joe Biden violates Lindell’s Free Speech rights.

A claim of conspiracy between competitors Dominion and Smartmatic although Smartmatic didn’t sue Lindell. In addition, Lindell wants a DDT-appointed judge in Minnesota to rule the Washington, DC case against him is abuse of process, ergo defamation.

The RICO claim that Dominion, Smartmatic, and Dominion’s lawyer Thomas Clare formed an association to stop people saying that the companies stole the election. Protecting a brand isn’t illegal unless the government tries to suppress free speech.

Former DDT lawyer Rudy Giuliani, currently under investigation for a number of crimes, worked during DDT’s first year in the White House for the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv through his consulting firm Giuliani Security & Safety. Giuliani has always maintained he worked only for DDT and not foreign countries. Journalists Asawin Suebsaeng and William Bredderman reported:

“The deal was reportedly the result of the local influence of the Ukrainian-Russian real estate developer Pavel Fuks, an ally of the town’s Moscow-friendly mayor. Fuks was previously engaged in negotiations to construct the never-realized Trump Tower Moscow.”

Giuliani’s failing reputation dropped even farther after he hawked MyPillow products on his Common Sense podcast. He got the most excited about the “slippers!” Giuliani also faces a lawsuit from Dominion and Smartmatic for his lies about the 2020 election. 

FEC is fining American Media, tabloid publisher owning the National Enquirer, $187,500 for its hush money payment to Karen McDougal concealing DDT’s affair. According to the FEC, the company’s CEO David Pecker, DDT’s friend, “knowingly and willfully” violated campaign finance laws in conjunction with DDT’s campaign officials and his lawyer/fixer Michael Cohen, instrumental in the affair’s coverup. In 2018, American Media agreed to a deal by admitting the hush money was to influence the 2016 general election but declared that silence is not a “thing of value.” FEC called the payment “an in-kind contribution to Trump and the Trump Committee” and declared “the violation was knowing and willful.”

The latest problem for Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), after the sex-trafficking probe, is the problem into his possible obstruction of justice for a phone call with a witness in his sex-crimes investigation. Both the witness—an ex-girlfriend—and Gaetz’s former friend Joel Greenberg are cooperating with the FBI about Gaetz’s alleged crimes that include drug use, pay for sex with women under 18, and requests for pardons from DDT through Roger Stone.

One person, Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), is keeping Palestinians from receiving any U.S. aid approved by DDT despite their homes and infrastructure being destroyed. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) led 145 Democrats calling on him to lift the hold on assistance for the humanitarian disaster.

During his time in the White House, DDT broke Facebook rules with impunity, but the social media platform will stop protecting politicians from policies removing other users. The independent FB Oversight Board, an independent group costing $130 million to review FB guidelines, criticized special treatment for politicians, recommending the “same rules should apply to all users.” The system of strikes on users will no longer be secret: users will be made aware of strikes in violating rules possibly leading to suspension. FB will also move toward disclosure of special newsworthy exemptions to keep content from politicians and others otherwise violating its rules. Since 2019, FB employees have asked the company to no longer have a list of political accounts not subject to fact-checking and content-moderation for other users. Internal research shows people are more likely to believe lies when shared by elected officials. Under new FB rules, posts made by politicians won’t be fact-checked but are open to enforcement of other rules such as bullying. The new guidelines might have prevented DDT’s messages to create division after George Floyd’s murder and praise violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last January.

Facebook has banned DDT from its social media platform until January 2023 after the independent Oversight Board forced FB to make a decision. Another evaluation about DDT’s risk to public safety will be done at that time according to Nick Clegg, Facebook’s vice president for global affairs. This evaluation of “external factors” includes “instances of violence, restrictions on peaceful assembly and other markers of civil unrest.” The decision blocks DDT from posting to FB or Instagram for the 2022 election cycle and raises questions about Florida’s ability to fine FB for the ban after 14 days because of its new law.

Like DDT, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is losing his position. Israel’s parliament system uses that legislative body to select its PM, requiring a majority vote of 61 in the 120-member body next week. The new governing coalition of 13 parties, still largely right-wing, picked Yair Lapid and his main coalition partner, Naftali Bennett. Lapid brought eight diverse parties from left-wing to hard-line right with his centrist party, as well as the United Arab List, a small Islamist party, joining the governing coalition for the first time. All coalition parties share animosity to Netanyahu.

According to the agreement, Bennett will serve for two years, followed by Lapid for the final two years—unless the vulnerable coalition crashes and burns before then. The decision stopped a fifth election in under 27 months; the last four all ended in deadlock. Knesset, the parliament, must approve the decision before it’s finalized, but Netanyahu’s 12-year record run appears to be over. Like DDT, Netanyahu is still fighting to keep his office because of the 2019 indictments for fraud, breach of trust, and accepting bribes.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis bitterly opposed COVID funds, but he pandered to would-be voters with bonuses for them created with $9 billion stimulus monies in his $100 billion budget.

And DDT starts his summer speeches tomorrow at the North Carolina GOP state convention.

QAnon Believes in DDT’s Return, Scandals Continue

Michael Flynn, the national security advisor who DDT fired less than a month after his inauguration, told a QAnon conspiracy conference last weekend he wanted a Myanmar-style coup in the United States to put Dictator Donald Trump (DDT) back into the White House. On video, Flynn stated the coup “should happen here” but later claimed, “I do not and have not at any time called for any action of that sort.” The military coup against the government already killed 800 people. Flynn was convicted after confessing to lying to the FBI, destroying any personal credibility.

Flynn’s false claim is comparable to Washington, D.C. police who stated they didn’t use tear gas to clear peaceful protesters so DDT could walk to the church for his infamous photo-op last June. The police attorney now admits the police used tear gas but described the use as “not unreasonable.”

DDT is telling close associates he will be reinstated in the White House by the end of summer, according to New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman. Sidney Powell, a former lawyer who tried to overturn Joe Biden’s presidential election in court, also told the QAnon group that DDT will triumphantly return. She said, “A new inauguration date is set, and Biden is told to move out of the White House.” Powell is being sued for $1.3 billion for her lies about Dominion voting machines and software. Smartmatic is also asking for $2.7 billion in damages for their defamation suit against Powell. Her legal defense argues that “no reasonable person would conclude that the statements [by Powell about the 2020 election] were truly statements of fact.”

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) is another one of the liars at the QAnon conspiracy conference. About DDT’s supporters attacking the U.S. Capitol, Gohmert criticized an independent review of the insurrection and pushed the myth that “it wasn’t just right-wing extremists” rioting despite federal officials saying that left-wing activists weren’t present. Gohmert also said the event trying to overturn a presidential election wasn’t any big deal, that foreign attacks were much worse. Despite Gohmert appearing in a video, one of his staff members said he didn’t go to the conference. Later, Gohmert told a CBS journalist he doesn’t “know who or what QAnon is.” Earlier this year, Gohmert said in an interview that if the 2020 election isn’t overturned, “it will mean the end of our republic, the end of the experiment in self-government.” After his speech, Gohmert posed with known QAnon conspiracy theorist and podcaster RedPill78, who openly admitted to storming the Capitol building on January 6.  

The typical call to execute Hillary Clinton came from Roger Stone’s social media advisor Jason Sullivan. DDT pardoned Stone after his conviction. Sullivan claimed “80 million followers” for QAnon, but a survey found about 30 million.

DDT’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani was “very useful to me,” according to Andriy Derkach, the Ukrainian politician and businessman described in the Biden and DDT administration as an “active Russian agent.” Derkach fed Giuliani false information on Biden and his son Hunter Biden, leaked tapes to damage Biden’s presidential campaign, and passed along the conspiracy theory to Giuliani and others that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in the 2020 election to get DDT elected.  

A judge approved the DOJ request to appoint an independent supervisor to review materials obtained from Giuliani’s home with a search warrant last month. The ruling also rejected Giuliani’s challenge to the legality of the recent search warrant and the one two years ago as part of his business dealings with Ukraine.

Sen. Joe Manchin (R-WV), surprised about the filibuster requiring 60 out of 100 votes to permit bills to the Senate floor, is “disappointed” because the Republicans he supports have blocked bipartisan legislation to examine the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.  The filibuster requires 60 votes even if senators don’t show up. Only 54 members voted in favor of a commission with 35 votes against it: 39 percent defeated 64 percent. Only in the Senate is the number 35 larger than the number 54. Not present for the vote were nine Republicans and two Democrats, Patty Murray (WA) and Kyrsten Sinema (AZ). Manchin said “putting politics and political elections above the health of our Democracy is unconscionable,” but he and Sinema are responsible for keeping the filibuster and blocking democracy. 

Six GOP senators voted to forward the January 6 commission bill for debate: Bill Cassidy (LA), Susan Collins (ME), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Rob Portman (OH), Mitt Romney (UT), and Ben Sasse (NE). Most Republicans oppose the commission for fear its revelations will hurt their election chances in 2022.

Possible paths for a congressional investigation into the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol:

The Senate can try again. After all, the 9/11 independent investigative commission wasn’t formalized for 14 months. House Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said, “I reserve the right to force the Senate to vote on the bill again at the appropriate time.”

House Democrats have started their own probe of the insurrection with a coalition of seven committees; documents requests have been sent to 16 agencies in the federal government.

Democrats could also create a select House committee without GOP support and undertake steps for accountability as Republicans with Benghazi. The GOP followed six separate GOP congressional investigations with a select committee, all failing to find evidence for the GOP far-right conspiracy theories against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. A select committee, needing only a House majority, has subpoena power, a dedicated staff, and no firm deadline.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), under investigation for a number of criminal offences including sex-trafficking, explained the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution:

“The Second Amendment is about maintaining, within the citizenry, the ability to maintain an armed rebellion against the government, if that becomes necessary.”

Gaetz was speaking specifically about his willingness to silence Big Tech, but his listeners will likely use his words to kill anyone.

DDT’s appointments from before Biden’s administration are still haunting the country. An example is retired Army Col. Douglas Macgregor, who pushed conspiracy theories about George Soros, talked about Europe welcoming “Muslim invaders,” and encouraged deadly force against undocumented immigrants in the U.S. Before leaving the White House, DDT put Macgregor on a West Point advisory board where he announced Biden’s bringing in non-White immigrants in a “grand plan” for them to outnumber White people of European ancestry in the U.S. He also attacked women’s military service in combat. Cleaning house will take Biden a long time.

Rational people aren’t surprised about revelations of corruption in DDT’s administration such as this one. According to EPA scientists, their officials reapproved Monsanto’s pesticide by revising scientific analyses with no evidence. Officials gave scientists an outline for its impact analysis document that removed vital parts of the original. The Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention told scientists to use Monsanto data for reported dicamba damages instead of EPA science data. The senior management decision to use plant height instead of plant injury to measure dicamba’s effects changed scientific conclusions. Other concerns were “numerous inaccuracies” and using studies for controlling weeds on cotton and soybeans genetically engineered to tolerate it instead of crops not engineered to tolerate it which were impacted by its usage. In 2020, dicamba was approved for five years although a study in the International Journal of Epidemiology links dicamba use to cancers. An article for The Hill avoided any mention of Monsanto, but dicamba is a Monsanto product.

When DDT stopped the requirement of payroll taxes to boost the economy during the pandemic, people thought the taxes would be forgiven. The day of reckoning, however, has arrived, and federal employees making under $4,000 per biweekly paycheck owe thousands of dollars because DDT made the delay mandatory. A letter demands payment in full within 30 days before the debt is forwarded to the Treasury offset program for collection. One recipient is incensed about her debt of $1,300. Private sector employers largely refused the payroll tax delay for fear that workers couldn’t pay back the money.

DDT’s lease on his Washington, D.C. hotel in the Old Post Office Pavilion is once again for sale. The first time was in Fall 2019 when the hotel was typically half empty. Property revenue fell by 62 percent last year, and Cyrus Vance’s investigation of DDT’s business affairs may include this hotel. DDT supposedly put $200 million into renovations with a $170 million loan from Deutsche Bank; in 2019, he wanted $500 million for the lease and property.

Update: Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill charging social media platforms $250,000 a day after they ban a politician for longer than 14 days, and NetChoice and the Computer and Community Industry Association are suing him and other state officials. The suit declares First Amendment rights of private online businesses. DeSantis’ battle was always about the culture war.

DDT Deeper in a Hole, GOP Loses Faith in ‘Fraudit’

Deposed Donald Trump (DDT) started his 2020 presidential campaign a few days after his inauguration in 2017, and he’s following the same pattern in 2021. Upsetting the GOP 2024 presidential primaries, he has told friends he would run in the next election if he has a clean bill of health—something he’s had no trouble purchasing. That leaves other wannabes in limbo. Think Florida Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Missouri’s Sen. Josh Hawley, Arkansas’ Sen. Tom Cotton, and South Carolina’s Tim Scott. And South Dakota’s governor Kristi Noem, Florida’s Rep. Matt Gaetz, and former U.S. officials Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.

DDT’s problem is the skepticism and mixed opinions from leading Republicans about his potential run. In interviews with 20 congressional Republicans, Olivia Beavers and Burgess Everett found four different positions: 

“Burning” for Trump to run again: These include Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Brian Mast (R-FL) who don’t want a “carbon copy” but instead “the original.”

Picking political viability: Identifying whomever has the best chance of winning the White House, Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) said, “The person that can best save this country.”

“Fresh skin”: Privately some of the congressional members want DDT to step back, not be the GOP nominee but help the party.

“Thinking – Dear Lord, please not again: Reps. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) have been open about this position, but others are anonymously voicing the same opinion.  

While Republicans badmouth Twitter and Facebook about banning DDT, they privately express relief about his lack of megaphones. Unfortunately for them, he’s starting his rallies in June to push conspiracy theories about the election and whine about every “Witch Hunt,” especially the newly convened grand jury in Manhattan to hear his criminal activities. The media will give air to DDT while President Joe Biden quietly carries forward with his agenda. One senior House GOP aide said:

“If we win the majority back in 17 months, it’s going to be in spite of Trump—not because of Trump. He will totally take credit if we win the House back—but it won’t be because of him. This guy is a disaster.”

DDT plans a road-trip with his “Contract with America,” in connection with Newt Gingrich who developed the first one in 1994. GOP leaders, however, know that DDT cannot keep to policy. Other DDT problems are that he may not exhibit the same vitality as a year ago and people may rapidly grow tired of him.

More DDT exposure may also reveal more scandals about him. The son of the late Arlen Specter told how DDT tried to bribe the former senator in 2008 to stop a congressional probe of the Spygate case about the New England Patriots. Shanin Specter said that his father specifically told him that DDT tried to bribe Specter, who died in 2012, when he was ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee to drop the investigation of the Patriots illegally filming an opponent’s hand signals. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell found the Patriots guilty of violating league rules by videotaping the defensive coaches for the New York Jets in 2007. The league stripped the Patriots of its first-round draft pick and fined the franchise $250,000. Bill Belchick was fined $500,000, the biggest amount for any NFL coach. Sen. Specter told Goodall he still had questions and would investigate Spygate on his own.

DDT’s spokesperson Jason Miller declared the accusation “completely false,” but he has his own baggage. For his failed $100 million defamation lawsuit, he owes $41,868 to G/O Media, formerly Gizmodo Media Group, parent company of now-defunct Splinter, that accurately published the story about Miller’s secretly sneaking an abortion pill into the drink of his pregnant mistress. The fetus was killed, and the woman came close to being in a coma. Miller lost his CNN job as a paid political commentator after his action was publicized. In 2019, a federal judge dismissed Miller’s case because the article was “a fair and true report.” A panel of judges from the 11^th Circuit Court upheld this ruling last month. The federal appeals court also ruled against Miller who claimed his documents were out of bounds, determining New York’s fair-reporting privilege protected the right to see the documents.

Miller also made an arrangement with political strategy firm Teneo to hide his income with the intent of dodging child support payments. Immediately after his resignation as Teneo’s managing editor in 2019 and telling a Florida court he was unemployed to “abate and modify” his payments, he signed a new secret contract with Teneo as a consultant through a rapidly-formed LLC, at the very same base compensation of nearly $500,000 doing the very same work.

Stephen Miller, the man behind all DDT’s hateful anti-immigrant policies including separation of families, is now suing the federal government to take money from women and minorities in the American Rescue Plan Act to give it to white people. With one victory in Texas, he may achieve his purpose because of the conservative majority on DDT’s Supreme Court. Miller’s lawsuits are about monies from the American Rescue Plan Act prioritizing women and historically marginalized groups. One lawsuit attacks $5 billion for debt relief, grants, and training for Black farmers and other “socially disadvantaged” groups. In the latter group, Miller wants to give the money to Irish, Italians, Germans, Jews, and eastern Europeans. Another attack is on the $29 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund, prioritizing applications from women, veterans and “socially and economically disadvantaged” applicants during its first three weeks of implementation. A George W. Bush judge gave a temporary restraining order for distributing the money, but the plaintiff in the case filed a notice of dismissal for his case. An expert on constitutional law surmises the restaurant lawsuit may be an attempt to overturn former rulings protecting historically disadvantaged groups. 

More Arizona ballot “fraudit”: According to people close to Deposed Donald Trump (DDT), he believes the so-called recount “could undo” the results of the 2020 presidential election. Last Monday, he issued this statement:

“Arizona Republican State Senators are engendering such tremendous respect, even adoration, for the great job they are doing on the Forensic Audit of the 2020 Presidential Election Scam.”

Among the growing number of Republicans caught up in the havoc they have wreaked is state Senate president Karen Fann.  Republican Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates revealed she asked him to do an audit last November but told him she knows “there’s nothing to do this.” He watched two nationally-certified independent firms hired by the county to completely vet the election results from ballots to machines and reported “the election was safe, secure and fair … one of the best we’ve ever run.” Gates believes the Republicans are doing the current audit “to be reelected.”

Two Republicans voted against a restrictive voting bill requiring absentee ballots to list personal information—the voter’s birthday and either the last four digits of their Social Security number, a state-issued identification number, or a voter registration number. They would also have to complete an affidavit that the information they put on the ballot is correct. The new process would cost Maricopa County an additional $35,000 for additional steps, and insurance companies called the requirement “an identity thief’s dream come true.” State Rep. Jasmine Blackwater-Nygren (D) said the bill could hurt tribal voters because of birthdate discrepancies. Republicans are trying to put election and voting-related bills into the budget with amendments.

In 2016, DDT opposed an audit by Green Party candidate Jill Stein accusing her of having only “speculation” in her attempt to “disenfranchise Michigan citizens.” DDT’s lawyers wrote, “All available evidence suggests that the 2016 general election was not tainted by fraud or mistake.” The 2020 election shows no evidence of being “tainted by fraud or mistake” and indicates the entire attempt to “disenfranchise” citizens is based on “speculation.” Yet “fraudits” are crossing the nation.

For example, Wisconsin is diving into the “stolen” election swamp. On state GOP orders, the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau, did a separate audit of Wisconsin’s election results in February, but Republicans want another one. They plan to hire retired police officers and an attorney to re-investigate the 2020 election, according to GOP Rep. Robin Vos, speaker of the State Assembly, said he is hiring retired police officers and an attorney to investigate the thoroughly-investigated 2020 election. Yet Vos said he doesn’t expect the three month investigation will change election results in the state. Democrats commented:

“Wisconsin Republicans won’t fund healthcare, schools, or infrastructure … but they will authorize unlimited funds to desperately prove conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.”

These audits may lose GOP support. In Arizona, three-fourths of Republicans support the audit—as might be expected—but two-thirds of unaffiliated voters oppose it. That doesn’t bode well for the GOP in the 2022 election, especially with a higher percentage of Democrats than Republicans in the state. Only one-third of the states voters are more likely to support candidates backing the “fraudit.”

DDT, GOP in Trouble; Arizona Continues Corruption

President Joe Biden’s approval rating has increased to 62 percent, compared to the 45 percent Dictator Donald Trump (DDT) received in May 2017. Most of his ratings—economy, stimulating jobs, administering the government, etc.—are above 60 percent, and his worst rating, the one for handling immigration, is still at 53 percent. Approval of the Democratic Party went up to 55 percent while the approval of the GOP is still below 50 percent at 49 percent. Highly conservative Rasmussen Reports, one of the few polls to give DDT higher than a 50-percent approval rating, infuriated Republicans by finding Biden at 54 percent approval.

A grand jury has been convened to determine whether to indict DDT if Manhattan’s prosecutors present criminal charges in the investigation against the Trump Organization. The jury could also indict the business’s executives and the business itself. The jury will be in session three days a week for six months and may hear information beyond the Trump Organization probe. A major issue is whether DDT lied to lenders and insurance companies about his properties’ values to obtain larger loans and pay lower taxes. The investigation includes Trump Tower, the family estate Seven Springs, DDT’s Chicago hotel, and condo tower, and the hush money paid to shut up Stormy Daniels about her alleged affair with DDT. DDT is again whining, “Witch Hunt!”

Although the DOJ has released part of a memo from former AG Bill Barr, the department is appealing the order to disclose the entire memo. Barr used the 2019 memo from his Office of Legal Counsel to not make charges against DDT based on special investigator Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and its connections to DDT’s campaign. Part of the concealed memo provides factual and legal analyses of some incidents of possible obstruction. The judge earlier called Barr “disingenuous” in using the document to conclude DDT had not broken the law. She concluded that Barr used the memo “for a preemptive strike on the Mueller report.” The memo also stated the DOJ should decide whether DDT broke the law. The judge concluded the department’s intent was to legally justify a decision already made by DOJ leaders—to not accuse DDT of a crime.

Even out of office, DDT still claims he’s above the law (aka absolute immunity from civil lawsuits) in a lawsuit filed by Rep. Eric Swalwell of violating federal civil rights and local incitement laws. Donald Trump Jr, Rudolph Giuliani, and Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) are also defendants in the case, all of them for speaking at the rally near the White House on January 6 before the insurrectionists moved on to attack the U.S. Capitol. DDT’s defense is that he cannot be sued after being acquitted in an impeachment for the same conduct. DDT’s lawyer declared DDT is protected under the First Amendment. The lawyer stated about the presidency:

“While holding that office, former President Trump was free to advocate for the appointment and certification of electors, just as he was entitled to advocate for the passage or defeat of a constitutional amendment, or the reconsideration of a congressional act over his veto even though the President does not directly participate in those congressional acts.”

The U.S. Constitution declares a president can be subject to criminal or civil actions after leaving office. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) has been joined by ten other congressional members and the NAACP in filing a similar lawsuit based on the Civil Rights Act of 1871, known as the Ku Klux Klan. It permits lawsuits against government officials for claims about conspiring to violate civil rights. That suit alleges DDT and Giuliani conspired with the extremist groups Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.

Gordon Sondland, DDT’s former ambassador to the EU who testified against him during the first impeachment, is suing him and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for $1.8 legal fees, costs from the 2019 impeachment probe. Sondland alleges Pompeo reneged on the State Department covering the fees. Top Pompeo aides supported Sondland’s claim, but Pompeo changed his mind about paying after Sondland’s testimony about the “quid pro quo” that didn’t support DDT. The lawsuit demands payment from the government or from Pompeo personally, claiming the promise was made for Pompeo’s “own political survival.” Sondland also explained high bills by DDT’s restriction of “access to materials essential to his preparation.” DDT fired Sondland two days after his impeachment acquittal.

After fighting a subpoena for years, former White House Counsel Don McGahn will testify to the House Judiciary Committee behind closed doors after the DOJ made a deal for his testimony about DDT’s obstruction attempt against Mueller’s Russian investigation. The committee will release the interview transcript. Members can ask him about events documented in the report about attempts to fire Mueller and block the Russia investigation as well as about the Mueller investigation’s accuracy. McGahn can decline answering questions on other topics.

DDT’s pet Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) went too far with her comparison of required mask wearing to gassing Jews during the Holocaust. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), silent for days, called the statement “appalling,” and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) bravely said he “does not agree with these comments and condemns these comparisons.” McCarthy continued by blaming for anti-Semitism “on the rise in the Democrat [sic] Party” being “completely ignored” by Speaker Nancy Pelosi.”

Two years ago, Jewish groups considered comments about Israel from Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) as anti-Semitic. Pelosi forcefully demanded an immediate apology, and Omar said she didn’t mean to promote negative stereotypes of Jews with her comments on Israel. Another objection may be protests from some House members about Israeli’s killing Palestinians, driving them out of the homes, destroying their infrastructure, and preventing them from worshipping in their Jerusalem mosque. McCarthy didn’t make any suggestions about actions against Greene.

Greene was not pleased about McCarthy’s statements. She hastily reposted a tweet about McCarthy with her addition but then removed within six minutes:

[Quote from a tweet]: “Look you moron, nobody supported Israel in their recent conflict with Hamas more than MTG. Her analogy may not have been perfect but you seriously need to get a grip you feckless c**t. Pelosi is the villain here.” [Greene’s addition]: “Thank you for seeing the truth and how much I support Israel.”

Even Senate Minority Mitch McConnell (R-KY) openly turned against Greene. Asked by a reporter about whether she should be censured, he said:

“Well, she doesn’t serve in the Senate, but this is one of a frequent outbursts that are absolutely outrageous and reprehensible, but any punishment I assume would have to be administered by the House.”

More news from the Arizona vote counting fiasco: The so-called “audit” has now resumed with “counters” selected by an organization operated by DDT’s wealthy supporter and “stolen” election believer Patrick Byrne, formerly Overstock.com CEO. He is in charge of background checks, non-disclosure agreements, and volunteer agreements of “workers.”

Wake TSI, the Pennsylvania IT company running the audit, came to the end of its contract on May 14 and won’t be back. With little or no experience regarding elections, the company took the job after an Arizona senator, a bit advocate of the “Stop the Steal” movement, asked for it. A Scottsdale (AZ)-based tech company StratTech, possibly with no election or auditing experience, is taking over.

Arizona’s GOP-led House Appropriations Committee stripped legally-elected Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D) of her ability to “defend election lawsuits” after she expressed “grave concerns” about the audit. Her responsibilities have been transferred “exclusively” to Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) through the end of the 2023 fiscal year. In further retaliation against Hobbs, the Republicans removed Hobb’s “oversight of the Capitol Museum” after state lawmakers when she “flew a gay pride flag from the building’s balcony” in 2019.

After determined to remain silent for over three weeks, Stephen Richer, the GOP recorder in charge of Maricopa County’s elections, said there was no “legitimate reason that would have prompted this audit.” About former audits, he pointed out that “all the tests came back clean. The parties themselves oversaw the hand-count auditing of 47,000 plus votes.” He also expressed frustration “that some professional, legitimate companies did make bids to the Arizona Senate to do this work and we would have welcomed that.” The county told the Senate to preserve all documents related to the audit administration in a litigation hold, looking into charges of defamation.  

An observer’s report of the audit told to Washington Post editor Sophia Nguyen—including horror of a “counter” who found “cheese powder” on a ballot. 

Will DDT be back on Facebook? Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill, possibly called the Trump Protection (TP) law, which fines social media platforms permanently banning political candidates in the state. A ban is limited to 14 days with a daily $250,000 fine after that. As almost everyone knows, DDT has made Florida’s Mar-a-Lago his residence. The law comes from the party believing in freedom for private business and no regulations. Florida has blocked free speech from private entities, violating the constitution’s First Amendment. Exempt are companies owning theme parks or entertainment venues larger than 25 acres, aka Disney World and Comcast’s Universal Orlando Resort. Another lawsuite in the wind.

Watch for much more about the Grifters’ Old Party. 

 

DDT’s Criminal Investigation, Arizona’s ‘Fraudit’

The new “social communications” platform (aka blog) from Deposed Donald Trump (DDT) landed a few weeks ago like a thud. Instead of typing out his own messages, DDT dictates his comments to aides. They type and print them, he edits them with a Sharpie, and then aides upload the statements to his “platform.” Almost no entries and demands for donations from anyone who wants to respond.  DDT feared irrelevance leaving the White House and largely received it. Last week, his website had fewer visitors than Petfinder or Delish, and shares of content about him on major mainstream platforms dropped 95 percent. DDT went from over 88 million Twitter and 35 million Facebook followers on January 6 to about 2,000 daily shares on Facebook. 

DDT was in the press last week with the announcement of possible criminal charges in New York. AG Letitia James said she is investigating the Trump Organization “in a criminal capacity” in cooperation with a case from Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance. Because of limitations, the charges could involve state agencies, including securities and tax fraud as well as prosecute lies in the investigations. James’ office notified the Trump Organization last month of its intent. The publicity may also increase pressure on people to cooperate because coordination between both state and city makes the investigation stronger. Vance’s office has previously working on cooperation from DDT’s CFO Allen Weisselberg, whose former daughter-in-law gave officials financial records.

James may pursue racketeering charges under RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corruption Organization) laws used in organized crime in the charges. The RICO laws are typically used in “a pattern of criminal behavior” through an “enterprise” for a person’s financial gain. These charges could include DDT’s use of the federal government for personal gain. RICO convictions have much longer sentences and bigger financial penalties. DDT released a 900+ word of whining outrage on his platform, using his favorite word “hoax.”

Another 14 lawsuits DDT faces.

Three of DDT’s children—Ivanka, Don Jr, and Eric—are also under criminal investigation in New York.  The probe into Ivanka concerns her potential tax crimes for vastly increasing Trump Hotel prices in D.C. during DDT’s inauguration. All three are officers or work for the Trump Organization, and the media has speculated whether DDT will save himself by flipping on them.

Meanwhile, the fraudulent vote counting continues in Maricopa County (AZ) as the GOP tries to prove a “stolen” election from DDT. Reputable Republicans are increasingly annoyed with becoming the “laughingstock” of the world.

Frustration rose to a high peak when state Senate President Karen Fann (R) tweeted DDT’s defamatory statement that the “entire database for Maricopa County in Arizona has been DELETED!” The five members of the County Board of Supervisors, 80 percent Republican, asked the Arizona GOP senators, some of them already disenchanted with their decision to hired an experienced company to recount the ballots for a third time, to stop the ballot count. GOP Stephen Richer, Maricopa County Recorder, called DDT’s comment “unhinged” and said he was “literally looking at our voter registration database on my other screen. Right now. We can’t indulge these insane lies any longer.”

Over a week ago, semi trucks moved the ballots, voting machines, and software out of the coliseum, scene of the project for three weeks, when high school graduations took over the facility. The building chosen for storage is considered unusable between May and September because of the heat, at this time averaging highs of 100 degrees.  According to election technology expert Ryan Macias, “the more likely the chain of custody will be broken and the less likely that the data is reliable.” Fewer than one-fourth of the 2.1 ballots were examined in the first 17 days.

Board Supervisor Chair Jack Sellers (R) claimed the GOP Senate was running a “grift disguised as an audit.” He added the supervisors will no longer explain anything “to these people who are playing investigator with our constituents’ ballots and equipment, paid for with real people’s tax dollars. People’s ballots and money are not make believe. It’s time to be done with this craziness.” He wrote that he will “not be responding to any more requests from this sham process. Finish what you call an audit and be ready to defend your report in a court of law. We all look forward to it.” Sellers refused to attend a May 18 meeting with Fann.

A lengthy letter from board members addressed the accusation of “spoliation of evidence” with detailed responses and explanations of the appropriate ballot handling and counting processes. In refuting the scurrilous statements from the Senate, the letter described the security process for delivering the ballots, voting machines, and software to the inexperienced Florida company, Cyber Ninjas, and possibly reasons for what outsiders perceive as “DELETED” information. At least half the letter answers accusatory questions concerning “no chain-of-custody documentation for the ballots”; other security measures such as the Senate’s perception of lack of “tamper-proof seals”; and lying about not having the passwords demanded by the Senate. The supervisors wrote, “We cannot provide what we do not possess.”

“This ‘audit’ is encouraging our citizens to distrust elections, which weakens our democratic republic,” according to the supervisors. They concluded by asking Fann “to recognize the obvious truth: your ‘auditors’ are in way over their heads. They do not have the experience necessary to conduct an audit of an election. They do not know the laws, nor the procedures, nor the best practices. It is inevitable that they will arrive at questionable conclusions.” The last paragraph:

“It is time to end this. For the good of the Senate, for the good of the Country and for the good of the Democratic institutions that define us as Americans.”

At the May 18 meeting with Fann and the chair of the state Senate Judiciary Committee, a representative from the private company leading the audit admitted they had discovered the files claimed “DELETED.” He said the workers didn’t know the settings and configurations used to copy the county’s databases or how to search them. Contractors assumed the missing directory was deleted because they looked in the wrong place. 

In fact-checks of the hearing, the county’s official Twitter account stated that Fann and then-Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Eddie Farnsworth started their efforts to get election data before the tallying of electoral college votes on January 6. To avoid having Democrats present, Fann held a meeting instead of a formal hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee. She also blocked the Senate Minority Leader Rebecca Rios (D-Phoenix), the media, and the public.  

Even Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), DDT’s sycophant, is disillusioned with the Arizona fiasco, likely because it’s damaging the GOP brand:

“I accept the results of the election. I don’t know what the audit is all about in Arizona. I don’t know the details. But I am ready to move on.”

Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) defended the audit to the DOJ, which questions whether the process complies with federal law requiring the preservation of ballots for 22 months after an election.

Workers are actually performing two different audits. The one searching for bamboo in the paper and using UV lights to find watermarks has received more publicity, but other people are actually tallying the 2.1 million ballots by hand. A third one, looking at digital ballot images created by vote-counting scanners, will begin later.

None of these audits is being run by government election officials nor are they following the state procedures. They also don’t use all the 2020 election records and data provided to the state Senate per its order. Instead the entire process has been set up by the unknowledgeable Cyber Ninjas which fails to use key accounting controls to identify and investigate discrepancies to correct mistakes in the hand count. Specific processes and faults are described here. With their failure to create and cross-reference precise records, the end result is tainted in an endeavor, according to Republicans, to create “election integrity.” At least, counters have few disagreements because all of them are Republicans.

The Senate is paying only $150,000 for the debacle, but donors are providing the necessary millions of dollars for the project. Patrick Byrne, former Overstock.com CEO, has set up a fund called the America Project to gather money from the QAnon believers, including himself. Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow, is another donor, and the right-wing network One America News, allowed “unfettered access” to the event, is raising money. For the first 17 days, wages alone may be over $600,000.

Taxpayers, however, will be on the hook for about $6.1 million to replace the almost 400 voting machines turned over to Cyber Ninja. Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs said if the county doesn’t purchase new machines, she will decertify the existing ones.

The watchdog group American Oversight is suing the Arizona Senate for public records related to the fake audit. The lawsuit states the Senate violates public records law by refusing to turn over audit records including communications of Senate audit liaison Ken Bennett and the audit’s budget and funders.

Another “audit” fiasco will invade Fulton County (GA) if courts uphold a state judge permitting local GOP voters to inspect 147,000 mail-in ballots from the 2020 election. At least they won’t be touching the originals, which Fulton election officials will keep. Odd how people are convinced the only lack of “election integrity” occurs in locations where DDT lost and places where former audits have proved no fraud.

Troubles for Trump—and His Minions

DDT’s Future: Defending Himself in Court

As Deposed Donald Trump (DDT) remains ensconced at Mar-a-Lago permitting favored ones into his presence, his advisers grow increasingly concerned about the immense buildup of legal investigations and filings. Yet loyalists must tell him he will probably remain safe from lawsuits emanating from his incitement of violence at the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

Last week, two Capitol Police officers injured on January 6 while engaged in hand-to-hand combat are suing DDT for inciting his supporters who mobbed the Capitol to stop the Electoral College election of President Joe Biden. Officers James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby assert DDT has the direct responsibility for the insurrection because of his call to riot. Blassingame describes how rioters slammed him into a stone column while shouting racial slurs. Hemby, who was also sprayed with a chemical spray, said his hand and knee injuries still require medical care two months later. Both men suffer emotional trauma. DDT has tried to rework stories of January 6 by calling it a peaceful assembly with “zero threat.”

After breaking free of the crowd, Blassingame helped House members evacuate to a committee room and stayed among the maskless people until 7:30 pm. Hemby couldn’t get medical assistance until 9:00 pm. Part of the lawsuit uses speeches by GOP congressional members such as Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-CA) who stated DDT could be legally liable for inciting the riot.  

Their suit follows ones by Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA). Another political case against DDT filed in late December accuses DDT and the Republican National Committee of conspiring to violate the rights of Black voters. The case asks the judge to not only stop them from any further actions to overturn or undermine the 2020 election but also issue an order forcing them to obtain court approval for demands of recounts or participation in future “post-election activities.” In January 2018, a federal judge in New Jersey lifted the 1982 court-monitored settlement banning the RNC from “ballot security” activities based on the “racial or ethnic composition” of a specific community. In that agreement, the RNC agreed it had tried to intimidate, threaten, and disenfranchise voters through voter roll purges and by paying police officers to patrol polling sites in predominantly Black and Latino areas under the pretense of preventing election fraud.

This lawsuit expands a November case that the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) filed in federal court in Washington, DC, against DDT and his campaign for deliberately focusing fraud accusations on cities with large Black populations, including Atlanta, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia. These claims were brought under the federal Voting Rights Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act.

The Fulton County (GA) DA, Fani Willis, is pursuing an investigation into DDT’s election fraud through his telephone calls begging officials, including Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, to cheat on counting votes from the 2020 general election in DDT’s favor. Willis is putting together an investigative team, and two grand juries are underway, close to making subpoena demands for documents and recordings. She’s searching for three more lawyers and another investigator.

DDT’s Supreme Court justices, who were appointed to return him to the White House, have rejected the last of three cases to challenge his election loss, the one about absentee ballots in Wisconsin. The other two were about Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Another rejected case asking justices to block the January 5 Senate runoff elections in Georgia was filed by DDT’s loyalist Lin Wood. Democrats won both these elections bringing their total to 50 members.

Wisconsin’s Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is going to court for over $250,000 from DDT that the state paid to defend the popular vote against his attempt to overturn the vote so he could return to the White House. The request for an order states DDT and his attorneys brought their two lawsuits “in bad faith.”

A New York appeals court is permitting a defamation lawsuit by former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos against DDT because he is no longer in the White House. DDT denied her allegations about sexually assaulting her in 2007, and Zervos wants to depose DDT as part of her lawsuit. She is one of two women suing him for defamation. 

Three cases against DDT are being prosecuted by Roberta Kaplan, well-known for the Supreme Court case U.S. v. Windsor regarding legalized marriage equality. Kaplan is filing civil suits for defamation, fraud, and more fraud against DDT by his niece Mary Trump and writer E. Jean Carroll. DDT had claimed Carroll was lying about his raping her, and Trump’s case is about DDT and two of his siblings depriving her of an inheritance worth millions by lying about the worth of his father’s estate. Kaplan’s third case concerns the relationship of DDT and his three oldest children with a purported pyramid scheme by ACN.

DDT’s biggest problem may come from the New York criminal probe into his business affairs. Prosecutors are examining millions of pages recently acquired in a search for witnesses who can explain these to a jury. The next step is issuing subpoenas regarding the investigation into DDT’s reduction of his tax liabilities by lying about property values. Financial records about DDT’s Chicago skyscraper and his Seven Springs estate in Westchester County (NY) have been subpoenaed. In addition to possible criminal charges filed by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., New York Attorney General Letitia James may file civil charges.

A judge has voided DDT’s non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with Jessica Denson, his former Latinx outreach director, ruling it too vague and broad to enforce under New York’s contract law. Although the decision applies only to Denson’s NDA, the same ruling may be possible for all DDT’s NDAs. The judge described the scope of the NDA as “unlimited,” that “campaign employees are not free to speak about anything concerning the Campaign.” The broadness makes the NDA “not reasonable.” Earlier, a campaign arbitrator issued a $50,000 award against Denson for violating the NDA, but it was overturned. Denson believes the NDAs blocked criticism about DDT for the past six years. 

DDT typically required the same secrecy of his companies’ employees and staff before he followed the same practice in his campaign and the White House. First Amendment experts warned him public employees could not constitutionally be forced to swear an oath of secrecy. Last year, DDT’s DOJ used an NDA to file a lawsuit against Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a former volunteer adviser to first lady Melania Trump, over Winston Wolkoff’s tell-all book. The suit was dropped days after Biden’s inauguration.

While in the White House, DDT and his top officials indulged themselves in shady deals now coming into the light. They fought key oversight investigations conducted by government watchdogs in at least nine different cases. A high profile one concluded Elaine Chao, wife of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), abused her position as Transportation Secretary for personal reasons such as helping a family business. In another one, a White House physician, retired Navy rear admiral Ronny Jackson who raved about DDT’s superb health, abused substances while on the job and created a toxic work environment for his staff. 

The revelations can have no consequences because Chao resigned her position after the Electoral College determined Biden as president. Jackson has been elected as a U.S. representative from Texas.

Investigators described almost impossible obstructions: DDT’s attorneys made internal communications off limits because of their confidential nature and demanded to be present at witness interviews. Information was released either extremely slowly or not at all, preventing the ability to assess and correct internal problems in real time. DDT’s ultimate solution to investigations was to fire internal investigators.

Future releases of investigations may be the White House blocking delivery of Puerto Rico’s financial aid after Hurricane Maria and the Commerce Department’s attempt to add a citizenship question to the U.S. census. The Pentagon is also looking into the $400 million border-wall contract DT wanted to award to a subpar North Dakota construction company. The General Services Administration inspector general is conducting a sweeping review of responses to the coronavirus from several different federal agencies. 

Congress will now have the ability to examine records from DDT’s term, blocked from them during the past four years. The Presidential Records Act (PRA) allows former presidents to restrict access to their records for 12 years, but an exception permits release of records to Congress or “any committee or subcommittee thereof if such records contain information that is needed for the conduct of its business and that is not otherwise available.” These can include DDT’s blackmail in Ukraine, Michael Flynn’s lies to the FBI, the January 6 attempted insurrection, White House visitor logs, DDT’s phone logs, and other abuses of power. In the past, Democrats could not get records from the archives, which released them only to the majority party. Democrats now are the majority although they may suffer some delays. DDT can cite privilege, but Biden must uphold his claims. In filing lawsuits, DDT no longer has the support of the Department of Justice and must fund the lawsuits himself with personal lawsuits.

The import of the business lawsuits is beginning to sink into Eric Trump’s perception as shown by his meltdown on the Fox network. He was close to tears when he talked about what his family was facing.

Defending himself from defamation, fraud, and corruption. That is the future of the man who spent the last four years ruling from the White House and now hides in Florida.

DDT Loyalists: Where Are They Now?

Deposed Donald Trump (DDT) can’t quit causing trouble. Recently, he  claimed the election—in which he lost by about 7 million popular votes and 74 Electoral votes (232-306)—was “stolen” from him. Fox network won’t let him spew his lies about the election because of billion-dollar lawsuits so he falsely claimed no danger from the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol killing five people. He told Laura Ingraham:

“Right from the start, it was zero threat… Some of them went in, and they’re hugging and kissing the police and the guards, you know? They had great relationships. A lot of the people were waved in, and then they walked in, and they walked out.”

Among 140 police officers suffering injuries were an eye lost, cracked ribs, smashed spinal discs, concussions, and others from being beaten by a flagpole, sprayed with bear spray, punched, dragged, and trampled. Some officers said that their January 6 experiences were scarier than combat during two tours in Iraq. Almost 400 people have been charged for the attack. DDT, who called on his followers to incite violence in the insurrection, now sits like a deposed king in his Mar-a-Lago club, while his servile political sycophants gather at his feet, planning to bring him—and themselves—back into control. Some of his enablers who fell from power after the election are searching for their own ways to plan the GOP future:

Mike Pompeo went from a Kansas member of the U.S. House to fronting DDT’s “America First” foreign policy, alienating all the nation’s global allies. During his four years with DDT, he served first as CIA director and then as Secretary of State, leading DDT’s antagonistic policies with China. This cartoon from “Dr. Seuss” about the U.S. from 80 years ago well illustrates DDT’s position. In Iowa, Pompeo made his first “campaign event” of his 2024 presidential race in Iowa, over 1,000 days before the election, according to media sources. As usual, he ignores the appearance of political nonpartisanship, traditional for people who leave an administration. While Secretary of State, he hosted invitation-only, taxpayer-funded “Madison dinners” for wealthy GOP elites at the agency’s headquarters. 

Stephen Miller, another “America First” fanatic who created DDT’s inhumane migration policies, emerged from a relatively unknown speechwriter for Jeff Sessions to his powerful role shaping DDT’s policies and messages, starting with DDT’s “American carnage” inauguration speech on January 20, 2016. Currently, Miller is leading the charge to elect DDT-wannabe Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) in his campaign for U.S. Senate. He spends the rest of his time attacking Biden and defending DDT’s cruel immigration record on Fox network. In his spare time, he is creating America First Legal to file lawsuits and organize GOP attorneys general opposing what they see as executive branch abuses. Unlike other far-right legal groups such as Judicial Watch, Alliance Defending Freedom, and the Immigration Reform Law Institute, Miller’s group will broadly focus on administrative law and executive overreach, a conservative type of ACLU. Involved in the project are former DDT stars such as Ken Starr, Gene Hamilton, and Mark Meadows. Other DDT minions, including Larry Kudlow and Russ Vought, participate in groups promoting DDT’s policies.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, former White House press secretary and daughter of Mike Huckabee, either alienated journalists or didn’t hold press conferences while trying spin her way out of lying to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team by blaming Democrats. She has long been running for governor of Arkansas, her father’s old job.

Sean Spicer, the first of several White House press secretaries, has followed a diverse path since he was fired, including a bad performance on Dancing with the Stars. He may be most remembered for arguing with the facts, beginning with the size of the crowd at DDT’s inauguration, becoming more famous for Melissa McCarthy’s satire of him on SNL. Since then he’s written a slim-in-content memoir about his eight-month job in the White House and had a few short gigs before hosting Spicer & Co. on the pro-DDT network Newsmax embracing the GOP “big lie” about DDT’s election loss.

Kayleigh McEnany, another White House press secretary, began by saying she would never lie to the media—“you have my word on that”–and then proceeded to spew DDT’s lies throughout the pandemic. Up to Biden’s inauguration, she defended DDT “big lie” that the election was “stolen.” Fox network’s devotion to her words led to her employment as an on-air commentator, allowing her to defend DDT, attack Biden, and delight Twitter followers with her spelling gaffes. For example, the Harvard Law School Graduate wrote that Biden’s “touting the rate of vaccines being administered [was] a feet solely made possible by President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed”—another lie and the reason behind Merriam-Webster explaining the difference between “feet” and “feat.” One charming tweet connected “feet” and “solely.”

Jason Miller, a senior adviser for DDT’s transition team and then for DDT’s 2020 campaign, last appeared in defense of DDT at his second impeachment trial because DDT struggled to persuade lawyers to represent him. Miller’s time with DDT was marked by his lying to columnist A.J. Delgado about being separated from his wife and have her illegitimate child in 2017. In 2019, Miller lied about leaving the strategy firm Teneo after his profane Twitter tirade at Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) so h could stop child support payments to Delgado. He is still DDT’s senior adviser, giving his wisdom to the press and helping with DDT’s, possibly mythical, new social media platform. Newsmax has also taken on Miller as a contributor.

Kellyanne Conway left DDT’s side after her family situation blew up, but she was a major cause in electing DDT and the queen of “alternative facts,” her definition of lying she began using on his inauguration day. Both she and her liberal husband, George Conway, claimed they were leaving politics for the sake of their four children, but conflict between Kellyanne and her 16-year-old daughter continued for months, accelerating to nude, possibly hacked, photographs of Claudia on Kellyanne’s Twitter account. Although they may have reconciled—Kellyanne appeared after Claudia on American Idol—an ongoing investigation is looking into the daughter’s claims of abuse. Kellyanne reportedly signed a deal with over $2 million advance for a tell-all book about her time in the White House with DDT. Kellyanne still defends DDT, and George still lambasts him.

Brad Parscale went from web designer to mastermind of DDT’s 2016 win and then out of a job after supposedly liberating huge amounts of money from DDT’s second campaign for his lavish lifestyle. After being demoted from DDT’s campaign manager, he behaved so erratically with a loaded, cocked gun in his home that his wife called the police. He resigned from the campaign and promised to forego politics, instead flipping houses. Soon after, he reneged on his promise and started Nucleus, a platform for a super PAC to raise—and spend—more unlimited dark money for the 2022 elections of pro-DDT candidates and support DDT’s new social media.

Deborah Birx, a leading member of DDT’s coronavirus task force, is trying to whitewash her part in the hundreds of thousands of U.S. deaths from mismanagement of the pandemic. She now claims they could have been prevented, but a year ago, she effusively praised DDT on the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) by his being “so attentive to the scientific literature and the details and the data.” While DDT was denying the seriousness of COVID-19 to the public, she added, “I think his ability to analyze and integrate data that comes out of his long history in business has really been a real benefit.” Throughout Birx’s tenure on the task force, DDT refused to listen to science-based health information and disseminated disinformation to keep the economy appearing positive. Birx chose numbers from less-populated states to support DDT’s claims that cases declined in the U.S. while they were actually increasing, and she covered up for bad decisions. She didn’t protest DDT’s suggestion about drinking disinfectant could be a cure for the disease, but DDT turned on her last August when she suggested people should wear masks.

After saying she would like to be on Biden’s coronavirus team, Birx took the job as chief medical and scientific adviser for Texas-based ActivePure Technology (claiming to make air purifiers to kill the coronavirus), joined the George W. Bush Institute as a global health fellow, and became a board member for the biopharmaceutical company Innoviva. About the 400,000 people who died in summer, fall, and winter, she said “it didn’t go as well as it should have.” Dr. Anthony Fauci, who was more forthcoming about his disagreements with DDT while on the task force, is now Biden’s chief medical adviser.

Mark Meadows, who faithfully lied for DDT while his chief of staff, now works at the Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI). He may also appear in an Atlanta court for his part in trying to force votes onto DDT’s side as part of the White House attempt to obtain the state’s electoral college votes. Meadows made a late-December trip to Cobb County, hoping to watch the audit of voter signatures with no advance notice, but was blocked from entering the room. His trip was followed by demands by DDT and his allies to “find” the votes DDT wanted. Georgia’s extensive examination of ballots and signatures found no fraud.

Watch for these people and more “Trumpers” to crawl out for the 2022 election.