Judge Juan Merchan has openly targeted President Trump on behalf of the clients for the judge’s daughter Loren Merchan. Ms Merchan is president of Authentic Campaigns, a Chicago-based progressive political consulting firm who represents the interests of Democrat politicians.
NEW YORK – Donald Trump was held in contempt by Justice Juan Merchan Tuesday morning for social media posts and other statements the former president made that violated a gag order imposed in his Manhattan criminal case.
The judge ordered Trump to pay a $9,000 fine — $1,000 for each violation. And he warned Trump that additional violations could land him in jail.
“Defendant is hereby warned that the Court will not tolerate willful violations of its lawful orders and that if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances, it will impose an incarceratory punishment,” the judge wrote in an eight-page decision. (more)
I’m catching up on perspectives from the talking head class about the ridiculous “hush money” legal case in New York City. As I watched the review by Jonathan Turley, I noticed the video caught someone on the livestream.
If you have followed law and politics for any length of time, you have probably heard of “speaking indictments.” That’s where the prosecution will write an indictment or court motion with very granular -yet perhaps not pertinent- details of a case against a suspect that highlights a much bigger picture than a singular perspective against the individual defendant. The intent is to make the public aware of the details within a case by making them part of the court record.
In the Special Counsel Jack Smith constructed Lawfare case against Donald Trump, what is generally called “the documents case”, involving the raid on Mar-a-Lago, President Trump’s attorney, Christopher Kise, did something similar to a speaking indictment with an extensive court motion on January 16, 2024. The 68-page motion is a comprehensive “speaking motion” which outlines a great deal of the fraud and Lawfare manipulation by the special counsel. [SEE DOCUMENT HERE]
In response to the filing, using the pre-established legal narrative about needing to control “national security” information [SEE HERE], the Jack Smith team (essentially Lawfare operatives like Weissman, Eisen and McCord) redacted large portions of the Trump motion specifically to stop the public record from showing the outline. However, two days ago, April 22nd, Judge Aileen Cannon unsealed and more importantly ‘unredacted’ the motion.
Keep in mind, back in the beginning of the pre-trial discovery phase -in response to the filing by Trump- Jack Smith gave the judge the opinion of the DOJ [SEE HERE] toward discovery and documents. As noted, and summarized well by Julie Kelly:
To clear up any confusion as to what Special Counsel Jack Smith sought to conceal in classified documents case, this is what Smith told Judge Cannon in Feb 2024 in response to Trump’s motion to compel discovery from numerous govt agencies:
1) Defendants are not entitled to discovery of internal government correspondence and memoranda, or to documents that are otherwise privileged.
2) The Court Should Deny Defendants’ Requests for Evidence of ‘Improper Coordination with NARA’ and of ‘Bias and Investigative Misconduct.’
3) The Court Should Deny Defendants’ Requests for Evidence Related to Trump’s Security Clearance With The Department of Energy.
4) The Court Should Deny Defendants’ Requests for Evidence Related to Secure Facilities at President Trump’s Residences.
5) The Court Should Deny Defendants’ Requests for Production of Materials Concerning the Search of Mar-a-Lago.
AND FINALLY:
6) Defendants’ Request for Unredacted Discovery of Materials Should Be Denied.
This is not going to be a surprise for regular CTH readers; however, Politico is outlining how a group of Lawfare ideologues meet every Friday to discuss their constructed legal filings and the next week of attack angles against President Donald Trump.
In essence, the core group inside the meeting are what Christine Blasey-Ford called the “beach friends” when discussing who constructed the legal avenues for the ridiculous attack against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
As we have noted for the past several years, it’s this same group of Lawfare ideologues, mostly former DOJ administrators and lawyers, who are behind every anti-Trump effort. The primary trio is Mary McCord, Norm Eisen (left in red tie), and Andrew Weissmann.
These are the three members who write the briefs and court motions that Jack Smith then files.
Mary McCord worked in the DOJ-NSD to secure the first Title-1 warrant against the Trump campaign; then she created the Logan Act violation to use against Michael Flynn; then she went to work with Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler on both impeachment efforts; then McCord went to work for Bennie Thompson on the J6 committee; then she worked as the liaison between the J6 Committee and Fulton County DA Fani Willis, and now Mary McCord currently works for Jack Smith on the special counsel effort.
Politico outlines how Lawfare operative Norm Eisen organizes the weekly Lawfare meeting and lists the participants who also join in. Remember, Mary McCord, Norm Eisen and Andrew Weissmann are the primary Lawfare agents.
Via POLITICO – […] Every Friday, they meet on Zoom to hash out the latest twists and turns in the Trump legal saga — and intellectually stress-test the arguments facing Trump on his journey through the American legal system.
The meetings are off the record — a chance for the group’s members, many of whom are formally or loosely affiliated with different media outlets, to grapple with a seemingly endless array of novel legal issues before they hit the airwaves or take to print or digital outlets to weigh in with their thoughts.
The group’s host is Norman Eisen, a senior Obama administration official, longtime Trump critic and CNN legal analyst, who has been convening the group since 2022 as Trump’s legal woes ramped up. Eisen was also a key member of the team of lawyers assembled by House Democrats to handle Trump’s first impeachment.
This is more than a little interesting and aligns with my own research and discussions. House Speaker Mike Johnson was lobbied by former CIA Director Mike Pompeo and current officials from the CIA, DNI and Intelligence Community.
This effort, and his son starting at the Naval Academy, is what changed Johnson’s mind about allowing the U.S. intelligence community to have his full support in the IC war against the American people.
The story is shared by CNN, the official outlet for perspectives and viewpoints held by the U.S. State Dept (CIA), so keep the narrative origination in mind. Here are the key points as written in the article:
WASHINGTON – […] The speaker’s embrace of Ukraine aid represents a remarkable evolution for Johnson, who voted against funding for the country as a rank-and-file member. But almost immediately after securing the speaker’s gavel, sources say he began to hear directly from critical Republican national security voices – including Donald Trump’s former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, who impressed upon him the urgent need to approve assistance for Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion.
In March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lobbied the speaker directly. Within minutes of the House approving a new military aid package for Ukraine on Saturday, Zelensky offered his thanks to US lawmakers, and in particular to Johnson for his decision that “keeps history on the right track.”
And more recently, Johnson received a key intelligence briefing from CIA Director Bill Burns, who painted a picture of the dire situation on the battlefield in Ukraine and the global consequences of inaction, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation. The briefing left a lasting impression, and Johnson became increasingly convinced the fate of Western democracy was on his shoulders, sources close to him said.
This combative gaslighting from the US Senate about what FISA-702 does is off the proverbial charts. In this interview, Senator Lindsey Graham starts foaming at the mouth yelling about something that doesn’t even exist. This is nuts.
FISA-702 ONLY pertains to the private conversations of AMERICANS, not – I repeat – not any intercept or communication method that has to do with a foreigner or foreign adversary.
The only time FISA-702 applies is when an American person is captured in an intercept that has targeted a foreign person. Surveillance of foreign actors, foreign persons and intercepting communication of foreign entities does not require any FISA authority at all. Foreign actors do not have constitutional protection.
FISA-702 only applies when the intercept of a foreign person is connected to communication with an American person. In that specific scenario FISA-702 gives the U.S. government the authority to query the database of the American person.
However, the database search queries of Americans, people who have no contact with any foreign person, is the privacy aspect that has been abused by the intelligence apparatus. Senator Lindsey Graham comes unglued as he starts gaslighting on this issue. WATCH (prompted):
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The Deep State supporters are so committed to keeping the unconstitutional surveillance system of the American people in place, they will lie and makeup any fictitious scenario imaginable to retain it. This is nonsense.
This statement by Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner is so fraudulent in narrative construct it’s almost ridiculous. “SEN. WARNER: Let’s remember what 702 is. It is the ability for the United States government to surveil, listen in, on non-Americans foreigners who are abroad.”
Absolutely nothing about this statement is accurate. Foreigners do not have U.S constitutional protection. All foreign communications can be intercepted without issue, without FISA.
FISA-702 authority only pertains to Americans. The term “702” is specifically referencing private communication with/by an American. WATCH Warner lie:
TRANSCRIPT BELOW:
MARGARET BRENNAN: We begin today with the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Mark Warner. Good morning, and good to have you here.
I’ve said this so frequently it almost becomes obscene to keep repeating it. Many of the most professional political class in Washington DC just flat out believe the echo-chambering bubble created by the intelligence apparatus inside the beltway. The Republican political leadership, in this case Speaker Mike Johnson, genuinely believes they are doing what the American people want them to do.
I can say this with certitude, because I have looked at their eyes when challenging their assumptions and mindset, and I can tell they truly do not think they are lying. They are so detached from comprehending anything adverse to their worldview, they genuinely believe what they are saying is factually accurate and true. It’s not; all of it is total nonsense, but the pressure from the intelligence apparatus is so strong and encompassing, these politicians cannot fathom it’s wrong.
To be sure, there are some like Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer, John Cornnyn, John Thune etc. the UniParty leadership, that know the IC narrative is completely false; they know what they are doing is corrupt and wrong, but they dare not challenge the administrative state apparatus that controls them. However, in the case of Johnson and others like Scalise, he really doesn’t know. He’s a believer in this fraud. WATCH (1 minute):
John Barrasso of Wyoming, John Boozman of Arkansas, Katie Britt of Alabama, Ted Budd of North Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, John Cornyn of Texas, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Mike Crapo of Idaho, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Deb Fischer of Nebraska, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, John Kennedy of Louisiana, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, Marco Rubio of Florida, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, John Thune of South Dakota, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Todd Young of Indiana.
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution says: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
Late last night, early this morning (after midnight), the United States Senate passed a FISA reauthorization bill that directly and specifically violates every tenant of the 4th Amendment.
The Senate voted to authorize warrantless federal government searches of every American’s private papers, effects, emails, electronic data records, cell phone calls, contact lists, text messages, buying habits, purchases, banking records, social media posts, direct messages, private communications and every keystroke of every electronic device in your life. All of it continues to be subject to the capture, review and surveillance of an unelected opaque law enforcement mechanism, and Congress supports it.
The issue is magnified, because the Supreme Court has never ruled on the constitutionality of the FISA-702 data collection system, because the Supreme Court also says no American has standing to challenge the federal government violation of their 4th Amendment right to privacy. It’s all infuriating… It’s all FUBAR!
Oh, and if you are reading this… you’re likely on the list.
Last night, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) teamed up with Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and added an amendment that would have required the government to get a warrant before reviewing any communications incidentally collected from Americans. The amendment was the last effort priority for a smidgen of hope; the IC railed against it, saying it would stop them from acting on critical “national security” information in real time. It failed by a vote of 42 to 50.
Pavel Durov is the founder, owner and CEO of Telegram, a communication platform used by 900 million people globally to text, chat and video message privately with encryption security. Telegram is an excellent tool for safe communication and has been used by me and others I know for several years.
In this interview Tucker Carlson discusses privacy and freedom in the modern era with Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov, a former citizen of Russia who was encouraged (under threat) by the Russian government to leave his country. Pavel now lives in Dubai and operates Telegram from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
For me personally, this is one of the best interviews I have watched Tucker Carlson deliver. Part of the reason is the content of the discussion is exactly critical right now in the era of this global information war.
There is so much I could discuss from this interview alone it is remarkable; however, I want to focus on two specific points as highlighted: (1) the government interface, and (2) the geopolitical inversion currently underway. WATCH:
First, I am in Russia. I arrived a few days ago, and this experience is a visit through bizarro world. I will be sharing more, including an AMA on my experience in the next few articles. Back to Pavel Durov, first…
The BASELINE – The Durov brothers are exceptionally gifted. In reference to the principle of freedom and liberty that guides Pavel, he has my respect and I understand his value system with great clarity. Pavel Durov recognized very early, much earlier than most, that information would be fulcrum challenge, and without private communication the value of information is always eroded. Privacy is critical in order for accurate information to flow. That is the value of Telegram.
I continue to receive strong negative opinion for my cynicism of Elon Musk. However, pay close attention to what Pavel Durov says about his contacts with U.S. government officials and you will have a stronger baseline to understand part of why I do not trust Musk.
