Trump News Today: Trump lawyer says identities of FBI agents should be made public despite violent threats

The Trump Organization’s longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, pleaded guilty this week to his role in a multi-year tax evasion scheme. Under the terms of the deal, he will not only testify at the organization’s own trial this fall, but will also serve 5 months in prison, most likely at New York’s infamous Rikers Island.

write forThe Independentformer inmate William Mersey has some advice for him:

Read the full article below…

Donald Trump and his team have released a series of competing and sometimes directly contradictory claims about what happened at Mar-a-Lago last week and what was kept there. What they tried to avoid was any direct and unambiguous admission that the documents seized by the FBI were, in fact, still classified or officially designated as secret.

But in an interview last night, Rudy Giuliani came dangerously close to blowing that up.

The White House will convene a “bipartisan group of federal, state and local officials, civil rights groups, religious and community leaders, technology and business leaders, law enforcement officials” and other stakeholders for a summit to continue the Biden administration’s efforts to counter violent extremism, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday.

In a statement announcing the September 15 “United We Stand Summit,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said the event “will counter the corrosive effects of hate-fueled violence on our democracy and public safety, highlight the response of the Biden-Harris administration and communities nationwide in the face of these dangers and to propose a common vision for a more united America”.

The announcement of the anti-extremism event comes as Republicans, led by former President Donald Trump, have threatened to suspend the Federal Bureau of Investigation following the court-authorized search last week of the home of Mr Trump.

Florida Governor Ron Deasntis is due to appear in Pittsburgh today at a rally for Doug Mastriano, the Republican candidate for governor of Pennsylvania – and his appearance is causing some consternation.

As well as being a die-hard 2020 election denier, Mr. Mastriano is an outspoken Christian nationalist and was recently discovered to have paid $5,000 for advertising to the notoriously anti-Semitic founder of the social media platform right Gab. (For context, Gab was the favorite platform of the neo-Nazi who murdered 11 people at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018.)

The DeSantis-Mastriano rally appalled many religious leaders, and now the governor is under pressure from various parties to withdraw from the rally and distance himself from Mr. Mastriano.

Among those who reject criticism? Former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis, a former student of “stop the steal” who was this week ordered to testify in the Georgia investigation into election interference by the Trump team.

As FBI and Justice Department personnel face threats of violence following the Mar-a-Lago raid last week, one of Donald Trump’s lawyers has suggested releasing footage of CCTV of the raid – and dismissed concerns about the consequences of identities being exposed. officers who executed him.

“We don’t want you to see their identities,” Alina Habba said, mocking why the tapes were sealed, “because we don’t want you to know who did this. Well, if you’re doing it as an agent, I’m not sure you should have that right.

Ms Habba made the remarks in an interview on the pro-Trump Newsmax network. Learn more below.

Mike Pompeo, Donald Trump’s last Secretary of State, appeared on Fox News last night to discuss a variety of topics, and among them was his recent interview with the Jan. 6 select committee. On the face of it, his remarks were unremarkable, but among them was subtly ambiguous wording about “discussions” about whether to invoke the 25th Amendment against Mr. Trump after the riot.

Although Mr Pompeo dismissed claims that the talks were “serious”, he did not rule out that they had taken place – as has been reported elsewhere.

Katherine Schwab, a Trump supporter who traveled to Washington, D.C. in a private jet for the protest that became the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, pleaded guilty to riot-related charges.

Among Ms Schwab’s companions on the plane was Jenna Ryan, who sadly tweeted after the riot “Sorry I have blonde hair, white skin, great job, great future and won’t be going in prison.” She was later sentenced to prison.

While most Fox News pundits are basically on Donald Trump’s side in the wake of the Mar-a-Lago raid, one host in particular went in another direction. Jessica Tarlov, who frequently appears on The fiveis a vocal critic of both Mr. Trump’s legal team and of claims that the DoJ and/or FBI exceeded their authority by carrying out the search in the first place.

Ms. Tarlov’s presence and willingness to challenge Mr. Trump on Fox News daytime programming has boosted her profile while showing how far Fox News personalities will go to defend Mr. Trump. Abe Asher reports.

Taylor Budowich, one of Donald Trump’s top communications staff, walked out after Judge Bruce Reinhart yesterday ordered the Justice Department to offer redactions for possible release of Mar-a- The girlfriend.

Like others in the former president’s orbit, he asked for the affidavit to be released without redacting anything – this despite the fact that none of Mr Trump’s lawyers have made a formal attempt to have it unsealed. the affidavit, whether in whole or in part.

The Justice Department argues that releasing the affidavit would jeopardize its investigations and could potentially “chill” efforts to obtain the cooperation of key witnesses.

Courtesy of Andrew FeinbergHere’s what yesterday’s decision means:

Widely followed author and Trump critic Sam Harris has drawn ire from right-wing pro-Trump Twitter with a podcast interview in which – according to his critics – he suggested that burying unflattering stories about Hunter Biden was justified in order to keep Trump out of the White House.

Predictably, this sparked a firestorm, with users rushing over Mr Harris’ remarks to claim they are further proof that ‘the left’ would rather gloss over the younger Biden’s allegedly corrupt behavior and his history of addiction issues if that meant getting Donald Trump out of the White House.

Here is Mr. Harris’ attempt to clarify his remarks.