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May 10, 2024 - Stormy Daniels answers Trump defense team questions with disastrous results

(Credit: Thomson Reuters )

(…) Asked if she knew what the case was about, and well, she didn’t.

According to Victoria Taft, writing at PJMedia:

The Washington Post captured most of the dialogue between Necheles and Daniels.

Necheles asked Daniels if she had knowledge of Trump’s involvement in the payment made to her in 2016 to ensure she would not go public about their alleged sexual encounter.

“Not directly,” Daniels replied. “No.”

Necheles followed up, “You know nothing about what he does or does not know about the business records?

“I know nothing about his business records,” Daniels said. “No, why would I?”

Daniels drew some laughter when Necheles asked if she knew about what the criminal indictment against Trump entailed.

“There’s a lot of indictments,” Daniels responded.

Why would she know if Trump knew about the payments, indeed? She admitted she hadn’t spoken with him since 2007.

Taft then noted that the other thing that came out at trial was that she tried to extort him for cash, while the getting was good.

A recorded phone exchange revealed this:

“You better settle this God damn story. Because if he loses this election, and he is going to lose, if he loses this election we lose all fucking leverage this case is worth zero. And if that happens, I’m going to sue you because you lost this opportunity,” said Stormy’s lawyer Keith Davidson to Trump’s then-fixer Michael Cohen, who then badly advised Trump to pay the extortion money.

Sound like extortion? It does to anyone normal.

And that contradicted her claim on the stand that she wasn’t interested in money, only in telling her story.

Lying comes easy to her, because it’s what she does for a living. Her schtick, after all, is talking and acting dirty for cash.

That’s not just the view of us normal people watching the case far from New York City.

Even leftists at the scene are saying she shouldn’t have been allowed anywhere near the witness stand.

Fox News quoted a CNN legal analyst saying Daniels was a disaster for the prosecution:

CNN legal analyst Elie Honig said that the cross-examination of adult film actress and Trump trial witness Stormy Daniels after her testimony against former President Trump was a disaster.

While Honig said that Daniels’ testimony about a sexual encounter with Trump in a hotel room in 2006 was “plausible,” her responses under cross-examination by Trump’s team called her credibility into question.

“Her responses were disastrous,” Honig said, referring to the moment when Daniels admitted that she hates Trump.

“That’s a big deal,” Honig said.

…

“When the witness hates the person whose liberty is at stake, that’s a big d— deal!” Honig said. “And she’s putting out tweets, fantasizing about him being in jail. That really undermines the credibility.”

Well, yeah. Whether it persuades the all-Democrat Trump-hating jury is another matter but for sure it will be out there for the rest of us.

Another leftist who seemed to think Daniels was a disaster was the justice himself, Juan Merchan, who otherwise keeps threatening to throw Trump in jail any time he tries to defend himself.

According to CNN, he chided Trump’s lawyers for not objecting to Stormy Daniels’s disgusting graphic testimony, which had nothing to do with the bookkeeping case.

Judge Juan Merchan called out former President Donald Trump’s defense team during their motion for a mistrial Thursday afternoon, telling them there were many times they could have objected to Stormy Daniels’ testimony, but did not.

For the second time this week, Merchan expressed surprise that Trump’s lawyers had not objected more when Daniels was on the stand. And for the second time this week, Merchan rejected their motion for a mistrial.

Well, whose courtroom was it, Justice Merchan? The guy did object to some of the toilet talk himself in one instance but way too much got out, it was like Fani Willis babbling from the stand all over again.

The prosecution put Stormy on the stand to embarrass Trump and damage his presidential run, of course, but didn’t seem to understand that the audience in the courtroom and well beyond might just be onto him and his sleazy political game, which could render the legal case against him nil.

We all know what party the justice donates to, whose side he’s on, and what he would like to do to Trump.

So the fact that Merchan complained about the Trump side not objecting enough, for example, on the matter of whether Trump used a condom, a sacred point to the left and a matter of no interest to most others, pretty well tells us that he could see that Daniels’s recollections of porkings past was damaging to the prosecution, particularly as her contradictions and lies were exposed, one by one.

That’s at least two on the left who see the case starting to go down in flames, and there have been others. Many others. (Read more: American Thinker, 5/11/2024)  (Archive)

(…) [Bill] Maher, referencing his 2018 interview with Daniels, pointed out her previous statements where she denied being coerced into any sexual encounters with Trump.

“You say it’s not a Me Too case,” Maher asked Daniels in the 2018 footage.

“It is not a Me Too case,” Daniels responded. “I wasn’t assaulted. I wasn’t attacked, or raped, or coerced or blackmailed…. They tried to shove me in the Me Too box to further their own agenda. And first of all, I didn’t want to be part of that because it’s not the truth and I’m not a victim in that regard.”

Reacting to Daniels’ current testimony, Maher highlighted inconsistencies, “That’s not what she’s saying now.”

He continued to dismantle her credibility by pointing out her current use of “Me Too buzzwords” and expressed doubts about her claim of blacking out during the encounter with Trump.

“She said she blacked out. Blacked out? She’s a porn star. Do you really think she blacked out? I mean, a porn star is used to having sex with people she does not know. That’s the job… I just think she’s not a good witness,” Maher said.

(Read more: The Gateway Pundit, 5/12/2024) (Archive)

May 10, 2024 - Bragg’s paralegal testifies three pages of phone calls between Stormy Daniels’ lawyer and Michael Cohen were deleted

Court sketch of Jaden Jamel-Schneider (Credit: Jane Rosenberg/CNN)

(…) Defense attorney Emil Bove is challenging the evidence prosecutors are putting forward, asking paralegal Jaden Jarmel-Schneider about the deletion of some toll records between Keith Davidson and Michael Cohen after the defense submitted recordings between the two from 2018.

The paralegal has admitted that they’ve deleted some call records from the files. Bove also has Jarmel-Schneider confirm that some calls were removed from an exhibit of calls between Gina Rodriguez and Dylan Howard.

Bove said it was three-pages worth of records.

Jarmel-Schneider took issue with Bove characterizing it as a “significant” number but he did acknowledge some were removed.

“At this trial, you’re sort of the guardian of the toll records?” Bove asks.

“I don’t know if I’d say that, but if you say so,” Jarmel-Schneider responds.

(Read more: CNN, 5/10/2024) (Archive)

Full Text:

One of Alvin Bragg’s paralegals admitted on the stand today in the Trump trial that his office deleted three pages worth of phone calls between Stormy Daniels’ lawyer Keith Davidson and Michael Cohen.

Not only that but they submitted the call records into evidence but didn’t mention to Trump’s team that some of the files were deleted.

This trial becomes more insane by the day.

May 12, 2024 - Nonprofits are making billions off the border crisis

A group of migrants try to cross a barbed wire fence to reach the U.S., as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on March 20, 2024. (Credit: Herika Martinez/AFP)

While the border crisis has become a major liability for President Biden, threatening his reelection chances, it’s become a huge boon to a group of nonprofits getting rich off government contracts.

Although the federally funded Unaccompanied Children Program is responsible for resettling unaccompanied migrant minors who enter the U.S., it delegates much of the task to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that run shelters in the border states of Texas, Arizona, and California.

And with the recent massive influx of unaccompanied children—a record 130,000 in 2022, the last year for which there are official stats—the coffers of these NGOs are swelling, along with the salaries of their CEOs.

“The amount of taxpayer money they are getting is obscene,” Charles Marino, former adviser to Janet Napolitano, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security under Obama, said of the NGOs. “We’re going to find that the waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer money will rival what we saw with the Covid federal money.”

The Free Press examined three of the most prominent NGOs that have benefited: Global Refuge, Southwest Key Programs, and Endeavors, Inc. These organizations have seen their combined revenue grow from $597 million in 2019 to an astonishing $2 billion by 2022, the last year for which federal disclosure documents are available. And the CEOs of all three nonprofits reap more than $500,000 each in annual compensation, with one of them—the chief executive of Southwest Key—making more than $1 million.

Some of the services NGOs provide are eyebrow-raising. For example, Endeavors uses taxpayer funds to offer migrant children “pet therapy,” “horticulture therapy,” and music therapy. In 2021 alone, Endeavors paid Christy Merrell, a music therapist, $533,000. An internal Endeavors PowerPoint obtained by America First Legal, an outfit founded by former Trump aide Stephen Miller, showed that the nonprofit conducted 1,656 “people-plant interactions” and 287 pet therapy sessions between April 2021 and March 2023.

Endeavors’ 2022 federal disclosure form also shows that it paid $5 million to a company to provide fill-in doctors and nurses, $4.6 million for “consulting services,” $1.4 million to attend conferences, and $700,000 on lobbyists. In 2021, the NGO shelled out $8 million to hotel management company Esperanto Developments to house migrants in their hotels. Endeavors, which gets 99.6 percent of its revenue from the government according to federal disclosure forms, declined to comment to The Free Press.

The Administration for Children and Families, a division of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, funds the nonprofits through its Office of Refugee Resettlement, and its budget has swelled over the years—from $1.8 billion in 2018 to $6.3 billion in 2023. The ORR is expected to spend at least $7.3 billion this year—almost all of which will be funneled to NGOs and other contractors.

When asked about the funding increase during a January media event, Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, the chief executive of Global Refuge said, “We’ve grown because the need has grown.” The nonprofit did not make Vignarajah available for an interview.

But while it’s true the number of migrants has exploded in recent years, critics say these enormous federal grants far exceed the current need. The facilities themselves are generally owned by private companies and are leased to the NGOs, which house the unaccompanied minors and attempt to unite them with family members or, if that’s not possible, people who will take care of them—their so-called sponsors. The ORR does not publicly list the specific number of shelters it funds in its efforts to house migrants, a business The New York Times once described as “lucrative” and “secretive.” (Read more: The Free Press, 5/12/2024)  (Archive)

May 14, 2024 - Rep. Goldman admits meeting with Michael Cohen “many times” to “prepare him” for testimony against Trump; Is also client of trial judge's daughter Loren Merchan

New York Congressman Dan Goldman, a staunch Democrat and ally of Joe Biden, has openly admitted to multiple preparatory meetings with Michael Cohen, the controversial former attorney for President Donald Trump, ahead of his testimony in the sham Biden/Bragg trial.

During an appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Rep. Goldman made the candid admission that he met with Michael Cohen a number of times to prepare him.

“I have deposed Michael Cohen. I have met with him a number of times to prepare him,” Goldman said.

Goldman, an attorney, previously served as lead counsel in the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump and was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York before running for office.

(…) Spectrum News reported, “Loren Merchan is president of Authentic Campaigns, which has collected at least $70 million in payments from Democratic candidates and causes since she helped found the company in 2018, records show.”

Loomer added, “Rep. Dan Goldman is a client of Loren Merchan’s Democrat consulting firm, Authentic Campaigns. Why is a member of Congress meeting with a felon who committed perjury? This is a MAJOR CONFLICT OF INTEREST, and Judge Merchan needs to immediately RECUSE HIMSELF from overseeing the Trump trial!”

Full Text:

Democrat NY Congressman who helped prepare Michael Cohen for his anti -Trump testimony is a client of Judge Merchan’s daughter’s Democrat political consulting company @Authentic_HQ!

Today, New York Democrat Congressman Dan Goldman @RepDanGoldman went on @MSNBC and said he has “deposed @MichaelCohen212 and met with him a number of times to prepare him” for the trial which is being overseen by Judge Merchan in NYC.

Cohen is the prosecutors’ “star witness”.

Rep. Dan Goldman is a client of Loren Merchan’s Democrat consulting firm, Authentic Campaigns.

Why is a member of Congress meeting with a felon who committed perjury?

This is a MAJOR CONFLICT OF INTEREST, and Judge Merchan needs to immediately RECUSE HIMSELF from overseeing the Trump trial!

See RECEIPTS below!


(Read more: The Gateway Pundit, 5/14/2024) (Archive)

 

May 15, 2024 - HHS suspends funding and proposes formal debarment of EcoHealth Alliance, cites evidence from COVID Select Report

President of Ecohealth Alliance Dr. Peter Daszak

Today, Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) accepted the Select Subcommittee’s recommendation to formally debar EcoHealth Alliance, Inc. (EcoHealth). HHS will immediately commence official debarment proceedings and implement a government-wide suspension of U.S. taxpayer funds to EcoHealth — including a hold on all active grants.

“EcoHealth Alliance and Dr. Peter Daszak should never again receive a single penny from the U.S. taxpayer. Only two weeks after the Select Subcommittee released an extensive report detailing EcoHealth’s wrongdoing and recommending the formal debarment of EcoHealth and its president, HHS has begun efforts to cut off all U.S. funding to this corrupt organization. EcoHealth facilitated gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China without proper oversight, willingly violated multiple requirements of its multimillion-dollar National Institutes of Health grant, and apparently made false statements to the NIH. These actions are wholly abhorrent, indefensible, and must be addressed with swift action. EcoHealth’s immediate funding suspension and future debarment is not only a victory for the U.S. taxpayer, but also for American national security and the safety of citizens worldwide.

“The Select Subcommittee’s investigation into EcoHealth and the origins of COVID-19 is far from over. Dr. Daszak and his team are still required to produce all outstanding documents and answer the Select Subcommittee’s questions, specifically related to Dr. Daszak’s potential dishonesty under oath. We will hold EcoHealth accountable for any waste, fraud, and abuse and are committed to uncovering any illegal activity, including lying to Congress, NIH, or the Inspector General,” said Chairman Wenstrup.

Read the Select Subcommittee’s report titled “An Evaluation of the Evidence Surrounding EcoHealth Alliance, Inc.’s Research Activities” here.

Read today’s letter from HHS to EcoHealth Alliance, Inc. here.

Read HHS’s action referral memorandum here.

(House Oversight Committee, 5/15/2024)  (Archive)

May 15, 2024 - Former Michael Cohen attorney Robert Costello testifies to Congress that Cohen didn’t believe Stormy Daniels’ story yet paid her without Trump knowing

Attorney Robert Costello testified before the House Weaponization of the Federal Government Subcommittee, May 15, 2024. (Credit: clipping from testimony)

Michael Cohen’s attorney Robert Costello just testified to Congress that Michael Cohen told him that he didn’t even believe Stormy Daniels story, and only paid her off to save Trump and his family embarrassment.

This completely blows up the entire case in Manhattan! Costello said that Cohen was becoming increasingly agitated at not being invited to work in Washington.

What will Cohen and the Manhattan DA do now? It’s clear now that Cohen and Daniels extorted the President of the United States with help from the US government!

Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL): He didn’t believe the allegation of the Stormy Daniels story, that he thought the story would be embarrassing for Trump and especially for Melania, so he decided he would take care of it himself.

Attorney Robert Costello: Absolutely. That is contrary to what this guy testified to in court in New York yesterday.

Rep. Greg Steube: Well, what’s not being talked about is your next paragraph, the reason and his motivation for that. So if you could just walk through that for the committee.

Robert Costello: Yeah, obviously, when we started to talk about the NDAs, and this is the very first meeting at the Regency Hotel, when, by the way, Rudy Giuliani was not involved in representing Donald Trump at that time. Cohn testified that it was a conspiracy between Giuliani and Costello as of this date. Totally false. In any event, he also said that he didn’t discuss the Stormy Daniels matter with us, and he certainly did. I specifically asked him because he kept on going back saying, I can’t believe they’re trying to put me in jail for these NDAs.

So I said, Michael, tell me about the NDA. Tell me about Stormy Daniels. What did you do? He said, I got a call from a lawyer representing Stormy Daniels who represented that she was going to testify that Donald Trump had sex with Stormy Daniels. Michael Cohen said, I didn’t believe the allegation, but I knew that such an allegation would be terribly embarrassing. He said, It would be embarrassing. He focused on Melania Trump. He said, I didn’t want to embarrass Melania Trump. He said, That’s I decided to take care of this on my own. I went back to that several times.

You did this on your own? “On my own.”

Did Donald Trump have anything to do with it? “No.”

Did you get the money from Donald Trump? “No.”

From any of his organizations? “No.”

From anybody connected to Donald Trump? “No”.

Where did you get the money? “I took out a HELOC loan against my property.”

I said, Why would you do that? He said, “I didn’t want anybody to know where I got this money.”

I didn’t want Melania to know. I didn’t want my own wife to know because she’s in charge, he said, of the Cohen family finances. He said, “If she saw money coming out of my account, she’d ask me 100 questions, and I didn’t want to answer any of them.”

It was clear after talking to him for several days after that, whenever we talked on the phone or in my office, that he kept on bringing up the subject that he felt he was betrayed.

Robert Costello also told the committee, “I read Michael Cohen’s testimony from yesterday’s trial in New York on the way down on the train, and virtually every statement he made about me is another lie.” (h/t The Gateway Pundit)

May 16, 2024 - Senators Grassley and Johnson are investigating Fani Willis over alleged abuse of federal funds

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis appears in court on Nov. 21, 2023, in Atlanta. (Credit: Dennis Byron/Politico)

Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson are investigating whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ office misused federal funds.

The two Republican senators highlighted multiple reports accusing Willis’ office of squandering funds, including from the Justice Department Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and other initiatives, on frivolous items such as “swag” and unrelated travel.

“In Fiscal Year (FY) 2020, OJJDP awarded Fulton County nearly $500,000 to establish the Fulton County Center of Youth Empowerment and Gang Prevention,” Grassley (R-Iowa) and Johnson (R-Wis.) wrote in a letter to Willis Wednesday.

“The Center has yet to open and the ‘building meant to house it is closed to the public, its gates padlocked.’”

They cited Washington Free Beacon reporting on Willis, a Democrat, firing Amanda Timpson, previously the head of gang prevention and intervention at the DA office.

She was the one who sounded the alarm about the potential misuse of OJJDP funds.

(…) “The apparent and significant discrepancy between the purpose of the federal award of taxpayer money and the actual use of that money raises alarms that it hasn’t been used as Congress intended,” they wrote.

The two senators are demanding a list of grants the Fulton County DA’s office garnered since fiscal year 2019. Willis ascended to the district attorney perch in 2021.

They also want a list of expenditures and planned expenditures for each grant.

Willis was given a deadline of May 29 to comply with that request.

(Read more: New York Post, 5/16/2024)  (Archive)

May 16, 2024 - Patrick Byrne and Stefanie Lambert speak following hearing to disqualify Lambert from Dominion defamation case

“Dominion has the pattern of seeking to prevent me from being an attorney for my clients because I know too much, and I understand too much.” – Stefanie Lambert in court on Thursday.

Michigan attorney Stefanie Lambert faced a disqualification hearing in Dominion’s defamation case against Patrick Byrne on Thursday after Dominion filed a Motion to Disqualify her from representing Byrne, alleging she violated a protective order in the case.

(…) During the hearing to remove Lambert from this case for the seemingly unprecedented reason of violating a court order, Dominion attorneys desperately tried to justify their request despite having no standard or legal precedence. They admitted that there was no prior case law and claimed that Lambert’s previous and future actions “might actually hinder” Dominion attorneys’ “ability to do their job” and prove that Patrick Byrne defamed them by saying the 2020 election was stolen.

At one point, the far-left Dominion attorneys even presented a tweet by Byrne, in which he critiqued Judge Juan Merchan’s unconstitutional gag order against President Trump. They ridiculously claimed Byrne violated the gag order in Trump’s case by sharing a post by Trump and “spreading the information himself” and that he cannot be trusted to follow the Court’s orders.

When the Judge questioned Lambert, she pleaded that she did not violate the order by turning over evidence of crimes, including alleged perjury by Dominion CEO John Poulos, to law enforcement. “Everyone can go to law enforcement and report crimes, and I have an oath and an obligation to do that,” Lambert told the Judge. The Judge requested in the future that Lambert seek relief from the Court’s order to turn over evidence of criminal misconduct found in discovery to law enforcement, and Lambert agreed.

However, Dominion attorneys argued, “she says to you now that she’ll come to the court if she finds new evidence of criminal activity because she doesn’t have to anymore,” claiming that Sheriff Dar Leaf could have every document in his possession already, while seemingly not disputing the claims of criminal activity.

In another hysterical rant by Dominion attorneys to the Judge, they questioned Lambert’s explanation that she and Patrick Byrne never expected Dominion to hand over evidence of criminal acts in discovery and did not believe that turning this evidence over to law enforcement would violate the protective order. Without disputing the notion that evidence of criminal acts was discovered, the attorney said the idea that Lambert will now follow the rules is “not credible” because the documents showed “apparently exactly what she and her client have been saying the documents would show.”

After a short recess, the Judge ordered Patrick Byrne and Stefanie Lambert to desist from sharing or discussing confidential discovery material and to come to the Court with future questions or requests for relief. When Lambert asked the Judge on Byrne’s behalf how to proceed if Byrne is asked by Congress, the DOJ, or law enforcement to cooperate with an investigation, the Judge told them to follow the strict guidelines of the protective order and file a request before sharing any confidential information.

Finally, the Judge said she would take the matter under advisement to issue a ruling at a later date and asked Dominion to file their exhibits by the close of business on Friday. (Read more: The Gateway Pundit, 5/17/2024) (Archive)

May 16, 2024 - Devon Archer turns over 3.7 million new documents pointing to never seen before Biden bank accounts

Dev[o]n Archer turned over “3.7 million documents never before been seen by any of the IRS investigators, the securities & exchange investigators.”

These documents will “answer pretty much every question we’ve had about the source of these shady transactions” and Biden’s role.

“We believe we’ve found new accounts”

“The evidence is overwhelming that Joe Biden was involved… Joe Biden was a central figure.”

“If you were paying the Biden Family for the Biden Brand you were buying Joe Biden.”

May 16, 2024 - House Oversight votes to hold Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress

Merrick Garland (Credit: Andrew Harnik/Associated Press)

The House Oversight Committee passed a resolution on Thursday, to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena that demanded the audio recording of President Joe Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur.

The resolution passed in a 24-20 vote and will now go to a full House floor vote.

The House Committees on Oversight and Accountability and Judiciary issued subpoenas to Garland on February 27, 2024 for “records, including transcripts, notes, video, and audio files, related to Hur’s investigation of Biden’s willful mishandling of classified information,” according to committee staff.

The resolution was advanced out of the House Judiciary Committee earlier Thursday, after Biden evoked “executive privilege” over the audio and video recordings, which the White House said was done in conjunction with Garland’s office. The recording was done as part of Hur’s investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents when he was vice president.

“The attorney general made it clear that law enforcement files like these need to be protected,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, according to Fox News. “And so the president made his determination at the request of the attorney general.”

The transcript of the interview has already been released, but Republican lawmakers claimed they cannot show the president’s cognitive state. (Read more: Just The News, 5/16/2024)  (Archive)

May 16, 2024 - Testimony of NIH official reveals a top Fauci aide allegedly learned to make ‘smoking gun’ emails ‘disappear’

Lawrence Tabak (Credit: Screenshot/Rumble/GOP Oversight)

Principal Deputy Director Lawrence Tabak testified on Thursday that a former aide to Dr. Anthony Fauci allegedly violated the agency’s public records policy by disposing of certain emails.

Fauci’s senior advisor at the NIH Dr. David Morens allegedly intentionally obstructed the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic’s investigations into the origins of COVID-19 to protect his boss. Tabak told Republican House Oversight Chair James Comer in response to his questioning during a hearing that Morens allegedly violated NIH policy by getting rid of emails following public records requests.

“Dr. David Morens, a senior advisor to Fauci for decades, wrote in an email to Dr. Daszak, ‘I learned from our FOIA lady here how to make emails disappear after I am FOIA’d, but before the search starts. So I think we are all safe. Plus I deleted most of those earlier emails after sending them to Gmail.’ Is that consistent with NIH document retention policies?” Comer asked, to which Tabak answered that it’s not.

EcoHealth Alliance President Peter Daszak allegedly misled the federal government to receive grants that funded virus research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where some suspect the COVID-19 pandemic originated.

“Does the NIH FOIA office teach employees how to avoid transparency?” Comer followed up.

“I certainly hope not,” Tabak said. (Read more: The Daily Caller, 5/17/2024) (Archive)

May 22, 2024 – Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) sent a letter to the Department of Justice, urging them to open a formal investigation into Dr. David Morens for the alleged “improper concealment and intentional destruction of records.”

Morens, a former top aide to Dr. Anthony Fauci and current Senior Advisor to the Director at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is accused of engaging in corrupt behavior to skirt the rules on various issues, the least of which involved investigations from the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. It is believed that Morens engaged in a cover-up and destroyed vital records and communications related to the investigation.

“I write to urge the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to open an investigation into the alleged improper concealment and intentional destruction of records by Dr. David Morens, Senior Advisor to the Director at the National Institutes of Health (NIH),” Paul wrote in his letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland. “Additionally, I request you investigate allegations that employees within NIH’s FOIA office may have conspired with Dr. Morens to evade public records retention laws.”

In the letter, Paul cited a statute that states that any person who “‘willfully and unlawfully’ conceals, removes, or destroys a federal record can be fined and imprisoned for up to three years.” Furthermore, Paul highlighted that this applied to anyone who tries to “conceal, remove, or destroy a federal record.”

Additionally, Morens is suspected of using a personal email account in lieu of an authorized government account so he could discuss matters related to the pandemic and, as the Washington Examiner previously reported, avoid any scrutiny and accountability through Freedom of Information Act requests. (Read more: Washington Examiner, 5/22/2024)

May 16, 2024 - Michael Cohen's cross examination of his failed memory, bias, financial motives, history of lies and possible indictment of his wife

The cross examination of Michael Cohen, led by Trump attorney Todd Blanche, was destructive. Devastating to Cohen’s credibility. Even Anderson Cooper admitted cross was “severely damaging.”

Here’s how it began:

Q: On April 23rd, so after the trial started in this case, you went on TikTok and called me a “Crying Little Shit;” didn’t you?

A: Sounds like something I would say.

Judge Merchan sustained the objection to that question, but the points were made: that Trump wasn’t the only one posting criticisms on social media, that Cohen was already hostile to the defense and to Trump’s attorney (and expressing his bias) before his testimony even started.

Blanche’s cross was, at times, meandering. It went from point to point, from issue to issue. It wasn’t necessarily chronological, and he went back and forth from calls to texts to statements indicating Cohen’s bias to Cohen’s numerous lies and crimes. That was ineffective to some observers. But the critics miss the strategy, which proved effective. Blanche was putting steady pressure on Cohen, moving him from corner to corner. The hits were coming from all directions. By moving Cohen from topic to topic, Cohen couldn’t keep track of his story. He couldn’t see the hits coming.

On which general areas did the defense focus? Here they are:

  • Cohen’s failed memory.
  • Cohen’s bias and financial motives.
  • Cohen’s reasons for doing the Stormy Daniels deal.
  • Cohen’s history of lies, both past and current.

Cohen’s Failed Memory

The State relies on Cohen’s recollection of a number of calls and meetings he had with Trump before and after the 2016 election. But how can the jury be convinced that Cohen’s memory is accurate – or if he’s not inventing his story? After all, Cohen repeatedly answered that he could not “recall” a number of discussions that took place last year. Here are some examples.

  • Cohen could not recall the DA’s office expressing frustration that he would talk about the investigation on TV.
  • He couldn’t recall whether he leaked to CNN that he gave his phones to the DA’s office in January of 2023.
  • Cohen said he couldn’t recall promising the DA’s office that he wouldn’t do any TV appearances until after the indictment.
  • He couldn’t recall the DA telling him he was “unwittingly helping President Trump by going on TV.”
  • Cohen couldn’t recall asking the DA’s office – while he was in prison – the timeline for bringing charges against Trump.

The defense seized on Cohen’s poor memory, suggesting to the jury that’s its all very convenient now that Trump has been charged. Here’s an excerpt of how they did it:

Q: So you don’t recall a year ago, making a promise that you would no longer go on TV until after the indictment?

A: No, sir.

Q: But you recall very specifically multiple telephone conversations that you had with President Trump in 2016; correct?

A: I recall the conversations with President Trump at the time, yes.

Cohen’s Bias and Motives

Then there’s the issue of bias. The defense presented Cohen with his own words – from his podcasts and books and social media – documenting his desire to take Trump down. These included:

  • After Trump was indicted, Cohen said on his podcast: “I truly fucking hope that this man ends up in prison . . . You better believe I want this man to go down and rot inside for what he did to my family.”
  • He said he wants “accountability” for Trump and for Trump to go to prison. He said Trump needs to “wear handcuffs and to do the perp walk”; that Trump needs to sit “inside the cell.”
  • He’s selling merchandise “which depicts President Trump in an orange jumpsuit behind bars,” coffee mugs that say “Send him to the Big House not the White House”.
  • He called Trump a “Cheeto-dusted cartoon villain.”
  • In 2020, he said “I truly fucking hope that this man ends up in prison.”
  • He thanked the new DA team in 2021 for “continuing their investigation.”
  • He sells anti-Trump merchandise on his website, profits from his anti-Trump social media presence and podcasts, and made an estimated $3.4 million for his books Disloyal and Revenge. (In Revenge, he expressed frustration that Trump hadn’t been prosecuted.)

Cohen’s motives weren’t just financial, however. He also sought benefits from his cooperation with the DA’s office in the form of a reduced sentence. While Cohen was in prison in 2019, he told Anthony Scaramucci that he was “trying to figure out a way to get out of prison early.”

Around that time, he was meeting with the DA’s office. Sought reduction in sentence due, in part, to cooperation with DA’s office. (It was denied.) While on house arrest, he wanted the DA’s office to publicly announce his cooperation to help with his release conditions. (Read more: Techno Fog/Substack, 5/17/2024)  (Archive)

…

Cohen testifies to having evaded substantial tax returns from 2012-2017.

Also testifies that he received an application form that did not reveal the full extent of his liabilities for a HELOC form, and submitted the form to the bank with full knowledge that it was inaccurate.

Cohen testifies to being guilty of federal tax evasion and making false statements to a financial institution.

When Blanche presses him if anybody induced him to plead guilty, Cohen defers and says he feels he shouldn’t have been indicted for underlying crimes. Claims he felt pressure to plead guilty, thinking his wife would be indicted, based on what his lawyer at the time told him.

Cohen claims he pled guilty without outside pressure at the time, but now testifies that he lied and did feel such pressure.

May 17, 2024 - Getting Played: The Demolition of Cohen on Cross Examination Reveals “The Grift” to a New York Jury

Captured photos from Michael Cohen’s TikTok livestream.

Below is my column in Fox.com on the approaching end of the Trump trial in Manhattan. With the dramatic implosion of Michael Cohen on the stand on Thursday with the exposure of another alleged lie told under oath, even hosts and commentators on CNN are now criticizing the prosecution and doubting the basis for any conviction. CNN anchor Anderson Cooper admitted that he would “absolutely” have doubts after Cohen’s testimony. CNN’s legal analyst Elie Honig declared “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a star cooperating witness get his knees chopped out quite as clearly and dramatically.” He previously stated that this case would never have been brought outside of a deep blue, anti-Trump district. Other legal experts, including on CNN and MSNBC, admitted that they did not get the legal theory of the prosecution or understand the still mysterious crime that was being concealed by the alleged book-keeping errors.  The question is whether the jury itself is realizing that they are being played by the prosecution.

Here is the column:

In the movie “Quiz Show,” about the rigging of a 1950s television game show, the character Mark Van Doren warns his corrupted son that “if you look around the table and you can’t tell who the sucker is, it’s you.”

As the trial of former President Donald Trump careens toward its conclusion, one has to wonder if the jurors are wondering the same question.

For any discerning juror, the trial has been conspicuously lacking any clear statement from the prosecutors of what crime Trump was attempting to commit by allegedly mischaracterizing payments as “legal expenses.” Even liberal legal experts have continued to express doubt over what crime is being alleged as the government rests its case.

There is also the failure of the prosecutors to establish that Trump even knew of how payments were denoted or that these denotations were actually fraudulent in denoting payments to a lawyer as legal expenses.

The judge has allowed this dangerously undefined case to proceed without demanding greater clarity from the prosecution.

Jurors may also suspect that there is more to meet the eye about the players themselves. While the jurors are likely unaware of these facts, everyone “around the table” has controversial connections. Indeed, for many, the judge, prosecutors, and witnesses seem as random or coincidental as the cast from “Ocean’s Eleven.” Let’s look at three key things.

1. The Prosecutors

First, there are the prosecutors. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg originally (as did his predecessor) rejected this ridiculous legal theory and further stated that he could not imagine ever bringing a case where he would call former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen, let alone make him the entirety of a prosecution.

Bragg’s suspension of the case led prosecutor Mark F. Pomerantz to resign. Pomerantz then wrote a book on the prosecution despite his colleagues objecting that he was undermining their work. Many of us viewed the book as unethical and unprofessional, but it worked. The pressure campaign forced Bragg to green-light the prosecution.

Pomerantz also met with Cohen in pushing the case.

Bragg then selected Matthew Colangelo to lead the case. Colangelo was third in command of the Justice Department and gave up that plum position to lead the case against Trump. Colangelo was also paid by the Democratic National Committee for “political consulting.” So a former high-ranking official in the Biden Justice Department and a past consultant to the DNC is leading the prosecution.

2. The Judge

Judge Juan Merchan has been criticized not only because he is a political donor to President Biden but his daughter is a high-ranking Democratic political operative who has raised millions in campaigns against Trump and the GOP. Merchan, however, was not randomly selected. He was specifically selected for the case due to his handling of an earlier Trump-related case.

3. The Star Witness

Michael Cohen’s checkered history as a convicted, disbarred serial perjurer is well known. Now, Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., is under fire after disclosing that “I have met with [Cohen] a number of times to prepare him.”

Goldman in turn paid Merchan’s daughter, Loren Merchan, more than $157,000 dollars for political consulting.

Outside the courtroom, there is little effort to avoid or hide such conflicts. While Democrats would be outraged if the situation were flipped in a prosecution of Biden, the cross-pollination between the DOJ, DNC, and Democratic operatives is dismissed as irrelevant by many in the media.

Moreover, there is little outrage in New York that, in a presidential campaign where the weaponization of the legal system is a major issue, Trump is not allowed to discuss Cohen, Colangelo, or these conflicts. A New York Supreme Court judge is literally controlling what Trump can say in a presidential campaign about the alleged lawfare being waged against him.

The most striking aspect of these controversial associations is how little was done to avoid even the appearance of conflicts of interests. There were many judges available who were not donors or have children with such prominent political interests in the case. Bragg could have selected someone who was not imported by the Biden administration or someone who had not been paid by the DNC.

(…) What will be interesting is how the jury will react when, after casting its verdict, the members learn of these undisclosed associations. This entire production was constructed for their benefit to get them to convict Trump despite the absence of a clear crime or direct evidence.

They were the marks and, like any good grift, the prosecutors were hoping that their desire for a Trump conviction would blind them to the con. (Read more: Jonathan Turley, 5/17/2024)  (Archive)

May 20, 2024 - Former legal adviser to Michael Cohen is called as a defense witness in Trump NY trial; judge attempts to interfere with his testimony

All eyes turned to Robert Costello on Monday after he was called to the witness stand in former President Trump’s hush money trial and was quickly admonished by the judge for his courtroom behavior.

Minutes after Costello, a former legal adviser to ex-Trump fixer Michael Cohen, took the witness stand Monday, Judge Juan Merchan asked the jurors to leave the courtroom so he could admonish Costello over his behavior on the stand.

Costello and Merchan shared a tense exchange, and reporters were abruptly asked to leave the courtroom. At one point, Merchan demanded to know if he was being stared down by Costello.

The jury and reporters were permitted back inside minutes later without explanation, and Trump’s legal team began questioning Costello.

Costello is a former federal prosecutor turned defense lawyer who spent decades in New York’s legal sphere. In 2018, Costello briefly served as an adviser to Cohen as federal prosecutors criminally investigated him and his work on Trump’s behalf.

Costello allegedly offered to set up a back channel between Trump and Cohen via former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who had just joined Trump’s legal team. (Read more: The Hill, 5/22/2024) (Archive)

Full Text:

FIREWORKS!! Merchan says to Costello if he doesn’t like a ruling, don’t roll his eyes or say Jeez or strike it! And if you don’t like my ruling, you don’t give me side eyes! Costello says he understands. Merchan now asks if he’s staring him down, asking loudly. Judge and the witness leave the bench to go have what I’m sure is a spirited conversation behind closed doors.

Full Text:

BREAKING: There has been an extended back and forth between the Defense, Judge Merchan, and the Prosecution over Robert Costello’s impending testimony, resulting in delays. The Prosecution is trying to filibuster Costello from taking the stand, arguing that his testimony would be collateral and thus inadmissible under the rules of evidence. Bragg’s attorneys know that Costello will drive the nail in the coffin of their case, which is now on life support after Michael Cohen’s dumpster fire of a testimony this morning in which he admitted to lying to protect his personal interests, financially profiting off Trump and the trial, and stealing from the Trump Organization, among other damning revelations. Stay tuned!

Full Text:

Judge Merchan Booted all the Reporters out and Shouts at Trump Defense Witness Robert Costello. Merchan: Are you staring me down right now? Costello: I’m not. Merchan: GET OUT OF THE COURTROOM, NOW! GET OUT OF THE COURTROOM! It’s obvious that Corrupt Judge Merchan knew that they didn’t have a case with Robert Costello’s testimony, so he runs Interference for Bragg…

Full Text:

BREAKING: Trial now resumes after delay following fiery exchange between Merchan and Costello about courtroom conduct.

Merchan is absolutely seething over Costello’s damning testimony. The type of treatment Costello, an experienced prosecutor who once worked for the US Attorney’s Office for New York in the 1970s and early 1980s, is receiving on the witness stand from the judge is disgusting.

Merchan is visibly perturbed, condescending, and downright abusive of the witness on the stand. Outrageous behavior from a judge, and totally inappropriate for any courtroom! No decorum whatsoever!

h/t Revolver News, 5/22/2024 (Archive)

May 20, 2024 - NATO has become the military wing of a globalist power structure that promotes the self-destruction of all nations and a depopulated world

Acting NATO spokesperson, Dylan P. White (Credit: Twitter/X)

One of NATO’s primary missions is to spread instability throughout the world, using the military-industrial complex to bully and intimidate countries non-compliant with a militant anti-family anti-God agenda flowing out of Western capitals and promoted by Western media.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg asserted on Friday the alliance’s commitment to defending the rights of LGBTQ individuals, aligning with numerous Western officials, institutions, and organizations in commemorating the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia.

Author Jose Nino summed it up nicely in a piece for Big League Politics:

“The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is committed to spreading degenerate values abroad.  With Russia seemingly making major gains against NATO-backed Ukrainian forces in Eastern Ukraine, NATO leaders have been engaging in bizarre virtue signaling to divert attention away from the abject failure of this proxy war against Russia.

“Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 24, 2022, NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg has been particularly vocal about NATO’s values and why it’s an institution that has to be trusted despite its long track record of causing instability abroad — from Serbia all the way to Libya.”

On Friday, May 17, Stoltenberg, reaffirmed NATO’s commitment to LGBTQ+ values by arrogantly proclaiming in a post to X the current Western value system and what it is based upon:

Nino reminds us of why NATO was founded in the first place, in the wake of World War II in 1949. It was to counter the Soviet Union’s influence on the European continent.

“However, since the collapse of the Soviet Union, NATO has worked to remake the world in America’s increasingly dysfunctional image. Its interventions in the Balkans all the way to Libya have brought nothing but harm and instability.”

NATO is no longer seen by most nations of the world as a defensive alliance.

NATO launched offensive wars against Yugoslavia in 1999 and Libya in 2011, as well as its protracted occupation of Afghanistan, leaving the country no freer and no better off in 2021 than when it was invaded 20 years prior, but rather much more dangerous with billions of U.S. and Western military weapons in the hands of the Taliban terrorists. (Read more: Leo Hohmann/Substack, 5/20/2024) (Archive)

May 20, 2024 - Michael Cohen admits under oath that he stole money from the Trump Corporation

Trump Organization Logo

Donald Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen testified on Monday that he stole money from Trump’s company, an admission that could chip away at his credibility as a star witness at the former U.S. president’s hush money trial.

Questioned by Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche, Cohen acknowledged stealing from the Trump Organization by including a reimbursement to a technology company in his bonus package and pocketing most of the money.

“So you stole from the Trump Organization, right?” Blanche asked.

“Yes sir,” Cohen, 57, testified.

Cohen said he paid roughly $20,000 of the $50,000 that Trump’s company owed to the tech company in cash, handing it off in a brown paper bag at his office. He said he kept the rest. He was reimbursed $100,000 total by the Trump Organization for that payment. (Read more: Reuters, 5/20/2024)  (Archive)

May 22, 2024 - O'Keefe Media Group exposes secrets of DEI in the Air Force

Full Text:

BREAKING: DEI Conspiracy in Air Force: “We basically contacted everybody who had a title like that and got them to sneakily change their title so it doesn’t sound as diversity oriented even though it is,” reveals Jake Reyna, @DeptofDefense and @USAirForce Operations Research Analyst for the @SecAFOfficial in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Believing Republicans have attempted to cut back on the government’s use of discriminatory DEI policies “just to fuck with the [DEI] system,” Reyna confesses on undercover footage caught by O’Keefe Media Group that the Air Force manipulates job titles to cheat the system out of a higher salary for DEI personnel. Bragging, “We just weaseled around it,” Reyna claims “there’s nothing really they [Republicans] would be able to do.” The cover-up does not end there. Reyna states about his office, “We’re actually moving into this other group called Manpower and Readiness” to stay under the radar.

Reyna confirms DEI training is mandatory for airmen and if an airman does not participate in DEI trainings, he “wouldn’t be qualified for promotions or he’d get reprimanded and…he’d get written up” before eventually being dishonorably discharged, which includes being stripped of all benefits.

Tasked with developing programs like the Workforce Analytics Dashboard that lists the demographics of the Air Force with an emphasis on “race, ethnicity, and gender,” Reyna admits the Air Force has no data to support its DEI policies. “I don’t know if there’s any specific data you can provide outside of just saying like, yeah, we’re getting more diverse talking about changing officers.” Asked, “In your experience, have you seen or have you come across any data that actually serves as evidence that indeed DEIA candidates or troops perform better than non-DEIA troops?” Reyna responds, “No, I don’t think so.”

Empowered in the Air Force’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Reyna believes white men are “definitely stupid” and “definitely suck.” “Do you think they [white men] make us weaker as a military?” asks OMG’s American Swiper. Reyna responds, “In some ways, probably.”

Full Text:

U.S. AIR FORCE COMMENT: O’Keefe Media Group reached out to the U.S. Air Force and we received an exclusive statement on the record from a U.S. Air Force spokesperson today:

“This individual was not speaking on behalf of the Department of the Air Force.”

This statement comes as we released our undercover exclusive footage of Jake Reyna discussing his DEI department at the United State Air Force.

May 22, 2024 - New IRS whistleblower docs reveal CIA prevented IRS investigators from interviewing Hunter Biden lawyer

IRS Whistleblower graphic (Credit: The Epoch Times)

A new cache of documents from the IRS whistleblowers released Wednesday by the House Ways and Means Committee show how the Central Intelligence Agency directly intervened to prevent the IRS investigators from interviewing Hunter Biden lawyer and benefactor Kevin Morris.

Author Kevin Morris, who is also Hunter Biden’s attorney, attends his “White Man’s Problem” book release party on June 3, 2014. (Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

The CIA’s involvement in the case was first suggested in earlier this year when the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees wrote a letter to Director William Burns that revealed impeachment investigators had at least one whistleblower who alleged the spy agency tried to interfere with a witness interview in the case, Just the News previously reported.

“According to the whistleblower, in August 2021, when IRS investigators were preparing to interview Patrick Kevin Morris, an associate of Hunter Biden, the CIA intervened to stop the interview,” Chairmen Jim Jordan and James Comer wrote. “Two DOJ officials were allegedly summoned to CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia for a briefing regarding Mr. Morris. At that meeting, it was communicated that Mr. Morris could not be a witness during the investigation.”

The new documents show IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler provided documents to the committee detailing the CIA’s intervention.

Lesley Wolf worked closely with Alexander Mackler, who served as then-VP Joe’s White House Deputy Counsel from 2014 to 2016. (Credit: FedBar)

According to Shapley’s affidavit of the incident, Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf from the Delaware prosecutor’s office in charge of the case and the Department of Justice Tax Division Attorney Jack Morgan were summoned to CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, for a briefing.

At the meeting, the officials were given a classified briefing and were told by the CIA that the IRS “could no longer pursue” Kevin Morris as a witness in their case. Wolf did not share CIA’s reasoning with the IRS whistleblowers, who then requested their own briefing from the intelligence agency through Wolf.

According to Shapley’s account, Wolf ultimately failed to secure a briefing for the case investigators.

“Although AUSA Wolf initially appeared to be receptive to facilitating a briefing for me on the information, she ignored multiple attempts by me to arrange the briefing. Since obtaining this briefing was outside of my control, eventually I was forced to accept it would not happen,” Shapley wrote in his affidavit. “However, it served as yet another example of deviations from normal investigative processes in this matter.”

You can read Shapley’s affidavit below:

Shapley-Affidavit.pdf

It remains unknown why the CIA intervened in the case, how they became aware that the IRS investigators had targeted Morris as a witness and most importantly, who at the CIA issued the directive. (Read more: Just The News, 5/22/2024)  (Archive)

May 22, 2024 - Bipartisan lawmakers grill top Fauci aid over FOIA evasion and the deleting of federal documents

David Morens (screenshot from hearing)

Lawmakers grilled Dr. David Morens, a Senior Advisor to Dr. Anthony Fauci at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), over his apparent attempts to circumvent FOIA requests during a Wednesday testimony to the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.

Committee Chair Republican Ohio Rep. Brad Wenstrup opened the hearing by citing e-mails Morens wrote in 2021 where he appeared to tout his use of backdoor channels to communicate with Fauci.

“On April 21, 2021, you wrote ‘I can either send stuff to Tony [Fauci] on his private e-mail or hand it to him at work or at his house,’” Wenstrup read. “On May 13, 2021, you wrote that you connected a reporter to Dr. Fauci via your ‘secret backchannel.’ What backchannel did you have for Dr. Fauci?”

Morens brushed off the e-mails, claiming they were just jokes. “All these terms like secret backchannel and the other one you mentioned were just jokes. Jokes that I made in dealing with Peter [Daszak] because he was under death threats and very depressed,” Morens replied.

“There was no backchannel,” he continued. “The backchannel was, uh, the backchannel to Tony was the same one that applies to everybody.”

Lawmakers pressed him on his use of a personal e-mail account to conduct official business with Fauci and Dr. Peter Daszak of EcoHealth Alliance.

Wenstrup read an e-mail Morens wrote to Daszak in 2021 that said, “Peter I just got news that a FOIA picked up an e-mail I sent you saying Tony commented that he was braindead. I deleted that e-mail, but I now learned that every e-mail I ever got since 1998 is captured and will be turned over whether or not instantly deleted.”

After reading another e-mail sent to both Daszak and Fauci in which Morens claimed he deleted all e-mails to Daszak related to Covid origins, Wenstrup asked him “Dr. Morens, did you ever delete or attempt to delete a federal record?”

“Based on my understanding of what a federal record was, I truly don’t think I’ve ever seen a federal record in 26 years of being at NIH,” Morens, who claimed he once worked at the National Archives, answered.

He then went on to describe advice he received from Margaret Moore, an employee at NIH who he described as the “FOIA lady” and claimed she “hated FOIAs” in a 2021 e-mail.

New York Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, who accused Morens of blurring professional lines by sharing nonpublic information with his personal friend Daszak, read another e-mail: “On August 27, 2020, after NIH awarded a $7.5 million grant to EcoHealth Alliance, you wrote to him and you asked ‘Do I get a kickback? Too much fucking money. Do you deserve it all? Let’s discuss.’ Would you like to explain?”

Morens again explained it as a joke, claiming “That’s typical black humor between people like Peter and me and other folks who show up in this e-mails.”

Kentucky Republican Rep. James Comer then pressed Morens over e-mails where he appeared to tout his FOIA circumvention.

“I learned from our FOIA lady here how to make e-mails disappear after I’m FOIA’d but before the search starts so I think we’re all safe. Plus I deleted most of those earlier e-mails after sending them to GMail,” Morens wrote.

In another e-mail, Comer read, Morens wrote “We’re all smart enough to know to never have smoking guns and we wouldn’t put them in e-mails and if we found them we would delete them.”

Another committee member, Maryland Democratic Rep. Kweisi Mfume couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. “If this were not laughable it would be laughable,” he joked.

“Mr. Morens this is a tale out of some movie … you seem to be here, there and everywhere,” Mfume excoriated Morens.

(Read more: The Daily Caller, 5/22/2024) (Archive)

May 23, 2024 - Media Matters lays off a dozen staffers amid federal probe and Elon Musk lawsuit

Media Matters followed suit with several liberal outlets by laying off at least a dozen staffers following a federal probe and lawsuit by “X” chief executive officer Elon Musk.

Staffers, some of whom have been with Media Matters for years, took to social media announcing their sudden departure from the outlet. The layoffs followed federal probes filed by Republican Attorneys General Ken Paxton of Texas and Andrew Bailey of Missouri into the outlet for possible fraudulent activity by allegedly manipulating data on “X,” formerly known as Twitter.

Musk filed a defamation lawsuit against Media Matters in federal court in November, as the site has accused the outlet of “knowingly” manufacturing images showing advertisements from major corporations alongside posts made by white supremacists and neo-Nazis.

“Bad News: I’ve been laid off from @mmfa, along with a dozen colleagues. There’s a reason far-right billionaires attack Media Matters with armies of lawyers: They know how effective our work is, and it terrifies them (him),” staffer Kat Abughazaleh said, referring to Musk.

(…) Media Matters’ staffing purge is the latest in the liberal media bloodbath that has become prominent in recent years. NowThis laid off half of its editorial team in February as part of a “broader initiative to realign our resources and structure to ensure a long-term sustainable business in the evolving media landscape.” The Intercept laid off 15 staffers including its Editor-in-Chief Roger Hodge, on the same day.(Read more: The Daily Caller, 5/23/2024) (Archive)