Even RINO Mitt Romney is Denouncing Trump’s Sham Conviction, Calls It ‘Political Malpractice’

Even RINO Mitt Romney is Denouncing Trump’s Sham Conviction, Calls It ‘Political Malpractice’

 

Even the notorious RINO and former presidential candidate Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah is denouncing the sham conviction of President Donald Trump.

In a rigged trial orchestrated by New York Democrats in conjunction with the Biden White House, Trump was found guilty of all 34 charges of falsifying business records related to a hush-money payment made to adult porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential election.

Romney, who makes no secret of his disdain for the former president and has tried to sabotage him at every turn, argued that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg should never have let the case go to trial.

“Bragg should have settled the case against Trump, as would have been the normal procedure. But he made a political decision,” Romney reportedly told his biographer McKay Coppins, a writer at the Atlantic.

“Bragg may have won the battle, for now, but he may have lost the political war,” he continued. “Democrats think they can put out the Trump fire with oxygen. It’s political malpractice.”

Last month, Romney also made the case that Joe Biden should pardon Trump because it would make him seem like the bigger man.

“You may disagree with this, but had I been President Biden, when the Justice Department brought on indictments, I would have immediately pardoned him,” he said in an interview with MSNBC.

“I’d have pardoned President Trump. Why? Well, because it makes me, President Biden, the big guy and the person I pardoned a little guy.”

Meanwhile, other Republican Senators have warned that they will create havoc in the Senate unless the White House stops politically persecuting its opponents.

Strongly worded statements are not enough.

Those who turned our judicial system into a political cudgel must be held accountable.

We are no longer cooperating with any Democrat legislative priorities or nominations, and we invite all concerned Senators to join our stand. pic.twitter.com/H0CzIjXgwC

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) May 31, 2024

“The White House has made a mockery of the rule of law and fundamentally altered our politics in un-American ways,” read a letter led by Mike Lee, also of Utah, and signed by several other Senators. “As a Senate Republican conference, we are unwilling to aid and abet this White House in its project to tear this country apart.”

The post Even RINO Mitt Romney is Denouncing Trump’s Sham Conviction, Calls It ‘Political Malpractice’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

  

34 REASONS the Bragg-Biden Show Trial Should Have Been TOSSED OUT — Each One Alone Providing Grounds for a Mistrial

34 REASONS the Bragg-Biden Show Trial Should Have Been TOSSED OUT — Each One Alone Providing Grounds for a Mistrial

 Justin Lane/Pool/Getty Images

 

1. Unconstitutional Gag Order that prevented President Trump from criticizing the trial, exposing the many conflicts that should have forced the judge to recuse himself, and the railroading of his fundamental due process rights.

2. Judge Merchan’s many, many conflicts of interests – all of which were disqualifying. His daughter, Loren Merchan, is President of Authentic Campaigns, a political consulting firm that hires the likes of the Biden-Harris Campaign, Adam Schiff, Ilhan Omar, and many other far left Democratic lawmakers. Loren’s firm has made tens of millions off these clients – Juan Merchan, through his daughter, had a direct financial stake in the outcome of this trial, a flagrant breach of the canons of legal ethics, both under the ABA and NY State, that under any other judge would have been grounds for a recusal.

3. Judge Merchan’s wife was previously employed by Letitia James, the Attorney General of New York State who campaigned on “getting” Donald Trump.

4. Bragg’s Lead Prosecutor was Matthew Colangelo, the former #3 official at the DOJ. We are told Colangelo graciously decided to step down from his prestigious office to work for a lowly state DA’s office – of course, a reasonable inference would be that he was directed to do so by the Biden Regime to persecute his leading political opponent in Donald John Trump.

5. Statute of Limitations (2 years, NY State) had long expired for the business records falsification scheme that served as the primary charge brought against Trump. For this reason, the case was passed over by the DOJ and even Alvin Bragg over seven years because it was so weak. Only once Bragg felt political pressure, externally via Clinton attorney Mark Pomerantz, who previously worked in Bragg’s office, and internally via Colangelo, a Biden lackey, did Bragg buckle under the political weight and press charges.

6. Venue in bright-blue Manhattan, a borough that voted for Joe Biden over Donald Trump at almost a 9 to 1 clip, prevented the President from ever getting a fair trial, because the pool of jurors was naturally biased against the 45th President, and could not possibly rule fairly and impartially (8 of the 12 cited the NY Times as their main source of news). Any pro-Trump jurors who were considered chose to self-select out themselves because they claimed they “could not rule fairly.” Case in point: no way in hell is the burden of proof met on any of these charges, and yet the jury pool consisted of two lawyers, who evidently believed just that. No reasonable juror, and especially no reasonable lawyer-juror, would have found that the elements of every single crime brought against Trump met the burden of proof of beyond a reasonable doubt.

7. Election Interference: This was not a new case: it had been circulating in various court systems, federal and state, for years. These charges were only brought this year to interfere with the 2024 presidential race, period. President Trump is now the leading presidential candidate, by every reputable poll, and the frontrunner by significant margins, a gap that has only expanded over time. There is no reason why this case should be brought now, six months before Election Day, unless there was a conspiracy to prevent President Trump from being on the campaign trail in key swing states, like PA, MI, AZ, and GA, which is exactly what occurred.

8. Stormy Daniels’ Testimony was unnecessarily detailed and flagrantly prejudicial against President Trump. Bragg’s Prosecutors asked her about her impressions on the Access Hollywood Tape, which should have never been allowed and have absolutely no bearing on anything. They also probed her on intimate, irrelevant details about her alleged affair with the President, including such inappropriate, salacious, and prejudicial questions as whether he wore protection, and where she testified to a “power imbalance” – all part of a character assassination campaign to smear his image before the jury.

9. Greatest Liar of All Time Michael Cohen’s Testimony, on which the entirety of the Prosecutor’s case was based, was unreliable, prejudicial, and grounds for reversible error; he contradicted himself and committed perjury on the stand in this proceeding. He admitted to lying and committing perjury in the past, which resulted in his prosecution and imprisonment. He admitted to waging a political vendetta against Donald Trump because of his previous conviction; he admitted to stealing tens of thousands of dollars from the Trump Organization, lying before a Congressional Committee, and financially profiting off this ongoing trial – and verdict, among other serious crimes.

The post 34 REASONS the Bragg-Biden Show Trial Should Have Been TOSSED OUT — Each One Alone Providing Grounds for a Mistrial appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

  

House Democrat Steps Forward and Calls on New York Governor Kathy Hochul to Pardon President Trump

House Democrat Steps Forward and Calls on New York Governor Kathy Hochul to Pardon President Trump

 Credit: Washington Examiner

A Democratic congressman has stepped forward and publicly called on Gov. Hochul to pardon President Donald Trump after he was found guilty of bogus “crimes” by a NYC kangaroo court.

As the New York Post reported, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) issued this surprising plea in an X rant on Friday. He becomes the first known nationally elected Democrat to call for helping Trump.

But the pardon plea does not. Phillips explained in a tweet that a permanent conviction would fuel Trump because he “thrives on portraying himself as the victim.”

Thus, Hochul should pardon the 45th President for the good of America.

“Donald Trump is a serial liar, cheater, and philanderer, a six-time declarer of corporate bankruptcy, an instigator of insurrection, and a convicted felon who thrives on portraying himself as a victim,” Phillips wrote. “@GovKathyHochul should pardon him for the good of the country.”

Donald Trump is a serial liar, cheater, and philanderer, a six-time declarer of corporate bankruptcy, an instigator of insurrection, and a convicted felon who thrives on portraying himself as a victim.@GovKathyHochul should pardon him for the good of the country.

— Dean Phillips (@deanbphillips) June 1, 2024

Seemingly anticipating a backlash from his followers, Phillips doubled down by pointing out that the Democrat lawfare is only helping Trump.

“You think pardoning is stupid? Making him a martyr over a payment to a porn star is stupid,” he argued. (Election charges are entirely different.) It’s energizing his base, generating record sums of campaign cash, and will likely result in an electoral boost.”

You think pardoning is stupid?

Making him a martyr over a payment to a porn star is stupid. (Election charges are entirely different.)

It’s energizing his base, generating record sums of campaign cash, and will likely result in an electoral boost.

— Dean Phillips (@deanbphillips) June 1, 2024

As The Gateway Pundit readers may know (we would not blame you for not noticing), Phillips mounted an ill-fated Presidential primary challenge to Joe Biden because he felt the current White House occupant was a surefire loser in November. He then ended his campaign in March.

The New York Post reported that a pardon was “unlikely,” citing a source close to Hochul.

“I cannot imagine a world where she would consider doing this, this makes no sense,” said the source.

The post House Democrat Steps Forward and Calls on New York Governor Kathy Hochul to Pardon President Trump appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

  

Retired Navy Admiral Charged in Bribery Scandal

Retired Navy Admiral Charged in Bribery Scandal

 Robert P. Burke/Image Courtesy of The Navy Times

Federal prosecutors have announced the arrest of former Naval Officer Robert P. Burke, 62, on serious bribery charges.

Burke, a retired four-star Navy Admiral, was arrested on Friday.  According to the Justice Department, he accepted bribes in exchange for steering government contracts to a company that promised him a lucrative job after his retirement from the Navy.

The indictment reveals that from 2020 to 2022, Burke, who oversaw Naval operations in Europe, Russia, and most of Africa and commanded thousands of civilian and military personnel, conspired with CEOs Yongchul “Charlie” Kim and Meghan Messenger of “Company A”) that provided a workforce training pilot program to a small component of the Navy from August 2018 through July 2019.

The Navy terminated a contract with Company A in late 2019 and directed Company A not to contact Burke.

Despite the Navy’s instructions, Kim and Messenger allegedly still met with Burke in Washington, D.C., in July 2021, in an effort to reestablish Company A’s business relationship with the Navy.

It is alleged that at the July 2021 meeting, the charged defendants agreed that Burke would use his position as a Navy Admiral to steer a sole-source contract to Company A in exchange for future employment at the company.

From the Department of Justice:

They allegedly further agreed that Burke would use his official position to influence other Navy officers to award another contract to Company A to train a large portion of the Navy with a value Kim allegedly estimated to be “triple digit millions.”

In furtherance of the conspiracy, in December 2021, Burke allegedly ordered his staff to award a $355,000 contract to Company A to train personnel under Burke’s command in Italy and Spain. Company A performed the training in January 2022. Thereafter, Burke allegedly promoted Company A in a failed effort to convince a senior Navy Admiral to award another contract to Company A. To conceal the scheme, Burke allegedly made several false and misleading statements to the Navy, including by creating the false appearance that Burke played no role in issuing the contract and falsely implying that Company A’s employment discussions with Burke only began months after the contract was awarded.

In October 2022, Burke began working at Company A at a yearly starting salary of $500,000 and a grant of 100,000 stock options.

US Attorney Matthew Graves said in a statement,

“As alleged in the indictment, Admiral Burke used his public office and his four-star status for his private gain,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves. “The law does not make exceptions for admirals or CEOs. Those who pay and receive bribes must be held accountable. The urgency is at its greatest when, as here, senior government officials and senior executives are allegedly involved in the corruption.”

“Today’s indictment exemplifies our unwavering commitment to eradicating fraud within the DoD,” said Deputy Director, Grant A. Fleming, Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General’s, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS). “Together with our federal partners, DCIS will persist in dismantling attempts to defraud the U.S. Government.”

“NCIS takes every allegation of corruption within the Department of the Navy seriously, regardless of rank or position,” said Special Agent in Charge Greg Gross of the NCIS Economic Crimes Field Office. “NCIS and our partners remain committed to rooting out criminality that degrades public trust in the Department of the Navy.”

“Burke allegedly steered a lucrative contract to Kim and Messenger’s company in exchange for the promise of future employment and then lied to try to conceal the scheme,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott. “As a four-star admiral, Burke not only cheated U.S. taxpayers but also did a disservice to military personnel under his command. As this indictment demonstrates, the FBI and our partners remain committed to investigating and prosecuting corrupt officials regardless of their rank or title.”

The post Retired Navy Admiral Charged in Bribery Scandal appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

  

‘They Want Trump Dead’ — Democrat Rep. Bennie Thompson Pushes ‘DISGRACED Act’ to Strip Trump of Secret Service Protection if He Goes to Prison

‘They Want Trump Dead’ — Democrat Rep. Bennie Thompson Pushes ‘DISGRACED Act’ to Strip Trump of Secret Service Protection if He Goes to Prison

 Credit: Getty Images

On Thursday, President Trump was convicted on felony charges for a made-up crime in a kangaroo court led by a corrupt judge. This comes at a time when a leading Democrat is aggressively pushing to strip him of Security Service protection, Fox News reported.

The Gateway Pundit reported last month that Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) proposed the Denying Infinite Security and Government Resources Allocated toward Convicted and Extremely Dishonorable (DISGRACED) Former Protectees Act, aiming to strip President Trump of his Secret Service protection should he face imprisonment.

The bill was introduced along with far-left Democrats Troy Carter (D-LA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Frederica Wilson (D-FL), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), Joyce Beatty (D-OH), and Steve Cohen (D-TN). It was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

According to the press release, “This legislation would reform the U.S. Secret Service’s protective mission by automatically terminating Secret Service protection for those who have been sentenced to prison following conviction for a Federal or State felony—clarifying that prison authorities would be responsible for the protection of all inmates regardless of previous Secret Service protection.”

Thompson said in a statement, “Unfortunately, current law doesn’t anticipate how Secret Service protection would impact the felony prison sentence of a protectee — even a former President. It is regrettable that it has come to this, but this previously unthought-of scenario could become our reality. Therefore, it is necessary for us to be prepared and update the law so the American people can be assured that protective status does not translate into special treatment—and that those who are sentenced to prison will indeed serve the time required of them.”

According to a fact sheet from the Committee on Homeland Security, the U.S. government has long recognized the need to protect presidents, former presidents, other high-level officials, and select family members from harm. Since 1901, this protective mission has been carried out by the U.S. Secret Service.

Section 3056(a)(3) of Title 18 of the United States Code mandates that the United States Secret Service provide protection for former presidents, their spouses, and their children under the age of 16 “for their lifetimes, except that protection of a spouse shall terminate in the event of remarriage.”

The act ensures their safety due to the sensitive information they possess and the unique threats they might face. There is no specific provision excluding protection in the event of incarceration, so Secret Service protection continues regardless of a former president’s legal status.

More from the fact sheet:

The DISGRACED Former Protectees Act would terminate Secret Service protection for individuals who otherwise qualify for it upon sentencing following conviction for a Federal or State felony.

Under current law, Secret Service protection is authorized for some current and former high-level officials and their immediate families. Current law does not contemplate how such protection would occur—or whether it should occur—if a protectee is sentenced to prison following conviction for a felony. As a result, current law may serve as an impediment to the equal administration of justice and present logistical difficulties for both the Secret Service and prison authorities at the Federal and State levels.

This bill would remove the potential for conflicting lines of authority within prisons and allow judges to weigh the sentencing of individuals without having to factor in the logistical concerns of convicts with Secret Service protection.

Is this bill ex post facto and therefore in violation of the Constitution?
No. The Supreme Court in Flemming v. Nestor suggested that there could be situations where the termination of a benefit may raise ex post facto concerns. However, such a law would have to be shown to have an unlawful, punitive purpose. This bill raises no punitive concern. The purpose of this bill is to hand off inmate protection to relevant prison authorities rather than involve the Secret Service. Further, the removal of Secret Service protection does not change the criminal statutes or alter the penalty for crimes.

Will this bill apply to former President Trump if he is convicted of a felony?
This measure would apply to former President Trump. It also would apply to all Secret Service protectees convicted and sentenced under felony charges.

During an interview with Alex Jones last month, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene stated the Democrats ‘want Trump dead.

Rep. Greene stated that Trump “is not invincible; he’s a man, he’s fighting as hard as possible, and he’s putting all he has into trying to win the election.”

Greene continued, “You have to remember, he’s trying to run for president again, and he has to put everything he has into defending himself against these rigged trials.”

“They literally want him dead; Billy Thompson introduced a bill to take away his Secret Service protection. They want to lock him up in jail for the rest of his life so he dies in jail, and they want to take away his secret service protection so that he is murdered,” added Greene.

This sentiment was echoed by Donald Trump Jr. during his interview with Tucker Carlson, saying, “Let’s be honest: These radical leftists don’t just want my father in a prison cell. They want him dead.”

WATCH:

Let’s be honest: These radical leftists don’t just want my father in a prison cell. They want him dead. pic.twitter.com/PijJBGBmXF

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) June 1, 2024

Legal analyst Jonathan Turley lambasted the bill, exposing its blatant political vendetta against Trump, even after his conviction. In a scathing critique, he suggested more fitting acronyms such as SHAMEFUL (Stopping Harmful Antics by Members Eagerly Filing Useless Legislation) or CUCKOO (Congressmen Undertaking Changes to Kill Our Opponents) to reflect on the politically motivated actions.

“Describing this move as “regrettable,” Thompson has found a way to add lethal elements to the unhinged political rage in Congress,” Turley added.

…or CUCKOO (Congressmen Undertaking Changes to Kill Our Opponents). Describing this move as “regrettable,” Thompson has found a way to add lethal elements to the unhinged political rage in Congress. https://t.co/UU00aGE5CA

— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) June 1, 2024

The post ‘They Want Trump Dead’ — Democrat Rep. Bennie Thompson Pushes ‘DISGRACED Act’ to Strip Trump of Secret Service Protection if He Goes to Prison appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.