by Donald Trump vows to stay in 2024 race if he faces criminal charges
A federal judge has ordered Donald Trump’s lawyer Evan Corcoran to testify before a grand jury about conversations he had with the former president about the trove of classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida. The decision pierces the attorney-client privilege that would otherwise protect the couple.
Meanwhile, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies are bracing for Trump to be charged as early as next week in connection with the Stormy Daniels hush, according to NBC News.
New York prosecutors are expected to reach a decision soon on whether Trump should face criminal charges. In a sign that his campaign is worried about a possible indictment, they released a statement attacking the Manhattan DA’s office.
Meanwhile on social media, Trump made a triumphant return to Facebook and posted at least eight videos on his Truth Social account on Friday. Earlier, YouTube announced the end of its ban from the platform. The video sharing site and all other social media sites have unplatformed the former president in the wake of the January 6, 2021 Capitol Hill riot for inciting violence.
The committee finds that Trump did not report $300,000 in gifts, and some are still unaccounted for
Donald Trump and his family failed to report nearly $300,000 worth of gifts from foreign leaders, some of which have yet to be identified, according to a congressional committee.
The House Oversight Committee found that the former president failed to notify the State Department of extravagant gifts from countries such as Saudi Arabia, China and El Salvador, a violation of federal law.
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 17, 2023 9:50 p.m
‘I’M BACK’
Former President Donald Trump announced his return to Facebook on Friday with a video after the social media giant brought him back.
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 17, 2023 9:30 p.m
Judge rules Trump lawyer must testify about conversations with former president in Mar-a-Lago probe
The chief judge in federal district court in Washington, D.C. ordered Evan Corcoran, the Maryland-based attorney who represented former President Donald Trump in the weeks before the FBI’s Aug. 8 search of his Palm Beach, Florida, property, to previously testified to a grand jury about conversations she had with Mr Trump about efforts to find and return classified documents to the US government.
According to multiple reports, Judge Beryl Howell granted a request by Jack Smith, the Justice Department special counsel overseeing multiple investigations against Trump, to waive the attorney-client privilege Corcoran normally enjoyed as a member of the former president’s legal team.
Andrew Feinberg has the latest from Washington, DC.
Oliver O’Connell17 March 2023 21:00
YouTube to lift Trump ban
YouTube has lifted its ban on Donald Trump and he will be allowed to post videos once again.
Trump had been banned from posting on YouTube since January 6, when he joined other platforms such as Twitter and Facebook amid fears his account could be used to promote violence.
Many of these platforms have already overturned their bans. He was allowed back on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 17, 2023 8:45 p.m
Trump’s spokesman responds to judge’s ruling on Mar-a-Lago documents probe
Donald Trump’s spokesman is responding to Judge Beryl Howell’s ruling that Evan Corcoran’s lawyer must give additional testimony about the investigation into classified Mar-a-Lago documents, breaching the attorney-client privilege.
Whenever prosecutors target lawyers, it’s usually a good indication that their underlying case is very weak. If they had a real case, they wouldn’t need to play corrupt games with the Constitution. Every American has the right to consult with a lawyer and have frank discussions — this promotes adherence to the law. We will fight the Justice Department on this front and all others that threaten fundamental American rights and values. Interfering with Americans’ right to counsel is a serious and weighty matter. For a judge to do so in violation of due process, without allowing any real hearing, and within hours of its due date – as the chief judge overseeing the grand jury – is un-American.
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 17, 2023 8:33 p.m
Trump returns to Facebook with first post since January 6 Capitol riot
“Sorry to keep you waiting, complicated business.”
Oliver O’Connell17 March 2023 20:21
Trump: Biden is leading us into a great recession
In the eighth video of the day, Donald Trump blames Joe Biden for leading the US into the Great Recession and that last week’s bank failures “nobody thought were possible”, saying there should be no bailouts.
He vows that when he returns to the White House he will “immediately liberalize energy production, cut regulations like I did just three years ago, and repeal Biden’s tax hikes to bring down inflation as quickly as possible.”
Mr. Trump conveniently sidesteps noting that part of the reason for last week’s bank failures was the cut in regulations put in place after the 2008 financial crisis.
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 17, 2023 8:15 p.m
Judge orders Trump lawyer to testify about Mar-a-Lago documents
A federal judge has ordered Donald Trump’s lawyer, Evan Corcoran, to give additional testimony in the investigation into the former president’s handling of classified documents, according to reports.
Mr. Corcoran has the potential to become one of the most critical witnesses in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s criminal investigation into the Mar-a-Lago document search and possible obstruction of justice.
District Judge Beryl Howell said in a sealed order that Justice Department prosecutors have met the threshold for the criminal fraud exception for Corcoran, a source he told CNN.
Trump’s lawyers are trying to prevent investigators from learning about direct conversations between the former president and his closest advisers. Mr. Corcoran has previously argued for attorney-client privilege, but the Justice Department has argued that his conversations with Mr. Trump may have been part of an attempt to plan a crime.
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 17, 2023 7:59 p.m
Trump claims Apple temporarily removed the January 6 song from the iTunes chart
Donald Trump claims Apple temporarily removed his number one song ‘Justice for all’ from the iTunes chart. Posted on Truth Social
Apple has temporarily removed the Number One song on the iTunes Chart, “Justice For All.” Doing massive business, beating every other song, so why was it removed? They said it’s going up. BUT GUESS WHAT REPLACED IT AT #1? TRUMP WON, by Natasha Owens. I’m sure the Radical Left is happy about that!
A quick check of the chart shows that Taylor Swift has come to the rescue of the “radical left”.
1 NEW Taylor Swift – All the Girls You’ve Loved Before
2 NEW Taylor Swift – If This Was A Movie (Taylor Version)
3 NEW Jimin – Set Me Free, Pt. 2
4 NEW Taylor Swift – Eyes Open (Taylor’s version)
5 NEW Taylor Swift, Joy Williams & John Paul White – Safe & Sound (Taylor Edition)
6 -5 Natasha Owens – Trump wins
7 -4 Donald J. Trump & J6 Prison Choir – Justice for All
8 -4 Miley Cyrus – Flowers
9 -4 Morgan Wallen – Last night
10 NEW Hozier – Eat Your Young
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 17, 2023 7:45 p.m
Only one Jan. 6 clip broadcast by Tucker Carlson was reviewed by Capitol Police
Politico reports that House Republicans repeatedly ignored Capitol Police requests to review and approve any Jan. 6 security footage that would be released, according to an affidavit filed Friday.
Only one of the 40 clips aired on Fox News by Tucker Carlson was previewed by Capitol Police and approved for broadcast, Capitol Police General Counsel Thomas DiBiase said in the court filing.
The rest, he said, “were never presented to me or anyone else from the Capitol Police.”
The six-page affidavit is part of a Capitol riots criminal case, and in it Mr. DiBiase describes the timeline in which House Republicans were given access to the 41,000 hours of video recorded as pro-Trump rioters stormed Congress.
Oliver O’ConnellMarch 17, 2023 7:37 p.m
