Trump stands to gain billions… from the merger between TrumpMedia & Tech & the blank-check co [#SPAC] #DWAC, which took the parent company of #TruthSocial public.
But #TrumpMedia almost didn’t make it to the merger after #regulators opened a #securities investigation into it in 2021 & caused the co to burn through cash at an extraordinary rate as it waited…for its IPO.
The situation led TrumpMedia to take emergency #loans, incl’g from an entity called #ESFamilyTrust, which opened an acct w/ #PaxumBank, a small bank registered on the #Caribbean island of #Dominica best known for providing #financial services to the #porn industry.
…#ESFamilyTrust was established on 18 May 2021, creation papers show. Postolnikov’s “user” access to the acct was “verified” on 30 Nov 2021 by a #PaxumBank mgr in Dominica.
Tues night, prosecutors told Judge #AileenCannon who is overseeing Trump’s #ClassifiedDocuments case that a “fundamentally flawed” order she had issued was causing #delays & asked her to quickly resolve a critical dispute about one of #Trump’s defenses — leaving them time to appeal if needed.
The unusual & risky move by the prosecutors…signaled their mounting impatience w/ #AileenCannon, who has allowed the case to become bogged down in…unresolved issues & curious procedural requests. It was the most directly prosecutors have confronted Judge Cannon’s #legalreasoning & unhurried pace, which have called into question whether a #trial will take place before the #election in Nov even though both sides say they could be ready by summer.
The prosecutors derided that assertion as “not based on any facts,” adding that it was a “justification that was concocted more than a year after” #Trump left the WH.
“It would be pure fiction,” the prosecutors wrote, “to suggest that highly #ClassifiedDocuments created by members of the #intelligence community & #military & presented to the president of the United States during his term in office were ‘purely private.’”
In their filing, prosecutors in #SpecialCounsel, #JackSmith’s office, all but begged Judge #AileenCannon to move the case along & make a binding decision about one of #Trump’s most brazen claims: that he cannot be prosecuted for having taken home a trove of #NationalSecurity docs after leaving office bc he transformed them into his own personal property under…the PRA.
An account using the name & photo of #Michigan#BarryCounty Sheriff lawbreaker & [#ConspiracyTheorist] #DarLeaf released >2,100 pages of emails from employees of Dominion; the company says Leaf improperly accessed internal msgs via breach of a #CourtOrder.
“From social media calls to lynch Dominion personnel to a man #armed w/a #rifle who came to their offices, Dominion's employees have directly suffered the consequences of the lies spread by #PatrickByrne & his fellow defendants," #Dominion's lawyers wrote. "They now fear further threats due to conduct of his counsel done at his direction."
The accts signal a potential tactical shift in how #China aims to #influence American #politics, w/more of a willingness to target specific candidates & parties, including Biden.
In an echo of #Russia’s #influence campaign, #China appears to be trying to harness #partisan#divisions to undermine the #Biden admin’s policies, despite recent efforts by the 2 countries to lower the temperature in their relations.
Some of the #Chinese accounts impersonate fervent #Trump fans, including one [still allowed] on #X that purported to be “a father, husband & son” who was “#MAGA all the way!!”
Former Giuliani associate: ‘Ron Johnson was our guy in the Senate’
A former Rudy Giuliani associate and former Donald Trump ally testified that Sen. Ron Johnson could be counted on to do “the bidding for the Russians.”
#Wisconsin compromised Ron Johnson knowingly participated in disseminating Kremlin Russian intelligence #disinformation to influence our presidential election.
Trump lawyers tried to convince federal Judge #AileenCannon to throw out the charges against him.
Judge Cannon heard from prosecutors & defense lawyers about Trump’s [BS] claim that he is protected from prosecution by the #PresidentialRecordsAct. #NationalSecurity#law experts say Trump’s arguments about the records act misstate the law.
Alex Shepherd says Trump faces "an apocalyptic financial situation":
"Strapped for cash both personally and politically, Trump is desperate for money and, judging from his deranged posts lately on Truth Social, it’s sending him into a tailspin of panic."
This creates a dangerous situation:
"He badly needs big donors—and he’s clearly willing to change policy proposals on a host of issues, from China to entitlements, to get them."
A separate Israeli delegation, which includes Min of Strategic Affairs RonDermer & #NationalSecurity adv TzachiHanegbi, is to depart #Israel Mon evening, said an Israeli ofcl…. Israeli PM Benjamin #Netanyahu said he would CANCEL the delegation if the #UnitedStates did not #veto the #Gaza resolution….
Netanyahu repeated his insistence Sun that a military op in #Rafah is needed to eliminate #Hamas.
@PierrePoilievre nobody can be Prime Minister if they won’t do a background check. How the hell can we trust you with anything? @CPC_HQ@liberal_party@NDP@BlocQuebecois#Canada, #NationalSecurity#InternationalSecurity
Spacex is building a network of hundreds of spy satellites under a #classified contract w/a US intelligence agency, 5 sources familiar w/the program said, demonstrating deepening ties between billionaire entrepreneur #ElonMusk's space company & #NationalSecurity agencies.
Jay Kuo, looking at the immense dangers ahead as Trump's Truth Social becomes publicly traded, and the Russians, Chinese, and Saudis could be standing ready to own controlling interest in the company:
"I’ve read many pieces about how Trump is set to be worth $3.4 billion more next week, but I’ve seen nothing so far warning of the dangers of a publicly-traded presidential candidacy. We are in wholly uncharted waters."
"Neither Trump nor any of the other 2024 presidential candidates could have handled the recent crisis in the Middle East. …
President Biden’s staff is comprised of serious, experienced, and expert people, while Trump plans to have people on his staff who are just inexperienced and unqualified sycophants who have pledged loyalty to him (not to the Constitution)."
“Separately, to the extent the #SpecialCounsel demands an anticipatory finalization of #JuryInstructions prior to #trial, prior to a charge conference, & prior to the presentation of trial defenses & evidence, the Court declines that demand as unprecedented & unjust….“
US AMB hits out at HU’s ‘unhinged anti-American messaging’. In speech in Budapest, Pressman says while HUunder Orbán tries to wait out US govt, ‘we will act’.