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Politics

Michigan Supreme Court Maintains Trump’s Presence on the 2024 Primary Ballot

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Former President Donald Trump was reinstated to the Republican presidential primary ballot in Michigan on Wednesday, as the state’s highest court declined to hear an appeal to disqualify him.

The court denied the appeal in a concise order, stating that it was “not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this Court.”

Trump expressed his approval of the ruling in a Wednesday post on Truth Social, stating, “The Michigan Supreme Court has strongly and rightfully denied the Desperate Democrat attempt to take the leading Candidate in the 2024 Presidential Election, me, off the ballot in the Great State of Michigan.”

Last week, the Colorado Supreme Court excluded Trump from the state’s primary ballot on the grounds that his participation in an uprising against the country (despite never being charged let alone convicted) restricts him from holding federal office under the insurrection clause of the United States Constitution. The ruling was pledged to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court by Trump.

A dissenter from the majority was Justice Elizabeth Welch, one of the four justices nominated by the Democratic Party to comprise the seven-member Michigan Supreme Court.

She contended that although she would affirm the Court of Appeals’ decision that Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is not obligated to ascertain the eligibility of a presidential primary candidate, such a high court ruling would enable “appellants to renew their legal efforts as to the Michigan general election later in 2024 should Trump become the Republican nominee for president of the United States or seek such office as an independent candidate.”

Presidential Immunity Case: The Supreme Court Will Not Hear Immediately Despite Jack Smith’s Speed Plea
A ruling in favor of former President Donald Trump has prevented the Supreme Court of the United States from hearing his case for presidential immunity immediately.

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On Friday, the high court denied Smith’s request for an expedited review. Consequently, the case will proceed through the customary proceedings in the appeals court and will likely ultimately reach the SCOTUS.

This outcome represents a triumph for Trump and a substantial setback for Smith, who is pressed for time to present Trump to a preponderantly Democratic jury prior to the election.

According to polling, a conviction could cost Trump millions of votes, and if he fails to appeal the conviction by November, there is a possibility that it will harm his campaign on Election Day. The timing of Smith’s prosecution has been characterized by Trump as “election interference,” an effort to manipulate the forthcoming presidential election.

The SCOTUS denied an immediate review of Trump’s presidential immunity claims less than two weeks after Smith initially requested that the justices ascertain expeditiously whether Trump could be legally prosecuted on the charges pertaining to January 6. Those charges allege that Trump allegedly attempted to tamper with the results of the 2020 presidential election.

“Despite having lost, the Defendant was determined to stay in power,” the indictment claims. “So for more than two months following Election Day on November 3, 2020, the Defendant spread lies that there had been outcome-determinative fraud in the election that he actually won. These claims were false, and the Defendant knew they were false.”

In that particular case, Trump was indicted on four counts. “One of obstruction and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; one of conspiracy to defraud the United States; one of conspiracy against rights; and one on obstruction and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding.”

Smith, attempting to stick to his ideal trial date of March 4, 2024, is requesting an expeditious review of the case out of concern that it may be postponed until 2025, following the presidential election.

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“It is of imperative public importance that respondent’s claims of immunity be resolved by this Court and that respondent’s trial proceed as promptly as possible if his claim of immunity is rejected,” the prosecutors implored.

However, Trump’s attorneys pushed back on Smith’s request:

Importance does not automatically necessitate speed. If anything, the opposite is usually true. Novel, complex, sensitive, and historic issues — such as the existence of presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts — call for more careful deliberation, not less.

They argued that SCOTUS adoption of the case is unnecessary “before the lower courts complete their review.”

 

Poll: 54% of Democratic Voters Desire Joe Biden Replaced as Their 2024 Nominee

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Democratic party voters are dissatisfied with the 81-year-old presumptive nominee, President Joe Biden, who will likely challenge former President Donald Trump, according to polling released by Fox News on Sunday.

The poll underscores the discord and disconnection that have gripped the Democratic Party since Biden declined to relinquish his leadership and permit an alternative Democrat to do so.

The survey showed:

  • 54 percent of Democrat primary voters prefer an alternative to Biden.
  • Just 43 percent of Democrat primary voters want to keep Biden.

The polling showed a slight uptick in negative sentiment against the president:

  • October: 53 percent prefer an alternative, while 45 want to keep Biden
  • March: 52 percent prefer an alternative, while 44 want to keep Biden

Prominent Democrats urged Biden to reconsider a second campaign against Trump in December, at which time he informed reporters that he was obligated to run for reelection. A reporter questioned Biden, “Would you be running if Trump weren’t running?”

“I expect so,” Biden replied. “But he is running, and — I just — I have to run.”

Conversely, Biden informed donors the day before his remark that he would likely abstain from running should Trump withdraw. Biden added that Democrats “cannot allow him [Trump] to win.

National and battleground state polling shows Biden losing to Trump:

  • Morning Consult: Trump leads Biden in six of seven crucial swing states.
  • NBC News: Trump leads Biden by two points.
  • Fox News: Trump trounces Biden by four points.

House Republicans Blow It, Reward the FBI by Renewing FISA Process

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The U.S. Senate last Wednesday approved an annual defense policy measure that incorporated a temporary extension of a warrantless government surveillance authority, bringing its expiration date further into the distance by at least a few months.

Without congressional action, the controversial Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) will expire at the end of the year. However, a vote of 87-13 by senators to approve a $886 billion defense authorization measure with a short-term renewal attached would extend its validity until April 19. It is anticipated that the House will now consider the measure tomorrow.

You might be wondering what Section 702 is, and that is likely due to the media’s unwillingness to report on any technicalities the Intelligence Community exploits to spy on American citizens. Given how intertwined the corporate media is with the Intel community, it’s not a huge surprise that these things go unreported.

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) authorizes the United States government to conduct warrantless, mass surveillance of electronic communications, including phone calls, text messages, emails, and other correspondence, of both Americans and foreigners. Information obtained in violation of the law without a warrant may be utilized to indict and incarcerate individuals, even in cases unrelated to national security. In light of the nation’s documented history of surveillance authority abuse and the opaque nature of the program, it is reasonable to be apprehensive that Section 702 may be exploited to selectively target disadvantaged groups, including journalists, minority communities, and political activists.

Last week, 147 ineffectual Republicans cast a vote in favor of reauthorizing the FISA program, which had been exploited by the FBI for the duration of candidate and then President Donald Trump’s administration.

This morning, Attorney Alan Dershowitz and former Defense Department Chief of Staff Kash Patel joined Maria Bartiromo to discuss political assassin Jack Smith and his strategic maneuvers to depose Donald Trump.

Kash Patel reminded the FOX News audience that Republicans had just voted to reauthorize the FISA Program, which the FBI used to eavesdrop on President Trump from 2016 onwards, through the 2024 election.

Kash Patel: Yeah, it’s great to be with you, Maria. Look, the biggest concern I have going forward is the politicization and weaponization and creation of a two tier system of justice as a result. Back when Devin Nunes and I ran the Russia gate investigation and exposed the FISA corruption, we recommended a slew of fixes. So it never happened again. Unfortunately, Congress chose to allow 702 FISA to basically be reauthorized.

What does that mean? What is 702? It’s fancy for foreign intelligence surveillance. It means me, as a former national security prosecutor and intelligence operative, would go overseas and manhunt terrorists. That’s what it’s for. But the FISA court, in April of 2022, publicized an opinion that said the FBI used it illegally 275,000 times domestically against Americans, 16 different occasions against those affiliated with, January 6, 19,000 times domestically against donors to a congressional campaign, and, wait for it, 24,000 separate times against Americans and groups in and around January 6.

That FISA process has been turned on its head, redirected inwards. And anyone who says, oh, that’s just a Republican conspiracy speak, that’s the FISA court that rescinded Rod Rosenstein’s illegal surveillance of Donald Trump twice based on our investigation. And now they do it again, and they prove the FBI and DOJ have weaponized justice. And the Republican leadership in Congress allowed it to be reauthorized, essentially through the next election cycle…

…What Chris Ray has now done is weaken American national security and redirected one of the most sensitive intelligence apparatuses against elections and those protesting their free speech right within America. And every time the FISA court asked the FBI, why did you allow your agents to do this? Their answer was, I could not recall. And they gave them a get out of jail free card.

And the Republican majority, I know this is harsh, rewarded them for breaking the law and allowing this election interference to continue through 2024, mainly against Donald Trump.

To be fair, not all Republicans supported the bill.

Rep. Eli Crane, for his part, said that “FISA 702 is a violation of the 4th Amendment. Additionally, this bill continues to entangle us in forever wars abroad and even managed to abandon heroes from Northern Arizona, including the Navajo Nation, that sacrificed for our country during WWII.”

According to Rep. Matt Rosendale, “FISA Section 702 has allowed the FBI to spy on U.S. citizens more than 278,000 times without a warrant! FISA should not be combined with our national defense, and it is UNACCEPTABLE that the D.C. Cartel is bypassing regular order to jam Members by forcing them to vote on two unrelated bills in one vote.”

Additionally, we saw Reps Chip Roy, Andy Biggs, Randy Webber and Andrew Clyde make statements against the bill. Below is a list of Republicans who voted to renew the FBI’s right to spy on you and your families.

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As a Record Number of Hill Legislators Resign, Two More House Members Declare They Won’t Be Seeking Reelection

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This week saw two more members of the House, Democrat Wiley Nickel, and Republican Drew Ferguson, officially opting to not seek re-election.

According to Politico, Ferguson of Georgia stated that he would not seek reelection to his secure Republican seat. Reportedly, he unsuccessfully sought the position of majority whip while serving as chief deputy leader for the Republicans from 2019 to 2023.

Nickel is a first-term member of the House representing North Carolina. His reelection prospects were diminished when his district was redrawn by state Republican legislators.

“Republicans have rigged the system to favor themselves, and I don’t have a path to run for reelection,” said Nickel, who reportedly is considering a run in 2026 for the Senate seat held by North Carolina GOP Sen, Thom Tillis.

So far this year, a minimum of forty members of Congress (33 House members and seven senators) have declared their intention to abstain from running for re-election. TruthOut.org reports that thirteen senators and members of the House of Representatives withdrew their candidacies in November, the highest number to do so in a single month in over a decade.