The Southern Poverty Law Center has moved for a dismissal of all charges against them by the Trump administration, citing the president's recent comments as proof of vindictive prosecution and the precedent of another recent Trump case that just got thrown out.The Trump administration argued in their Alabama-based indictment that the longtime hate group watchdog was actually funding hate groups by using paid informants and committing fraud by omitting their use of such informants from their donors, allegations the SPLC has called ridiculous.In the filing, flagged on X by Adam Klasfeld of All Rise News, the SPLC quotes Trump's recent proclamation that "The Southern Poverty Law Center, one of the greatest scams in American History, has been charged with FRAUD," as proof of a "top-down, retributive campaign in which he directed his Justice Department to go after those individuals and groups he deemed his political enemies."Furthermore, the SPLC cited the recent vindictive prosecution dismissal of criminal gang charges against Salvadoran immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose case has dragged on for over a year after the administration mistakenly deported him to a foreign torture facility in violation of court orders.The SPLC has long been a target of wrath by Republicans, partly due to its designation of certain organizations close to the GOP, like the anti-LGBTQ Family Research Council, as hate groups or extremist groups.
A former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee announced a campaign running for Florida's 20th Congressional District and was immediately accused of "dismantling" black "power."Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) was redistricted out of her previous seat and opted to run in the 20th district, which is composed of about 50% black residents.'DWS is everything that's wrong with the Democratic establishment.' In a statement released Tuesday, nearly all the DNC members from Florida condemned the decision by Schultz."Our party cannot credibly denounce the dismantling of black political power by Republicans while treating one of Florida's few remaining majority-black districts as a political opportunity for an incumbent seeking a safer seat," the statement reads.Schultz, who has been in Congress for more than two decades, would likely win an easy contest in the general election in the left-leaning district. However, other Democrats accused Schultz of using her power to make her campaign easier."Debbie Wasserman Schultz is carpetbagging to FL-20, a black opportunity district instead of running in her own," said Elijah Manley, another Democratic candidate running for Florida's 20th district. "DWS is everything that's wrong with the Democratic establishment. ... I look forward to retiring her from public office permanently." Others like former 2 Live Crew rapper and black activist Luther Campbell, who is also running for the seat as a Democrat, warned Democrats that the black community is taking notice. "To the Florida DNC members who stayed silent — we see you too. We’re taking receipts," Campbell wrote on social media. "Congressional District 20 is not a political opportunity seat. Black representation matters. Lived experience matters. Make sure you're on the right side of history.""This decision reinforces the same message Republicans have pushed for years: that black representation does not matter," the Florida Democrats continued in their letter. "It does matter. Representation matters. Lived experience matters." RELATED: USC accused of racism after minority candidates don't qualify for gubernatorial debate — so USC makes drastic decision Schultz ran the Democratic Party from May 2011 until July 2016, just a few months before President Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton. The late Harry Reid, a top Democratic leader, blamed Schultz for the devastating loss. "We need a full time DNC chair and what they should do — they can take my model if they want — it's not rocket science," Reid said at the time. "It doesn't take a lot of brain power to figure out what needs to be done." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Alabama is likely to appeal the ruling, which stops an effort to use a new congressional map that would likely cost Democrats a majority-Black district.
A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a bid to block Tennessee's new Congressional map that eliminates a racially gerrymandered district.
The post Trump Judge Rejects Bid to Block Tennessee’s New Congressional Map That Eliminates Racially Gerrymandered District appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Cardiologist Dr. Jonathan Reiner expressed grave concerns about President Donald Trump's physical and mental health ahead of his third Walter Reed medical checkup in 13 months. In conversation with "CNN News Central" Reiner called for mandatory presidential health disclosures to Congress and the public, comparing the matter to fitness requirements for pilots and Secret Service agents. He demanded credible explanations for Trump's visible health issues, including bruising attributed to "vigorous handshaking"—which Reiner argued is an insufficient explanation — and severe ankle swelling diagnosed as chronic venous insufficiency, despite no edema appearing earlier in the year. Most concerning to Reiner is Trump's severe daytime drowsiness, or somnolence, including multiple instances of falling asleep in the Oval Office and potentially during the Arlington National Cemetery Memorial Day observances. Chronic insomnia increases dementia risk, decreases cognitive function, raises cardiac complications, and ages the brain by 3.5 years, Reiner explained. The prominent CNN medical analyst has become a leading voice questioning Trump's fitness for office.Watch the video below. Your browser does not support the video tag.
At the same time that he is serving as Donald Trump’s acting Attorney General, Todd Blanche is living under a cloud due to a lawsuit filed by two highly litigious clients dating back to his private practice days.According to a report from Vanity Fair’s Noah Shachtman, when Blanche worked at the prestigious law firm of Cadwalader, Wickersham, & Taft, he agreed to represent Adam and Daniel Kapaln, twins in their 30’s, who were worried that they were being targeted by the Manhattan district attorney’s office for financial fraud, so they were looking for “a good lawyer, preferably one for a good price.”They came to Blanche who, reportedly, offered to take on their case at a rate lower than the firm he worked at normally would charge.From there, things went south, Shachtman is reporting.The Kaplans initially came to Blanche seeking legal representation for financial fraud investigations and now claim the attorney assured them they "would not be paying Cadwalader prices" and that he "did not want to make money on the representation," implying steep discounts.The firm's first bill arrived in June 2022 for $677,925.32. By November 2022, the Kaplans had paid Blanche's firm $1.65 million and were told they owed even more. On November 19, 2022, at 5:27 a.m., Blanche emailed the brothers: "I am forced to instruct my team to stop work on this matter," until the bill was brought current.Instead the Kaplans' fired back with a malpractice lawsuit, filed in June 2023, that makes specific allegations: Blanche forged their signatures on an engagement letter. To support their claim, they enlisted a handwriting expert who confirmed the signatures were forgeries, Vanity Fair is reporting, before adding that the twins also alleged Blanche withheld evidence that could have aided their defense against federal charges. The malpractice suit contends Blanche billed them approximately 2,475 hours at roughly $1,000 per hour — far higher than the discounted rate he promised.Their former attorney Daniel Abrams, a malpractice specialist, told Vanity Fair, "If those allegations are proven, and we have a good faith belief that they will be, you know, he's not an ethical guy."Blanche and Cadwalader denied all allegations and later countersued the Kaplans for $1,208,403.76 in allegedly unpaid bills.The malpractice case became more complicated when a federal grand jury indicted Adam and Daniel on 16 counts of money laundering and wire fraud in July 2023. They were forced to post $2.5 million bonds, according to the report.One twin, Adam, was convicted on all charges and is held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn — where Nicolas Maduro and Luigi Mangione currently reside. Daniel was convicted on all but two money laundering counts and remains free pending sentencing expected later this year.Even as federal prosecutors pursued the Kaplans as alleged financial criminals, they presented themselves in state court as victims — of the law firm and of Blanche, who by April 2023 had started his own practice and took on Trump as a key client, which then led to his hiring at the Department of Justice.According to Vanity Fair, the malpractice case will continue through the twins' sentencing as Blanche goes about his business at the DOJ with an eye of being confirmed to fired Pam Bondi's position should Trump formally nominate him.
