Crooked Media - What A Day: D.A.-break

There’s still no movement on the multiple-indictment front facing disgraced former president Donald Trump, and in the words of Carrie Bradshaw, I couldn’t help but wonder…did ole’ Donny wriggle his way out of legal accountability again? 
 

• Communications dating back five years between adult film actress Stormy Daniels and one of Trump’s current attorneys, Joe Tacopina, have been turned over to the Manhattan district attorney’s office. In 2018, Daniels was seeking representation and spoke with Tacopina and others at his firm, including about details related to her allegations against Trump, according to her current attorney. If Daniels disclosed confidential information pertaining to her case to Tacopina while vetting him to be her prospective lawyer, that could prohibit him from representing Trump in this case altogether.
   

• Tacopina denies that there is a conflict of interest, and further says he never met with or spoke to Daniels, but the fact that she has already turned their communications over to the DA suggests that there is, in fact, something there. Trump hasn’t even been indicted, and already his legal team looks unprepared and disorganized. 
   

• The grand jury presiding over the hush-money case was told by prosecutors not to come in on Wednesday, dashing our collective anticipation that Trump may be indicted todayBut the district attorney reportedly plans to convene the grand jury again on Thursday, at least according to some reports. A longer pause in the grand jury’s activity would likely delay the vote and possible indictment into next week at the earliest.

Moving on to a different case and a different lawyer (hard to keep track of all of the crimes sometimes!)...
 

• A federal appeals court ruled that one of Trump’s other lawyers in the “allegedly” (wink) stolen documents case, Evan Corcoran, must provide evidence to prosecutors in the form of notes, transcripts, etc. related to the case that would ordinarily be protected by attorney-client privilege, because Trump may have used Corcoran’s legal services to facilitate obstruction of justice. Wow! Always one to diversify his grift portfolio, Trump raised $1.5 million in contributions after he announced on Truth Social that he expected to be indicted on Tuesday. 
   

• One thing Trump doesn’t seem to have going for him this time around, however, is his usual hordes of frothing supporters ready to commit violence on his behalf. Even the far-right chuds who showed up in droves on January 6 have been reluctant to meet the former president’s calls for mass protests. (Strange what happens when you tell people to riot, they riot, they all go to jail, and you walk away.)The alt-right message boards have been buzzing with theories that protests might be “traps” set by federal law enforcement, and even apart from that, there seems to be little appetite for organized pro-Trump action. A demonstration on Monday organized by the New York Young Repubican Club outside of the Manhattan court where Trump’s arraignment would take place if indicted drew less than 50 people, and anti-Trump counter-protesters far outnumbered them. 

Trump and his multi-pronged legal team, spanning multiple unrelated cases, are in total disarray, and yet Trump still seems to be squeezing a dollar out of a bad situation and has not yet found himself on the wrong end of an indictment. In his flop era and still scheming! If he weren’t such an irredeemable piece of shit we would almost be impressed.

Last year, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) unveiled a new unit of election police to harass voters and election workers in the name of “election integrity.” But the first string of cases brought by prosecutors related to supposed election fraud disproportionately flopped, because, well, election fraud is mostly nonexistent according to countless studies and all available data, no matter how many times Republicans try to fearmonger with it, and so the charges were ginned up. (Perhaps Donald Trump can add this to his rolling, scathing critique of DeSantis’s record?) Now, a new law in the Sunshine State allows prosecutors to pursue more election-related cases, an overt attempt to sidestep judicial scrutiny of sham voter prosecutions. What’s more, other red states are following in DeSantis’s footsteps at an alarming rate. Lawmakers in 20 states have introduced at least 57 bills targeting elections, and four Republican-led states are working to add new police agencies with the specific purpose of targeting “voter fraud.” Making the same false claim over and over again doesn’t make it true, you freaks!

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates one-quarter of a percentage point today, and Chairman Jerome Powell indicated that increases should be nearing an end. 

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and his administration are moving to expand Florida’s infuriating “Don’t Say Gay” law to all school grades, in what is no doubt a sick bid for attention as he continues his shadow presidential campaign. 

Speaking of which, a former Florida Republican lawmaker named Joseph Harding, who sponsored the “Don’t Say Gay” law, pleaded guilty to committing $150,000 in wire fraud intended for COVID-19 relief.

Eight prominent celebrities including Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul, Ne-Yo and Lil Yachty, were charged by the SEC as part of a cryptocurrency fraud scheme for not disclosing that they were paid to promote certain brands of cryptocurrency. 

Democrats are out-fundraising Republicans by…a lot, so Republicans are trying to recruit candidates who are already super rich. If this means more Dr. Oz lookalikes who will humiliate themselves on the campaign trail, we’re in!

Lawmakers in Uganda passed some of the world’s most punitive anti-gay legislation on Tuesday. The new laws, which make some crimes punishable by death and others subject to up to life imprisonment, is evidence of a further crackdown on LGBTQ+ people in the country, where same-sex relations were already illegal. Merely identifying as LGBTQ+ would subject Ugandans to up to 20 years in prison. The laws target other activities as well, including a ban on “promoting and abetting homosexuality” and “conspiracy to engage in homosexuality.” The bill also defines a charge of “aggravated homosexuality” as a confusingly broad term encompassing non-consensual sex acts against children, blood relatives, or people with disabilities. (Pretty sure the term they were looking for is just…“rape”?) LGBT advocates say that the law could lead to mass arrests of queer people and mob violence against them, which could also lead to an epidemic of suicides. Human-rights groups have roundly condemned the legislation and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the laws, “would undermine fundamental human rights of all Ugandans and could reverse gains in the fight against HIV/AIDS.”

Today's newsletter is brought to you by Earthjustice.
 

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Disney World will host a major conference with top executives from the largest companies promoting LGBT+ rights in the workplace after their run-ins with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) who has targeted the company for its DEI initiatives. Mickey Mouse said, “Gay rights!”

Starbucks workers are striking nationwide in an attempt to force the company to stop union-busting and come to the bargaining table to negotiate a contract. 

North Carolina’s Republican-led(!) General Assembly passed medicaid expansion with major bipartisan support today after the bill cleared the GOP-led Senate last week. 

At the Houston Zoo, a 90-year-old tortoise named Mr. Pickles is the new father of three hatchlings named Dill, Gherkin, and Jalapeño. Mr. Pickles has been partnered with female tortoise Mrs. Pickles since she arrived at the zoo in 1996. Geriatric icons of love!!