Donald Trump's campaign is in chaos, and his niece says she's energized. Mary Trump , the niece of the former president and a psychologist by trade, has previously been critical of her uncle. On Thursday, she said her uncle's failures are adding up. ALSO READ: A neuroscientist reveals how Trump and Biden's cognitive impairments are different "As the RNC’s fundraising falters and Donald’s campaign spirals into chaos, I am energized!" she said in a Substack post. She then continued: "When Donald dominates the news cycle, it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed. Every bad headline has a negative impact. But then I remember something crucial: There’s usually more to the story than meets the eye. I’m determined to cut through the media noise and share with you all the good that happened this week. These are the headlines we need to remain energized and hopeful that the media largely ignored." Mary Trump goes on to highlight President Joe Biden's recent fundraising hauls. "President Biden’s $155 million+ war chest has just received another turbo boost, bringing the total of cash on hand to at least $180 million. (By comparison , between his campaign and the RNC, Donald barely has over $50 million — and continues to drain the accounts to cover his absolutely staggering legal expenses )," she wrote. "This is a development that could significantly increase Biden’s ability to influence the narrative in crucial swing states." This, she says, also tells us a lot about voter excitement for Biden. "While critics have expressed doubts about the degree to which the
Democratic base is fired up as compared to 2020, today’s $25 million fundraiser, raised with donations ranging from $250 to $500,000, should put any doubts to rest — yes, we are absolutely behind President Biden and Vice President Harris and we’re in this fight until the end," she wrote. Read the full post here. Unexplained filings are piling up in Judge Aileen Cannon's courtroom — and no one seems to know exactly what's going on. The strange "secret docket" measures, relating to former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago classified documents case, were flagged on Thursday by Lawfare's Roger Parloff. "Undocketed filings in US v Trump (M-a-L) are stacking up. Yesterday the govt sought permission to file a surreply relating to a reply that isn't docketed yet, which related to a response that isn't docketed yet, which related to a motion that isn't docketed yet," wrote Parloff. ALSO READ: A neuroscientist reveals how Trump and Biden's cognitive impairments are different This situation was first flagged earlier this year — and Parloff suspects the issue is that Cannon simply doesn't understand how the judicial filing system works. "On 2/6, departing from Local Rules, she forbade parties from filing sealed or redacted docs without 1st getting her permission. That evolved into attys emailing undocketed docs to each other & the judge while waiting for Cannon to make redaction decisions. So here we are," he wrote. "Why'd she do that? I think because she had a mistaken view that anything filed with the court becomes presumptively public. I discuss that mistaken view." Cannon, a judge appointed by former President
Donald Trump himself, has come under
fire for a series of strange decisions that appear calculated to benefit the former president in ways normal criminal defendants don't enjoy. For example, she previously tried to order classified documents the
FBI was investigating for national security purposes after their seizure from Mar-a-Lago turned over to a special master to review if they were privileged. She is also trying to order witness information handed over to Trump, even as special counsel Jack Smith has warned it could lead to witness tampering. CONTINUE READING Show less Whatever the motives, Donald Trump targeting the hush money criminal case judge and his marketing exec daughter, proves he's "worried," according to one expert. Loyola Law School professor Laurie Levenson told Salon that insulting Judge Juan Merchan a little over two weeks before his hush-money trial is set to begin is neither "wise" nor a "good move" and "just a recipe for sort of getting in the worst position possible during the trial." But most significantly it's a vulnerable tell. ALSO READ: A neuroscientist reveals how Trump and Biden's cognitive impairments are different "To me it shows that he's worried," she intimated. "What he's trying to do is cushion himself if he does get convicted by saying, 'I never had a fair shot because [of] the judge and the judge's daughter,' so it does make him look like he's running a bit scared." Why would Trump feel the need to go after Merchan and his daughter, Loren Merchan? Insecurity. "You don't have to attack a judge if you're confident in your case," Levenson told the outlet. The gag order hasn't slowed Trump's dismay. "Judge Juan Merchan is totally compromised, and should be removed from this TRUMP Non-Case immediately," former President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social . "His Daughter, Loren, is a Rabid Trump Hater, who has admitted to having conversations with her father about me, and yet he gagged me." The griping comes after the judge granted the district attorney's request for a narrow gag order. Merchan announced April 15 to start trial in the case where the 45th president, 77, is defending himself against a 34-count indictment brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg last year accusing him of falsifying business records in order to prevent "damaging information and unlawful activity" involving payments made to porn star
Stormy Daniels (whom he engaged in an alleged affair) from being aired from
American voters weeks before the 2016
election. David Schultz, a professor of political science and legal studies at Hamline University, told Salon that Merchan may let Trump pipe off on him or his daughter because it preemptively "takes away another one of Trump's grounds for appeal" should he accuse the judge of exhibiting bias against him and silencing his First Amendment rights. "I think he's going to let him, at this point, say whatever he wants about him and his daughter," he said, but noted he could expand the gag order if the rhetoric becomes incendiary. Otherwise, Schultz said, "I think he's going to potentially let Trump hang himself." CONTINUE READING Show less An
Arizona town councilman from Fountain Hills has been banned from interacting with any town employee without a chaperone following a bizarre incident involving a political sign, The Arizona Republic reports . "Fountain Hills City Council sanctioned Councilmember Allen Skillicorn, barring him from the council’s vice mayor position, removing tax-dollar funding for him to participate in meetings and events, and mandating he have a monitor any time he interacts with a town employee in person," reported Lux Butler. "In February, Skillicorn was found in violation of Fountain Hills City Council Code of Ethics by a third-party investigating law firm, Fitzgibbons Law Offices. Investigators state in the reports that Skillicorn’s actions on two separate occasions violated multiple sections of the council’s ethics guidelines." "In my opinion, and the opinion of the council majority, Allen Skillicorn has behaved like a bully," said fellow councilmember Brenda Kalivianakis. "He has embarrassed the town by flouting the very code of ethics he swore to uphold when he took office. The council reluctantly did what had to be done." ALSO READ: A neuroscientist reveals how Trump and Biden's cognitive impairments are different In one of the offending incidents detailed in an ethics report, Skillicorn improperly placed a political sign in violation of city codes, and when Fountain Hills City Code Enforcement officer confiscated it, Skillicorn followed a "tracking device attached to the sign" to go after him, "while flashing his high beam lights," ultimately chasing him to the nearest
police station. The sign was eventually given back to him, de-escalating the incident. In a recent interview, Skillicorn defended his conduct, saying the investigation was a “partisan political hit job” and adding “the arrogance of this administration should concern every citizen in our community.” Before serving on the Fountain Hills council, Skillicorn was a
Republican state representative in Illinois, where, among other things, he faced an ethics investigation after he was recorded voting on several bills he wasn't present for. CONTINUE READING Show less