Free Republic

Gov. Kristi Noem has “no shot” at being Donald Trump’s running mate after revealing in a forthcoming book that she shot and killed her puppy, sources close to the 45th president tell The Post. *** “She was already unlikely to be picked as VP, but had a shot,” the person said of Noem, who has been widely projected to be on Trump’s shortlist. “After this, it’s just impossible.” Noem writes, according to the Guardian, that she executed Cricket, a 14-month-old wirehaired pointer, after determining that the pooch’s “aggressive personality” made her “untrainable” as a hunting dog. “It was not a...

Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker will return the witness stand today for the second day of Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial over covering up “hush money” payments to a porn star. Pecker will resume testimony where he is expected to detail the inner workings of a scheme he, Trump and his “fixer” lawyer Michael Cohen devised to buy up and bury bad news during the 2016 presidential election. Trump is on trial for allegedly fudging business records to conceal a $130,000 payoff to Stormy Daniels made before the 2016 presidential election. The 72-year-old ex-CEO of the Enquirer’s parent company,...

“Look, we have a majority of one, OK? It’s not like he can go and do whatever he wants to do,” Trump, 77, told radio host John Fredericks on Real America’s Voice Monday night. “I think he’s a very good person. You know, he stood very strongly with me on NATO,” added Trump, referring to a campaign rally in which he urged member states to pay more for their common defense — or he would let Russia “do whatever the hell they want.” “I think he’s trying very hard,” the 45th president concluded.Johnson (R-La.) bucked the majority of his conference...

Former President Donald Trump lost three major legal challenges in the past week, including his efforts to dismiss a racketeering case on First Amendment grounds. Here is a look at the rulings in three separate cases this week in Georgia, Florida, and New York. New York judge denies Trump’s attempt to delay hush money trialNew York Judge Juan Merchan denied the former president’s attempt to delay his criminal hush money trial on Wednesday, after Trump claimed he was protected under presidential immunity. Merchan said that Trump had plenty of opportunity before March to claim presidential immunity in the case. Trump...

US District Judge Aileen Cannon on Thursday denied a motion filed by former President Donald Trump seeking to dismiss the criminal charges against him in his classified documents case. Trump, 77, had argued that under the Presidential Records Act of 1978 he had the authority to designate sensitive documents as his personal property after leaving the White House. Cannon ruled that “the Presidential Records Act does not provide a pre-trial basis to dismiss” the 40 charges against the former president. She further noted that prosecutors “make no reference to the Presidential Records Act” in the indictment against Trump and did...

Documents for Donald Trump's $175 million bond in his New York civil fraud case were rejected by a court because a current financial statement was not included. On Wednesday, a message on the New York State Supreme Court's electronic filing system showed Trump's "Bond/Undertaking" had been "returned for correction."New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron ruled in February against Trump; his two eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump; and others associated with the Trump Organization. They were accused in a lawsuit from New York Attorney General Letitia James of inflating the former president's net worth and the...

Former president Donald Trump posted a $91.63 million bond on Friday as he appeals a Manhattan jury’s judgment against him for defaming the writer E. Jean Carroll. The posting of the bond is expected to allow Trump to stop the penalty from being enforced while he challenges January’s verdict at the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The bond is guaranteed by the Federal Insurance Company, which has offices in Virginia and New Jersey, according to Trump’s filing. Trump was ordered to pay the massive sum at a trial to determine damages after a federal judge found Trump...

Former President Donald Trump’s campaign slammed two draft resolutions *** The first resolution would mandate the RNC remain neutral in the nominating contest until he secures the necessary 1,215 delegates, while the second would ensure the party doesn’t foot his legal bills.“The primary is over and it is the RNC’s sole responsibility to defeat Joe Biden and win back the White House,” senior Trump campaign adviser Chris LaCivita said in a statement. *** Trump is also pushing for his daughter-in-law Lara Trump to serve as party co-chair, and North Carolina GOP Chair Michael Whatley to replace Ronna McDaniel as the...

The biggest individual contributions to Donald Trump's and Robert F. Kennedy Jr's 2024 presidential Super PACs in January both came from the same longtime Republican mega-donor, according to filings. Timothy Mellon, heir to the Mellon banking fortune, donated $5 million to the Trump-aligned MAGA Inc. fundraising attempts in January, as well $5 million to a Super PAC supporting the Democrat-turned-independent's presidential bid the same month, Federal Election Commission (FEC) listings reveal. Mellon, the grandson of former U.S. treasury secretary Andrew Mellon, is known to be a longtime donor to Republicans such as Trump. He gave $20 million to the Trump-aligned...

Donald Trump won’t deliver his own closing statement at his New York civil fraud trial after all — after the judge said he needed to stick to “relevant, material facts.” Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron emailed Trump attorney Christopher Kise Wednesday saying he was assuming the 77-year-old former president wouldn’t agree to the “lawful limits” and “therefore, he will not be speaking in court tomorrow.” Kise first notified the judge in a January 4 email that after the lawyers give their arguments in the $370 million case on Thursday, “President Trump plans to present argument at closing as well,”...

In his latest gaffe-laden speech, Donald Trump appeared to suggest former President Barack Obama was running in 2024 as he warned that “cognitively impaired” President Joe Biden could lead the country into “World War Two” if he wins re-election.During his remarks at the Washington DC Pray Vote Stand Summit on Friday, the former president said: “We have a man who is totally corrupt and the worst president in the history of our country, who is cognitively impaired, in no condition to lead, and is now in charge of dealing with Russia and possible nuclear war.” “Just think of it. We...

Journalist Megyn Kelly interrogated former President Donald Trump this week over his elevation of the controversial Dr. Anthony Fauci during the COVID-19 pandemic — noting that the 45th president formally honored Fauci before departing the White House. “Not only did you not fire Fauci, who is loathed by many — millions of Republicans in particular, but also some Democrats — you made him a star,” Kelly said during an interview that aired on SiriusXM. “This is the criticism of you, that you made him the face of the White House Coronavirus Task Force — he was out at every presser...

Back in March, The Heritage Foundation requested documents from the DOJ using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regarding the government’s investigation of Hunter Biden. Unsurprisingly, the DOJ refused. Then, on June 20th, after several years of government investigations, Hunter Biden was charged with multiple, watered-down offenses. The charges were so weak they created a presumption of corruption at the DOJ. *** Six days later, the Heritage Foundation filed a FOIA lawsuit in Washington, D.C. (good luck getting a fair shake there) and requested the court force the DOJ to disclose critical records about the Hunter Biden investigation which would...

Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel has cautioned that it would be a mistake for GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump to skip the party’s primary debates. “I think he should be on the stage. I want everybody on the stage that qualifies, obviously,” she told Fox News Wednesday. “It’s a mistake not to do the debates, but that’s going to be up to him and his campaign.” McDaniel cited two main reasons why she feels it’s in Trump’s best interest to jump into the upcoming verbal slugfest despite holding a massive polling lead over his rivals. “One, short-term, you want...