Tag: Trump sleaze

Trump infuriated an Aerosmith guitarist with a ‘skeevy’ comment about women in front of his wife: report

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According to a report from Business Insider, fledgling presidential candidate Donald Trump hung out backstage with the rock band Aerosmith before one of his debates with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and proceeded to anger lead guitarist Joe Perry with an offensive remark in front of the band member’s wife.

The report notes that band members scored tickets to the debate in Cleveland and were invited backstage where the New York businessman bantered with members of the group instead of doing last-minute prep before taking on his 2016 Democratic opponent.

According to Business Insider, all went well until Trump made an off-hand comment in front of Perry and his wife that “soured” their relationship with him and later led to them banning him from using their songs at his rallies. Continue reading.

Taxpayers Still Funding Trump’s Court Battle Against Rape Accuser

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Journalist E. Jean Carroll’s attorneys argue that’s both “wrong and dangerous.”

Taxpayers are continuing to fund Donald Trump’s court fight against a woman who accused him of rape — and her attorneys are arguing that the Justice Department’s involvement is both “wrong and dangerous.”

Author and journalist E. Jean Carroll accused Trump in a 2019 book of raping her years earlier in a dressing room in a Manhattan department store. Trump called her a liar, adding: “She’s not my type.” Carroll sued him for defamation.

In a highly controversial move, the DOJ stepped in to defend Trump against the defamation suit, claiming his denunciation of Carroll was part of his official duties. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, however, blocked the move, ruling last year that Trump’s insults had absolutely “no relationship to the official business of the United States.” Continue reading.

Justice Dept. sues Trump ally Roger Stone for unpaid taxes

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The Department of Justice filed a civil lawsuit on Friday against Roger Stone, the longtime GOP political operative and ally to former President Trump, accusing him of owing the government about $2 million in unpaid federal income taxes.

The lawsuit comes nearly four months after Trump pardoned Stone following his conviction on charges of lying to Congress and witness tampering.

In a federal district court in Florida, the Justice Department alleged Friday that Stone and his wife Nydia used a limited liability corporation called Drake Ventures to “receive payments that are payable to Roger Stone personally, pay their personal expenses, shield their assets, and avoid reporting taxable income to the IRS.” Continue reading.

Trump blurted insults and showed off lewd photos at shivah for accountant’s mother: report

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Donald Trump showed off nude photos and made passes at family members as his accountant’s family sat shivah for their matriarch.

Investigators in the Manhattan district attorney’s office have debriefed Jennifer Weisselberg, the former daughter-in-law of Trump accountant Allen Weisselberg, who prosecutors are trying to “flip” against his longtime boss, reported The New Yorker.

“His whole worth is, ‘Does Donald like me today?'” Jennifer Weisselberg said. “It’s his whole life, his core being. He’s obsessed. He has more feelings and adoration for Donald than for his wife.” Continue reading.

Beth Moore, a Prominent Evangelical, Splits With Southern Baptists

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A teacher on biblical topics, she cited the “staggering” disorientation of seeing denominational leaders support Donald J. Trump, among other issues.

From the outside, the marriage of convenience between white conservative Christians and Donald J. Trump looked like a devoted one: White evangelicals voted for Mr. Trump overwhelmingly in 2016 and stuck with him in 2020, brushing aside perpetual lies and sexual impropriety to support a man they saw as their protector.

However, not everyone was content.

Now, one of the most prominent white evangelical women in the United States is breaking with her longtime denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, citing the “staggering” disorientation of seeing its leaders support Mr. Trump, and the cultural and spiritual fallout from that support. Continue reading.

Now out of office, Trump may have to face tax questions

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However his impeachment trial ends, Trump faces an IRS decision on a massive refund and may no longer be able to conceal his tax returns

Once his impeachment trial concludes and former president Donald Trump returns to his business, he will face some obvious challenges, such as declining real estate income and investigations from New York authorities.

But he may also have to finally face two tax issues that have been simmering in the background, either of which experts say could carry significant consequences should they materialize now that he is out of office.

One is a massive income tax refund Trump received before entering office, according to the New York Times, one that has quietly been under a years-long review by the Internal Revenue Service and a little-known congressional panel, the Joint Committee on Taxation. Continue reading.

Parler Wanted Donald Trump On Its Site. Trump’s Company Wanted A Stake.

Documents seen by BuzzFeed News show that Parler offered Trump 40% of the company if he posted exclusively to the platform. The deal was never finalized.

The Trump Organization negotiated on behalf of then-president Donald Trump to make Parler his primary social network, but it had a condition: an ownership stake in return for joining, according to documents and four people familiar with the conversations. The deal was never finalized, but legal experts said the discussions alone, which occurred while Trump was still in office, raise legal concerns with regards to anti-bribery laws.

Talks between members of Trump’s campaign and Parler about Trump’s potential involvement began last summer, and were revisited in November by the Trump Organization after Trump lost the 2020 election to the Democratic nominee and current president, Joe Biden. Documents seen by BuzzFeed News show that Parler offered the Trump Organization a 40% stake in the company. It is unclear as to what extent the former president was involved with the discussions.

The never-before-reported talks between Trump’s business organization and Parler, a social media network that promises less moderation than mainstream sites and is embraced by the far right, provide more insight into the frantic last weeks of Trump’s presidency. Until the Jan. 6 insurrection, after which Facebook and Twitter suspended or banned him for continuing to sow discord about the election, Trump used those internet platforms to peddle baseless conspiracy theories. While doing so, his representatives actively negotiated to bring him to Parler, which sought to make the president a business partner who would help it compete with Twitter and Facebook by getting him to post his content on its platform first. Continue reading.

Ukraine stayed quiet during Trump-era pressures. Now it’s sharing some Giuliani tales.

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KYIV — There was a consistent message from Ukraine’s leadership over everything from the Trump campaign’s dirt digging to the country’s central role in the first impeachment proceedings: No comment.

But now, as the Biden administration settles in, some close allies of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are opening up about one of the longest-running dramas from the Trump era — the blitz of meetings, messages and public statements in Ukraine by former president Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani.

Among the accounts emerging from Ukrainian officials is a July 2019 phone call between Giuliani and Andriy Yermak, formerly one of Zelensky’s top aides and now his chief of staff. Yermak said the conversation was the first direct contact between Giuliani and the Zelensky administration and, until now, was only discussed in general terms. Continue reading.

Trump Camp Uses Online Gimmick to Fuel Donations Into December

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The Trump campaign is now automatically checking a box to create recurring weekly donations from supporters until mid-December.

President Trump’s campaign is raising money for a prolonged political and legal fight long after Nov. 3 and recently began automatically checking a box to withdraw additional weekly contributions from online donors through mid-December — nearly six weeks after Election Day.

Predicting “FRAUD like you’ve never seen,” the language on Mr. Trump’s website opts contributors into making the weekly post-election donations “to ensure we have the resources to protect the results and keep fighting even after Election Day.” Users must proactively click to avoid making multiple contributions.

The unusual post-election revenue stream would help Mr. Trump pay off any bills that his campaign accumulates before Tuesday — a campaign spokesman said no such debts had been incurred — and could help fund a lengthy legal fight if the results are contested. Continue reading.

The Swamp That Trump Built

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A businessman-president transplanted favor-seeking in Washington to his family’s hotels and resorts — and earned millions as a gatekeeper to his own administration.

IT WAS SPRINGTIME at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, and the favor-seekers were swarming.

In a gold-adorned ballroom filled with Republican donors, an Indian-born industrialist from Illinois pressed Mr. Trump to tweetabout easing immigration rules for highly skilled workers and their children.

“He gave a million dollars,” the president told his guests approvingly, according to a recording of the April 2018 event. Continue reading.