Bizarre, Lawyering May 9, 2024 Jonathan Turley

Michael Cohen Goes on TikTok With New Trump Taunt … and Announces Campaign for Congress?

Fox is reporting that Michael Cohen was back on TikTok last night using theTrump trial to troll for dollars. Cohen reportedly appeared in a teeshirt showing Trump in an orange jumpsuit and asked for more followers.He alsoreportedlyannounced his candidacy for Congress', which would allow him to 'take one of the seemingly few oaths that the serial perjurer has not violated.

Who would have thoughtthat District Attorney Alvin Braggcalling a porn star to the standwould be themoral high groundfor key witnesses? Next could be a disbarred, convicted perjurer who is still seeking to make money off the case.

Cohen previously pledged not to discuss the trial after many of us objected to Judge Juan Merchan’s gag order as unconstitutional, particularly as to Cohen who has continued to attack Trump on the air while defending the gag order for his own protection'.

Cohen’s prior promise lasted a record of a couple days before he broke it on TikTok. Now he is appearingwith a teeshirt mocking Trumpand using the moment to pursue a congressional seat'.

For Judge Merchan, this is precisely what he was warned about. He has stubbornly enforced his poorly written and excessively broad order. After admitting that this was a “case of first impression” on the extension of gag orders to such things as repostings on social media, Merchan clarified his meaning not with a new order but by imposing sanctions on Trump.

Trump is now appealing the gag order and Cohen is doing his best to undermine not just his residual credibility but that of the court'''. Between the lurid testimony of Daniels and the continued antics of Cohen, Merchan looks completely feckless, if not farcical, in his own courtroom.

For Merchan and the prosecutors, none of this can come as a surprise.

There is anold fable of a scorpionwho wants to cross a river and convinced a hesitant frog to carry him on its back. After all, if he stung the frog in the river, they both would die. That seemed logical so the frog agreed to do so only to have the scorpion deliver a lethal sting halfway across. When thefrog asked why the scorpionwould doom them both, the scorpion replies: “I am sorry, but I couldn’t resist the urge.It’s in my nature.”

Cohen has always been open as a grifter.

The problem is not Cohen. He continues to act to his nature. The problem is a political and legal system that enables him as a serial liar. It is a system that continues to call Cohen to the stand and ask him to swear to God to offer the “truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth” without a signature joke drum roll before his punchline.

Yet, Cohen now wants to take an oath of office in the legislative branch. He seems to collect oaths the way some collect animal heads for a trophy wall.

The question is whether other members could suppress laughter when he swears that he is taking the oath of office “without… purpose of evasion.”

https://jonathanturley.org/2024/05/09/michael-cohen-goes-on-tiktok-with-new-trump-taunt-and-announced-campaign-for-congress/

South Carolina Agency: The Feds Force Us To Give Voter Registration To Foreign Nationals

By: M.D. Kittle May 07, 20241/3

The state Medicaid office spokesman says the department is mandated to provide voter registration under the federal Voter Registration Act.As South Carolina law enforcement investigates allegations a state agency is handing out voter registration forms to foreign nationals, an agency official tells The Federalist that federal law has tied the state’s hands.

Jeff Leieritz, a spokesman for the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, says the department, as the state’s Medicaid agency, is mandated to provide voter registration information under Section 7 of the National Voter Registration Act Of 1993. The information apparently goes out to everyone applying for the benefits, including foreign nationals.

Section 7 requires each state to designate voter registration agencies, including all state offices providing public assistance, unemployment compensation, or disability services; state or local government offices; federal and nongovernmental offices; and armed forces recruitment offices.

“SCDHHS does not believe the state Medicaid agency should have a role in voter registration. However, absent the legal authority to make this change, SCDHHS remains required by federal law to provide voter registration application forms with each Medicaid application,” Leieritz said in a statement Monday to The Federalist.

‘That’s Insane’

South Carolina state Rep. Adam Morgan has been pushing for answers after a refugee reported receiving a packet of information, including voter registration forms, at the Health and Human Services office. Morgan did not return The Federalist’s requests for comment, but he did speak about the issue last week on FrankSpeech.

“The refugee was actually confused. They were like, ‘Am I supposed to fill this out?’ They asked a relative, and the relative is a citizen who said, ‘No, you can’t fill this out. You’re not a citizen.’ [The refugee] said, ‘Why are they giving this out to noncitizens?’ And we were, like, “Exactly! That’s insane,” Morgan told The Absolute Truth with Emerald Robinson.

Morgan said the refugee mailed the forms back to the Medicaid office advising that the government agency shouldn’t be giving voter registration information to people who are not eligible to vote. The office sent the refugee even more information in response, Morgan claims.

“It’s just infuriating that the government is actually sending these forms out and literally confusing people who may not be trying to do wrong, or opening the door wide open for somebody to do wrong and get people who are not citizens to vote in the election,” said the president of the South Carolina Freedom Caucus and a Republican candidate for a U.S. House seat.

On, Wednesday, the Freedom Caucus sent Gov. Henry McMaster a letter expressing its “grave concern with this breach of election integrity.” They asked that the state inspector general’s office launch an immediate investigation and that the governor order state agencies to “cease and desist distributing voter registration and voter declination forms to non-citizens.”

https://thefederalist.com/2024/05/07/south-carolina-agency-the-feds-force-us-to-give-voter-registration-to-foreign-nationals/

>>20843165

2/3

McMaster, a Republican, quickly responded, saying he has asked the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to immediately contact Morgan to “provide SLED with any and all evidence, documents and information that you possess in order to evaluate the authenticity of your allegation of illegalities.”

“SLED has received the Governor’s letter to Representative Adam Morgan and will review the allegations provided,” the Law Enforcement Division told The Federalist in an email Monday.

‘Overreaching Federal Requirements’

Leieritz, the spokesman for the state health department, said the agency is aware of reports circulating on social media about the refugee receiving voter registration forms. He said the department does not process or submit voter registration forms for Medicaid applicants or members. That is the domain of the South Carolina Election Commission.

“SCDHHS is investigating what has been reported on social media,” the spokesman said, adding that the agency believes the 30-year-old National Voter Registration Act needs to be amended “to repeal these overreaching federal requirements.”

“South Carolina’s citizens would be better served by a state Medicaid agency that is able to focus singularly on efficiently operating the state’s Healthy Connections Medicaid program,” Leieritz said. Morgan and the Freedom Caucus are proposing adding a provision in the state budget prohibiting state money from funding the distribution of voter registration information to foreign nationals at South Carolina agencies.

“But isn’t it insane that we have to do that,” the lawmaker told Robinson. “It’s crazy to me that we are at a place in America where we have government employees and government agencies who are willing to actively give out voter registration forms to noncitizens. And if it’s happening in South Carolina, you’d better believe it’s happening all overespecially the swing states.” It is, via federal executive fiat.

‘Bidenbucks’

Beyond the NVRA, President Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14019 commands federal agencies to do what some legal experts say the executive branch does not have the legal authority to do: expand voter registration and turnout — using White House “approved” third-party organizations connected to Democrats.

The sweeping initiative has been billed “Bidenbucks,” since it uses federal dollars. Think of Executive Order 14019 as Zuckbucks on steroids, using your money.“This is clearly weaponization of the government for a partisan purpose,” Dave Craig, a senior legal fellow at the Foundation for Government Accountability, told me in February.

https://thefederalist.com/2024/05/07/south-carolina-agency-the-feds-force-us-to-give-voter-registration-to-foreign-nationals/

>>20843168

3/3

On the swing state front, the Michigan Department of State earlier this year signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Small Business Administration “to promote civic engagement and voter registration in Michigan.” The agreement, according to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman, is a “first-of-its-kind collaboration” for the federal agency. It is expected to run through Jan. 1, 2036. Such constitutionally suspect “agreements” between the Biden administration and left-led state executive branches are part of Biden’s unprecedented executive order.

‘Non-issues’ Becoming ‘Major Issues’

The South Carolina State Election Commission (SEC) last week said it had received several questions and concerns about foreign nationals registering to vote in defiance of basic election integrity protections.

“The SEC is actively auditing voter data through the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program database to ensure that only U.S. citizens are included on the active list of registered voters. Regardless of the method of registration, no voter may be registered in South Carolina without signing an oath swearing that they are a citizen of the United States,” the agency states on its website. “The auditing process ensures that any bad actors are removed from voter rolls and held accountable through state and federal election law statutes.”

The elections regulator said it has not received any “specific information that non-U.S. citizens are fraudulently being registered to vote” in South Carolina. “The SEC will not allow fraudulent voter registration to happen on our watch,” said Howie Knapp, executive director of the SEC. “Should we receive or discover information that non-U.S. citizens are being registered to vote in our state, we will immediately report to our law enforcement partners for investigation and prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.”

South Carolinais looking to join a growing list of statespassing resolutions for constitutional amendments barring foreign nationals, including illegal immigrants, from voting in local elections. “Many said this was a non-issue. Then we discovered state agencies sending voter registration forms to non-citizens. These ‘non-issues’ keep turning out to be major issues,” Morgan recently tweeted on his X account.

__________

https://thefederalist.com/2024/05/07/south-carolina-agency-the-feds-force-us-to-give-voter-registration-to-foreign-nationals/

>>20843142

I saw that too! kek

NewsTrump’s raw honesty on how he deals with the Deep State’s judicial attacks is the most real thing you’ll read today…

May 9, 2024 (3 hours ago)

During the RNC spring retreat luncheon in Florida, President Trump opened up about the relentless targeting, harassment, and indictments he’s facing from the Deep State.

His response was as raw, honest, and real as it gets. Trump made it clear that he doesn’t sweat the fact that the entire crooked US government is hell-bent on taking him down.

Giving into that pressure, he explained, would only make you “choke.” Instead, he says, life is life—and then Trump basically pointed out that you just have to roll with the punches.

Trump says he doesn’t stress over his legal troubles:

“If you care too much, you tend to choke. And in a way, I don't care. It's just, you know, life is life.”

Follow: @AFpost pic.twitter.com/UldwTwDCjd — AF Post (@AFpost) May 5, 2024

That’s exactly what you’d expect a truly strong leader to say and do. Here’s more on the comments President Trump made at the RNC luncheon.

Business Insider:

Donald Trump told attendees at a private donor event in Florida on Saturday thathe wasn’t too bothered about his numerous legal troubles.

Speaking about his criminal indictments during a luncheon at Mar-a-Lago, the former president said: “If you care too much, you tend to choke. And in a way, I don’t care. It’s just, you know, life is life,” NBC News reported, citing audio of the event.

Nevertheless, Trump told those in attendance that he was shocked when he first found out he had been indicted.

“Once I got indicted, I said,Holy shit. I just got indicted. Me. I got indicted,” Trump said, per the report.

“Once I got indicted, I said, well, now the gloves have to come off,” Trump continued, adding that Biden was “the worst president in the history of our country. He’s grossly incompetent. He’s crooked as hell. He’s the Manchurian candidate, he accepts massive amounts of money from China, from Russia, from Ukraine, and many other countries.”

Tragically, President Trump isn’t the only patriot caught in the crosshairs of the relentless US government machine. Take a look at the J6 political prisoners and That’s right, just like President Trump, Douglass Mackey is fighting back against the Deep State.

Mackey appeared on Tucker’s show and shared his story of deep state torment.

Ep. 38 The First Amendment is done. Douglass Mackey is about to go to prison for mocking Hillary Clinton on the internet. We talked to him right before his sentencing. Remember as you watch that this could be you.

TIMESTAMPS: (3:12) The Hillary Clinton meme (4:20) Hillary’s… pic.twitter.com/MLwz2SboGr— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) November 9, 2023

Douglass Mackey, the J6’ers, and President Trump are all engaged in the fights of their lives. What’s particularly concerning is that folks like Mackey and the J6 political prisoners are just everyday people without the resources or savvy that Trump wields. Remember, Trump is the mastermind behind the mega bestseller “The Art of the Deal.” Speaking of which, there are some incredibly apt quotes from that book that speak to what President Trump is facing today and his mindset toward facing it. We’ve pulled together some of the best for you:

• “When people treat me badly or unfairly or try to take advantage of me, my general attitude, all my life, has beento fight back very hard.

The risk is you’ll make a bad situation worse, and I certainly don’t recommend this approach to everyone. But my experience is that if you’re fighting for something you believe in — even if it means alienating some people along the way — things usually work out for the best in the end.”

• “Have fun. I don’t kid myself. Life is very fragile, and success doesn’t change that. If anything, success makes it more fragile. Anything can change, without warning, and that’s why I try not to take any of what’s happened too seriously.”

• “Money was never a big motivation for me, except as a way to keep score. The real excitement is playing the game.”

Those quotes still perfectly capture who President Trump is. Unlike many politicians like Obama and Biden, who shift their stances as the wind blows,Trump remains steadfast. His unwavering direction is exactlywhy he’s viewed as such a sturdy, reliable leader.

https://revolver.news/2024/05/trump-raw-honesty-facing-deep-state-judicial-attacks-the-most-real-thing-you-will-read-today/

(Anons let's pray for the reversing of age on PDJT, (maybe 10 year) I want the ds see what can be done, and they will try to figure out how he got younger. I'm serious)

https://x.com/StephenM/status/1788379168981327912

https://x.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1788640262744318341

OpenAI has said it wants to start a discussion about whether the generation of erotic text or nude images should always be banned from its products.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

OpenAI considers allowing users to create AI-generated pornography

Critics say ChatGPT creator’s proposal to allow erotica, slurs and other adult content undermines its mission statement

Dan Milmo Global technology editor

Thu 9 May 2024 09.44 EDTLast modified on Thu 9 May 2024 15.23 EDT

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is exploring whether users should be allowed to create artificial intelligence-generated pornography and other explicit content with its products.

While the company stressed that its ban on deepfakes would continue to apply to adult material, campaigners suggested the proposal undermined its mission statement to produce “safe and beneficial” AI.

OpenAI, which is also the developer of the DALL-E image generator, revealed it was considering letting developers and users “responsibly” create what it termed not-safe-for-work (NSFW) content through its products. OpenAI said this could include “erotica, extreme gore, slurs, and unsolicited profanity”.

It said: “We’re exploring whether we can responsibly provide the ability to generate NSFW content in age-appropriate contexts … We look forward to better understanding user and societal expectations of model behaviour in this area.”

The proposal was published as part of an OpenAI document discussing how it develops its AI tools.

Joanne Jang, an employee at the San Francisco-based company who worked on the document, told the US news organisation NPR that OpenAI wanted to start a discussion about whether the generation of erotic text and nude images should always be banned from its products. However, she stressed that deepfakes would not be allowed.

“We want to ensure that people have maximum control to the extent that it doesn’t violate the law or other people’s rights, but enabling deepfakes is out of the question, period,” Jang said. “This doesn’t mean that we are trying now to create AI porn.”

However, she conceded that whether the output was considered pornography “depends on your definition”, adding: “These are the exact conversations we want to have.”

Jang said there were “creative cases in which content involving sexuality or nudity is important to our users”, but this would be explored in an “age-appropriate context”.

The Collins dictionary refers to erotica as “works of art that show or describe sexual activity, and which are intended to arouse sexual feelings”.

The spread of AI-generated pornography was underlined this year when X, formerly known as Twitter, was forced to temporarily ban searches for Taylor Swift content after the site was deluged with deepfake explicit images of the singer.

In the UK, the Labour party is considering a ban on nudification tools that create naked images of people.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/may/09/openai-considers-allowing-users-to-create-ai-generated-pornography

AI could worsen epidemic of child sexual abuse, warns UK crime agency

Federal prosecutors reissue criminal charges against ex-Rep. Jeff Fortenberry

The Nebraska Republican was convicted of lying to the FBI two years ago, but an appeals court ruled the charges should’ve been brought in a different venue.

Fortenberry resigned from Congress following his conviction and was sentenced to probation and community service. | Jae C. Hong/AP By Kyle Cheney 05/09/2024 09:55 AM EDT

Federal prosecutors have charged former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry in Washington forallegedly lying to investigators in connectionwith a campaign finance probe of a foreign billionaire’s political contributions.

Fortenberry (R-Neb.) wasconvicted of the same charges by a jury in Los Angeles in 2022, but the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the conviction, determining that the case should have been brought in either the then-lawmaker’s Nebraska district or in Washington. It was unclear until Thursday whether prosecutors would seek to reissue the charges.

Fortenberry resigned from Congress following his conviction and was sentenced to probation and community service.

The former representative was convicted after a seven-day trial on charges that he lied to the FBI and concealed evidence as they pursued questions about whether Nigerian billionaire Gilbert Chagoury had made illicit contributions to U.S. candidates, including Fortenberry, by masking them through “straw donors.” Prosecutors said some of that cash was delivered by donors who attended a 2016 Fortenberry fundraiser in Los Angeles, which is why prosecutors brought the charges there. Foreign nationals are prohibited by federal law from contributing to candidates for federal office.

Chagoury admitted making the improper donations in 2019 and paid a $1.8 million fine. The host of Fortenberry’s fundraiser also cooperated with the FBI, which later probed whether Fortenberry was aware of the illegal contributions. Though the fundraiser host told Fortenberry in 2018 about the illegal contributions from Chagoury, Fortenberry never took steps to disclose the issue to the Federal Elections Commission, prosecutors say. Instead, they say he misled the FBI about what he had learned and denied receiving any donations from a foreign source.

Fortenberry defended against the charges by arguing that he fully cooperated with government investigators and was charged for forgetting the details of a year-old conversation when he told the FBI he wasn’t aware of the foreign contributions. He has also complained about the FBI’s tactics, including what he described as a “ruse” undertaken by one investigator to convince him to speak with agents.

Chad Kolton, a Fortenberry spokesperson, said the forthcoming charges are areflection of an “overzealous” Justice Departmentthat seems “intent on dragging Jeff Fortenberry around the country to face one trial after another until it can secure a conviction that actually holds up.”

“Federal prosecutors should have better things to dothan force a distinguished former public servant to incur massive additional legal costs despite already having resigned his office and performed his sentence from a conviction that was ultimately overturned,” Kolton said.

Fortenberry was first elected in 2004 and represented a district in eastern Nebraska until his 2022 conviction.

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/09/jeff-fortenberry-criminal-charges-00157018

(Hey DOJ where are all the democrats politicians that do the same thing, do they get harassed also?)