By Misty Severi

Published: January 6, 2025 10:43pm

President-elect Donald Trump on Monday night made a last-ditch effort to block the release of Special Counsel Jack Smith's closing report on two criminal cases that have since been dismissed.

Trump's legal team was allowed to review the two-volume report, which would present Smith's narrative of the evidence he gathered in the cases. It centers on the classified documents case and Trump's alleged efforts to subvert the results of the 2020 election.

The former president's team asked Attorney General Merrick Garland not to release the report, arguing that the decision should rest with the incoming Trump administration, and claimed that releasing it would illegally interfere with the presidential transition, per Politico.

The attorneys Todd Blanche, who has been nominated for Trump's deputy attorney general, and John Lauro also demanded that Garland fire Smith before he resigns.

“Because Smith has proposed an unlawful course of action, you must countermand his plan and remove him promptly,” the attorneys wrote.

https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/trump-makes-last-minute-push-block-release-jack-smiths-special-counsel-report

Judge Juan M. Merchan has scheduled the sentencing for Trump's New York case for this Friday, January 10. Trump's legal team has attempted to get the case overturned but instead of doing that, Merchan decided he would hold the sentencing this Friday but also revealed that Trump would not be getting any jail time or even probation. CNN's legal analyst said that decision was strategic on the Judge's part.

“It was a smart move by Judge Merchan to announce in advance that he is going to impose no punishment, and hold the proceeding remotely, because that undermines any effort by Trump’s team to argue in federal court that sentencing imposes some major burden,” said CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig said.

The New York case is a state-level case but it's unlikely that any action will happen on it after Trump is sworn into office. In other words, Judge Merchan is trying to get this sentencing in at the last possible moment in a way that undercuts Trump's legal reasoning for delaying it, i.e. by removing the threat of punishment.

The whole point of this, and the reason Trump's team is trying to stop it, is that once he's sentenced Trump technically becomes a felon. That is effectively the punishment that Judge Merchan is seeking to get in under the wire with this sentencing.

But this scenario also means that Trump's team doesn't have to win the legal battle over overturning the case, he just needs to delay the sentencing for 10 additional days. Once he's sworn in as president, the whole case will freeze and Trump will never be formally declared a felon.

Trump's team has made a pro forma appeal to Judge Merchan to reconsider his ruling by this afternoon. But knowing that the judge is unlikely to change his mind, Trump's team is also filing civil charges against the judge in an attempt to block the sentencing.

https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2025/01/06/trump-seeks-emergency-appeal-to-block-sentencing-this-friday-n3798539

The Dallas Express has been notified that a warrant has been issued and executed regarding child pornography images at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

The images have been secured as potential evidence and will not be visible to the public while the investigation is pending.

As previously reported by The Dallas Express, we received a tip from a Fort Worth resident who informed us that the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth was currently exhibiting a collection called Diaries of Home. The documentary photography includes pictures of naked children and LGBTQ+ content.

The Dallas Express visited the museum and saw several pictures featuring naked children. One photo showed a nude girl jumping on top of a table. Another depicted a naked boy with an unknown liquid substance and his genitals exposed.

Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare called for a criminal investigation.

“There are images on display at this museum that are grossly inappropriate at best. They should be taken down immediately and investigated by law enforcement for any and all potential criminal violations. Children must be protected, and decency must prevail,” Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare previously told The Dallas Express.

https://dallasexpress.com/tarrant/warrant-issued-child-pornography-images-at-the-modern-art-museum-of-fort-worth/