Ex-FBI unit chief blows whistle on Comey, McCabe over warrantless spying
https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/ex-fbi-unit-chief-blows-whistle-comey-mccabe-over-warrantless-spying-0
https://twitter.com/FLOTUS/status/1232839327614427137
Barack Obama to send cease-and-desist letter to Republican super PAC over Joe Biden ad
(CNN)Representatives for Barack Obama plan to send a cease-and-desist letter to a Republican super PAC on Wednesday, demanding that they stop airing an ad that uses the former President's words to imply former Vice President Joe Biden supports "plantation politics."
The ad was made by The Committee to Defend the President, a super PAC that works to help President Donald Trump and hurt his Democratic rivals, including Biden. It is slated to air in television stations across South Carolina this week.
The cease-and-desist letter is currently being drafted by Perkins Coie, the law office representing Obama.
The former vice president often touts his close ties to Obama, regularly referring to him as "Barack" on the campaign trail and debate stage. And the fact that the super PAC is targeting Biden's tie to black voters is politically relevant – the former vice president needs black voters in South Carolina to stick with him in order to win on Saturday.
Katie Hill, an Obama spokeswoman, said Wednesday that the former President "has several friends in this race, including, of course, his own esteemed Vice President," and Obama still "has no plans to endorse in the primary because he believes that in order for Democrats to be successful this fall, voters must choose their nominee."
"But this despicable ad is straight out of the Republican disinformation playbook, and it's clearly designed to suppress turnout among minority voters in South Carolina by taking President Obama's voice out of context and twisting his words to mislead viewers," said Hill. "In the interest of truth in advertising, we are calling on TV stations to take this ad down and stop playing into the hands of bad actors who seek to sow division and confusion among the electorate."
The group touted the ad on Tuesday, arguing that Biden – by seemingly citing the 1994 crime bill – "joined segregationists, wrote a bill that disproportionately jailed African Americans, & blamed black parents for inequality. He will not represent us."
Andrew Bates, a Biden spokesman, said, "This latest intervention in the Democratic primary is one of the most desperate yet, a despicable torrent of misinformation by the President's lackeys."
Obama, despite not endorsing, has been a force in the Democratic primary. Candidates have used his voice or image in television campaign ads and others have touted their ties to the former President, who remains popular with the Democratic base.
But Obama has also stepped into the nomination conversation by urging Democrats to stop worrying about the quality of the candidates, while also expressing concerns about the contentious arguments playing out inside the party and decrying "purity tests" because "the country's complicated."
"Those are good arguments to have," he said about debates of health care and climate change, "but you got to win the election."
https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/26/politics/obama-cease-and-desist/index.html?utm_content=2020-02-27T01%3A26%3A54&utm_source=twCNNp&utm_term=image&utm_medium=social
'There will be more coming': Trump signals additional libel lawsuits after suing New York Times
There could be other lawsuits coming against newsrooms from the White House.
During a press conference on Wednesday night, President Trump was asked about his libel lawsuit against the New York Times over an opinion piece published on March 27 that accused him of working with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump doubled down on his support for filing a libel lawsuit over opinion pieces and claimed he may file more in the future.
“Well, when they get their opinion totally wrong, as the New York Times did, and, frankly, they've got a lot wrong over the last number of years, so we’ll let that work its way through the courts,” Trump said.
He added, “If you read it, you’ll see it’s beyond an opinion. That’s not an opinion. That’s something much more than an opinion. They did a bad thing, and there will be more coming.”
The president's lawsuit said the New York Times "knowingly published false and defamatory statements" about him, including unsubstantiated accusations that the White House had "an overarching deal" with "Vladimir Putin's oligarchy" to start “a new pro-Russian foreign policy, starting with relief from the Obama administration’s burdensome economic sanctions.”
A representative from the New York Times said, "The Trump campaign has turned to the courts to try to punish an opinion writer for having an opinion they find unacceptable. Fortunately, the law protects the rights of Americans to express their judgments and conclusions, especially about events of public importance. We look forward to vindicating that right in this case."
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/there-will-be-more-coming-trump-signals-additional-libel-lawsuits-after-suing-new-york-times
Report: Authorities Release Michael Avenatti From Solitary Confinement
Michael Avenatti, the former lawyer for porn star Stormy Daniels, was released from solitary confinement, according to his lawyers.
Avenatti’s attorney Tom Warren said the convicted lawyer was transferred in mid-February from a housing unit in the Metropolitan Correctional Center to the general inmate population, CNN reported Wednesday. (RELATED: Michael Avenatti Arrested Again While At California State Bar Hearing For Another Legal Matter)
Earlier this month, Avenatti was found guilty for attempting to extort $25 million from Nike. He still has to stand trial in California for bank fraud charges.
Avenatti’s next court date is set for April 21 where he is being charged for stealing $300,000 from his former client Stormy Daniels. He was moved into a Manhattan prison and placed in solitary confinement by the government for his protection, according to The Washington Examiner.
His lawyers claim imprisonment has had a drastic effect on his health.
“The temperature in his cell feels like it is in the mid-40s,” said Avenatti defense lawyer Scott Srebnick. “He is forced to sleep with three blankets. Not surprisingly, he had been having great difficultly functioning. He has not been permitted to shave.”
https://dailycaller.com/2020/02/26/report-prison-attorney-michael-avenatti-solitary-confinement-release/
He's too cold.