Trumpdate (4.4.24):
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Trump's $175M bond filing lacked financial docs. Eastman seeks to stay disbarment with GOP help. Rove condemns Jan 6 rioters. GOP leader cites Russian propaganda in party. Israeli minister wants early elections over Gaza war. Trump makes confusing remarks. Poll: Biden +2 over Trump. House delays Ukraine aid amid GOP opposition. Russian tied to Trump media insider trading allegations. Nebraska blocks Trump-backed Electoral College change for now.
1.) [UDPATE ON $175M TRUMP BOND] The court filing reflecting Trump’s bond in the civil fraud case was “returned for correction.”
Per Lisa Rubin (MSNBC legal corr.):
I learned that the court filing reflecting Trump’s bond in the civil fraud case was “returned for correction” and specifically, for the inclusion of a current financial statement and power of attorney.
The financial statement that is missing does not seem to be Trump’s. Rather, the court appears to be demanding these documents from Knight Specialty Insurance Co. to ensure that company is sufficiently capitalized and authorized to post the bond.
As of last night, those documents do not appear on the docket.
Meanwhile, we still don’t know what fee Trump paid for the bond or exactly what collateral he pledged, especially as Don Hanley gave slightly different accounts to various media outlets.
But you know who likely DOES have all of those details? Retired federal judge Barbara Jones, the court-appointed monitor in the case. Under a 3/21/24 order, the Trump Org must give her advanced notice of their efforts to secure surety bonds:
The information she is entitled to includes “any financial disclosures requested or required, any information provided in response to such requests, any representations made by the Trump Org. in connection with acquiring such bonds any personal guarantees made by any of the defendants, & any obligations of the Trump Organization required by the surety.”
And I can think of a courtroom full of journalists, as well as a bunch of lawyers in the New York Attorney General’s office, who would love to know what Barbara Jones presumably knows right now.
2.) [UPDATE] John Eastman is asking the judge who ordered his disbarment to stay her order so that he can continue to work as a lawyer and fund his criminal defense.
Per Kyle Cheney: He has affidavits from clients — including MTG and Matt Gaetz — supporting his request
.Eastman says he has already spent more than $1 million in legal fees related to his representation of Trump in 2020 and expects to face $3 million total before it's over.
3.) Karl Rove says Jan 6th is a “stain on our history.”
"Every one of those sons of bitches who did that, we ought to find them, try them, and send them to jail."
4.) PUCKNEWS: "I think Russian propaganda has made its way into the United States, unfortunately, and it’s infected a good chunk of my party’s base," says House Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, Michael McCaul (R-TX 10th).
5.) REUTERS: Israeli war cabinet member minister Benny Gantz calls for holding early elections in September.
Israel war cabinet member Benny Gantz called for national elections in September on Wednesday, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government faces pressure at home and abroad over the war in Gaza.
"We must agree on a date for elections in September, towards a year to the war if you will," Gantz said in a televised briefing. "Setting such a date will allow us to continue the military effort while signaling to the citizens of Israel that we will soon renew their trust in us."
Thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets in recent days demanding new elections. Many have criticized Netanyahu and expressed anger at his government's handling of the 134 Israeli hostages still held in Gaza six months into the war.
[TS] I believe the regular election was scheduled for Oct 2026.
6.) [TS] Trump speech in Columbia, SC.
[TS] Anyone have any idea what he’s talking about? More importantly, is there a black presidential candidate we don’t know about? Likely thinks Obama is still in office…
7.) NPR/PBS/Marist poll: Biden +2 vs Trump
8). BLOOMBERG: US House’s Ukraine War Aid Vote Is Likely Weeks or More Away.
US House vote on Ukraine aid isn’t likely until at least mid-April and possibly later with Speaker Mike Johnson still searching for ways to soften opposition from Republican hardliners, multiple party leadership officials said.
Johnson raised expectations for quick action in a Fox News interview Sunday saying the House would move forward with Ukraine assistance “right away” when lawmakers return next week from their two-week Easter break.
[TS] April 20 2024 will mark 6 months of House Republican refusal to act on President Biden's request of self-defense aid for Ukraine.
9.) MIAMI HERALD: Russian investor made millions off insider trading tied to Trump Media, court docs say.
A Russian-American businessman based in Miami is suspected of making nearly $23 million from alleged insider trading involving former President Donald Trump’s media company, according to federal court records.
The businessman, Anton Postolnikov, is the owner of a Caribbean bank that caters to the porn industry and also reportedly loaned $8 million to Trump’s media company. Postolnikov, who owns a few residences on exclusive Fisher Island in Miami, is the nephew of a former high-ranking Russian government official who at one time was a staffer for Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to media reports.
The insider trading allegations surfaced in court documents filed last month in a New York securities fraud case brought last year against three South Florida men: Michael Shvartsman, 52, of Sunny Isles Beach; Gerald Shvartsman, 46, of Aventura; and Bruce Garelick, 54, of Fort Lauderdale. They are accused of making about $23 million from insider trades on the Trump Media merger with a Miami-based company, Digital World Acquisition Corp., and sharing non-public information with friends and business associates about the impending deal so they could profit, according to an indictment.
10.) NBC: Nebraska legislators buck Trump by blocking Electoral College vote change — for now.
Former President Donald Trump and Republican Gov. Jim Pillen have called on lawmakers to change the state’s Electoral College vote allocation to a winner-take-all system.
Nebraska legislators on Wednesday night blocked a late effort to change how the state allocates its Electoral College votes, despite public pressure from former President Donald Trump to shift to a winner-take-all system that would likely benefit him in the fall.
The measure fell short, 8-36, in a procedural vote. While it’s possible supporters could take another stab at advancing the proposal, there remain serious hurdles as the legislative session draws to a close, and it’s unclear whether the proposal has enough support to get across the finish line and become law.
Nebraska currently doles out three of its five electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins each of its three congressional districts. In practice, that puts the competitive 2nd District in the Omaha area in play, even though Republicans typically win the statewide vote easily.