The social media platform favored by some conservatives and far-right groups, Gab went offline Monday evening following what it called a “security breach.”  This comes one week after they wee reportedly hacked.

https://twitter.com/getongab/status/1369053537850646529

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance III subpoenaed financial records from Fortress Investment Management, a New York investment group affiliated with SoftBank, for records of a $130 million the Trump Organization owed for the construction of the Trump Tower in Chicago, CNN reports.

The grand jury subpoena, issued in December, wants records relating to a $100 million loan which covered about 12% of the overall construction costs of the structure, which was built between 2005 and 2009.

While the Trump Org paid down some of the debt, by 2012, the loan had ballooned to a $150 million in outstanding debt, interest and fees.  For some reason, Fortress forgave the loan.  At the time, the real estate market was falling, and Fortress reportedly accepted $45 million to close the books on the deal.

“The Republican National Committee is moving part of its spring donor retreat next month to Mar-a-Lago from a nearby hotel for a dinner speech that will be headlined by former president Donald Trump, according to Republicans involved in the planning of the event. The move, which highlights the former president’s continued grip over the GOP, comes amid a spat over the use by RNC and other Republican organizations of Trump’s likeness and image in fundraising, as well as anxiety about how Trump plans to use his influence in the 2022 midterms.”

“The weekend retreat in early April for the party’s most influential donors will be at a luxury hotel in Palm Beach, Fla., as in past years. But the RNC has decided to move the Saturday evening portion of the schedule to the former president’s private club to accommodate Trump and guests who would like to visit the site, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the plans. The national party will sign a contract with Mar-a-Lago to host the event and will be paying Trump’s club for the use of the facilities and the meal, according to a Republican involved in the planning, who declined to share the size of the fee. The person said it would be easier to accommodate such a large event that includes Secret Service logistics at the former president’s club, and that many GOP donors liked visiting Mar-a-Lago, where Trump has been living since he left the White House” – Washington Post.

Despised Florida Man Donald Trump returned to New York City for the first time since he moved to his Mar-a-Lago club full time, and just one supporter outside his Trump Tower residence who was standing across the street with the media, Newsweek reports.

Throngs of protesters lined the street around the entrance to Trump’s reportedly soon-to-be confiscated property Sunday night. Going into the building, Trump waved at his supporter through his car window. It’s unclear why Trump returned to New York, a city he routinely derided while he was in office. Speculation ranges from talking to his attorneys to making required depositions in one of the numerous legal issues he’s facing, or even perhaps providing court-ordered DNA evidence in another case. Or he could just want one of the dee-licious taco salads.

His wife of the moment, Melania, did not accompany Trump back to New York City. There is no confirmation that she was getting a tennis lesson.

The Republican-led Georgia state Senate voted to repeal a 2005 law that allowed no-excuse mail-in voting in the state, knocking down a key voting process that allowed hundreds of thousands of people to vote during the coronavirus pandemic, CNN reports.

Georgia, suddenly a swing state after more than two decades as a solid red state, has gone to the forefront of Republican efforts to restrict voting rights after the GOP lost two seats in the US Senate and Donald Trump lost the state in November 2020.

No-excuse mail-in voting was widely supported by Republicans when it was enacted by the state in 2005.  However, after Donald Trump lost Georgia, Republicans have worked to reduce access to the ballot box for the states non-Republican voters, who traditionally are more likely to turn out on Election Day. 

US Department of State: “Today, the Department of the Treasury, in consultation with the Department of State, revoked the license that was issued to Specially Designated National Dan Gertler on January 15, 2021. The license previously granted to Mr. Gertler is inconsistent with America’s strong foreign policy interests in combatting corruption around the world, specifically including U. S. efforts to counter corruption and promote stability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). As the original designation of Mr. Gertler under the Global Magnitsky sanctions program in 2017 and subsequent designations in 2018 made clear, Mr. Gertler engaged in extensive public corruption. Under our Privileged Partnership for Peace and Prosperity, the United States stands firmly with our partners in the DRC to counter malign behavior that undermines the country’s institutions and economic opportunities. The United States will continue to promote accountability for corrupt actors with all the tools at our disposal, in order to advance democracy, uphold international norms, and impose tangible costs on those who seek to upend them.”

NBC 6: “The Biden administration said Monday it is offering temporary legal residency to several hundred thousand Venezuelans who fled their country’s economic collapse and will review U.S. sanctions intended to isolate the South American nation. Both measures mark a shift from U.S. policy toward Venezuela under President Donald Trump. President Joe Biden’s administration announced it would grant temporary protected status to Venezuelans already in the United States, allowing an estimated 320,000 people to apply to legally live and work in the country for 18 months. Trump resisted repeated calls from Republican and Democratic lawmakers, primarily from South Florida, to grant temporary protected status to Venezuelans though he issued an order deferring deportation for a smaller number on his final day in office.”

“The RNC is denying a cease-and-desist demand from Donald Trump’s attorneys, who asked the party organization to stop using the former president’s name and likeness in fundraising appeals. In a letter sent Monday afternoon to Trump attorney Alex Cannon, RNC chief counsel Justin Riemer asserted the committee ‘has every right to refer to public figures as it engages in core, First Amendment-protected speech, and it will continue to do so in pursuit of these common goals.'”

“The letter is a brush-back to the Trump team, which sent a March 5 request that the RNC ‘immediately cease and desist the unauthorized use of President Donald J. Trump’s name, image, and/or likeness in all fundraising, persuasion, and/or issue speech.’ Trump attorneys sent letters to a cadre of GOP committees asking them stop using Trump in fundraising appeals, including the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee. Other groups loosely affiliated with the party have also received notices” – Politico.

After the much-anticipated Oprah Winfrey interview with royal couple Harry and Meghan aired, the Quiniverse lit up with another “secret sign” that the international blood-drinking child sex trafficking ring was coming to justice because–duh DUH DUHHHH–Oprah was obviously wearing an ankle bracelet!

According to Newsweek, a bulge in Oprah’s boot was not interpreted as a mic pack–as people in the entertainment industry have explained it was–but it’s an ankle monitor the most powerful woman in media is wearing because she *obviously* nabbed in the reckoning for the pedophile ring run by powerful Democrats, anti-Trump Republicans and Hollywood elites.  (They haven’t explained how Winfrey was arrested but there’s no public record of it.)

The “mic pack” explanation was quickly dismissed by the QAnon followers on Telegram:  “At the furthest point away from the mouth, and where the microphone would pick up on any time she repositioned herself, in her seat? I don’t think so,” user Stroud Mom posted.  (Just FYI, a mic pack is the power pack and transmitter for the microphone, which Winfrey is clearly wearing on her collar in the interview.  It’s not the actual microphone.)

“Upon consideration of the parties’ filings, ECF Nos. 7, 12, 17, 18, 23, the arguments set forth at the hearing, and the underlying record, the Court finds that no condition or combination Of conditions Of release will reasonably assure defendant’s appearance as required or the safety of others and the community. See 18 U.S.C. 3142(e)(l). Accordingly, the Court will DENY defendant’s motion to revoke the magistrate judge’s order of detention” – US District Court Judge Royce Lamberth’s smackdown of QAnon Shaman begging to be let out of jail.

Normally we don’t cover the British Royal family here at National Zero – part of it is because we are first and foremost an American publication, but mostly because celebrity-reality TV news is for douchebags. However, every once in a while there are exceptions, and this is one of them.

The bottom line is that Meghan Markle is more of a “1776” “Don’t tread on me” “Liberty or death” patriot than any of the cosplaying camo-pajama-wearing man boys in the Oath Keepers and 3%ers. She’s the one asserting her freedom and telling the Crown to go fuck themselves. We should have expected nothing less from an actress who used to be on the USA Network, but goddamn is Meghan Markle a champ. She snatches the future second-in-line-to-the-throne, absconds with him to America, and then turns him against the Crown. And she got paid millions of dollars for that interview with Oprah where she trashed them. How’s that for sticking it to old Perfidious Albion?

One of the Oath Keepers who supposed provided security to Trump associate and dirty trickster Roger Stone on the day of the January 6th domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol has been arrested for his role in the coup attempt, the Daily Beast reports.

Roberto Minuta, a 36-year-old tattoo artist from New Jersey, was arrested by the FBI on Saturday in from Newburgh, New York where he owns and operates a tattoo parlor.  He was scheduled to appear in federal court in White Plains on Monday.

Minuta was one of three insurrectionists arrested over the weekend.  Isaac Steve Sturgeon, a 32-year-old from Montana, was arrested on various charges.  He was seen using a metal barrier against officers during the attack, and posted a running commentary on his social media accounts.  Sturgeon was arrested at JFK airport in New York after returning from Kenya, where he had fled thinking he could avoid charges.  He posted about his trip frequently on social media.  [UPDATE:  Sturgeon did not return back to the US voluntarily.  He was deported by Kenya.]

Mediaite: “MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell has a message for those who took part in the (imaginary) theft of the 2020 election: contact him, and you might be able to get a reduced prison sentence. During an appearance on Charlie Kirk’s podcast Friday, Lindell also shared he will have his own social media platform up and running that would be larger than Twitter in a few weeks. Lindell has repeatedly pushed the conspiracy theory that Donald Trump actually won the 2020 election – making claims that landed him a $1.3 billion lawsuit from voting systems company Dominion – and claimed on Kirk’s podcast that the former president won Arizona by 600,000 votes. Lindell has baselessly claimed that a cabal of Trump opponents, including Dominion and Smartmatic, helped steal the election for Joe Biden. While many of his claims have been totally refuted by courts and common sense, Lindell told Kirk that perpetrators of the fraud are facing jail time.”

“‘There will be a big surprise of evidence. There’s going to be, I’ll tell you this, there’s going to be whistleblowers, there’s going to be people that work within organizations that are going to come forward, so they don’t get longer prison sentences,’ Lindell stated at one point during the almost hour-long discussion. ‘I will tell everyone out there right now if you want to reach out to me, you probably should, if you’re one of the criminals, because maybe you can work out a deal, so you don’t the longest sentences,’ Lindell further declared. ‘It’s kinda like back to the old mafia days.’ ‘This is going to be so broad, and just explode,’ Lindell added. Lindell went on to advise Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to ‘run for the hills’ in the hopes of avoiding prison. Throughout his podcast appearance, the pillow maven repeatedly teased that he will be launching his own social media platform – to rival both YouTube and Twitter – within weeks.”

Missouri Independent: “U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt announced Monday he will not seek a third term, a shock to Missouri’s political system that could set off a scrum to replace him next year. Former Gov. Eric Greitens, who resigned in disgrace nearly three years ago, has made it no secret he is considering a run. He’s spent the last year trying to repair his image from the litany of allegations that drove him from office, ranging from violent sexual misconduct to stealing from a veteran’s charity. Despite entering into a plea deal to avoid felony charges in 2018 that stipulated prosecutors had ‘sufficient evidence’ to bring his case to trial, and his campaign being fined $178,000 in 2020 for violating state law, Greitens claims he was exonerated from all allegations of wrongdoing.”

“Many Missouri GOP politicos look warily at a potential Greitens candidacy and its potential impact on the state and party. There is no love lost between Greitens and U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, who is rumored to be eyeing a White House run and is not up for re-election until 2024. Hawley investigated Greitens in 2018 as attorney general and concluded he’d committed a felony. He also worked behind the scenes to push Greitens out of office. A majority of legislative Republicans were prepared to impeach Greitens and remove him from office over allegations that he taped a woman’s hands to pull-up rings in his basement, blindfolded her, spit water into her mouth, ripped open her shirt, pulled down her pants and took a photo of her to use as blackmail to keep her from talking about their relationship. Despite all this, most believe Greitens maintains enough support among the party’s base that he could still emerge from a crowded primary.”

Louisiana state elections officials were forced to withdraw plans to purchase new voting machines to replace outdated systems after Republican politicians and public commenters contaminated the proposal process with unfounded accusations about Dominion Voting Systems and electronic machines in general, the New Orleans Advocate reports.

Kyle Ardoin, the Louisiana Secretary of State, said he was forced to abandon the RFP process because Dominion, one of the top three proposed vendors, was getting undue scrutiny by Republicans in the state and the other two potential suppliers objected to aspects of the RFP that would compromise trade secrets.  Last week, he rescinded his budget request to the state’s legislative budget committee to allot funds for new machines.

“I think unfortunately those folks who are rooted deep in conspiracy theories may not accept what we provide to them in terms of transparency,” Ardoin said in an interview. “But at the same time it’s gotten more folks involved in the process, asking questions. And it is our job to answer these questions and to provide evidence of what we’re doing right.  Now it’s up to the Legislature to determine the future of the election system in Louisiana and what we can afford and where we’re going to head. And I’ll be glad to participate in that discussion.”

The judge overseeing the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has paused the jury selection process to allow prosecutors to pursue the reinstatement of third-degree murder charges in an appeals court, the Associated Press reports.

Chauvin is currently charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd, a Minneapolis Black man whom Chauvin kneeled on for nearly nine minutes, causing Floyd to suffocate even though Floyd repeatedly told officers he couldn’t breath.

Prosecutors sought the third-degree murder charge to provide a jury with a full range of options to convict Chauvin.  An unusual charge–only three states have it on the books–third degree murder allows prosecutors to argue Chauvin did not have premeditated intent to cause the death of Floyd, but that he acted with a “depraved heart” regarding taking Floyd’s life.  It’s an intermediate charge between second-degree murder and manslaughter, providing a sentence of up to 25 years in jail.

Fox News: “Heritage Action for America, a conservative nonprofit tied to the right-leaning think tank The Heritage Foundation, on Monday will announce that it plans to spend at least $10 million on efforts to tighten election security laws in eight key swing states. The details of the effort, first obtained by Fox News, will include digital and television ads, volunteer issue advocacy campaigns and lobbying state legislatures directly. Heritage Action will target Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, Texas and Wisconsin, all considered key swing states after the 2020 election. The $10 million will be an initial seed investment with more likely to come, Fox News is told.”

“‘Fair elections are essential for every policy debate in the future,’ Heritage Action Executive Director Jessica Anderson said in a statement. ‘We are working to help state lawmakers restore trust in our elections, ensure transparency, and protect the rights of every American to a fair election. This is our number one priority, and we are committed to doing whatever it takes.’ State election systems came under close scrutiny during the coronavirus pandemic, which caused nationwide lockdowns beginning approximately one year ago. The later races in the Democratic presidential primary took place primarily by mail ballot to limit in-person contact as the virus spread. But Republicans said that mail voting is less secure than in-person voting. States generally kept or even expanded their mail ballot systems for the general election. The speedy implementation of these processes raised concerns of ballot harvesting, that ballots could be mailed to voters who no longer live at a certain location due to outdated voter rolls, and more. Shifting election rules were some of the key gripes from former President Donald Trump and those who supported his false claims that he won the presidential election. But despite intense scrutiny, no fraud widespread enough to overturn the result in any individual state was found. Congressional Democrats are aiming to make permanent some of the widespread changes that states put in place for the 2020 presidential election.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines Monday on gatherings for vaccinated people and households, loosening some of the precautions for households where everyone has been inoculated, NBC News reports.

Stressing that people should continue to take precautions even after getting the vaccine, the CDC guidelines provide for the ability of people in households where all adults have been vaccinated to visit with household that have one or more people who have not been vaccinated.  Fully vaccinated groups can gather in small numbers in indoor settings.

If no one in the unvaccinated household is at high risk for severe COVID, the gatherings can take place indoors and without masks; however, if any person is at high risk, the CDC recommends staying outside, social distancing and wearing masks.

The Washington Post asked around Trump voters why they’re hesitant to taking the Coronavirus vaccines, bookending the story with quotes from Margaret, “an 80-year-old retiree who lives outside Tulsa, has spent the past year living in fear of the coronavirus. She’s constantly worn masks, toted hand sanitizer and used drive-throughs to run her errands. Her age and preexisting health conditions – including heart failure, diabetes and blood clots – put her at elevated risk if she gets sick… But unlike many at-risk Americans seeking safety and an end to the pandemic, Margaret refuses to get a coronavirus vaccine. For all her admiration of the former president, she drew no confidence in the vaccines developed under his administration. ‘He didn’t develop the vaccine. Scientists did it,’ she said. ‘I know one thing: Biden didn’t do it.'”