In a shockingly competent move, Florida federal court Judge Aileen Cannon has rejected the motions to dismiss the case filed by Trump co-defendants Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira.  De Oliveira sought to have his charges of obstruction and making false statements removed, or as an alternative, he sought a “bill of particulars” to further spell out the alleged criminal acts.  Cannon found no basis for those claims, saying the charges were backed by evidence presented by Special Counsel Jack Smith and that there was sufficient detail for De Oliveira’s defense.

While Cannon also dismissed Nauta’s claims, she seemed a bit snarky in her response saying, “The above summary, not exhaustive in scope, lends support to Nauta’s observation that the term ‘corruptly’ in § 1512 is subject to different, somewhat amorphous formulations about ‘wrongfulness” and ‘unlawfulness’—the net effect of which is to engender legitimate questions (some might say even confusion) about the definition of the term in the realm of obstruction and related crimes.

“Notwithstanding these reasonable questions about the definition of the term ‘corruptly,’ ” she continued, “Nauta’s as-applied vagueness challenge fails under existing law. First, the Eleventh Circuit rejected a vagueness challenge to the term ‘corruptly’ in § 1512(b), having little trouble concluding that the term ‘corrupt’ provides adequate notice so long as it is defined as being
‘motivated by an improper purpose.'”

More than one in eight of Trump Media’s outstanding shares are being held by short-sellers, people banking on the stock dropping in price, more than three times the typical percentage of traders shorting the stock, Yahoo Finance reports.

According to securities analytics firm S3 Partners, about 13% of Trump Media shares are held by “short interest” traders, while the average short position on a publicly traded stock is 3- to 4 percent.  Shorting a stock means you’re essentially “selling” a stock from your broker’s portfolio while the stock is high, and then “buying” the same stock to refill your broker’s portfolio; if you “buy” at a lower price, you make a profit.

While the stock has risen over the past two days, corporate officials still fear the impact of being overleveraged by shareholders hoping for another Trump failure.  The company included guidance in its website advising shareholders how to prevent their shares from being used by short-sellers:  “To prevent shares from being loaned for a short interest position, contact your brokerage to place restrictions on the lending of your shares to short sellers.”

“In the underlying disciplinary proceeding, the trial court granted Sidney Powell’s no-evidence and traditional motions for summary judgment on the Commission for Lawyer Discipline’s (the ‘Bar’s’) claims that Powell violated certain Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct (‘DR’s’). On appeal, the Bar argues the trial court erred in sustaining Powell’s objections to its summary judgment evidence and in granting summary judgment in favor of Powell. Concluding the Bar’s arguments are without merit, we affirm the trial court’s judgment,” ruled the Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals.

For those keeping score at home: John Eastman’s California law license was doomed well before he got charged with a felony in Atlanta. Rudy Giuliani was completely screwed in DC too. Jeffrey Clark same story. All of them were already in serious trouble with those two Bars before the various civil and criminal repercussions of their post-2020 election coup attempt began coming down on them, with Eastman disbarred all but permanently and the other two well on their way.

The Kraken meanwhile fucking pleaded guilty to six misdemeanors in Georgia, is facing literally in the billions of dollars worth of lawsuits from Dominion and Smartmatic, and was hit with $175,000 worth of sanctions by a Michigan federal court for “a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process.” And somehow either the Texas State Bar investigators were too incompetent to make their case, the MAGA judges let her go because LMAO cry more libtards, or both. Probably both.

Jury selection finished up sort of surprisingly quickly in disgraced former President Trump’s first criminal trial in Manhattan on Thursday, as the 12 New Yorkers who will decide the fat fuck’s fate were seated, Just Security’s Adam Klasfeld reports. It’s not completely over yet, however, as six alternates are still needed to be picked but the pace at which the main panel went from seven to five to 12 between Tuesday and Thursday leaves vanishingly little doubt they can wrap this up by the end of the day Friday and have opening arguments begin first thing Monday morning.

The Nevada state Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a lower court ruling blocking a state constitutional amendment from appearing on the ballot in November. Probably not going to light as hot of a fire under voters’ asses at least relative to Arizona and Florida since the Silver State does not currently have any real restrictions on the books – the Center for Reproductive Rights lists it as “protected” since a 1990 referendum – but still good news for democratic turnout.

DC Circuit Court Judge Amit Mehta on Thursday denied fat former President Trump’s bid – joined by co-defendant and former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio – for an indefinite stay of the federal lawsuits brought by Capitol police officers and members of Congress like Dems Eric Swalwell and Bennie Thompson over the fat fuck’s incitement of the January 6th, 2021 insurrection.

Donald had sought to delay the cases while the Supreme Court decides his criminal immunity, to which Mehta said “sorry, tough shit,” and setting the schedule for next steps, writing “As a starting point for discovery, by May 1, 2024, Defendant Trump shall provide Plaintiffs with a detailed description of the basis for his immunity defense, with identities of witnesses and documents presently known to his counsel, and what limited discovery he will require. This directive is without prejudice to future discovery requests by either side. By April 26, 2024, the parties shall submit a proposed protective order that, at a minimum, ensures that any discovery responses from Defendant Trump shall remain under seal until further order of the court. The parties shall also submit a Joint Status Report that proposes a schedule for completing discovery, including from third parties, relating to the immunity inquiry,” which means there’s probably still a ways to go before a trial.

President Trump is right.

We need his strength to regain peace!

I oppose this insulting, America Last bill as well! https://t.co/xvN99BLWvT

— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) April 18, 2024

These dipshits got their orders a long, long, long time before the flabby rapist they still refer to as “president” told them not to send money to a rival under attack by a tyrant.

President Joe Biden’s administration is pushing hard for a massive deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia that see Mohammed Bonesaw’s petro-dictatorship formally diplomatically recognize Bibi Netanyahu’s quasi-theocratic-apartheid dictatorship, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The deal, the first reports of which surfaced in 2022, which was assumed to be dead or set back dramatically after the October 7th attacks, provides for a stronger defense agreement for the Saudis from Iranian aggression (which obviously helps Israel too), provides them with civilian nuclear power tech, and forces some kind of condition for Israel to recognize a Palestinian state.

The Journal still colors it as a “long-shot,” but that it would obviously be a significant diplomatic achievement in an election year, much bigger than the “Abraham Accords” that nobody really gave a shit about and obviously did not bring actual peace to the Middle East as a certain habitual liar egomaniac pornstar fucker tax cheat insurrectionist false messiah has claimed.

“Why isn’t Europe giving more money to help Ukraine? Why is it that the United States is over $100 Billion Dollars into the Ukraine War more than Europe, and we have an Ocean between us as separation! Why can’t Europe equalize or match the money put in by the United States of America in order to help a Country in desperate need? As everyone agrees, Ukrainian Survival and Strength should be much more important to Europe than to us, but it is also important to us!”

“GET MOVING EUROPE! In addition, I am the only one who speaks for ‘ME’ and, while it is a total mess caused by Crooked Joe Biden and the Incompetent Democrats, if I were President, this War would have never started!” posted fat former President Trump on Thursday, squeezing some work in for his boss while on a break from jury selection in his 2016 election interference criminal trial.

Yeah there’s Bobby Jr’s sister up there going out of her way to endorse her big bro’s “opponent” in the 2024 election. Could do worse for the all out effort to squash the last significant third party threat to Joe – or at least turn him into more of a liability for Trump – now that No Labels is no mas.

“Donald Trump should be investigated for knowingly and willfully making false statements about debts owed to his Chicago business on his public financial disclosure reports, according to a complaint filed today by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington with the FBI and Justice Department. Between 2015 and 2023, Trump disclosed owing more than $50,000,000 to his Chicago business, a claim he signed to be ‘true, complete and correct to the best of his knowledge.'”

“However, a court appointed monitor revealed that she was told by the Trump Organization that this Chicago loan ‘never existed.’ A false claim of being owed tens of millions of dollars could be part of a tax avoidance scheme known as debt parking or could conceal a hidden debt to another party. The purpose of public financial disclosures is to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the federal government by demonstrating that high-level government officials are able to carry out their duties without conflicts of interest. If Trump knowingly and intentionally falsified his disclosures, he will have undermined the public trust that these laws are designed to protect,” says a statement from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington on their new complaint to the FBI/DOJ.

CREW isn’t the kind of crackerjack operation that gives non-profit watchdogs a bad name, like Stephen Miller’s “America First Legal Foundation” or “Protect the Public’s Trust,” as in CREW actually makes shit happen – like getting the “Cowboys for Trump” asshole booted from office and disqualified for life under the 14th Amendment, taking it all the way to the Supreme Court in their attempt to do the same to Trump, forcing Postmaster fuckface Louis DeJoy to cough up documents exposing his corruption, revealing Jared and Ivanka’s graft, taking down Trump’s appointee to Architect of the Capitol, etc – rather than jerking themselves off publicly to get coverage in right wing media and then nothing actually happens because courts and inspectors general just throw their bullshit in the shredder. So the Orange God Emperor just might want to keep an eye on this.

“Several days ago I was notified that a lawsuit had been filed, alleging fraud on my petitions for office. The odd part of the story was that the fraud was being alleged by two Democrat activists who were officers in the District 29 Democratic organization. It seemed ludicrous because Republicans trying to get on the ballot don’t seek Democrat signatures and would have no reason to forge Democrat signatures, since they don’t count. Nevertheless, it was something I took seriously because the coordinated attack included press releases and social media activity and other things that made it clear that this was a well-organized effort,” writes Republican Arizona state Representative/Turning Point USA director Austin Smith and this bullshit goes on for a while.

“I’ve never been involved in a lawsuit so I will confess to that initial adrenaline rush, but after talking with people in the political world, and recognizing that the claim was silly on its face, I felt better.”

As you might have already guessed from the headline, it didn’t actually get better.

Florida MAGA Congressman Rapey McForehead tells The Daily Beast’s Reese Gorman that he “didn’t support the motion to vacate” against Speaker Mike Johnson when he “woke up this morning.”

Buuuut… “My hope was that the motion to vacate would be an elixir that only required one dose for effectiveness. But sometimes there are some therapies that require more than one dose and I hope that’s not the case with the motion to vacate, but we’ll administer the elixir as many times as is necessary to save the country,” Gaetz continued. So yeah it sounds like this is happening.

Dems reportedly are in a holding pattern and are keeping their cards close to maximize the pounds of flesh they can get out of Johnson. Supposedly the play to not undermine Jesus Dork’s simulacrum of “legitimacy” among Republican voters and not tar him as a “Democrat-supported Speaker” is to simply walk out in sufficient numbers when the vacate motion hits the floor, thereby giving Johnson enough room within the House GOP to reach the majority of members present required to squash the motion. So not a vote for or against so much as just enough non-votes.

A juror who self-dismissed from the selection process in fat former President Trump’s 2016 election interference/porn star hush money trial told NBC on Thursday that the twice-impeached, four-times indicted loser looks “less orange, definitely like more yellowish, like yellow,” in person.

The woman added “He doesn’t look angry or – I think he looks bored, like he wants this to finish.”

DISGUSTING: Biden Aides Have a Risible Nickname For Donald Trump and (Shock) It Involves Adolf Hitler via @gatewaypundit https://t.co/u44iYF3q7u

— The Gateway Pundit (@gatewaypundit) April 18, 2024

“Satanic pedophile” Jim Hoft’s site is DISGUSTED that staffers for the president that they’ve variously called a “dictator,” “Crooked Joe,” “China Joe,” his administration the “Biden Regime,” and so on and so forth have been calling Trump “Hitler pig,” per a report in Politico Playbook.

Problem is that “Hitler pig” isn’t really that funny or incisive… Couldn’t they keep their powder dry for a report that says Biden’s military appointees nicknamed Donald “The Orange Herpes Sore” or “Mr MAGA McMushroom Stem” or “Premature Ejaculator-in-Chief” or something else really vulgar?

Trump Media and Technology Group’s investor site FAQ page now includes a section on “How do I prevent my shares from being loaned for a short interest position? 🎯” in a plainly desperate attempt to stop $DJT’s bleeding, which is down 63 percent (even after a minor bounce) from its debut on the NASDAQ just over three weeks ago, per CNBC, who report that the “FAQ” was added Wednesday.

“Brokerage firms may facilitate short selling in DJT’s shares by lending DJT’s shareholders’ shares held in margin accounts. Through this practice, brokerage firms earn an alternative source of revenue by ‘lending’ shares to sophisticated and institutional investors who are betting that the price of the particular stock will decrease over a period of time. If the price of the stock in fact decreases, then the brokerage firm and the sophisticated and institutional investors will have made a profit, while the ultimate retail investor has not,” which is the whole goddamned point of shorting it, lol.

They even go through all the tips like moving shares to “Odyssey Transfer and Trust Company, the Company’s transfer agent,” which we’re sure is on the up and up and not connected to the Kremlin at all, or writing a form letter reading include a form letter to a brokerage reading, “Dear Sir or Madam: Please accept this written instruction to make sure that the following securities are held in my cash account only and accordingly are not available for any stock loan activities. I hereby expressly opt-out of any securities lending programs and instruct you to not loan out any of my shares. Securities: [Number] shares of Trump Media & Technology Group Corp (DJT) and any DJT shares subsequently acquired. Please confirm receipt and compliance with this request.”

Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan on Thursday did not act immediately on disgraced former President Trump’s Wednesday night Truth Social post quoting dipshit Fox News host as saying “They are catching undercover Liberal Activists lying to the Judge in order to get on the Trump Jury,” but instead added prosecutors’ “show cause” order on contempt to the still-growing pile of gag order violations to be addressed at the hearing set for Tuesday morning, MSNBC’s Katie Phang reports.

“This is a court order. It’s not a proposal. You can’t violate a court order,” Merchan told Trump’s asshole lawyers as they squirmed and tried to say this is a “political” and not a legal issue.

In related news, a juror who was already seated was dismissed after saying she was worried she could be doxxed, bringing the count from seven of 18 (12 jurors, six alts) on the panel down to six.

Should we vacate the chair? https://t.co/4rJg4EUnS4

— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) April 18, 2024

There’s a very Manchester United/Los Angeles Lakers/New York Yankees “megafan” vibe to this tweet by demented MAGA influencer Jack Posobiec. Like it’d be foolish to bet large against him ever running for Congress and winning a seat in the House, or to operate as if he currently has zero clout whatsoever to exert “grassroots” pressure on sitting members. Still, there’s just something so fucking lame and pretentious for a guy not on the team to say “we” should vacate the chair when he is currently not at all a guy with any power to make that happen and that very, very, very few outside the House Republican conference can. Really hard to think of any besides Donald Trump who could drop the hammer on Mike Johnson. Posobiec could drop a plastic spoon.

Dem former Wisconsin Congressman Pete Barca will jump into the race to challenge potentially vulnerable Republican Bryan Steil in the state’s 1st District, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports.

If Barca’s name doesn’t ring a bell that’s because he didn’t serve all that recently. It wasn’t in the last few Congresses. Or the current millennium. Barca lost reelection in 1995, having served just one term beforehand. Still, the Journal-Sentinel writes Barca’s entry is “likely to re-energize Democrats’ chances of competing for a seat that on paper is one of the state’s closest battlegrounds.” So… Yay?

To be fair, it’s not like Barca just worked at a 7-Eleven or sold Hondas in the intervening decades, as he served in the state Assembly from 2009 to 2019 – and the chamber’s Dem minority leader between 2011 and 2017 – and then joined Gov Tony Evers’ cabinet as secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Revenue until last month, so whatever enthusiasm exists may in fact be sincere.