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Donald Trump filed a lawsuit on March 24 in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida charging Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee, former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele and various other people with attempting to rig the 2016 election by tying his campaign to Russian meddling.

Among multiple grandiose claims, the suit alleges both "racketeering" and "conspiracy" to commit injurious untruths: "Acting in concert, the Defendants maliciously conspired to weave a false narrative that their Republican opponent, Donald J. Trump, was colluding with a hostile foreign sovereignty." Trump seeks both compensatory and punitive damages, and claims he incurred expenses of at least $24 million "in the form of defense costs, legal fees, and related expenses."

This comes straight out of the Trump playbook of suing and countersuing, and references a long list of grievances that Trump has been repeatedly airing since he was elected in 2016, not to mention his continued false claims that his 2020 defeat was the product of widespread fraud and conspiracy.

RELATED:Trump stole the Watergate playbook

Ordinary people who get caught up in lengthy legal battles, on whatever side of the conflict, generally find the experience to be costly to their pocketbooks, reputations and mental wellness. As someone who has been involved in more than 4,000 legal battles since 1973, Trump is clearly an exception to the rule.

He loves litigation as much as his cans of Diet Coke or boxes of fast food burgers or 36 holes of golf twice weekly. As a real estate tycoon, entrepreneur, entertainer and politician, Trump boasts: "I've taken advantage of the laws. And frankly, so has everybody else in my position."

Trump's modus operandi, whether in politics or litigation, has always been about "the pot calling the kettle black" or perhaps, in psychological terms, about projection. Here we have a situation where the actual racketeer and conspirator who has escaped two impeachments, the latter for having unsuccessfully conspired to steal the 2020 election, is predictably alleging racketeering, conspiracy and victimization by his opponents.

For Trump, litigation as a weapon has always been about attracting attention, exercising economic pressure, wearing down opponents and letting everyone know not to mess with the Donald. It's rarely about the facts or the law.

As litigator in chief, Donald Trump has been in a league of his own. In some 60 percent of 3,500 lawsuits, Trump has been the suing plaintiff rather than the sued defendant. His win-loss record is undeniably impressive: He has won 451 times and lost only 38.

As a defendant, Trump has persuaded judges to dismiss some 500 plaintiffs' cases against him. Hundreds of other cases have ended with unclear legal resolutions, according to available public records.

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Trump has sued and been sued by personal assistants, celebrities, mental patients, prisoners, unions, rival businesspeople and his own family members.

Since the 1970s, he has been sued for race and sex discrimination, sexual harassment, fraud, breaches of trust, money laundering, defamation, stiffing creditors and defaulting on loans.

In turn, plaintiff Trump has sued people for fraud, breach of trust, breach of contract, violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, for government favoritism, and for misappropriation or adulteration of the Trump name.

Once again, it seems that Trump's weaponization of the law ispaying off. It now appears almost certain that neither the district attorney in Manhattan nor the U.S. attorney general will ever criminally charge Trump for his crimes of racketeering or insurrection.

Roy Cohn, who was the first of Trump's personal attorneys and "fixers" to be disbarred or suspended for lawless conduct followed by Michael Cohen and Rudy Giuliani taught Trump the art of the linguistic lie as a way of moving through life, business, politics and the law.

Trump's primer on the law included Cohn's three rules of litigation: Never settle, never surrender; counterattack immediately; no matter the outcome, always claim victory. Over the course of his litigious life, Trump was better at adhering to the latter two rules than the first, because the social reality of legal facts often dictates settling.

Cohn also taught Trump other related lessons, including but not limited to focusing on short-term victories, employing any unscrupulous means necessary to achieve them, doing end-runs around the judicial system, fixing disputed outcomes and the value of always defending yourself by going on the offensive.

As Cohn's apprentice, Trump would eventually take the art of his the lie to an even higher (or lower) level than Cohn himself or Trump's father, Fred Trump Sr., who was also a serial fabricator of the truth, could possibly have imagined.

Read more from Salon on the previous president:

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Why Trump is suing Hillary Clinton: Weaponizing the law is his favorite tactic - Salon

Hillary Clinton: US 'dangerously divided'

While speaking at the New York State Democratic Convention in New York on Thursday, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talked about former president Donald Trump and said the country is "deeply and dangerously divided." (Feb. 17)

AP

On June 17, 1972, five burglars were arrested at the Democratic National Committee headquartersin the Watergate complexfor attempting to wiretap office communications. The scandal resulted in the resignation of former President Richard Nixon after a series of investigations found he was involved in the operation.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was part of the impeachment inquiry staff. But decades later, some social media users are spreading false claims about her involvement.

A Facebook post shared over three years agoshows a black-and-white photoof Clinton next to other politicians.

"As a 27 year old staff attorney for the House Judiciary Committee during the Watergate investigation, Hillary Rodham was fired by her supervisor, lifelong Democrat Jerry Zeifman," reads text above the image.

The post claims Zeifman said inan interview that he fired Clintonbecause she was "an unethetical, dishonest lawyer."

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The post generated close to 1,000 shares after being published in February2019, and it has recently regained traction on Facebook. Similar posts have spread widely on the platform.

But the claim is wrong on multiple fronts, as independent fact-checking organizations have reported.Zeifman was not Clinton's direct supervisor, and Judiciary Committeerecords indicate Clinton was not fired from the inquiry, since she was paid even after Nixon resigned.

USA TODAY reached out tosocial media users who shared the claim for comment.

The timeline is key to this claim.

The House Judiciary Committee adoptedthree articlesof impeachment against Nixon on July 27, 1974. However, Nixonavoided impeachmentin the Houseafter heresigned from office Aug. 9of that year.The case ended Aug. 22 when the final impeachment report was published.

In 2016, Washington Post librarianAlice Crites unearthed JudiciaryCommittee records that showClinton was paid$3,377.77 from July 1, 1974, to Sept. 4, 1974, whichindicates she was active throughout the investigation. Clinton's 2008 presidential campaignsaid on its websitethat shewas not fired.

Zeifman, who died in 2010, did claimhe terminated Clinton in an interview, as the post says.

But there are significant problems with his story.

Zeifman contradicted this claim himself in a 1999interview with the Scripps Howard News Service, saying, "If I had the power to fire her, I would have fired her," according to PolitiFact. In other words, he's saying he didn't fire Clinton.

And several sources say Zeifman wasn't in a place to make a firing decision on Clinton.

The quote in the post stems froma 2008columnby Dan Calabrese, which waslater published by the Canada Free Press in 2013. But John R.Labovitz, a lawyer on the impeachment staff, told Calabrese in the same column that Zeifman did not work "on the impeachment inquiry staff directly."

John Doar, a former Justice Department lawyer, was given the responsibility to direct the impeachment inquiry staff in December of 1973, during which time he assembled a staff, according to the Congressional Quarterly Almanac.

In a2018 interview with American historian Timothy Naftali, Clinton said Doar invited her over the phone to work on the impeachment inquiry staff, and she accepted.

An impeachment inquiry staff list compiled by Washington Post journalist Glenn Kessler showsClinton listed as counsel under Doar while Zeifman was listed as general counsel under committee staff, which indicates Doar was Clinton'ssupervisor.

Fact check roundup: What's true and what's false about the Russian invasion of Ukraine

USA TODAY reached out to Clinton's office for comment.

'Here, right matters': Alexander Vindman and Trump's first impeachment

In "Here, right matters," retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman talks about reporting Trump's infamous Ukraine call, and the cost to him and his family.

Hannah Gaber, USA TODAY

Fact check: False claim about Ukraine, Clinton Foundation resurfaces amid Russian invasion

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that Zeifman fired Clinton during the Watergate scandal. Zeifman was not Clinton's direct supervisor, and Judiciary Committee pay records indicate she was active throughout the investigation. Zeifmanhasalso contradicted his own claim, saying at other times that he did not fire Clinton.

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

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Fact check: False claim that Hillary Clinton was fired during Watergate resurfaces online - USA TODAY

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) Hillary Clinton will play the offstage role of the Giant in a production of Stephen Sondheims Into The Woods in her onetime home state of Arkansas, the Arkansas Repertory Theatre announced on Monday.

Real news, and Im really excited! Check out the production if youre in Little Rock, Clinton tweeted and her spokesperson confirmed to The Associated Press. Clinton was the first lady of Arkansas before she was the first lady of the United States, a senator representing New York, secretary of state and then presidential candidate.

The Into The Woods Giant is the vengeful widow of the giant who Jack killed after climbing the beanstalk. The Giant does not appear on stage, and the voice part is usually prerecorded.

The show runs April 19 to May 15.

Clinton has previously had cameo roles in the television shows Madam Secretary and Murphy Brown.

Read the rest here:
Hillary Clinton to voice 'Into The Woods' role in Arkansas - The Associated Press

President Bush's Plan For Comprehensive Immigration Reform

2007 State of the Union Policy InitiativesIn Focus: Immigration

Tonight, President Bush Will Call On Congress To Pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform. The President believes that America can simultaneously be a lawful, economically dynamic, and welcoming society. We must address the problem of illegal immigration and deliver a system that is secure, productive, orderly, and fair. The President calls on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform that will secure our borders, enhance interior and worksite enforcement, create a temporary worker program, resolve without animosity and without amnesty the status of illegal immigrants already here, and promote assimilation into our society. All elements of this problem must be addressed together or none of them will be solved.

1. The United States Must Secure Its Borders

Border Security Is The Basic Responsibility Of A Sovereign Nation And An Urgent Requirement Of Our National Security. We have more than doubled border security funding from $4.6 billion in FY 2001 to $10.4 billion in FY 2007. We will have also increased the number of Border Patrol agents by 63 percent from just over 9,000 agents at the beginning of this Administration to nearly 15,000 at the end of 2007. We are also on track to increase this number to approximately 18,000 by the end of 2008, doubling the size of the Border Patrol during the President's time in office.

2. We Must Hold Employers Accountable For The Workers They Hire

In A Sharp Break From The Past, The Administration Is Addressing The Illegal Employment Of Undocumented Workers With A Tough Combination Of Criminal Prosecution And Forfeitures. Previously, worksite enforcement relied on a combination of administrative hearings and fines. The fines were so modest that some employers treated them as merely a cost of doing business, and employment of undocumented workers continued unabated.

Comprehensive Immigration Reform Must Include The Creation Of A New, Tamper-Proof Identification Card For Every Legal Foreign Worker So Businesses Can Verify The Legal Status Of Their Employees. A tamper-proof card would help us enforce the law and leave employers with no excuse for violating it. We will also work with Congress to expand "Basic Pilot" an electronic employment eligibility verification system and mandate that all employers use this system.

3. To Secure Our Border, We Must Create A Temporary Worker Program

America's Immigration Problem Will Not Be Solved With Security Measures Alone. There are many people on the other side of our borders who will do anything to come to America to work and build a better life. This dynamic creates tremendous pressure on our border that walls and patrols alone cannot stop.

As We Tighten Controls At The Border, We Must Also Address The Needs Of America's Growing Economy. The rule of law cannot permit unlawful employment of millions of undocumented workers in the United States. Many American businesses, however, depend on hiring willing foreign workers for jobs that Americans are not doing.

To Provide A Lawful Channel For Employment That Will Benefit Both The United States And Individual Immigrants, The President Has Called For The Creation Of A Temporary Worker Program. Such a program will serve the needs of our economy by providing a lawful and fair way to match willing employers with willing foreign workers to fill jobs that Americans have not taken. The program will also serve our law enforcement and national security objectives by taking pressure off the border and freeing our hard-working Border Patrol to focus on terrorists, human traffickers, violent criminals, drug runners, and gangs.

The Temporary Worker Program Should Be Grounded In The Following Principles:

4. We Must Bring Undocumented Workers Already In The Country Out Of The Shadows

Comprehensive Immigration Reform Must Account For The Millions Of Immigrants Already In The Country Illegally. Illegal immigration causes serious problems, putting pressure on public schools and hospitals and straining State and local budgets. People who have worked hard, supported their families, avoided crime, led responsible lives, and become a part of American life should be called in out of the shadows and under the rule of American law.

The President Opposes An Automatic Path To Citizenship Or Any Other Form Of Amnesty. Amnesty, as a reward for lawbreaking, would only invite further lawbreaking. Amnesty would also be unfair to those lawful immigrants who have patiently waited their turn for citizenship and to those who are still waiting to enter the country legally.

The President Supports A Rational Middle Ground Between A Program Of Mass Deportation And A Program Of Automatic Amnesty. It is neither wise nor realistic to round up and deport millions of illegal immigrants in the United States. But there should be no automatic path to citizenship. The President supports a rational middle ground founded on the following basic tenets:

5. We Must Promote Assimilation Into Our Society By Teaching New Immigrants English And American Values

Those Who Swear The Oath Of Citizenship Are Doing More Than Completing A Legal Process They Are Making A Lifelong Pledge To Support The Values And The Laws Of America. Americans are bound together by our shared ideals, our history, and the ability to speak and write the English language. Every new citizen has an obligation to learn the English language and the customs and values that define our Nation, including liberty and civic responsibility, appreciation for our history, tolerance for others, and equality. When immigrants assimilate, they advance in our society, realize their dreams, and add to the unity of America.

New Citizens Need Guidance To Succeed. The Office of Citizenship is creating new guides for immigrants and introducing a new pilot civics examination designed to foster a deeper understanding of civic virtues and the founding ideals. The President's Task Force on New Americans is fostering volunteerism through volunteer.gov and exploring partnerships with local organizations. Public libraries and faith-based and community groups will be encouraged to offer English language and civics instruction to immigrants who are seeking to make America their home.

Read this article:
President Bush's Plan For Comprehensive Immigration Reform

The fact that Senate leaders on both sides of the aisle are even talking about moving an immigration reform bill just months before the midterm elections is cause enough for celebration, advocacy groups tracking the latest negotiations say.

Members of the Alliance for a New Immigration Consensus, however, say they are most excited about what they describe as the collective sense of urgency driving the revived negotiations.

Advocates told Insider that Senate Republicans likely understand that the chances of making positive gains on immigration will plummet if Donald Trump devotees were to gain power next year. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, for instance, has stoked fears that terrorists are creeping into the country (which the Customs and Border Patrol refuted), while House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jim Jordan's top priority is completing Trump's easily breached border wall. Should Republicans win in the midterms, such anti-immigration hardliners would be in charge.

"That means you have Speaker McCarthy and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, neither of whom are going to allow any sort of constructive immigration proposal to leave the House," Ali Noorani, president and CEO of the National Immigration Forum, said of the obstacles that await if Senate dealmakers don't "figure out what solutions can be achieved now."

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, a Democrat of Illinois, and the top Republican on the panel, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, both said they're trying to do just that.

"Staff is gathering the measures that are currently bipartisan. We're going to put them on the table and see if we can build a package that gets 60 votes," Durbin told Insider at the US Capitol.

Cornyn added that this latest effort would be more constrained than other wider-reaching attempts. "Nobody is suggesting that we do anything like was attempted before, a comprehensive bill," Cornyn said, adding, " I just don't think that's feasible."

Democrats repeatedly tried to weave a path to citizenship for millions of longstanding migrants in last year's budget reconciliation bill but were blocked at every turn by procedural objections raised by the Senate parliamentarian.

House Republicans need to flip just a handful of seats to wrest the speaker's gavel from Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell needs just a single pickup to again set the agenda in the bitterly divided chamber.

When asked by Insider, Durbin balked at naming specific proposals in the mix for the scaled-back immigration bundle."We're not at that stage yet," the Senate majority whip and co-author of the perennial Dream Act said.

One potential starting point Durbin offered was a Cornyn-backed bill providing emergency visas to medical personnel. "We'll see where we go from there," Durbin said.

Cornyn also floated the possibility of prioritizing protections for current recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program which the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute ballparked at 600,000-plus participants in December 2021 versus the millions of DACA-eligible individuals who have sought to stay stateside since the Obama administration rolled out the civic roadmap.

"I've always been sympathetic to giving them some certainty," Cornyn said of the current DACA crowd, adding, "They've been in litigation for 10 years."

Cornyn said he's looped in GOP Judiciary colleague Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina about the staff-level discussions and suspects that Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California, who chairs the Judiciary panel's immigration subcommittee, is also intimately involved.

Cobbling together a mutually agreeable bundle before the November election is doable, according to Cornyn. "I think it's just a matter of will," he said.

The can-do attitude on the Hill has inspired confidence in others that a last-ditch deal is within reach. "We think that it is similar to criminal justice reform," Jorge Lima, senior vice president of policy at Americans for Prosperity, said of the gradual approach that got the bipartisan First Step Act inked into law during the Trump administration.

Lima said the dozens of immigration alliance members have polling data that shows overwhelming support for a three-pronged package combining the Durbin-led Dream Act, the House-passed Farm Workforce Modernization Act, and the Bipartisan Border Solutions Act developed by Cornyn, Tillis, and Democratic Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire.

"By no means would just those three things solve everything we need solved on immigration," Lima said of the opening gambit. But securing something is preferable to accomplishing nothing.

"The history on this issue has always shown that you try to take something that does everything, and that's when the opposition can really break off and fragment folks," Lima said of the inherent danger of waiting.

"If Congress wants to add more to that, I think we would be excited. Because, again, this is only seen as a first step," Lima told Insider. "But we definitely think it's a very positive and impactful first step if they can get it done."

Noorani said he's hopeful that Republicans who genuinely "want solutions on immigration" will take this opportunity to act rather than allowing anti-amnesty hardliners to dictate harsher terms down the road. He cited Sens. Cornyn, Tillis, Dream Act co-sponsor Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Mike Crapo of Idaho, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska as lawmakers who've participated in immigration talks to various degrees in recent years.

"There's a way to get to 10 Republican senators," Noorani said. "The trick will be to do that while holding on to the Democrats."

Continue reading here:
Senators revive immigration reform talks ahead of midterm elections - Business Insider