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OPINION:

What exactly is an insurrection? With January 6 upon us, the word is being bandied about by the mainstream media like a barker selling cotton candy at the county fair.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of insurrection is as follows: an act or instance of revolting against civil authority or an established government.

Synonyms include rebellion, revolt, uprising, rioting and riot.

Left-leaning media outlets are having a field day stoking the flames of fear and selective history by producing hour after hour and page after page of material about the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. CNN is featuring a special anniversary broadcast called Live from the Capitol: January 6, One Year Later. The show will feature interviews with a cadre of anti-Trump activists, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the House January 6 Committee chairman, Bennie Thompson. I doubt they will chat with Republican Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan.

The New York Times published an editorial declaring, Every Day is Jan. 6 Now. My response is simple, No, its not.

Time magazine, at one time a reasonably reliable news source, began their coverage of the anniversary with the following: When a bipartisan House committee began investigating the January 6 insurrection its goal was simple: compile a detailed account of what happened, and make recommendations to ensure it never happens again.

Of course, its not a truly bipartisan committee. Speaker Pelosi declined to seat the Republicans chosen by GOP leader Kevin McCarthy for the committee, instead selecting the Republican representatives herself. By an amazing coincidence, those particular Republicans loathe Donald Trump. Thats kind of like Magic Johnson telling the Celtics that Larry Bird and Kevin McHale wouldnt be allowed to play, instead appointing a couple of teammates from the Lakers to pull on green uniforms and then pretending it was a fair game. The deck was stacked from the get-go. Time magazines assertion that, like the old TV show Dragnet, they wanted just the facts is either incredibly naive or totally disingenuous.

Never one to miss a political opportunity, President Joe Bidens team is propping him up in front of a teleprompter telling us how bad the Trump January 6 insurrection was. Vice President Kamala Harris will make remarks as well.

Make no mistake. The riots at the Capitol building in January of 2021 were disgraceful. They were a black eye on our freedom and our American democratic process that, at one time, was a shining example for the world. There is no public evidence, however, thus far anyway, that the riot was a premeditated attempt to overthrow the government.

There are many emails and communique to and from the Trump family and Trumps staff urging the President to speak up and tell the protesters to stand down and go home. The fact President Trump sat by and watched instead is a shameful embarrassment to him, but no evidence has been put forth that he or the very people that were begging him to speak out had a hand in some master plan.

So was it an insurrection? It depends on the media outlet.

A new mayor is taking office in New York City, a city plagued by a dramatic increase in violent crime since the anti-police policies of outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio took effect. The new Mayor Eric Adams promises to bring back anti-crime units in the city and crack down on crime. His promise was met with something less than enthusiasm from Black Lives Matter (BLM) co-founder Hawk Newsome, who told the press corp, If they think they are going back to the old ways of policing, then were going to take to the streets again. Newsome then added a distinct threat. There will be riots. There will be fire, and there will be bloodshed.

Bloodshed? That sounds suspiciously like the definition of insurrection, yet youll never hear it called that. In fact, when BLM protesters lit police cars on fire, burned a police precinct building out, or burned down entire city blocks throughout 2020, it wasnt called an insurrection. Instead, it was referred to as a peaceful protest.

When rioters in Portland, Oregon showed up night after night for more than 70 consecutive nights, attempting to burn down the Federal Courthouse and throwing Molotov cocktails at police and federal officers, it wasnt called an insurrection.

In Seattle, Washington, when local malcontents told the city government they were creating their autonomous area, free from the city or states laws, it was the literal definition of insurrection. The mob blocked off streets and warned Seattle authorities to stay away. The progressive Seattle Mayor was initially supportive of the madness. Finally, he called for police to enter and end it when extreme violence erupted in the CHOP/CHAZ zone, including four shootings and several alleged sexual assaults.

I have no recollection of hearing the term insurrection mentioned once in Seattle or Portland. I dont recall hearing it in reference to the destructive BLM riots, which caused $2 billion in insured property damage and two dozen deaths by credible estimates.

Why was the overzealous mob from January 6, 2021, tagged with the label? Thats simple because they were wearing MAGA hats and carrying Trump flags. Much like BLM rioters werent required to wear masks at the height of COVID-19 in 2020, but Trump rallies were labeled as super spreaders, the media coverage of riots differs according to the political agenda.

This might explain why Americans trust in media is at an all-time low. According to an Edelman poll, 56% of Americans agree with the statement that Journalists and reporters are purposely trying to mislead people by saying things they know are false or gross exaggerations.

The mainstream media will breathlessly report on the domestic terrorists of one year ago, and the January 6 committee will cobble together as much innuendo as they can to suggest it was a master plan to nullify the Presidential election and take over the United States.

The real facts are this: 2020 was a year of disgraceful, violent riots that disrespected authority and endangered lives repeatedly. 2021 began with something every bit as vile, albeit by a different segment of society. Our President appears to have sat and watched the January 6 madness unfold rather than immediately taking to the airwaves and encouraging participants to disperse and go home. That may not be criminal, but it is unforgivable.

There is a line in an old Batman movie where Bruce Wayne struggles to understand why The Joker is causing so much chaos. Alfred, Waynes butler, offers a nugget of wisdom and says that sadly, Some men just like to watch it burn.

I dont believe for a minute that Trump spearheaded an organized effort to forcibly take over the U.S. government after losing the 2020 election. However, the evidence seems to show that much like the insane Joker, Trump enjoyed watching it burn. Lets hope that sad historical truth doesnt get lost in the medias ridiculous January 6 hysteria.

Excerpt from:
Insurrection, Donald Trump and The Joker - Washington Times

Trump at the Turnberry golf course.AP Photo/Scott Heppell

Trump's Scottish golf resorts have claimed millions in pandemic support from the UK government.

Both Trump Turnberry and Trump International Scotland recorded losses in the millions in 2020.

Company accounts signed by Eric Trump cite Brexit as a contributing factor to the resorts' struggles.

Former President Donald Trump's Scottish golf resorts have claimed more than $4 million in UK emergency money as the struggling businesses furloughed hundreds of staff members amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Newly published company accounts for the two international resorts revealed the Trump Turnberry in Ayrshire and Trump International Scotland near Aberdeenshire cut 273 jobs in 2020, while also claiming $3.7 million in furlough support.

Trump relinquished control of both resorts to his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump shortly before he was inaugurated as president in 2017 but kept financial interest in the businesses, both of which are owned by the holding company Golf Recreation Scotland Ltd.

Additional government data reviewed by The Guardian shows both resorts made further financial claims this year as the UK government's emergency job-retention program persisted.

The BBC was the first to report the resorts' additional 2021 claims, which are reportedly worth between $698,000 and $1.7 million, adding to a total between $4.4 million and $5.5 million in furlough support over two years. The new figures have not been included in the Trump companies' most recent accounts, according to The Guardian.

Trump Turnberry recorded a loss of more than $4 million in 2020 while the Aberdeenshire resort reported a loss of $1.7 million. Filings for both resorts cited the government lockdown, which required the businesses to be closed for multiple months in 2020 and into 2021, as reasons for significant staff losses.

But the accounts filed by Golf Recreation Scotland Ltd. and signed by its director, Eric Trump, also cited Brexit as a contributing factor to the resorts' failing finances, according to The Independent.

Story continues

"Brexit has also impacted our business as supply chains have been impacted by availability of drivers and staff, reducing deliveries and availability of certain product lines," the accounts state, according to The Independent.

The documents go on to say increased prices due to freight and import-duty charges after the Brexit vote, as well as a reduced staff availability because of wage inflation, have negatively affected the resorts.

During his presidential campaign and into his presidency, Trump was a vocal supporter of Brexit, which saw a 2016 referendum vote for withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union in 2016. The former president nicknamed himself "Mr. Brexit" in a 2016 tweet and celebrated the Brits, who he said "took back their country" at an appearance in Turnberry in 2016.

The company accounts, filed earlier this month, also suggested that both golf resorts owe additional money to Trump himself in loans from the former president's personal funds and the holding company to Turnberry and Trump International Scotland, totaling more than $158 million, according to The Guardian.

A representative for the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, nor did a spokesperson with Trump Turnberry or Trump International Scotland.

Trump opened the Aberdeenshire location in 2012 and bought the Turnberry resort in 2014. The former president is said to be particularly proud of his mother's Scottish heritage.

Last month, a group of human-rights lawyers lost their bid to force the Scottish government to investigate how Trump paid for his two golf courses in the country. The advocacy group Avaaz brought the case after the Scottish government declined to investigate an unexplained-wealth order against Trump.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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Donald Trump's struggling Scottish golf courses claimed ...

Donald Trump has claimed 5,000 dead people voted in 2020 in Georgia, a state he lost to Joe Biden on his way to national defeat.

He was off by 4,996.

As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Monday, state officials have confirmed four cases of dead people voting.

All involved family members submitting votes for the deceased, cases in which the state has the power to levy fines.

In one case detailed by the paper, a widow submitted an absentee ballot for her husband after he died in September, two months before polling day.

An attorney for the 74-year-old woman reportedly told officials her husband was going to vote Republican, and she said, Well, Im going to cancel your ballot because Im voting Democrat. It was kind of a joke between them. She received the absentee ballot and carried out his wishes.

She now realises that was not the thing to do.

Even if Trumps claim about dead voters were true, it would not have saved him from being the first Republican to lose Georgia since 1992. Biden won the state by nearly 12,000 votes. Nor could Georgia alone have overturned Trumps electoral college defeat, by 306-232.

But Trump included his claim in a notorious call in which he pushed the Georgia secretary of state, Republican Brad Raffensperger, to find enough votes to give him victory.

Dead people, Trump said. So dead people voted, and I think the number is close to 5,000 people. And they went to obituaries. They went to all sorts of methods to come up with an accurate number, and a minimum is close to about 5,000 voters.

He also claimed that a tremendous number of dead people voted in Michigan, adding: I think it was 18,000. Some unbelievably high number, much higher than yours, you were in the 4-5,000 category.

Referring to a claim of upward of 5,000 dead voters he said was presented to Georgia officials, Raffensperger, said: The actual number were two. Two. Two people that were dead that voted. So thats wrong.

Trump insisted: In one state, we have a tremendous amount of dead people. So I dont know Im sure we do in Georgia, too. Im sure we do in Georgia, too.

Trumps chief of staff, Mark Meadows, told Raffensperger: You say they were only two dead people who would vote. I can promise you there are more than that.

Raffensperger refused to help Trump, prompting threats to his safety. But the call also placed Trump in legal jeopardy, as a district attorney investigates whether he broke electoral law.

The call was part of scattershot attempts to overturn a defeat Trump insists in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary was the result of electoral fraud.

A few days after the call, on 6 January, Trump told supporters in Washington to fight like hell in his cause. Rioters then attacked the US Capitol, seeking to stop certification of Bidens win, in some cases seeking to capture or kill officials including Trumps vice-president, Mike Pence.

Five people died.

Continued here:
Trump claims 5,000 dead people voted in Georgia but the real number is four - The Guardian

After Donald Trump was forced from the major social-media platforms for violating their terms of service, the Associated Press reported in March he would soon launch his own site. Jason Miller told Fox News at the time that the former president was poised to "completely redefine the game" with his new tech initiative.

It was against this backdrop that Fox News reported in May that Trump and his team had launched a new "communications platform," powered by a "digital ecosystem." The phrases wildly oversold what was actually a rudimentary blog, utilizing technology that's existed for many years.

A month after its launch, the website was permanently scrapped due to lack of reader interest. The game had not been "completely redefined."

Apparently undeterred, the Republican and his team made a related announcement the week before Halloween, launching the Trump Media & Technology Group, which apparently has multimedia ambitions it says it intends to compete with both Twitter and Netflix and even hired a high-profile CEO: Former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes said he'd resign as a Republican congressman to lead the nascent company.

And while that's certainly of interest, what makes this story amazing is what we're learning about the behind-the-scenes financing of the initiative. The New York Times published this report the week after the company's launch.

[The former president] agreed to merge his social media venture with whats known as a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The result is that Mr. Trump largely shut out of the mainstream financial industry because of his history of bankruptcies and loan defaults secured nearly $300 million in funding for his new business. To get his deal done, Mr. Trump ventured into an unregulated and sometimes shadowy corner of Wall Street, working with an unlikely cast of characters....

That cast includes a small Chinese investment firm with a curious record. (This may seem a little convoluted at first, but be patient, because this is going somewhere.)

A few years ago, for example, the firm helped create a company called Atlas Technology International, and it claimed in its Securities and Exchange Committee filing to be a company that made cupcakes. Soon after, Atlas filed a new annual report, saying it had made the transition from cupcakes to touch-screen devices, which was a bit odd.

The same folks behind that operation a Chinese firm called Arc Capital said they also ran a smart-phone sales company in south Florida, which did not appear to have ever sold anything to anyone at any time. They also claimed to have a drone software company, which somehow existed without any employees.

The SEC took a closer look and came to the conclusion that these companies were, for all intents and purposes, fake which is a problem, because in the United States, fake companies are not supposed to be publicly traded.

The SEC intervened and took the unusual step of issuing a "stop order," preventing the companies from selling public shares.

And now, as The Washington Post reported, these same guys in Shanghai have partnered with the former American president and the Trump Media & Technology Group.

A Chinese firm helping former president Donald Trump take his new media company public has been the target of investigations by federal securities regulators, who say the firm misrepresented shell companies with no products and few employees as ambitious, growing enterprises, documents and interviews show. Arc Capital, an investment advisory firm based in Shanghai, has repeatedly helped create or finance companies with little or no revenue, no customers and office locations that point to P.O. boxes, according to a Washington Post review of regulatory and court filings.

It's quite a marriage, isn't it? On the one hand, there's Trump, who's been accused of running fraudulent operations such as Trump University and the Trump Foundation, while on the other hand, there's a Chinese firm that's also been accused of launching highly dubious operations.

Keep in mind, the Trump Media & Technology Group, launched to great fanfare in October, does not appear to exist in any meaningful way, at least not yet. It has no products, no customers, and no sources of revenue. A securities lawyer told the Post, in reference to the partnership between the the former president's operation and Arc Capital, Theres a shell company basically merging with another shell company."

Nevertheless, the Republican's friends in Shanghai are raising hundreds of millions of dollars from the public that will ostensibly go towards Trump's media company that, again, still doesn't exist.

All of this has recently drawn the interest of investigators at the SEC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), which typically investigates things like insider trading.

So, let's recap. Trump, who spent his White House term boasting about getting tough with China, has partnered with a dubious firm in Shanghai, which doesn't have any offices in the United States, but which is nevertheless financing his first and for now, largely aspirational post-presidency business venture. All of this is now facing federal investigations, in part because of the Chinese firm's history of fake businesses.

I can appreciate why expectations surrounding the former president are low, but this is farcical.

Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MSNBC political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "The Impostors: How Republicans Quit Governing and Seized American Politics."

View original post here:
Why the controversy surrounding Trump's media venture matters - MSNBC

Congressman Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the House select committee investigating the Capitol attack, has said the panel will open an inquiry into Donald Trumps phone call seeking to stop Joe Bidens certification from taking place on 6 January hours before the insurrection.

The chairman said the select committee intended to scrutinize the phone call revealed last month by the Guardian should they prevail in their legal effort to obtain Trump White House records over the former presidents objections of executive privilege.

Thats right, Thompson said when asked by the Guardian whether the select committee would look into Trumps phone call, and suggested House investigators had already started to consider ways to investigate Trumps demand that Biden not be certified as president on 6 January.

Thompson said the select committee could not ask the National Archives for records about specific calls, but noted if we say we want all White House calls made on January 5 and 6, if he made it on a White House phone, then obviously we would look at it there.

The Guardian reported last month that Trump, according to multiple sources, called lieutenants based at the Willard hotel in Washington DC from the White House in the late hours of 5 January and sought ways to stop Bidens certification from taking place on 6 January.

Trump first told the lieutenants his vice-president, Mike Pence, was reluctant to go along with the plan to commandeer his ceremonial role at the joint session of Congress in a way that would allow Trump to retain the presidency for a second term, the sources said.

But as Trump relayed to them the situation with Pence, the sources said, on at least one call, he pressed his lieutenants about how to stop Bidens certification from taking place on 6 January in a scheme to get alternate slates of electors for Trump sent to Congress.

The former presidents remarks came as part of wider discussions he had with the lieutenants at the Willard a team led by Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Boris Epshteyn and Trump strategist Steve Bannon about delaying the certification, the sources said.

House investigators in recent months have pursued an initial investigation into Trumps contacts with lieutenants at the Willard, issuing a flurry of subpoenas compelling documents and testimony to crucial witnesses, including Bannon and Eastman.

But Thompson said that the select committee would now also investigate both the contents of Trumps phone calls to the Willard and the White Houses potential involvement, in a move certain to intensify the pressure on the former presidents inner circle.

If we get the information that we requested, Thompson said of the select committees demands for records from the Trump White House and Trump aides, those calls potentially will be reflected to the Willard hotel and whomever.

A spokesperson for the select committee declined to comment about what else such a line of inquiry might involve. But a subpoena to Giuliani, the lead Trump lawyer at the Willard, is understood to be in the offing, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The Guardian reported that the night before the Capitol attack, Trump called the lawyers and non-lawyers at the Willard separately, because Giuliani did not want to have non-lawyers participate on sensitive calls and jeopardize claims to attorney-client privilege.

It was not clear whether Giulaini might invoke attorney-client privilege as a way to escape cooperating with the investigation in the event of a subpoena, but Congressman Jamie Raskin, a member of the select committee, noted the protection does not confer broad immunity.

The attorney-client privilege does not operate to shield participants in a crime from an investigation into a crime, Raskin said. If it did, then all you would have to do to rob a bank is bring a lawyer with you, and be asking for advice along the way.

The Guardian also reported Trump made several calls the day before the Capitol attack from the White House residence, his preferred place to work, as well as the West Wing, but it was not certain from which location he phoned his top lieutenants at the Willard.

The distinction is significant as phone calls placed from the White House residence, even from a landline desk phone, are not automatically memorialized in records sent to the National Archives after the end of an administration.

That means even if the select committee succeeds in its litigation to pry free Trumps call detail records from the National Archives, without testimony from people with knowledge of what was said, House investigators might only learn the target and time of the calls.

Read more:
Capitol panel to investigate Trump call to Willard hotel in hours before attack - The Guardian