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Anti-Trump Groups Are Quietly Planning for a Deepfake Election Crisis

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Dozens of prominent U.S. and state government officials, advocacy groups, and executives from big tech companies gathered in New York last month to participate in an important simulated election exercise.

The war game exercise imagined a fictional crisis in which AI-generated photos and videos are released on social media immediately before the 2024 election. The images appear to show election officials in Florida dumping ballots, in an apparent attempt to manipulate the election’s outcome.

The simulation also included phone calls to elderly voters in Arizona that featured AI-generated voices. The calls asked elderly voters to stay away from polling centers due to threats from radical militia groups.

Participants role-played how the Biden administration should respond to the simulated deepfake event. They gathered in a mock “White House Situation Room,” with each player taking on the role of a prominent figure in government, civil society, or corporate America, including the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, big tech companies, and even the CIA.

Participants engaged in lengthy debates about how government should address the problem, including whether Joe Biden should personally get involved, one of the “big debates in the room,” according to a report by NBC News. Participants were apparently concerned that if Biden made any statements, it would be used as proof that he was attempting to rig the election in his favor. (Read more from “Anti-Trump Groups Are Quietly Planning for a Deepfake Election Crisis” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

First 6 Jurors Chosen in Trump Hush Money Trial Following Questioning About Anti-Trump Social Media Posts

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The process of selecting jurors for former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial commenced on Tuesday afternoon, resulting in the selection of the initial six jurors from a pool of 96 potential candidates.

Monday saw over 50 potential jurors disqualified after expressing an inability to remain impartial. However, some remaining candidates faced scrutiny due to their past social media activity, which included negative remarks about Trump.

For instance, one prospective juror had shared a post on social media predicting “Republicans projected to pick up 70 seats in prison,” alongside expressing concerns about her ability to be fair. Despite being retained until Tuesday, she was not among the six selected jurors.

Similarly, another candidate had recently shared a parody video featuring Trump, titled “I’m dumb as f-ck,” generated by artificial intelligence, leading to their dismissal from consideration. Another individual disclosed involvement in a political action committee supporting grassroots organizations but admitted to holding critical views of Trump.

Another potential juror’s social media activity included posts celebrating legal setbacks for Trump and advocating for his imprisonment. Despite retracting his stance during questioning, his past statements drew attention, with Trump reportedly reacting with a smirk.

Further proceedings will involve the selection of an additional six jurors and six alternates in the coming days.

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Trump Hush Money Trial Enters Day Two as Jury Selection Continues

By Fox News. . .The jurors include two lawyers, an IT worker, an English teacher, an oncology nurse, a sales professional, and a software engineer.

The jurors are picked by process of elimination in a system that will repeat until a full jury is selected: Eighteen prospective jurors are brought to the jury box and then lawyers move to have certain prospective jurors eliminated “for cause.”

They then eliminate some with peremptory challenges, which don’t require a reason. . .

Former President Trump said the criminal trial is having a “reverse effect,” during a campaign visit Tuesday evening to an Upper Manhattan bodega, while vowing to “straighten out New York” by working with the Democrat mayor and governor if elected to another term in the White House.

Trump visited an Upper Manhattan bodega Tuesday evening after spending hours in downtown New York City courtroom for the second day of his criminal trial stemming from charges brought against him by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. (Read more from “Trump Hush Money Trial Enters Day Two as Jury Selection Continues” HERE)

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Jack Smith Makes the Ludicrous Argument that Trump is Using NY Criminal Case to Delay Florida Federal Case

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Special counsel Jack Smith claimed in a court filing this week that former President Donald Trump is using his ongoing criminal trial in New York City to delay his upcoming case involving his handling of classified documents in Florida, Newsweek reports.

Smith wrote in a filing on Monday that Trump is “seeking another postponement” to the case, in which the former president is accused of illegally retaining classified documents, adding that “This time, Trump invokes his New York trial” as a reason for delaying his Florida case, arguing that his legal team will be too preoccupied with his criminal trial to meet the deadlines set by the judge in the classified documents case.

In the filing, Smith stated that Judge Aileen Cannon set a deadline of May 9 for the defense to submit expert witness disclosures, and noted that the Court was “fully apprised of defendant Trump’s New York trial” at the time that date was set.

“Although the defendants’ motion reads as though the Court were unaware of Trump’s other case…those premises are plainly wrong. The defendants have had ample notice that these deadlines would be scheduled and have already had months to complete the work.” (Read more from “Jack Smith Makes the Ludicrous Argument that Trump is Using NY Criminal Case to Delay Florida Federal Case” HERE)

Judge Allows Juror Who ‘Celebrated Trump’s Loss in 2020’ to Stay in Pool

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New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan reportedly allowed a juror who celebrated former President Donald Trump’s 2020 loss on social media to remain in the jury pool.

Trump’s unprecedented trial began Monday morning with jury selection, the first day of a process that could span two weeks. The trial could last until June.

During Tuesday’s jury selection, Trump’s defense attorneys tried to prevent a potential juror from staying on the case because she celebrated Trump’s 2020 loss, Fox News reported.

“They wanted to have a peremptory challenge to excuse the juror because they thought that she said she could be impartial, but had social media posts that apparently had her celebrating Trump’s loss in 2020,” Trace Gallagher reported, “and so they challenged her. The judge said, ‘Nope, she can be impartial. She stays.’”

(Read more from “Judge Allows Juror Who ‘Celebrated Trump’s Loss in 2020’ to Stay in Pool” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

“Hush Money” Trial Judge May Force Trump to Miss His Son’s Graduation

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New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan is yet to decide whether former President Donald Trump can attend his son Barron Trump’s upcoming high school graduation. Merchan has refrained from ruling on Trump’s request to be excused from trial proceedings scheduled for that day.

The commencement of the criminal trial, orchestrated by Democrat Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, unfolded on Monday. Bragg has charged Trump with 34 felonies, alleging falsification of business records in connection to payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Notably, Trump is not facing accusations related to concealing a sex scandal. Trump vehemently denies all allegations against him, but if found guilty, he could potentially face incarceration.

While the jury selection process has commenced in the criminal trial, Trump’s legal team has proactively sought permission for him to forego trial proceedings on May 17, citing his son Barron’s impending high school graduation in Florida, the former president’s home state. Although Merchan has acknowledged the request, he has deferred making a definitive decision.

Merchan remarked, “It really depends on if we are on time and where we are in the trial,” indicating the possibility that Trump may have to forego attending his youngest son’s significant milestone due to the trial.

Observers have characterized the situation as another instance of perceived political targeting against Trump. Jason Miller, an advisor to Trump, lambasted the trial, labeling it a “disgusting” episode of political persecution. Trump himself, addressing reporters prior to entering the New York courtroom on Monday, decried the trial as a form of “political prosecution” and an unprecedented assault on the nation.

“This case was brought as political persecution,” Trump asserted, condemning it as an unwarranted attack on the country. He further criticized the involvement of what he described as an “incompetent man” in the proceedings, insinuating nefarious motives behind the trial.

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) echoed similar sentiments, characterizing the trial as a form of “election interference.”

Former Trump Attorney Tells CNN: Irish Woman Critical of Trump Not Deemed ‘Dangerous Juror’

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Criminal defense attorney Bill Brennan, who previously represented former President Donald Trump, told CNN Monday that an Irish woman who went off about her dislike of Trump was not a “dangerous juror.”

Jury screening for Trump’s hush money trial began Monday as concerns emerge about jurors with bias against the presumptive 2024 Republican nominee. Brennan told CNN’s Jake Tapper that an outspoken woman who made her “hate” for Trump undoubtedly was less “dangerous” to the jury pool than someone less vocal.

“We had a lady come up as a prospective juror. I’ve been picking juries for about 35 years. Uh, she looked good to me, a lady in her mid-40s, uh, of Irish extraction. She spoke with a brogue, she worked in an Irish pub and on our questionnaire, questions 29 and 30 said, ‘Do you have any former — do you have any strong feelings about the former president and if so, would they affect your ability to be fair?’” Brennan said.

“And she checked them, so I said, ‘Well, ma’am, would they be positive or negative feelings?’ And she says, ‘Oh, I despise that man,’ he continued, imitating the woman’s Irish accent. “And I said, I guess it was late in the day, Jake, and I said, ‘Oh, come on, don’t sugarcoat things for me. Speak your mind.’ She says, ‘Oh, Speak me mind? I hate him!’”

Brennan was recalling a potential juror from the time he defended Trump during a tax fraud case against the Trump Organization in 2022. New York Justice Juan Merchan, the same judge presiding over the hush money case, fined the Trump Organization $1.6 million in Jan. 2023, according to The Associated Press (AP). (Read more from “Former Trump Attorney Tells CNN: Irish Woman Critical of Trump Not Deemed ‘Dangerous Juror'” HERE)

Supreme Court to Deliberate on Case with Potential to Impact Hundreds of Jan. 6 Prosecutions

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The upcoming Supreme Court hearing of Fischer v. United States has drawn significant attention due to its potential ramifications for both the prosecution of Jan. 6 defendants and the ongoing legal challenges involving former President Donald Trump. At the heart of the case lies the interpretation of an obstruction statute, Section 1512(c)(2), which carries penalties of up to 20 years in prison for those found guilty of corruptly obstructing official proceedings.

Joseph Fischer, a defendant in the Jan. 6 Capitol breach, argues that his prosecution under this statute represents an unprecedented expansion of its scope. Fischer’s legal team contends that Section 1512(c)(2) was originally intended to target evidence tampering in corporate fraud cases, rather than obstruction of Congress’ certification of electoral results.

Fischer’s case underscores broader concerns about the application of the statute to Jan. 6 defendants, many of whom face felony charges under its provisions. Should the Supreme Court rule in Fischer’s favor, it could potentially affect the outcomes of numerous cases and even prompt early releases for some defendants.

The government, however, maintains that the statute’s language encompasses all forms of corrupt obstruction of official proceedings, without limitation to evidence tampering. This interpretation was upheld by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 decision, which deemed the meaning of the statute unambiguous.

Nevertheless, dissenting voices, including Judge Gregory Katsas, have criticized the government’s interpretation as overly broad and potentially unconstitutional. They argue that such a reading could criminalize constitutionally protected activities such as advocacy and protest.

The Fischer case also intersects with the legal challenges facing former President Trump. Two of the charges in Trump’s election interference case hinge on the same obstruction statute under review. Critics contend that a correct interpretation of the statute could undermine a key aspect of the indictment against Trump.

However, Special Counsel Jack Smith has defended the charges, asserting that they would remain valid irrespective of the Supreme Court’s decision on Section 1512(c)(2). Smith argues that the use of falsehoods or creation of false documents constitutes evidence impairment, thus satisfying the statute’s requirements.

As the Supreme Court prepares to hear oral arguments in April, the outcome of Fischer v. United States holds significant implications for the legal landscape surrounding Jan. 6 prosecutions

Trump, Johnson Link Arms in a Move to Require Proof of Citizenship to Vote

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House Speaker Mike Johnson and former President Donald Trump on Friday projected unity and vowed to push election integrity legislation requiring every voter to prove they are a U.S. citizen.

Speaking at a joint press conference at Mr. Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate, they said something must be done to ensure the nation’s elections are on the up-and-up and to stop illegal immigrants from casting ballots that could swing elections.

“We cannot wait for widespread fraud to occur,” Mr. Johnson said.

The Lousiana Republican said a vote on the measure would show voters where elected leaders stand on the issue.

“You will see Republicans stand for election integrity,” he said. “Democrats are going to have to go on the record.” (Read more from “Trump, Johnson Link Arms in a Move to Require Proof of Citizenship to Vote” HERE)

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Black Supporter to Donald Trump at Chick-Fil-a Stop: ‘I Don’t Care What the Media Tells You… We Support You’

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Former President Donald Trump was greeted by enthusiastic supporters at a Chick-fil-A in Atlanta, Georgia, while on the campaign trail and ordered 30 milkshakes and chicken for everybody.

Video shows the former president speaking to workers at the location, asking, “Can I have 30 milkshakes and also some chicken? We’re going to take care of the customers.” He then asks if business is good, to which the workers reply, “Yes.”

(Read more from “Black Supporter to Donald Trump at Chick-Fil-a Stop: ‘I Don’t Care What the Media Tells You… We Support You’” HERE)

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Biden: I’ll Consider Further Unilateral Action on Guns, Can’t Believe Trump Said ‘No One’s Going to Touch Your Guns’ (VIDEO)

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During an interview with Univision that took place last Wednesday and aired on Tuesday, President Joe Biden stated that he would consider taking further executive action on guns and criticized 2024 Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump because Trump “famously told the NRA that, don’t worry, no one’s going to touch your guns” if Trump won.

Interviewer Enrique Acevedo asked, “[G]un violence remains the number one cause of death for children in America. Latinos have made it a top priority across the country, especially in places like El Paso and Uvalde in Texas. Your administration called on Congress to pass common-sense gun laws, but that’s unlikely to happen in the next few months. If you’re re-elected, would you consider taking further executive action on this issue?”

(Read more from “Biden: I’ll Consider Further Unilateral Action on Guns, Can’t Believe Trump Said ‘No One’s Going to Touch Your Guns’ (VIDEO)” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr