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Like Trump, DeSantis' time in office would be marked by attempts to pit Americans against one another. But unlike Trump, DeSantis has the proven ability to follow through. Ron DeSantis is the governor of Florida, a front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, and quite possibly the most dangerous figure in American politics. While it’s hard to imagine any politician wresting that title away from Donald Trump, DeSantis brings something to the table that Trump lacks — his ability to translate political vindictiveness, cruelty and demagoguery into policy results.

New York Times story seen as effort to put spin on bad news Long before the New York Post's blockbuster, election-eve stories on Hunter Biden's laptop in 2020, investigative reporter and author Peter Schweizer documented the Biden family's international business of selling access to the White House for millions of dollars. Schweizer's 2018 book "Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends" and a follow-up, "Profiles in Corruption: Abuse of Power by America’s Progressive Elite," presented evidence that five members of the Biden family cashed in while Joe Biden was vice president.

It’s a win for Trump. The defamation lawsuit filed against Donald Trump by Michael Avenatti on behalf of Stormy Daniels has been tossed—and a judge is ordering her to pay nearly the president’s $294,000 legal tab. Daniels recently toldthe Daily Beast that the defamation suit filed by Avenatti was done against her wishes. The suit claimed that Trump has defamed the adult entertainment actress on his Twitter account. Well, regardless of the circumstances, it’s time to pay up, Stormy (via CNBC): OH MAN A federal judge just ordered Stormy Daniels to pay a whopping $293K to Trump for “attorneys’ fees,...

Stormy Daniels has been ordered to pay almost $300,000 to President Trump for filing a dismissed defamation suit against him. U.S. District Judge S. James Otero ordered the porn star, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, to pay $293,000 to cover the president’s attorneys’ fees plus $1,000 in sanctions for filing the case at all. “The court’s order, along with the court’s prior order dismissing Stormy Daniels’ defamation case against the President, together constitute a total victory for the President, and a total defeat for Stormy Daniels in this case,” Trump attorney Charles Harder said Tuesday, according to CNBC.

The U.S. District Court today ordered Stormy Daniels (real name Stephanie Clifford) to pay President Trump $293,052.33 to reimburse his attorneys’ fees (75% of his total legal bill), plus an additional $1,000 in sanctions to punish Daniels for having filed a meritless lawsuit

An attorney for President Trump requested the court obtain $800,000 in legal fees and penalties from porn star actress Stormy Daniels for her unsuccessful defamation lawsuit against the president. Attorney Charles Harder said his firm spent more than 500 hours and $390,000 in legal fees defending the president and asked the court to press for just as much money in sanctions to deter “frivolous defamation cases.” “This action is virtually unprecedented in American legal history,” Harder wrote in court papers. Daniels “not only brought a meritless claim for defamation against the sitting president of the United States, but she also...

Porn star Stormy Daniels asked a federal judge to drastically reduce President Donald Trump's demand for nearly $350,000 in attorney's fees in her recently dismissed defamation suit. Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti, argued that the $341,559.50 requested for an alleged 509.25 hours of attorney time is a "staggering and grossly inflated sum." The proper figure is closer to $25,000, Avenatti said in the court filing Monday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

The Federal Election Commission has dropped its inquiry into Donald Trump’s alleged payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels. The Commission is comprised of six members: three Republicans, two Democrats, and one independent. The case was decided with a 2-2 vote. Both Democrats voted that the case against Trump should proceed; two of the Republicans voted to drop the inquiry; the other Republican recused himself from the case, and the Independent did not vote. Thus, the case was dropped because there was no majority.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday paved the way for a New York City prosecutor to obtain former President Donald Trump's tax returns and other financial records as part of a criminal investigation, a blow to his quest to conceal details of his finances. The justices rebuffed Trump's request to put on hold an October 7 lower court ruling directing the former Republican president's longtime accounting firm, Mazars USA, to comply with a subpoena to turn over the materials to a grand jury convened by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, a Democrat. The ruling does not make Trump's tax records...

Manhattan federal court judge Deborah Batts who was slated to oversee Michael Avenatti’s Stormy Daniels-related embezzlement trial, has died. She was 72. The Philadelphia-born jurist, who was the first openly gay member of the federal judiciary, passed away February 2, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office on Thursday subpoenaed the Trump Organization over hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels in the run-up to the 2016 presidential elections. Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr.’s office picked up the probe just weeks after federal prosecutors announced they’d completed their investigation into the payments, made by former-Trump fixer Michael Cohen. “This is a political hit job,” Marc Mukasey, a lawyer for the organization, told The Post in an email.

Michael Avenatti's legal troubles escalated on Wednesday as federal prosecutors announced new criminal charges accusing the lawyer and prominent critic of U.S. President Donald Trump of stealing from porn star Stormy Daniels and extorting Nike Inc. Prosecutors accused Avenatti, 48, of stealing about $300,000 from Daniels, about half of which has not been repaid, after helping his former client secure a book contract. They also said he has been indicted on previously announced charges that he tried to blackmail Nike out of more than $20 million by threatening to expose what he called the athletic wear company's improper payments to...

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan charged Michael Avenatti on Wednesday with fraud and aggravated identity theft for allegedly taking money that was supposed to be paid to porn star Stormy Daniels. Avenatti is accused of misappropriating funds Daniels was supposed to get in a book deal while he represented Daniels in her legal battle against President Trump and his former longtime attorney Michael Cohen. Prosecutors alleged Avenatti used a fraudulent document to convince Daniel’s literary agent to divert money from the porn star to an account controlled by him, then spent the money on his own personal and business matters. The...

In a statement posted Wednesday to Twitter, attorney Michael Avenatti denied he misappropriated funds meant for his client, adult film star Stormy Daniels, in her suit against President Donald Trump. “No monies relating to Ms. Daniels were ever misappropriated or mishandled,” Avenatti said. “She received millions of dollars’ worth of legal services and we spent huge sums in expenses. She directly paid only $100.00 for all that she received. I look forward to a jury hearing the evidence.” The denial came after ABC News reported prosecutors in the Southern District of New York plan to file new charges against Avenatti...

Michael Avenatti, the former lawyer for porn star Stormy Daniels who is facing a 36-count federal indictment, threw his support behind former Vice President Joe Biden in the 2020 Democratic primary. Mr. Avenatti on Thursday tweeted his “enthusiastic support” for Mr. Biden several hours after the former vice president formally announced his third bid for the presidency.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Adult film star Stormy Daniels briefly appeared at the Illinois Capitol on Friday to protest the state's tax on strip clubs. The porn actress who alleges she had an affair with Donald Trump before he became president read a two-minute statement opposing the tax. Nicknamed the "pole tax," it's a 6-year-old surcharge on nude-dancing venues that serve alcohol and is meant to fund shelters for women who have been abused. The businesses pay $3 per patron or a set fee based on gross receipts.

Porn star Stormy Daniels said Monday that she’s “saddened but not shocked” by the charges filed today against lawyer Michael Avenatti, .......... .........there will be more announcements to come,” she tweeted.

Stormy Daniels says she regularly fears that President Trum could win reelection. “I will be voting,” the adult-film star told an audience of almost entirely women on Tuesday at The Wing in Washington. “Some days I’m like, ‘There’s no way — this is gonna be amazing,'” Daniels told moderator Jane Mulkerrins, a freelance journalist, when asked during the Q&A session about the prospects of what might happen in the 2020 presidential election. “Other days I’m like, ‘This motherf---er’s going to win again,’” she said of Trump. Daniels, who was born Stephanie Clifford, sued Trump and his former lawyer Michael Cohen...

Attorney Michael Avenatti announced Tuesday that he was no longer representing adult film star Stormy Daniels, cutting ties with a client who had propelled him into the national limelight. In a statement posted to Twitter, Avenatti said he had informed Daniels "in writing" last month that his firm was terminating its representation of her "for various reasons that we cannot disclose publicly due to the attorney-client privilege." "This was not a decision we made lightly and it came only after lengthy discussion, thought and deliberation, as well as consultation with other professionals," Avenatti added. "We wish Stormy all the best."...

Television lawyer Michael Avenatti announced Tuesday that he will no longer represent pornographic actress Stormy Daniels. “On February 19, we informed Stormy Daniels in writing that we were terminating our legal representation of her for various reasons that we can disclose publicly due to attorney-client privilege,” Avenatti said in a statement shared to Twitter. “This was not a decision we made lightly and it came only after lengthy discussion, thought and deliberation, as well as consultation with other professionals,” he added. “We wish Stormy all the best.” In a separate statement, Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said she...