‘Democracy is teetering’: at ground zero for Trump’s big lie in Arizona

In 2020, the Republican-controlled state legislature sponsored a widely discredited “audit” of votes in Maricopa county, the largest constituency, which contain Phoenix. Republican leaders put themselves forward as fake electors in a possibly criminal attempt to flip Joe Biden’s victory in Arizona to Trump’s. Two years later, in the midterms, armed vigilantes dressed in tactical …

US firm that paid indicted FBI informant tied to Trump associates, records reveal

Back in 2020, Smirnov was paid $600,000 by a company called Economic Transformation Technologies (ETT), prosecutors said. That same year, Smirnov began lying to the FBI about the Bidens, according to the indictment. [...] The former Damac chairman Hussain Sajwani is also close to Trump and has been described as his friend in multiple news …

Sex trafficking victim says Sen. Katie Britt [R] telling her story during SOTU rebuttal is ‘not fair’

https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/10/politics/katie-britt-sex-trafficking-victim-interview/index.html -CNN; 3/10/2024

Fact check: Trump delivers another lie-filled CPAC speech

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/24/politics/fact-check-trump-delivers-another-lie-filled-cpac-speech/index.html -CNN; 2/24/2024

‘Donald Trump is a juggernaut of justice’: The most bizarre things said so far at CPAC 2024

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/wildest-things-said-cpac-2024-b2500908.html -The Independent; 2/23/2024

Bail clampdowns don’t match what research says about suspects, experts say

Some conservatives argue that lenient bail policies put suspects who are likely to commit crimes before their upcoming court hearings, or who might skip bail altogether, back on the street. But some progressives say research does not support that contention. They argue that detaining defendants because they can’t afford financial bonds is unfair, and note that such …

Fox News hyped the bogus FBI informant claims against Biden. Now it’s refusing to walk them back

Days after explosive bribery claims about President Joe Biden came ripping apart at the seams, Fox News and the broader MAGA Media universe have declined to walk back their factually-challenged narrative. Instead, unscrupulous right-wing media figures have stuck by their corruption claims against Biden, which permeated the conservative information space to such a degree that …

Russia-linked Biden accuser charged with lying? Who cares, Republicans say

Republicans were not listening. Charges against Smirnov and news of his links with Russian intelligence did not “change the fundamental facts” of the case, Jordan told reporters, rehashing claims about Hunter Biden’s work for a Ukrainian energy company and the supposed involvement of his father. [...] Comer, the leader of the impeachment effort, also showed little …

Indicted ex-FBI informant told investigators he got Hunter Biden dirt from Russian intelligence officials

The former FBI informant charged with lying about the Bidens’ dealings in Ukraine told investigators after his arrest that Russian intelligence officials were involved in passing information to him about Hunter Biden, prosecutors said Tuesday in a new court filing, noting that the information was false. Prosecutors also said Alexander Smirnov has been “actively peddling new lies …

FBI informant who lied about Bidens’ Ukraine ties had contact with Russians – prosecutors

Prosecutors revealed the alleged contact as they urged a judge to keep Alexander Smirnov behind bars while he awaits trial. He’s charged with falsely reporting to the FBI in June 2020 that executives associated with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid Hunter and the president $5m each in 2015 or 2016. The claim has been central to …