A Virginia school board member seeking a promotion to the state legislature may have used her position in an attempt to sabotage her election opponent — a teacher in the school district she presides over, records show.
Democrat Stella Pekarsky, who currently serves on the Fairfax County School Board, was personally involved in discussions over whether to punish Julie Perry, a history teacher who is running against her in this year’s District 36 Senate race, according to <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23986992-pekarsky-foia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">emails and calendar entries</a> obtained by The Daily Wire through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The records show a Pekarsky donor sent Centreville High School Principal Chad Lehman a complaint objecting to conservative social media posts the history teacher made as part of her campaign. Lehman forwarded the complaint to the school board&#8217;s Assistant Superintendent Penny Gros, who said she would seek guidance about what to do. That guidance appears to have come from none other than Pekarsky, and it was followed by a memo reprimanding Perry and threatening her job.
“Your behavior negatively impacts the goals of this department and others,” the reprimand said, citing the campaign posts. “Any action that brings the school system into disrepute may be just cause for dismissal.”
Experts said the conduct of Pekarsky and taxpayer-funded employees could constitute serious misconduct intended to impact the election, saying it is improper for individual board members to be involved in the discipline of specific teachers — much less their own campaign opponents.
The initial complaint came on May 7, not long after Perry announced that she was running for the same seat as Pekarsky, from Robert Rigby, a substitute teacher who is close with Pekarsky. Rigby wrote to Principal Lehman to say that he had filed a complaint with Child Protective Services (CPS) against Perry, citing a social media post she made regarding scientific research that found that autistic children are especially prone to transgenderism.
<div id="attachment_623493" style="width: 656px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-623493" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-623493 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/rigby-pekarsky-fb-cropped.jpeg" alt="Stella Pekarsky with Robert Rigby / Facebook" width="646" height="418" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/rigby-pekarsky-fb-cropped.jpeg 646w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/rigby-pekarsky-fb-cropped-300x194.jpeg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 646px) 100vw, 646px" />Stella Pekarsky with Robert Rigby / Facebook</div>
Lehman forwarded the complaint to his supervisor, Gros, who said she would &#8220;follow up tomorrow after getting some guidance.&#8221;
The next day, CPS alerted the school that it had dismissed the complaint as unfounded. But soon after, a second complaint was made asking the school itself to take action.
That complaint came on May 11 at 3:15 p.m., when Vanessa Hall – a local Democrat activist who was <a href="https://www.fcps.edu/committee/family-life-education-curriculum-advisory-committee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appointed</a> to a sex-ed committee by the school board – emailed Lehman pointing to Perry&#8217;s &#8220;numerous social media posts that are homophobic, transphobic, and deeply hurtful to the entire community.&#8221; It said that the tweet — in which Perry said she had personally seen how trangender ideology affected an autistic student — showed that &#8220;she is using students for her political gain.&#8221;
Lehman again forwarded the email to Gros, and calendar entries obtained by The Daily Wire indicate that she within an hour was meeting with Pekarsky to discuss Perry. Gros’ calendar shows a “Phone Call: Stella (re: Julie Perry)” for 4:00 to 4:30 that day, according to emails and calendar entries. And at 4:29, Gros replied to Lehman that she was ready to discuss how to proceed, saying, “I am available if you are.”
A FOIA request for references to Perry in Gros&#8217; account showed no evidence that she consulted anyone else other than Pekarsky for &#8220;guidance&#8221; on the matter.
The next week, Lehman summoned Perry to a meeting in which Hall’s complaint and the fact that a CPS complaint was filed were used as evidence that she had brought the school system into “disrepute,” even though CPS dismissed the complaint, according to a summary memo that Lehman placed in Perry&#8217;s personnel file.
The reprimand ordered Perry to avoid any posts on social media that reference her teaching position.
“Moving forward, you must avoid social media posts that draw a connection to &#8230; your role as a teacher at Centreville High School,” it said. (Pekarsky’s own website <a href="https://stellapekarsky.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">says she is a teacher</a>, even though, according to public records, she does not have a <a href="https://vadoe.mylicense.com/verification/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">teaching license</a>.)
Pam Kirby, a former member of the Scottsdale, Arizona, school board who now leads the Arizona Coalition for School Board Members, said it would be abnormal for an individual school board member to be involved in the discipline case of a specific employee.
School board members have “no authority” as individuals, “they only have authority as a body” through votes, she told The Daily Wire. “It&#8217;s abusing your role as a school board member, whether there&#8217;s an election or not. That authority is given to the superintendent, and the board manages the superintendent,” she said.
The <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/files/CV6K6B504D07/$file/Manual%20revisions%20approved%20-%207-13-23.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">governance manual</a> outlining the role of the Fairfax County School board members requires members to agree to &#8220;delegate authority for the administration of the schools to the Superintendent” and “refrain from using the board position for personal or partisan gain and avoid any conflict of interest or the appearance of impropriety.”
“I will respect the confidentiality of privileged information and make no individual decisions or commitments that might compromise the board or administration,” it says.
<div id="attachment_623465" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-623465" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-623465" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/pekarsky-1024x555.png" alt="Virginia Senate candidate Stella Pekarsky. Source: Fairfax County Public Schools" width="1024" height="555" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/pekarsky-1024x555.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/pekarsky-300x163.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/pekarsky-768x416.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/pekarsky-1536x832.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/09/pekarsky-2048x1109.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Virginia Senate candidate Stella Pekarsky. Source: Fairfax County Public Schools</div>
The board’s <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/files/CKEJJH4D68C5/$file/P1801.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Conflict of Interest Policy</a> further states that “a School Board member shall disqualify himself or herself from participating in any transaction on behalf of the school system if he or she has a personal interest,” noting that “violation of the State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act, which is the basis of this policy, may result in enforcement action by the Commonwealth Attorney, including but not limited to criminal prosecution.”
Virginia <a href="https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacodepopularnames/state-and-local-government-conflict-of-interests-act/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">law</a> says a public official may not “use for his own economic benefit or that of another party confidential information that he has acquired by reason of his public position” or “use his public position to retaliate or threaten to retaliate against any person for expressing views on matters of public concern.”
In the Fairfax County Public Schools rulebook, it says that a dispute over how policy applies to an employee personnel matter would only reach the school board after <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/files/BY5HWF4A7833/$file/R4461.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">six layers of appeals</a>.
Violations of rules for board members can result in the “removal from any leadership or committee positions.”
Pekarsky, who is squaring off against Perry for the Senate seat representing western Fairfax County with early voting starting this week, acknowledged in a statement that the CPS call by her donor was a &#8220;misuse&#8221; of the CPS system, but claimed she did not know about it. &#8220;I have recused myself from anything to do with any internal school system process involving her,&#8221; she said.
A FOIA request of Pekarsky&#8217;s emails including Perry&#8217;s name showed no email saying she recused herself from anything
Pekarsky did not deny the &#8220;Phone Call: Stella (re: Julie Perry)&#8221; immediately following the CPS complaint, and did not explain the records or what would have been discussed if not the CPS complaint, instead suggesting that her opponent is a Nazi.
A spokesperson for FCPS defended the contact between the school and Pekarsky. “There is an expectation that all Fairfax County Public Schools regional area superintendents keep their magisterial school board members informed about matters that could be of community concern at any schools under that member’s purview,&#8221; the spokesperson said. &#8220;Such updates are informational.”
But Karen Hilz, a former school board member in Franklin County, Virginia, who has run trainings for school board members, said “The pecking order is assistant superintendent, superintendent, board. So why wasn’t it elevated to the superintendent to inform the board? … And did they reach out solely to [Pekarsky] or inform all board members? If it’s for information purposes you inform all school board members.”
She said the conduct by political activists, FCPS staff, and Pekarsky was “without a doubt election interference.”
“Obviously there’s a relationship there, is what it seems to me, and they were collaborating on what to do with an opponent, which is totally inappropriate,” she added.
Perry said a successful CPS complaint would mean “they would have fired me immediately, ripped my teachers license away from me, I would have never gotten another teaching job, and there’s a chance I would have gone to jail,” she said.
The school district initially attempted to conceal the identities of both Hall and Rigby under FOIA, before conceding that it had no justification for withholding Hall’s name. It continued to conceal Rigby’s name, saying CPS complaints are private under the law.
But Hayden Fisher, a lawyer who is running for another state Senate seat as a Republican, noted that <a href="https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title63.2/chapter15/section63.2-1514/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Virginia law</a> also says a complainant&#8217;s identity can be unmasked if the complaint was &#8220;in bad faith or with malicious intent.&#8221; Representing Perry, he made that argument in court.
On September 8, a Fairfax County judge <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23986994-pekarsky-court" target="_blank" rel="noopener">compelled CPS</a> to provide the name of the complainant for his review. The judge said he would investigate whether the person is tied to Pekarsky, and if he found connections, the complaint would likely be presumed to be malicious, Fisher said.
Perry deleted the tweet after only an hour, meaning it was seen by few people and the two complainants were likely working together, Fisher said.
Public records reviewed by The Daily Wire show that Hall, who emailed a complaint to the principal, is one of four officers of a Democrat activist group called <a href="https://cis.scc.virginia.gov/EntitySearch/BusinessInformation?businessId=11378816&amp;source=FromEntityResult&amp;isSeries%20=%20false" target="_blank" rel="noopener">4 Public Education</a>. Another officer of that group is Rigby, raising the possibility that Rigby filed the CPS complaint, with Hall following up with a school-specific complaint when the CPS complaint did not work.
Rigby last year served as an advisor to the Pride Liberation Project, which said it would <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pro-trans-group-behind-virginia-school-walkout-plans-to-rehome-gay-kids-who-hate-their-parents" target="_blank" rel="noopener">harbor minors</a> who wanted to run away from their parents, saying, &#8220;In the event of you needing to leave your home, we can provide you with emergency housing from a supportive, Queer friendly adult.&#8221;
Rigby acknowledged to The Daily Wire that he made the CPS complaint.
Rigby has donated more than <a href="https://www.vpap.org/donors/323895-robert-rigby/?start_year=2018&amp;end_year=2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$9,000</a> to Virginia Democrats since 2018, including more than $800 to Pekarsky. He donated to Pekarsky’s Senate campaign three days after Pekarsky spoke to the assistant superintendent, and one day before the principal summoned Perry to threaten her with discipline.
That means the judge may rule the complaint malicious. But that might not come until after the election, with voting beginning September 22 and ending November 7.
Perry said “there have to be consequences” that punish election interference.

Virginia Senate candidate Stella Pekarsky. Campaign website

Virginia Democrat Used Gov’t Position To Play Role In Reprimand Of Her Conservative Opponent, Records Reveal

A Conservative Teacher Is Running For State Senate. A Democrat Operative Complained To Her School District, Which Coordinated With Her Opponent Then Threatened To Fire Her

Election Fraud

Parental Rights in Education

Transgender

Virginia

Republican presidential candidate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/vivek-ramaswamy">Vivek Ramaswamy</a> once promoted moving to an entirely electronic, remote, and mandatory voting system before launching his presidential campaign.
After the presidential election in November 2020, Ramaswamy advocated on social media for “electronic at-home voting,” arguing that it could drastically cut down on fraud.
“Electronic at-home voting. Make it universal; submit a blank ballot if you want,” he wrote. “One per SSN for every adult citizen. No ballot fraud. No voter suppression. No wasted money on “get-out-the-vote.” Most importantly: greater civic engagement. Thoughts?”
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Electronic at-home voting. Make it universal; submit a blank ballot if you want. One per SSN for every adult citizen. No ballot fraud. No voter suppression. No wasted money on “get-out-the-vote.” Most importantly: greater civic engagement. Thoughts?
&mdash; Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) <a href="https://twitter.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/1324018402562772992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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He also said that he wanted to make it mandatory.
“I’m suggesting making it mandatory,” he wrote.
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I’m suggesting making it mandatory.
&mdash; Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) <a href="https://twitter.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/1324033668600401921?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Ramaswamy’s past remarks have <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ramaswamy-floated-mandatory-voting-casting-electronic-ballots-home">resurfaced</a> after a widely reported moment from an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ramaswamy-confirms-he-called-trump-sore-loser-trades-barbs-with-pence">interview</a> over the weekend with NBC News, in which he presented a very different reform plan. The political newcomer claimed to &#8220;Meet the Press&#8221; that had he been vice president on January 6, 2021, that he would have &#8220;driven&#8221; the U.S. Senate to pass “single-day voting on Election Day,” “paper ballots,” and “government-issued ID matching the voter file.”
“I would have driven it through the Senate,” he said.
Former Vice President Mike Pence’s presidential campaign responded to Ramaswamy’s remarks by noting that he wrote different things in his book “Nation of Victims,” published in September 2022.
Pence’s team specifically highlighted how Ramaswamy praised Pence for his actions on January 6, 2021.
“Mike Pence, a man I have great respect for, decided it was his constitutional duty to resist the president’s attempts to get him to unilaterally overturn the results of the election, even in the face of the January 6 Capitol riot,” Ramaswamy wrote, later adding: “I’m simply not convinced the election was stolen.”
Ramaswamy&#8217;s campaign later put out a statement responding to criticism over his election integrity platform, his book, and other aspects of his recent NBC News appearance.
&#8220;Ramaswamy advocates for a practical solution to address widespread concerns about U.S. election security that will help move the nation forward, after which a President Ramaswamy would lead all Americans to accept the results of elections without questioning their outcomes,&#8221; Ramaswamy campaign spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
McLaughlin said Pence&#8217;s comments are &#8220;dead wrong&#8221; and &#8220;reflect desperation.&#8221;
This article has been updated with comments from Ramaswamy&#8217;s campaign.

US-POLITICS-VOTE-REPUBLICANS-DEBATE-SPIN ROOM

Ramaswamy Once Floated Mandatory ‘Electronic At-Home Voting’ To Combat Election Fraud

2024 Primaries

Elections

Politics

Republican Primary

Vivek Ramaswamy

A former federal prosecutor called the racketeering conspiracy indictment against former President Donald Trump and his allies a flawed case, claiming attempts to change an election outcome are legal and an actual criminal enterprise must be a continuing threat.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis launched a 41-count indictment against Trump and 18 co-conspirators last week, accusing the defendants of attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election result by allegedly violating the state&#8217;s version of the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and soliciting an official to violate their oath of office.
Although Georgia&#8217;s RICO Act allows prosecutors to connect various crimes committed by multiple defendants, former Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York Andrew McCarthy wrote an <a href="https://themessenger.com/opinion/the-flaw-in-trumps-georgia-indictment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opinion piece for The Messenger</a> pointing to &#8220;a giant hole&#8221; in the case due to &#8220;the lack of a clear crime to which Trump and his co-defendants can plausibly be said to have agreed.&#8221;
Racketeering conspiracy charges typically apply to mafia-type criminal organizations that engage in offenses you would see in an episode of &#8220;The Sopranos.&#8221; But because conspiracy charges require an agreement with two or more people to violate a criminal statute, McCarthy said that if there is no agreement about committing a crime, there is no conspiracy.
In the indictment, Willis alleges that Trump and the co-conspirators tried to keep the former president in power after the 2020 election results claimed otherwise by explicitly attempting to &#8220;change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump.&#8221; Yet trying to reverse the election results without sharing an &#8220;overarching objective&#8221; is technically not a crime, McCarthy said.
He further alleges Willis is attempting to get around proof of the objective by using tautology in the charges, specifically noting on page 14 of the indictment that this was a &#8220;conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump.&#8221;
&#8220;That is, the lawful objective of changing the election outcome somehow becomes unlawful because she invokes the apparently talismanic word &#8216;unlawful,'&#8221; McCarthy wrote. &#8220;But there is no crime of unlawfully trying to change an election outcome — not in Georgia law nor any other American law.&#8221;
McCarthy also said the RICO charge doesn&#8217;t fit the Georgia case because Trump and the co-defendants &#8220;did not intend or desire to belong to a group, or even see themselves as a group.&#8221;
&#8220;Their objective allegedly was to maintain Trump in power, not to participate in an enterprise,&#8221; he wrote.
Democratic State Representative Tonya Miller of Georgia, also a former prosecutor in Fulton County, told <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/ali-velshi/watch/before-trump-fani-willis-used-rico-in-a-cheating-scandal-191214661527" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MSNBC</a> on Sunday that the word &#8220;enterprise&#8221; under state law is defined broadly and includes one or more persons, legal or illegal businesses, and government agencies.
&#8220;RICO is particularly — in Georgia — particularly broad, more so than the federal version of RICO, because it isn&#8217;t just crimes that can form the basis of racketeering activity,&#8221; Miller said. &#8220;It can be acts involving crimes, threats involving crimes, so it really can get conduct that isn&#8217;t necessarily on its face criminal. We see that in this indictment.&#8221;
At the end of each act in the indictment, Willis alleges the defendants and other members and associates of the enterprise committed overt acts in furtherance of the conspiracy.
Emory University Law Professor Fred Smith Jr. told the outlet that the act of conspiracy could count so long as the action was in furtherance of the same goal.
&#8220;Now, of course, there does need to be illegal activity, a pattern of illegal activity, which under Georgia law is two crimes that are listed in that particular state statute,&#8221; Smith said. &#8220;But all other actions that may not themselves be illegal, so long as they were in furtherance of that same scheme, that same illegal goal can qualify.&#8221;

COMBO-US-POLITICS-REPUBLICANS-CPAC-justice-Trump-INDICTED

Former Federal Prosecutor Calls Fulton County Indictment Against Trump, Allies A Flawed Case

2020 Election

Donald Trump

Georgia

Joe Biden

U.S.

Lawyers for former President Donald Trump are urging him to cancel a press conference where he vows to back up his claims of election fraud in Georgia.
“A Large, Complex, Detailed but Irrefutable REPORT on the Presidential Election Fraud which took place in Georgia is almost complete &amp; will be presented by me at a major News Conference at 11:00 A.M. on Monday of next week in Bedminster, New Jersey,” Trump wrote in a statement posted on social media earlier this week. “Based on the results of this CONCLUSIVE Report, all charges should be dropped against me &amp; others – There will be a complete EXONERATION!”
“They never went after those that Rigged the Election,” he continued. “They only went after those that fought to find the RIGGERS!”
However, multiple news organizations are now reporting that Trump&#8217;s own lawyers are advising him to cancel the event because it could expose him to further legal consequences. ABC News, which broke the news, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/trumps-legal-advisers-urge-cancel-press-conference-refute/story?id=102336380&amp;cid=social_twitter_abcn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the press conference was now &#8220;very much in doubt.&#8221; Other <a href="https://www.semafor.com/article/08/17/2023/trump-georgia-press-conference-debate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a> said that some of Trump&#8217;s aides were still pushing him to hold the event.
The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/15/us/politics/trump-election-report-georgia-indictment.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the report that Trump was expected to release is a 100+ page document compiled by one of his communications aides who is said to be a &#8220;true believer&#8221; in the former president&#8217;s claims that the election was rigged and stolen.
In response to Trump&#8217;s announcement about the Monday press conference, Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp posted a screenshot of Trump’s statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, and wrote: “The 2020 election in Georgia was not stolen.”
“For nearly three years now, anyone with evidence of fraud has failed to come forward — under oath — and prove anything in a court of law,” Kemp said. “Our elections in Georgia are secure, accessible, and fair and will continue to be as long as I am governor. The future of our country is at stake in 2024 and that must be our focus.”
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The 2020 election in Georgia was not stolen. 
For nearly three years now, anyone with evidence of fraud has failed to come forward &#8211; under oath &#8211; and prove anything in a court of law. Our elections in Georgia are secure, accessible, and fair and will continue to be as long as I… <a href="https://t.co/jaru2iBDo7">pic.twitter.com/jaru2iBDo7</a>
&mdash; Brian Kemp (@BrianKempGA) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrianKempGA/status/1691483026356678660?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 15, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Former President Trump Addresses The Alabama GOP Summer Dinner

Trump Lawyers Urge Him To Cancel Event Where He’s Expected To Release 100+ Page Report On ‘Election Fraud’

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee will preside over the highly-scrutinized trial of former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> and his allies over their actions during the 2020 election, just six months after being appointed to the position by Georgia Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/brian-kemp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brian Kemp</a>. 
McAfee, 34, who <a href="https://www.fultoncourt.org/judge/judge-scott-mcafee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">got</a> his law degree from the University of Georgia, has previously worked for Kemp as the Peach State’s inspector general and worked under Democrat Fulton County District Attorney <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/georgia-prosecutor-ready-to-go-with-trump-case" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fani Willis</a>. 
Under Willis, McAfee worked with the complex trial division for the Fulton County District Attorney’s office, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/15/us/elections/scott-mcafee-trump-judge.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the New York Times. “While with the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, Judge McAfee started in the complaint room and worked his way up to the major case division where he exclusively handled homicide prosecutions,” McAfee’s 2024 judicial campaign website <a href="https://www.keepjudgemcafee.com/#Issues" target="_blank" rel="noopener">says</a>
He later became a federal prosecutor in the Northern District of Georgia, where he worked on major drug trafficking investigations. With the feds, McAfee worked under U.S. Attorney Byung Pak, who <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-forced-georgia-u-s-attorney-to-resign-11610225840#:~:text=White%20House%20officials%20pushed%20Atlanta%27s,familiar%20with%20the%20matter%20said." target="_blank" rel="noopener">later exited</a> the position after clashing with Trump over his voter fraud claims. 
After his work prosecuting drug and fraud related crimes, McAfee took a job as Georgia’s inspector general. 
&#8220;Scott McAfee is a strong addition to my administration,&#8221; Kemp <a href="https://www.kcra.com/article/who-is-scott-mcafee-judge-trump-case-georgia/44817639" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> at the time. &#8220;His experience as a tough prosecutor equips him to search out fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption, and bring those to justice who break the law.&#8221;
In December 2022, McAfee was appointed by Kemp to Fulton County Superior Court, where he <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/judge-handle-trump-case/story?id=102278055" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ordered</a> pro-Trump attorney Lin Wood to pay $5,000 after he was held in contempt of court for comments he made about ex-associates for a case <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-scott-mcafee-to-preside-trump-case-in-georgia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not connected</a> to Wood&#8217;s actions during the 2020 election. 
&#8220;I can&#8217;t overlook the protracted and flagrant nature of the violation,&#8221; McAfee said at the time. 
Additionally, McAfee previously interned for former Georgia Supreme Court Judges David Nahmias and Keith Blackwell, both of whom were appointed by Republicans.
McAfee <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/15/us/elections/scott-mcafee-trump-judge.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was</a> the vice president of the Federalist Society and the treasurer of Law Republicans while at law school. He has also appeared to <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=Scott+McAfee&amp;order=desc&amp;sort=D" target="_blank" rel="noopener">give</a> several hundred dollars to Republican candidates in Georgia, including Kemp. 
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Willis has proposed starting the trial date for Trump and 18 of his allies on March 4, which would be just one week before the Georgia Republican presidential primary. 
Trump has decried the prosecution and said that he will produce evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 election next Monday. 
&#8220;Like Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, Deranged Jack Smith, and New York AG Letitia James, Fulton County, GA&#8217;s radical Democrat District Attorney Fani Willis is a rabid partisan who is campaigning and fundraising on a platform of prosecuting President Trump through these bogus indictments,” Trump <a href="https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/trump-issues-statement-after-fulton-county-grand-jury-hands-up-indictments-in-georgia-election-case#:~:text=%22Like%20Manhattan%20DA%20Alvin%20Bragg,Trump%20through%20these%20bogus%20indictments." target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in response to the latest indictment. 
The former president also faces trials in New York, Florida, and Washington, D.C.

Screen Shot 2023-08-16 at 4.09.41 PM

Judge Presiding Over Trump Georgia Case Previously Worked Under Kemp, Fulton County DA

Brian Kemp

Courts

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Georgia&#8217;s Fulton County District Attorney <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fulton-county-prosecutors-have-another-recording-of-trump-pressuring-georgia-house-speaker-to-overturn-election-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fani Willis</a> proposed starting the trial in her RICO case against former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> and 18 of his allies roughly one week before the state&#8217;s primary.
In <a href="https://www.fultonclerk.org/DocumentCenter/View/2092/MOTION-08-16-2023-151715-39070073-1C86D04A-9755-4D11-B5B2-0C36FAC21C70">a filing on Wednesday</a>, Willis&#8217; team asked the presiding judge to consider a scheduling order that would have arraignments for the defendants on the week of September 5 and a trial commencing on March 4, 2024.
The suggested trial start date is significant because it falls on the calendar one day before Super Tuesday and eight days before Georgia&#8217;s primary <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/2024-state-primary-election-dates">set for March 12</a>. Trump is currently the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.
As <a href="https://www.ajc.com/politics/breaking-fulton-da-proposes-march-4-trial-date-for-trump-18-co-defendants/CGWTOCQZ4NAMNKGUAM4LXAXY4Q/">noted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution</a>, it is unlikely Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee will make a decision on the proposed scheduling order until hearing from the defendants.
Special prosecutor Nathan Wade wrote in the filing for Willis&#8217; team that their proposed dates &#8220;do not conflict&#8221; with already-scheduled hearings and trial dates in other cases, specifically mentioning Trump. The filing additionally proposes other dates regarding discovery and other issues leading up to the trial.
A hush-money case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is scheduled to go to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-23/trump-gets-march-25-2024-trial-date-in-ny-hush-money-case">trial on March 25</a>. Special counsel Jack Smith&#8217;s documents case against Trump is <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-trial-date-documents-case-may-20-2024/">set to begin on May 20</a> in Florida. And in a federal case focused on the 2020 election, Smith has asked for a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/10/special-counsel-wants-jan-2-trial-in-trump-election-case.html">January 2 trial start date</a> in Washington, D.C.
Trump also faces a fraud suit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James that is set to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/20/1185762259/trump-criminal-civil-cases-lawsuits">go to trial in October</a> and a defamation lawsuit brought by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/judge-tosses-trumps-defamation-claim-against-e-jean-carroll">writer E. Jean Carroll</a>, who accuses the former president of raping her, with a trial in that case expected in mid-January.
Across all the legal matters, Trump has broadly denied any wrongdoing. When it comes to the four criminal cases, he has claimed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fulton-da-responds-to-trump-attacks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">politically motivated forces</a> are targeting him in a &#8220;witch hunt&#8221; propagated by the Biden administration and Democrat prosecutors in New York and Georgia.
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In the Georgia case, Trump and 18 others were charged this week in an alleged scheme to overturn the results of the last presidential election in the state. At a press conference on Monday, Willis <a href="https://twitter.com/EdKrassen/status/1691752832628613178">said</a> she would give the defendants subject to arrest warrants &#8220;the opportunity&#8221; to voluntarily surrender by noon on Friday, August 25.
<a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/110893712805150244">With a post to Truth Social</a> on Tuesday, Trump said he is planning to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-on-fulton-county-charges-i-have-irrefutable-election-fraud-evidence-complete-exoneration">produce a report</a> showing fraud in Georgia&#8217;s 2020 election at a press conference next week that will hurt Willis&#8217; case against him and his co-defendants.
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Donald Trump and Fani Willis

Georgia Prosecutor Wants Trump Trial To Start One Week Before State’s Primary

Georgia Prosecutor Wants Trump Trial To Start One Week Before State's Primary

2024 Election

Crime

A Trump-era White House lawyer warned on Tuesday night that former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> should not hold a press conference on Monday detailing what he claims are examples of election fraud because it could land him in hot water.
Ty Cobb made the remarks after Trump was hit with 13 criminal charges in an indictment out of Fulton County, Georgia, over his alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
“A Large, Complex, Detailed but Irrefutable REPORT on the Presidential Election Fraud which took place in Georgia is almost complete &amp; will be presented by me at a major News Conference at 11:00 A.M. on Monday of next week in Bedminster, New Jersey,” Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-on-fulton-county-charges-i-have-irrefutable-election-fraud-evidence-complete-exoneration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> in a statement posted on social media. “Based on the results of this CONCLUSIVE Report, all charges should be dropped against me &amp; others – There will be a complete EXONERATION!”
“They never went after those that Rigged the Election,” he continued. “They only went after those that fought to find the RIGGERS!”
Cobb told CNN that he thought Trump&#8217;s remarks were &#8220;all Trump PR&#8221; and cautioned the former president from going through with the plan.
&#8220;This is, you know, generating chaos. I mean, frankly, there’s a good chance that whatever document he produces ends up as evidence against him,&#8221; Cobb said. &#8220;It could even end up as the basis for an obstruction count against the author because it’s likely to be fiction and solely for the purpose of contaminating the jury pool.&#8221;
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Trump was charged with 3 counts of Solicitation of Violation of Oath by Public Officer, 2 counts of Conspiracy to Commit Forgery in the First Degree, 2 counts of Conspiracy to Commit False Statements and Writings, 2 counts of False Statements and Writings, Violation of the Georgia RICO Act, Conspiracy to Commit Impersonating a Public Officer, Conspiracy to Commit Filing False Documents, and Filing False Documents.
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The 18 others charged in Fulton County include: Rudy Giuliani, lawyer; Ray Smith III, lawyer; Cathy Latham, alleged fake elector; Robert Cheeley, lawyer; John Eastman, lawyer; David Shafer, alleged fake elector; Shawn Still, alleged fake elector; Sidney Powell, lawyer; Kenneth Chesebro, lawyer; Michael Roman, Trump campaign staffer; Misty Hampton, Coffee County elections supervisor; Scott Hall, Bail Bondsman; Stephen Lee, Pastor; Trevian Kutti, Publicist; Willie Lewis Floyd III, former leader of “Black Voices for Trump”; Mark Meadows, former White House chief of staff; Jeffrey Clark, former DOJ official; and Jenna Ellis, lawyer.

Republican Presidential Candidates Speak At The Moms For Liberty Summit

Former White House Lawyer Warns Trump Should Not Hold Election Fraud Press Conference

Former Trump White House Chief of Staff <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mark-meadows" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mark Meadows</a> filed in the Northern District of Georgia to move his charges listed in the ex-president&#8217;s fourth indictment to a federal court, where he reportedly plans to ask a judge to dismiss his case under federal law.
&#8220;Mr. Meadows is entitled to remove this action to federal court because the charges against him plausibly give rise to a federal defense based on his role at all relevant times as the White House Chief of Staff to the President of the United States,&#8221; attorneys for Meadows wrote in the <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.gand.319225/gov.uscourts.gand.319225.1.0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">14-page filing</a> on Tuesday.
Meadows is one of 18 co-defendants named in former President Donald Trump&#8217;s Fulton County, Georgia, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-on-fulton-county-charges-i-have-irrefutable-election-fraud-evidence-complete-exoneration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">indictment</a> following a criminal investigation into Trump&#8217;s alleged efforts to overturn the state&#8217;s 2020 presidential election results.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis pursued charging individuals under Georgia&#8217;s RICO Act, which allows prosecutors to connect various crimes committed by multiple defendants and argue that they were working together toward a criminal goal — and were part of a &#8220;criminal enterprise.&#8221;
In the 41-count indictment brought against Trump and his allies, Meadows faces charges under the state&#8217;s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations statute and for soliciting an official to violate their oath of office.
The indictment alleges that Meadows, Trump, and others &#8220;unlawfully solicited, requested, and importuned&#8221; Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on January 2, 2021, citing a phone call where the former president reportedly tried to pressure the state official to find 11,780 votes.
Meadows denied any wrongdoing in assisting Trump&#8217;s efforts to challenge the election results.
&#8220;Nothing Mr. Meadows is alleged in the indictment to have done is criminal per se: arranging Oval Office meetings, contacting state officials on the President&#8217;s behalf, visiting a state government building, and setting up a phone call for the President,&#8221; the filing states. &#8220;One would expect a Chief of Staff to the President of the United States to do these sorts of things.&#8221;
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The filing argues the indictment &#8220;is precisely the kind of state interference in a federal official&#8217;s duties that the <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/supremacy_clause" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Supremacy Clause</a> of the U.S. Constitution prohibits,&#8221; which the core of the section states the Constitution and federal laws take priority over any conflicting rules of state law.
Attorneys for Meadows also reportedly stated in the filing that while the former chief of staff intends to file a separate motion to dismiss the indictment, the request to move into federal court would delay state court proceedings.
&#8220;Even if the Court is not prepared to dismiss outright at this early stage, however, justice requires granting removal and halting any further state-court proceedings against Mr. Meadows,&#8221; the filing said. &#8220;That will allow for the timely consideration of Mr. Meadows&#8217;s defenses, including his federal defense under the Supremacy Clause, without requiring him to defend himself in state court simultaneously.&#8221;
When the indictment was first revealed Monday, the Trump campaign released a statement slamming Fulton County DA Fani Willis as a “rabid partisan who is campaigning and fundraising on a platform of prosecuting President Trump through these bogus indictments.” Willis, the campaign said, “strategically stalled her investigation to try and maximally interfere with the 2024 presidential race and damage the dominant Trump campaign.”
Ryan Saavedra contributed to this report.

House Members Return To Washington, DC After Midterm Election

Former Trump White House Chief Of Staff Mark Meadows Seeks Removal Of Fulton County Case To Federal Court

Former Trump White House Chief Of Staff Mark Meadows Seeks To Move Fulton County Case To Federal Court

Mark Meadows

Trump Administration

President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden&#8217;s</a> re-election campaign criticized <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/youtube" target="_blank" rel="noopener">YouTube</a>’s decision to stop censoring certain election-related content, saying it could lead to “violence.” 
Biden’s team characterized <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/youtube-changes-misinformation-policy-will-allow-content-creators-to-say-widespread-fraud-occurred-in-elections" target="_blank" rel="noopener">YouTube’s move to allow content creators to say</a> that there was “widespread fraud” during the 2020 election and other races as a careless decision. 
“YouTube&#8217;s reckless and irresponsible decision will invite further democratic decay and potential violence, and we urge them to reconsider this policy,&#8221; <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/youtube-content-moderation-decision-election-claims-is-reckless-biden-campaign-2023-06-06/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz. 
Munoz added that the new policy would do nothing to “erase” the outcome of the 2020 election, when Biden beat former President Donald Trump, also partly blaming &#8220;the spread of misinformation&#8221; for the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. 
&#8220;The spread of misinformation helped lead to an unprecedented, violent assault on our nation’s capital that killed Americans. Social media companies played a central role in broadcasting those lies, and they have an obligation to act responsibly,&#8221; Munoz <a href="https://twitter.com/munozka315/status/1666234052599332869" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> on Twitter. He predicted that Biden would be &#8220;fairly reelected for another term in 2024.&#8221;
YouTube indicated that the policy change was based on free speech concerns. It said that while the former protocol intended to remove “misinformation,&#8221; it “could also have the unintended effect of curtailing political speech.&#8221;
“Two years, tens of thousands of video removals, and one election cycle later, we recognized it was time to reevaluate the effects of this policy in today’s changed landscape,” YouTube <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/youtube-changes-misinformation-policy-will-allow-content-creators-to-say-widespread-fraud-occurred-in-elections" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement. “With that in mind, and with 2024 campaigns well underway, we will stop removing content that advances false claims that widespread fraud, errors, or glitches occurred in the 2020 and other past US Presidential elections.”
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YouTube said it “carefully deliberated” before making the surprising change but did not provide specific details on what caused the Big Tech company to reverse course. The new policy took effect last week. 
Biden has <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/07/13/remarks-by-president-biden-on-protecting-the-sacred-constitutional-right-to-vote/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">repeatedly</a> referred to allegations from Trump and his supporters that there was fraud in the 2020 election as “the big lie.”
“For those who challenge the results and question the integrity of the election: No other election has ever been held under such scrutiny and such high standards,” Biden claimed in a July 2021 speech. 
Some election information will still be taken down. YouTube, which was bought by Google in 2006, said it would continue to stifle content it deems “election misinformation,” which includes videos “aiming to mislead voters about the time, place, means, or eligibility requirements for voting; false claims that could materially discourage voting, including those disputing the validity of voting by mail; and content that encourages others to interfere with democratic processes.”
Zach Jewell contributed to this report.

US-POLITICS-BIDEN

Biden Campaign Says YouTube’s New Election ‘Misinformation’ Policy Could Lead To Violence

Biden Campaign Says YouTube's New Election 'Misinformation' Policy Could Lead To Violence

Misinformation

YouTube

YouTube will no longer remove content on its platform that says widespread voter fraud happened during the 2020 election and other U.S. elections in a move that will likely have consequences for the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-releases-statement-on-desantis-entering-2024-race" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2024 presidential campaign</a>, according to a <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/06/02/us-election-fraud-youtube-policy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from Axios.
The video platform’s policy reversal comes as the 2024 presidential primaries heat up. Former President Donald Trump, who leads Republican primary polling, continues to challenge the results of the 2020 election, claiming widespread voter fraud took the election away from him and put President Joe Biden in the White House.
&#8220;Two years, tens of thousands of video removals, and one election cycle later, we recognized it was time to reevaluate the effects of this policy in today&#8217;s changed landscape,&#8221; YouTube said in a statement, according to Axios. &#8220;With that in mind, and with 2024 campaigns well underway, we will stop removing content that advances false claims that widespread fraud, errors, or glitches occurred in the 2020 and other past US Presidential elections.&#8221;
YouTube said it “carefully deliberated” before making the surprising change to its policy, but did not provide specific details on what caused the Big Tech company to reverse course. The new policy takes effect on Friday.
In March, YouTube <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/youtube-restores-donald-trumps-account">reversed course</a> on another decision, allowing Trump back onto the platform after banning him following the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill. On that day, the former president encouraged lawmakers and his vice president to refuse the certification of the 2020 election.
The Republican Party is divided on Trump’s denial of the 2020 election results, with many arguing that it’s time to move on from the past and focus on how the party can win future elections. Trump has been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/15/us/politics/election-denial-republicans.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">heavily criticized</a> by Republicans for continuing to deny his presidential election loss, with some GOP strategists blaming the former president for the Republican Party’s underwhelming performance in the 2022 midterm elections. The former president, however, maintains a large base of loyal supporters who defend his claims of a stolen election.
YouTube, which was bought by Google in 2006, said it will continue to stifle content it deems “election misinformation,” which includes videos “aiming to mislead voters about the time, place, means, or eligibility requirements for voting; false claims that could materially discourage voting, including those disputing the validity of voting by mail; and content that encourages others to interfere with democratic processes.&#8221;
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The company transitioned leadership after Susan Wojcicki <a href="https://blog.youtube/inside-youtube/a-personal-update-from-susan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> in February that she would step down from her role as chief executive. Neal Mohan, who was formerly YouTube’s chief product officer, stepped into the CEO position. Mohan has <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50733180">said</a> he wants “robust debate” on the platform, but he has also defended removing videos that “maliciously insult someone.”

Big Tech Logos

YouTube Changes ‘Misinformation Policy,’ Will Allow Content Creators To Say ‘Widespread Fraud’ Occurred In Elections

YouTube Changes 'Misinformation Policy,' Will Allow Content Creators To Say 'Widespread Fraud' Occurred In Elections  

Big Tech

Business

A judge in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/arizona" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arizona</a> rejected the final part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kari-lake" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kari Lake</a>&#8216;s legal challenge of her 2022 governor&#8217;s race defeat on Monday.
Lake&#8217;s team failed to show that Maricopa County, which includes the capital of Phoenix and is Arizona&#8217;s most populous county, did not properly perform signature verifications for early ballots, <a href="https://www.clerkofcourt.maricopa.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/5187/638203827030806202" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the ruling</a> determined.
The court did not find &#8220;clear and convincing evidence or a preponderance of evidence&#8221; of misconduct in violation of the law and sufficient to overturn the results of the contest, wrote Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson.
Thompson&#8217;s ruling also contained an order that said it was &#8220;confirming&#8221; the election of Democrat Katie Hobbs as the governor.
Lake&#8217;s team <a href="https://twitter.com/KariLakeWarRoom/status/1659665768391528451" target="_blank" rel="noopener">argued during the trial</a> that signatures were reviewed so quickly — many in less than two or three seconds — that the process could not meet the legal standard. The Republican <a href="https://twitter.com/Garrett_Archer/status/1660832820644782080" target="_blank" rel="noopener">may yet appeal the decision</a>. On Twitter, Lake posted <a href="https://twitter.com/KariLake/status/1660856338400915457" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a GIF</a> saying, &#8220;FIX THIS BROKEN SYSTEM,&#8221; and <a href="https://twitter.com/KariLake/status/1660851611340529666" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a> about a &#8220;big announcement&#8221; on Tuesday.
A former journalist who made election integrity a top priority of her campaign, Lake sued after the results showed that she lost the November contest to Hobbs by roughly 17,000 votes in the governor&#8217;s race. Hobbs was sworn in as governor in early January, and in the months since the November election, media reports have said Lake is <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/kari-lake-is-considering-senate-run-making-some-republicans-nervous-85a80081" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mulling a Senate bid</a> and former President Donald Trump is considering her as a <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/03/07/trump-kari-lake-vice-president-candidates-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">possible vice presidential running mate</a>.
Lake&#8217;s 2022 election complaint raised allegations of misconduct and illegal votes with issues ranging from mail-in ballots, chain-of-custody, and problematic ballot printers. In March, Arizona&#8217;s Supreme Court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/arizona-supreme-court-gives-kari-lakes-signature-verification-claim-a-shot" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sent the last-remaining claim</a> regarding signature verification back to the trial court, where Thompson <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/24/kari-lake-loses-lawsuit-over-her-defeat-in-arizona-governors-race.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">previously threw out</a> Lake’s challenge.
Maricopa County officials have <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/maricopa-county-arizona-officials-apologize-vote-tabulator-problems-say-7-ballots-affected" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acknowledged</a> issues with the 2022 election but insisted <a href="https://www.azfamily.com/2023/02/17/appeals-court-denies-kari-lakes-election-contest-2022-election/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">every valid vote</a> in the contest had been counted.
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&#8220;Wild claims of rigged elections may generate media attention and fundraising pleas, but they do not win court cases,&#8221; Maricopa County Chairman Clint Hickman said in a <a href="https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/AZMARIC/bulletins/35c0661" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> responding to Thompson&#8217;s ruling on Monday.
&#8220;When &#8216;bombshells&#8217; and &#8216;smoking guns&#8217; are not backed up by facts, they fail in court.  This is justice, and this is what happened today in Kari Lake’s election contest,&#8221; he added.

Kari Lake

Judge Dismisses Final Claim In Kari Lake’s 2022 Election Challenge

Judge Dismisses Final Claim In Kari Lake's 2022 Election Challenge

Arizona

Grammy-winning artist Prakazrel “Pras” Michel, former member of the 1990s hip-hop trio the Fugees, was found guilty Wednesday in a federal court on 10 criminal counts related to an international conspiracy to help China influence the U.S. government.
Michel, 50, was convicted of conspiracy, concealment of material facts, making false entries in records, witness tampering, and serving as an unregistered agent of a foreign power in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, according to the Department of Justice. He pleaded not guilty to all changes.
“As proven at trial, the defendant engaged in an extensive conspiracy to use millions of dollars in foreign funds to engage in illegal back-channel lobbying and make unlawful campaign contributions,” Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., said in a <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-entertainer-convicted-engaging-foreign-influence-campaign" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news release</a>.
Michel, who rose to fame in the early 1990s upon forming the East Coast hip-hop trio with Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean, played a central role in a wide-ranging conspiracy to improperly influence top government officials, including the Obama and Trump administrations, authorities said.
Prosecutor Sean Mulryne told the jury in closing arguments that the rapper was “at the center of the conspiracy.”
&#8220;He’s the core; he’s the linchpin,” Mulryne said, according to the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/pras-michel-convicted-of-involvement-in-foreign-influence-scheme-linked-to-1mdb-d27f49eb">Wall Street Journal</a>.
Authorities said Michel received more than $100 million from Malaysian financier Jho Low, who also faces charges separately for allegedly embezzling billions from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, between 2009 and 2014.
Court documents and trial evidence detail that Low and Michel conspired to lobby President Trump and the Justice Department to drop the 1MDB embezzlement investigation and extradite a Chinese national on behalf of Beijing. CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/26/politics/pras-michel-trial-verdict/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> the rapper denied Low gave him the money, claiming it was an investment for a media business. Authorities also accused Michel and Low of lobbying the Trump administration on behalf of Beijing to extradite a Chinese dissident living in America.
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During the Obama administration, authorities said Michel and Low funneled millions of dollars into roughly 20 straw donors for President Obama’s re-election campaign in 2012. According to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/former-fugees-member-pras-michel-convicted-10-felony-counts-rcna81670" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBC</a>, Michel told trial jurors last week that he accepted approximately $20 million from Low, who hoped to get a picture with Obama, though he claimed he did not intend for the money to be used as foreign campaign contributions or his services.
Michel also admitted to giving approximately $800,000 in donation money to friends intended for exclusive access to Obama fundraisers in Miami and Washington D.C., roughly priced at $40,000 per seat. Still, he considered the funds “free money” and his to spend.
Michel also claimed he was never told to register as a foreign agent.
Attorney David Kenner, who represented Michel, told reporters the rapper plans to appeal his conviction after sentencing.
“We are extremely disappointed in the results and are very, very confident in the ultimate outcome of this case,” Kenner told reporters.“This is not over. I remain very, very confident that we will ultimately prevail in this matter.”
Michel faces up to 20 years in prison.
Authorities have yet to set a sentencing date.

Former Rapper Pras Michel Goes On Trial For Conspiracy Charges In Washington, D.C.

Ex-Fugees Rapper ‘Pras’ Found Guilty On Charges Involving International Conspiracy Between China And U.S. Gov

Ex-Fugees Rapper 'Pras' Found Guilty On Charges Involving International Conspiracy Between China And U.S. Gov

Barack Obama

Chinese Communist Party

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