Melania Trump also did not accompany her husband to court in Manhattan last month for his alleged role in a scheme to pay hush money to a porn star during the 2016 presidential campaign, and was absent from his post-arraignment speech in Mar-a-Lago.
“My husband achieved tremendous success in his first administration, and he can lead us toward greatness and prosperity once again,” Melania Trump told Fox News.
Donald Trump is currently the frontrunner to be the GOP presidential nominee. According to a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll, if President Joe Biden and Donald Trump were the candidates, 38 percent said they would definitely or probably vote for the president, compared to 44 percent who would definitely or probably back Donald Trump.
Melania Trump told Fox News that if her husband is elected in 2024, she, as first lady, would “prioritize the well-being and development of children as I have always done.”
“My focus would continue to be creating a safe and nurturing space for children to learn, grow, and thrive,” she said. “If additional problems arise, I will take the time to study them and understand their root causes.”
[ad_2]
#Melania #Trump #supports #Donald #Trumps #campaign
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
In a separate letter addressed to Ye and obtained by POLITICO, Krason said he had been told he was going to be terminated by Yiannopoulos but was resigning before that was made official. He also said he had recently learned of a “potentially serious criminal transaction” involving the Kanye 2020 campaign, saying that Yiannopoulos “submitted falsified invoices and for expenditures that would be deemed unlawful” in November 2022, before Krason assumed the role as treasurer. He added that there was too much “personal animosity” for a professional relationship with Yiannopoulos.
Reached by phone, Krason said he felt he needed to leave Ye’s campaign following the personnel changes and due to concerns about Yiannopoulos outlined in his letter to Ye.
Yiannopoulos denied any wrongdoing by himself or the Kanye 2020 campaign to POLITICO, saying he was not going to “give any credence or ridiculous, ridiculous and easily disproven claims.” He suggested the allegations were a “venomous” attempt by the former treasurer to lash out while leaving the campaign. Ye could not be reached for comment directly.
The resignation letter cited an expense for a digital asset where Yiannopoulos allegedly sought reimbursement from both Kanye 2020 and the campaign of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia for whom Yiannopoulos had previously worked, though not recently.
The Kanye 2020 campaign previously reported paying $40,000 to Yiannopoulos in December 2022 for “campaign wrap up services” as well as nearly $10,000 a month prior for a “domain transfer,” according to FEC filings. But there are no direct payments to Yiannopoulos in Greene’s campaign filings from that time. A spokesperson for Greene did not immediately respond to a POLITICO inquiry.
Ye previously ran for president in 2020. Despite initial concerns he could play a spoiler role, he won less than 68,000 votes nationwide, according to Ballotpedia. Last November, he dined with former President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago shortly after Trump’s 2024 campaign launch.
Kyle Cheney contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
#Kanye #West #treasurer #resigns #alleges #unlawful #campaign #transaction
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
Hubbali: Congress workers in Karnataka’s Hubbali are upbeat as former party chief Sonia Gandhi will reach the city in Saturday to campaign for former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and all other candidates in Dharwad district.
A heavy contingent of police is deployed at Hubbali as Sonia Gandhi is an SPG protectee. More than 3000 policemen are deployed at various points in Hubbali and the ground where she will speak is taken over by the SPG.
According to Congress leadership, Gandhi will speak at the Young Stars Sports Ground in Hubbali at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and other senior Congress leaders will be present at the rally. Congress candidates in all the seven constituencies of Dharwad will also participate.
Hubbali, according to Congress camp, is the only place where Gandhi is campaigning in the state for the May 10 elections.
The seriousness Congress has given to the candidature of Shettar is clear from Sonia Gandhi herself reaching Hubbali for campaigning.
Talking to IANS, local Congress leader Ismail Sait said: “Jagadish Shettar was a secular leader even when he was in the BJP and the presence of former Congress President, Sonia Gandhi for the election campaign is an important gesture on how Congress treats Jagadish Shettar.”
He also said that the Muslim community would vote in totality for Shettar.
The Congress is expecting to wrest a few seats in Dharwad district which has been a strong bastion of the BJP.
New Delhi: A message to clean the Yamuna sent out through a campaign led by the Delhi Lt Governor has found resonance with clerics of several mosques, including the Jama Masjid, who appealed to members of the Muslim community to play their role in achieving this goal.
Lieutenant Governor (LG) V K Saxena had launched the Yamuna cleanliness drive on February 16 and after inspecting cleaning work at the Qudsiya Ghat, he had said that the target is to rejuvenate the Delhi stretch of the river by June 30.
In view of the LG’s initiative, clerics of several mosques here on Friday appealed to people to clean and rejuvenate the Yamuna, with the Mughal-era Jama Masjid making an announcement over its audio address system.
Mosques at Dwarka and Rohini, the Badwali Masjid at Daryaganj in Old Delhi and a mosque at the site of the Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah, among others, conveyed the meaning and importance of the campaign.
People gather at mosques on Friday for ‘jummah’ prayers.
“After a long period, the government has taken a swift step to clean the Yamuna river. To clean the river, besides the role of the government, support of the people is also needed. Delhi’s LG V K Saxena has got a big stretch of the Yamuna cleaned, and more work is being in that direction,” the Jama Masjid announced.
He has appealed to the people to come forward to achieve this goal so that a good environment and clean water of the Yanuma can be enjoyed, it announced.
At the Badwali Masjid, a cleric told a gathering that the Hindu community considers Yamuna as a holy river, and the Muslim community should also come forward and contribute to its rejuvenation.
The cleric cited the importance of the river and said Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built the Red Fort in Delhi and Taj Mahal in Agra near the Yamuna.
Shah Jahah had also commissioned the Jama Masjid in the 17th century, the largest mosque in Delhi.
Jama Masjid’s Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari had recently met the LG in connection with the campaign to clean the Yamuna, officials said.
Officials at the LG’s office had last month said that the efforts to clean the Yamuna will be boosted through wide ranging awareness campaigns, including involving priests to discourage people from throwing waste generated during religious ceremonies into the river.
Lane also appeared to have attended a meeting where 11 Arizona Republicans falsely declared themselves presidential electors. In a video of that meeting, which was posted by the Arizona Republican Party, a man wearing a Trump campaign jacket with the name “Lane” on it is seen passing out papers for people to sign “certifying themselves Arizona’s ‘duly elected and qualified electors.’”
POLITICO also obtained a video from September of 2021 — during which time Lane was working as an RNC “election integrity” official in Virginia — in which he fanned conspiracy theories about the election. Lane was speaking to a gathering of conservative grassroots organizers about the RNC’s statewide plan to deploy poll workers and watchers in the upcoming gubernatorial election.
It’s important that “we learn from mistakes, we learn from any fraud, stealing,” said Lane.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that last year was stolen. ‘Stolen’ means different things to different people. On one end, it can mean the Chinese, the Russians, uh, hacked machines, or there was an influx of ballots, or fake ballots, whatever,” Lane said in the video given to POLITICO from the group Documented, a non-partisan investigative watchdog that says it believes “democracy itself is under attack.”
“On the other end is, ‘Hey, Covid was a thing, Democrats took complete advantage of it, within the laws, and outside the laws.’ And there’s everything in between,” said Lane.
Lane was among a number of people from the 2020 Trump campaign who both received subpoenas from law enforcement and complied with those requests. The committee declined to comment about the incident or his work in the House. Lane, who does not appear to have faced any charges, did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Lane was a young aide on the Trump campaign at the time, fresh out of graduating from law school. But his career path from there through the House Administration Committee underscores how individuals connected to Donald Trump’s unsuccessful scheme remain well within the corridors of power, including on matters of election conduct.
The House Administration Committee is often considered a sleepy backwater that runs the logistics of the House, including doling out parking and office spaces. But it also has broad jurisdiction over elections — from campaign finance law to voting rights and election administration. Its chair, Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI), did not vote to block certification of the 2020 election but it’s been holding numerous hearings recently about the 2022 election, some that include individuals who deny the legitimacy of the 2020 election.
Last week, it held a hearing featuring a number of individuals who participated in a recent Washington conference hosted by conservative groups pushing for voting restrictions. Among those who testified were Hans Von Spakovsky, the Heritage Foundation’s elections lawyer who has a long history of advocating for voting restrictions and insists the U.S. system is rife with voter fraud.
Lane’s role would typically include helping to plan hearings, recommend witnesses and draft questions and helping to draft legislation, according to a person familiar with the committee’s operations.
In a potential sign of Lane’s influence over the committee’s work, last month Lynn Taylor of the Virginia Institute for Public Policy testified before the election subcommittee on the issue of “election observer access.” Taylor worked closely in 2021 with Lane, whom she introduced at the September event, and Cleta Mitchell, an attorney who advised Trump in the 2020 election. Mitchell spread false election claims and participated in the former president’s infamous call with Georgia election officials where Trump urged them to “find” votes. Mitchell resigned from her law firm following criticism of her involvement in the call.
After the 2020 election, Mitchell created a network of activist groups to recruit and coach poll watchers and workers in multiple battleground states. Mitchell’s broader “Election Integrity Network” is now collaborating directly with Taylor, according to Lindsey Zea, a research analyst for the VIPP who spoke during a Feb. 21 Zoom meeting of activists obtained by POLITICO.
Mitchell has also spoken openly about having a working relationship with the House Administration Committee. At a meeting last week for the Election Assistance Commission, a federal agency that serves as a clearinghouse for election information and upon whose advisory board she serves, Mitchell praised the committee’s staff.
“They’ve been wonderful about working with and helping to educate volunteers and citizen activists on weekly calls,” Mitchell said of the staffers. Mitchell did not respond to a request for comment.
During those weekly meetings, which often occur over Zoom and include conservative activists, Mitchell has encouraged attendees to become familiar with local elections clerks as she pushes a menu of reforms that would reduce ballot access among certain groups, including university students.
In an April 13 call run by an allied group, Michigan Fair Elections, Mitchell said “we are at a turning point in our republic.” According to the call, which was obtained by POLITICO, Mitchell went on to say that U.S. “electoral systems” need to change or Republicans will “lose the presidential election” again in 2024. A lawyer on a separate April 6 call run by the same group spoke about plans to sue public universities in Michigan that help register students to vote.
Mitchell has served as a member of the EAC’s advisory board since late 2021, when she was appointed as one of the two representatives of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, an independent federal commission created in the 1950s. Her position there has been the subject of controversy given the key role she played in Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Though the board does not have a policy-making role and meets irregularly, it can make recommendations on voluntary guidelines to the EAC. The EAC certifies voting systems and advises local election offices on compliance with federal election regulations.
Earlier this month, the progressive think tank Center for American Progress issued a report highlighting the “failure” to hold Trump and his allies “fully accountable” for their “scheme to destabilize the democratic system for political purposes.”
As a RNC official, Lane collaborated with Mitchell in Virginia’s off-year gubernatorial election in 2021, which Mitchell considered a test pilot for nationwide “election integrity” coalitions. And in a January 2023 letter to RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, Mitchell and other members of her coalition complained that Lane and some other “election integrity” officials had not retained their positions after the 2022 midterms. The letter referred to Lane as an “outstanding leader.”
“We were distressed, to say the least, to learn that all the state (election integrity directors) and the entire field staff were to be terminated,” the letter read. “Preventing cheating in our nation’s elections is a priority to voters,” it continued.
Shortly thereafter, Lane took up the job with the House Administration Committee, according to his LinkedIn page.
“I have already had the opportunity to meet with Secretaries of State and county election officials from across the country,” Lane said on his LinkedIn in announcing his new role. He said he is “ecstatic” to be in the position.
[ad_2]
#Trump #campaign #staffer #subpoenaed #DOJ #working #House #committee #elections
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
Bengaluru: It is a crucial election in Karnataka and it is the first time that three members of the Nehru-Gandhi family have jumped into the election campaign fray in a state as party leaders to woo the voters to bring the party to power in the southern state.
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have campaigned extensively in Karnataka and Sonia Gandhi will address a public meeting in Hubbali on Saturday.
Karnataka has a long connection with the Nehru-Gandhi family and has been a “comeback territory” in the past.
Indira Gandhi made a political comeback from Chikmagalur in Karnataka in a bypoll in 1978. Sonia Gandhi also fought from Ballari in the state in her debut election in which she was also in the fray from Amethi.
Karnataka is crucial for Congress as it can mark its revival for the 2024 Lok Sabha election. If BJP is defeated in Karnataka, the party will not be in power in any southern state.
With Rahul Gandhi having been disqualified from Lok Sabha following his conviction in a criminal defamation case and the election debacles Congress faced in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Congress is pinning strong hopes on Karnataka where it has strong state leadership.
The party feels that a win in Karnataka will give it a massive boost to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi before the 2024 general elections and emerge as a fulcrum of opposition unity.
Rahul Gandhi has so far held 17 rallies and roadshows in Karnataka, while his sister Priyanka Gandhi has done 19 rallies.
The campaign for May 10 polls will continue at the same pace in the next four days as well.
Apart from Rahul-Priyanka’s road shows and rallies, Rahul Gandhi is also likely to hold a press conference.
Sonia Gandhi has not campaigned in any state elections in the recent past.
The former Congress president did the last election rally in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in her parliamentary constituency Rae Bareli.
She gave a speech at the Bharat Bachao rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on December 14, 2019.
The area around Hubballi is seen to a “laboratory of Hindutva politics” in Karnataka and the Congress has chosen this place for Sonia Gandhi’s rally.
Apart from members of the Gandhi family, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who hails from Karnataka, has been campaigning in the state for the last 20 days.
The party’s Karnataka in-charge Randeep Surjewala has been camping there for the past two months with an army of spokespersons.
While Priyanka Gandhi had campaigned in her mother’s and brother’s constituencies in Uttar Pradesh before her formal entry into politics, it is the first time that the three members of Nehru-Gandhi family will be part of the campaign as full-time leaders of the Congress.
The Karnataka assembly elections will be held in a single phase on May 10, with the counting of votes scheduled for May 13.
New Delhi: Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur slammed The New York Times (NYT) chairman A G Sulzberger on Thursday for his claims that journalists are treated as terrorists in India.
Speaking at a UNESCO event on World Press Freedom Day on Wednesday, Sulzberger said in India, authorities have raided newsrooms and treated journalists essentially as terrorists.
Thakur asserted that the law took its own course in India in case of any wrongdoing and no one can claim immunity citing the status of being a media organisation.
“In India law takes its own course if someone does something wrong, newsroom or no newsroom. Mere claiming the status of a newsroom does not grant immunity from unlawful deeds,” he wrote on Twitter.
Thakur wondered how any investigation amounts to an attack on the press.
“Is it prudent to be a loose mouth and say journalists in India are treated as terrorists?” the minister asked.
He accused the NYT of running a “smear campaign” against India and using the UNESCO podium to “distort facts”.
“Unable to digest the global rise of India and its turning into an economic powerhouse, certain old world media houses have been running a systematic smear campaign against India,” Thakur tweeted.
“NYT, which has carved a niche for itself for writing fact-free and fabricated anti-India stories, shamelessly misused the podium of UNESCO to distort facts,” he added.
The minister said it has been difficult for him to differentiate whether the newspaper is “The New York Times or New Distort Times”.
New Delhi: All India president of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and Rajya Sabha MP, AA Rahim, on Wednesday alleged that Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are leading the campaign of defaming Kerala through the upcoming film ‘The Kerala Story’ which is against the secular face of the state.
While talking to ANI, AA Rahim said, “The movie Kerala story is a campaign against Kerala and its secular face. This campaign is led by RSS and BJP.
“Yesterday an organisation which has close links with right-wing groups screened the movie and it is a clear violation of many educational institutional rules. They got the full support from the authority as well. It is really sad to see an institute like JNU where such a movie is screened,” AA Rahim added.
Condemning the upcoming release of the movie, he said, “Today we decided to send a letter to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to enquire about the entire incident. Kerala is a state where BJP doesn’t have any base, but they are trying to make inroads by spreading communal agenda. This film is against Kerala. I can say it is a hate campaign against the state. Kerala is a model state. You cannot say it’s a violation of freedom of speech and expression because it is trying to spread communal ideas and hatred towards the Muslim community and also has many factual errors.”
Meanwhile, Kerala General Secretary of Muslim Youth League, PK Firos on Wednesday said that the film ‘The Kerala Story’ should not be screened as it is “insulting to Muslims, Kerala and girls.”
“This film should not be screened. This movie is about the hatred of others towards a particular religion or community. You can be critical and sarcastic. But don’t be a hater. It is insulting to Muslims, Kerala and girls”, Firos said.
Firos further said, “Our intention is to expose the hypocrisy of the film. We have now partially succeeded in that. Because earlier the makers of the movie claimed that 32000 girls from Kerala were converted. Now they have revised it and made it a story of three girls. People of Kerala, India and around the world are convinced this is fake propaganda. They had to turn away from insulting Kerala.”
Firos alleged that the film would create a communal divide within religious groups and inciting hatred and fear in a section is an offence under the Indian Penal Code.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to entertain pleas seeking a stay on the release of the movie ‘The Kerala Story’ in theatres and OTT platforms and allowed the petitioners to approach the Kerala High Court.
A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha said a similar plea is pending before the Kerala High Court and asked them to move the High Court with their pleas.
The High Court is scheduled to hear the case against the film on May 5.
Advocate Vrinda Grover mentioned the petition before the bench seeking urgent listing tomorrow saying the film is getting released on May 5.
The petition mentioned by Grover sought a modification in the disclaimer of the film to state that it is wholly fictional.
The bench, however, asked them to approach the High Court where a similar petition is pending.
‘The Kerala Story’ has become a topic for discussion around the numbers being exaggerated in the trailer of the film.
Helmed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, the film is all set to hit the theatres on May 5, 2023.
‘The Kerala Story’ stars Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Siddhi Idnani and Sonia Balani in the lead roles.
The trailer of Sen’s film ‘The Kerala Story’ came under fire as it claimed that 32,000 girls from the state went missing and later joined the terrorist group, ISIS.
SRINAGAR: The Federation of Chambers of Industries Kashmir (FCIK) has called for immediate intervention by the UT government in resolving issues between J&K Bank and MSMEs, in order to put a stop to the maligning campaign launched by the former against non-performing assets (NPAs) without giving them a reasonable opportunity of being heard.
The demand was made in a marathon meeting between the FCIK Advisory Committee and Presidents of organized industrial estates, held at FCIK headquarters under the chairmanship of M.D. Qureshi, which was attended by Presidents of industrial estates including Lassipora, Khunmoh, Rangreth, Zainakote, Sanat Nagar, BAMK, Zakura, Anchidora Anantnag, Vessu, Ganderbal, Gagran Shopian, Shalteng, Sopore, Baramullah, Kupwara, besides other members of the Advisory Committee.
The Presidents of various industrial estates presented a detailed account of continued financial stress currently prevalent in MSMEs owing to a number of reasons which, among other difficulties, has also led to growing NPAs. They said that the unilateral withdrawal of marketing support to MSMEs committed under the industrial policy of 2016-26, coupled with long spells of business interruptions during re-organisation and Covid restrictions, had been the main reason for this financial stress. Further withholding or delaying of payments on account of supply of material and execution of works to government departments and PSUs had contributed to the stressfulness of hundreds of enterprises.
The meeting regretted that, contrary to acknowledgment of such difficulties, the bank has launched an unwarranted and undesired campaign of maligning and tarnishing the public image of entrepreneurs, adding that such tactics were detrimental not only to the cause of industrial growth and promotion but also to the cordial relations of J&K Bank with local MSMEs.
The meeting underscored the role of the UT government as mediator between J&K Bank and MSMEs in order to identify an acceptable solution to the issue for the benefit of both parties. The members made it clear that all MSMEs were willing to repay their loans to the bank on the launch of a uniform, non-discriminatory restructuring and OTS schemes with a reasonable timeline. The members reminded that the harsh provisions of SARFAESI Act in the UT required some dilution and relief for the reason that the enterprises here were working under most unconducive and disturbed conditions, unlike their counterparts in the rest of the country. The meeting expected the UT government to step in for the sake of reposing faith and confidence of entrepreneurs on their promoters and use its influence as majority shareholders to shape the desired restructuring/OTS schemes. The government also needed to link these schemes with the rehabilitation of sick industrial units under an existent revival and rehabilitation scheme.
Earlier, the President of Industrial Growth Centre Lassipora, Haji Muzaffar, presented a detailed account of the recent visit of MD and other top officials of J&K Bank and informed about their willingness to facilitate NPAs with a suitable OTS scheme besides enhancing access to credit for prospective and existing industrial units. Muzaffar said that during the extensive visit to various industrial units, the MD and his team had a complete idea and expressed satisfaction on the working of manufacturing units from grassroots.
The Advisory Committee, while endorsing the views and suggestions of its constituents, assured the meeting to put in their efforts for holding separate and joint meetings with bank authorities and government to find a lasting solution to all bank issues. The constituents vowed their full support to FCIK Advisory Committee in all its steps and programs which they deem necessary in the process of obtaining relief to the industrial units in distress.
Mysuru: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will campaign in the Varuna constituency on Tuesday, where the battle is between Congress strongman, Siddaramaiah and senior BJP leader and state minister V. Somanna.
The constituency is witnessing a tight contest, and campaigning has turned bitter. Violent incidents have also been reported. What seemed to be a cake-walk for Siddaramaiah has changed now, and with Shah campaigning the fight could be cut-throat.
Amit Shah is addressing a public rally in the Hosakote village of the constituency. Former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, MP and veteran leader V. Srinivasparasad, who is a prominent Dalit leader in the region, are participating in the programme.
The Home Minister wants to send a strong signal to the voters that fielding of Somanna against Siddaramaiah was a serious and calculated move of the party. The programme will also put an end to the rumours in the political circles that Somanna is being made a sacrificial goat by the party.
However, souces said that the BJP had planned to confine Siddaramaiah to Varuna constituency and plans to not allow him to take up statewide tours and campaign for Congress.
Siddaramaiah is considered to be the leader of oppressed classes and he often takes on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and RSS chief. BJP has been strategizing for his downfall in the state politics for a long time.
However, the contest for him this time is proving to be a cliffhanger as the Lingayat community comprises the largest group of voters in the constituency. By roping in veteran Dalit leader Srinivasprasad, the BJP wants to consolidate the equally biggest chunk of votes of SC/ST and OBCs in the seat.
It was rumoured that Yediyurappa and Somanna had locked horns and there would be division of Lingayat votes. However, Amit Shah is ensuring Yediyurappa is present and pledges his support for Somanna. In fact, Yediyurappa had already stated that he would ensure the defeat of Siddaramaiah.
Siddaramaiah, who stated he would not even bother to visit the constituency and his victory is ensured, had to rush and conduct day-long campaigning recently. The BJP and Congress workers are in confrontation mode and the situation is volatile as polling day is getting closer. Siddaramaiah is vying for the post of Chief Minister if the Congress is voted to power. BJP has promised a big role for Somanna if he defeats Siddaramaiah.
