Story 1: Hope Returns To The White House — White Lies Resume — Videos
Hope Hicks returning to Trump White House as senior adviser
A Trump favorite is making a return after departing for the Fox Corporation.
By John Santucci and Katherine Faulders
February 13, 2020, 9:01 AM
Hope Hicks, formerly President Donald Trump’s most trusted and longest serving aide, is expected to return to the administration in the coming weeks, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News.Hicks, who departed in early 2018, will return in the coming weeks as a senior adviser reporting to Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law. Her official title will be counselor to the president.
Since her departure, she has served as the head of communications for the Fox Corporation, the parent company of Fox News, among other entities owned by Rupert Murdoch.
Hicks served as Trump’s closest adviser, following the president from the campaign to the White House. She ended her tenure as the White House communications director in March 2018 while Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation was ongoing.
News of her resignation came the day after Hicks testified before the House Intelligence Committee that she had occasionally told white lies on Trump’s behalf, according to a source familiar with the interview. Then-White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders denied that her departure was related to her testimony.
Hicks met with Mueller’s teams for multiple interviews as part of the probe into Russian interference and obstruction of justice by the president.
Since her departure, Hicks appeared before the House Judiciary committee. During the closed-door hearing, Hicks answered questions related to her time working on Trump’s 2016 campaign, but declined to comment on her work in the White House.
Transcripts of the hearing later released by the committee show the White House counsel argued Hicks was absolutely immune from answering questions about her time working for Trump during his presidency.
The White House also blocked Hicks from turning over documents subpoenaed by the committee.
Story 2: Attorney General Bill Barr Will Do The Right Thing — Stone Should Get A New Trial Due To Juror Foreperson Bias– Total Miscarriage of Justice In Political Prosecution of Stone to Silence Telling Truth To Power By A Great Public Speaker — Long List of Liars To Congress Not Prosecuted — Double Standard Justice — Revenge Recommendation of 9 Years For Lying To Congress! — Vacate Stone’s Conviction — Videos
Kevin McCarthy on Democrats’ unequal standard of justice exposed
Tucker: Fairness is the most important American idea
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McConnell on Trump’s tweets: He should listen to Barr
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DOJ likely to lessen Roger Stone’s ‘extreme’ sentencing recommendation
Roger Stone jury foreperson’s anti-Trump social media posts surface
Tucker Carlson Calls For Roger Stone Pardon, Rips Media For Wanting Longer Term Than For Rapists
Trump weighs in on DOJ’s decision to reverse recommended prison sentence for Roger Stone
The ‘remarkable’ DOJ controversy over Roger Stone’s sentencing
Trump congratulates Barr for taking control of Roger Stone case
Trump lashes out at former Roger Stone prosecutors
Gowdy on Roger Stone: Nine years is a long sentence for lying to Congress
AG Barr: I’m not going to be bullied by the President
The Five’ reacts to DOJ overruling Roger Stone’s suggested sentence
Gingrich: By Super Tuesday you’ll realize how big a threat Bloomberg is
Alex Jones Comments on Roger Stone Verdict
Roger Stone found guilty on all counts in federal trial
Roger Stone, Dinesh D’Souza react to DOJ IG’s report
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Gowdy on Roger Stone charges, Dems’ progressive push in 2020
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Roger Stone Addresses Mueller Indictment Live | NowThis
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Feb 13, 2018
Roger Stone – BBC HARDtalk 5th February 2018
Roger Stone: Inside the World of a Political Hitman
Roger Stone jury foreperson comes forward to defend prosecutors – but social media history of the failed Democrat candidate reveals she mocked his arrest, labeled Trump supporters racist and posed with ex-DNC chair Donna Brazil
Tomeka Hart revealed on Wednesday that she was foreperson on Stone jury
Hart unsuccessfully ran for Congress in Tennessee as a Democrat in 2012
She is also a former Memphis City Schools Board President
Her social media shows a long history of anti-Trump comments
She called Trump supporters racists and tweeted about Stone case before trial
The foreperson on the jury that convicted Roger Stone has come forward, and is revealed to be a failed Democrat candidate for Congress and activist vehemently opposed to President Donald Trump.
Tomeka Hart, a former Memphis City Schools Board President, came forward as the Stone jury foreperson in a Facebook post on Wednesday, voicing support for prosecutors in the case.
Hart confirmed to The Daily Memphian that she wrote the Facebook post, but she declined an interview with the newspaper.
Stone supporters were shocked when a review of Hart’s social media posts showed that she posted on Twitter mocking Stone’s dramatic arrest prior to being seated on the jury, and frequently denounced Trump, including calling the president and his supporters racists.
It’s unclear whether Stone’s political views and social media history were disclosed during jury selection, potentially raising questions about fairness that could impact the verdict on appeal.
Hart (left) is seen with former Democratic National Committee chairwoman Donna Brazile
Hart retweeted a post about Stone’s arrest in January 2019, months before the trial
Hart came forward amid controversy over Stone’s sentencing, after the four prosecutors on the case withdrew in response to Trump criticizing the government’s recommendation that Stone be sentenced to nine years in prison.
Trump has said that the prosecution of his former campaign advisor Stone prosecution for obstruction, false statements, and witness tampering was handled in a manner that was ‘ridiculous’ and an ‘insult to our country.’
‘I have kept my silence for months. Initially, it was for my safety. Then, I decided to remain silent out of fear of politicizing the matter,’ Hart said in her Facebook post on Wednesday.
‘But I can’t keep quiet any longer. I want to stand up for Aaron Zelinsky, Adam Jed, Michael Marando, and Jonathan Kravis – the prosecutors on the Roger Stone trial,’ Hart wrote, referring to the prosecutors who resigned in protest.
‘It pains me to see the DOJ now interfere with the hard work of the prosecutors. They acted with the utmost intelligence, integrity, and respect for our system of justice. For that, I wanted to speak up for them and ask you to join me in thanking them for their service,’ she said.
Hart unsuccessfully ran for Congress as a Democrat in 2012, and is an activist who has participated in anti-Trump rallies and protests
Hart unsuccessfully ran for Congress as a Democrat in 2012, and is an activist who has participated in anti-Trump rallies and protests.
Immediately, journalists and Trump supporters began scouring Hart’s social media history, finding a trove of anti-Trump sentiment.
Independent journalist Mike Cernovich was the first to report on Hart’s extensive history of anti-Trump social media posts.
In January 2019, Hart also re-tweeted a post by pundit Bakari Sellers mocking Stone’s arrest, and suggesting that racism was the reason conservatives were upset about the use of force in the FBI’s armed pre-dawn raid on his home.
Months later, Hart was impaneled on Stone’s jury. On the day the jury convicted him, she posted emojis of hearts and fist pumps.
rt has an extensive history of posting her unfavorable views about Trump
Meanwhile, it emerged that U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson had denied a defense request to strike a potential juror on the case, who was an Obama-era press official with admitted anti-Trump views.
That juror’s husband worked at the same Justice Department division that handled the probe leading to Stone’s prosecution.
Another Stone juror, Seth Cousins, donated to former Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke and other progressive causes, federal election records reviewed by Fox News show.
Barr blasts Trump’s tweets on Stone case: ‘Impossible for me to do my job’: ABC News Exclusive
The AG spoke with ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas.
By Anne Flaherty
February 13, 2020, 3:34 PM
In an exclusive interview, Attorney General Bill Barr told ABC News on Thursday that President Donald Trump “has never asked me to do anything in a criminal case” but should stop tweeting about the Justice Department because his tweets “make it impossible for me to do my job.”Barr’s comments are a rare break with a president who the attorney general has aligned himself with and fiercely defended. But it also puts Barr in line with many of Trump’s supporters on Capitol Hill who say they support the president but wish he’d cut back on his tweets.
“I think it’s time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases,” Barr told ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas.
When asked if he was prepared for the consequences of criticizing the president – his boss – Barr said “of course” because his job is to run the Justice Department and make decisions on “what I think is the right thing to do.”
In a stunning reversal, the Justice Department overruled a recommendation by its own prosecution team that Stone spend seven to nine years in jail and told a judge that such a punishment – which was in line with sentencing guidelines – “would not be appropriate.”
The about-face raised serious questions about whether Barr had intervened on behalf of the president’s friend. It also raised questions about whether Trump personally pressured the Justice Department, either directly or indirectly.
In the interview with ABC News, Barr fiercely defended his actions and said it had nothing to do with the president. He said he was supportive of Stone’s convictions but thought the sentencing recommendation of seven to nine years was excessive. When news outlets reported the seven to nine year sentencing recommendation last Monday, Barr said he thought it was spin.
Barr said he told his staff that night that the Justice Department has to amend its recommendation. Hours later, the president tweeted that it was “horrible and very unfair” and that “the real crimes were on the other side.”
“Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice!” Trump tweeted.
The blowback from such an unprecedented move by the Justice Department leadership was immediate, both internally among the rank-and-file and in Congress. The entire four-man DOJ prosecution team withdrew from the case, and one prosecutor resigned from the Justice Department entirely. Sen. Lindsey Graham, chair of the Judiciary Committee that oversees the Justice Department and one of Trump’s closest allies on Capitol Hill, said the president should not have tweeted about an ongoing case.
The Justice Department, while led by a president appointee and Cabinet member, is tasked with enforcing the law and defending the interests of the U.S. without political influence.
Barr said Trump’s middle-of-the-night tweet put him in a bad position. He insists he had already discussed with staff that the sentencing recommendation was too long.
“Do you go forward with what you think is the right decision or do you pull back because of the tweet? And that just sort of illustrates how disruptive these tweets can be,” he said.
Barr also told ABC News he was “a little surprised” that the prosecution team withdrew from the case and said he hadn’t spoken to the team.
He said it was “preposterous” to suggest that he “intervened” in the case as much as he acted to resolve a dispute within the department on a sentencing recommendation.
Trump has been pleased with Barr’s actions on Stone, praising him on Twitter. Trump on Wednesday said he was “not concerned about anything” about the resignations at the Justice Department and suggested the prosecutors “should go back to school and learn.”
“Congratulations to Attorney General Bill Barr for taking charge of a case that was totally out of control and perhaps should not have even been brought,” Trump tweeted this week, after all prosecutors assigned to the case quit.
Trump has repeatedly come under fire for trying to influence the Justice Department, including forcing out his first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, in 2018 after Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation. Early in his presidency, Trump also encouraged then-FBI Director James Comey to drop a probe into Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, according to a memo Comey wrote at the time.
When asked earlier this week if he would pardon Stone, Trump said: “I don’t want to talk about that now.”
“If (Trump) were to say, ‘Go investigate somebody because’—and you sense it’s because they’re a political opponent, then the attorney general shouldn’t carry that out, wouldn’t carry that out,” Barr said.
When asked if he expects the president to react to his criticism of the tweets, Barr said: “I hope he will react.”
“And respect it?” ABC’s Thomas asked.
“Yes,” Barr said.
Senior level White House sources insisted to ABC News that the president and top aides were unaware of Barr’s intentions in the interview and were informed of the content only just before it aired.
The White House had no immediate comment.
ABC News’ Jack Date, Alexander Mallin, John Santucci, Katherine Faulders, Justin Fishel, Liz Alesse and Jordyn Phelps contributed to this report.
Donald Trump goes after Obama-appointed judge who will sentence Roger Stone claiming she ‘put Paul Manafort in solitary’ after denying overruling prosecutors’ demand to jail dirty trickster for nine years
Trump found a new target on Twitter after a day of drama over the sentencing of Roger Stone, his one-time consigliere: the judge who will sentence him
Trump wrongly suggested that U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson had ‘put Paul Manafort in solitary,’ which she did not do
Berman Jackson, an Obama appointee, is due to sentence Stone later this month for lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering
Prosecutors had asked on Monday for Stone to be jailed for maximum of nine years but Trump tweeted early Tuesday it was a ‘miscarriage of justice!’
Hours later the Department of Justice announced that leaders thought the demand was ‘excessive,’ overruling the prosecutors – who quit one by one
President Donald Trump on Tuesday attacked the federal judge who will sentence Roger Stone – after an extraordinary 24 hours saw the entire prosecution quit after their call to jail the dirty trickster for nine years was overruled.
Trump went after U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson accusing her of ‘putting Paul Manafort in solitary confinement something that not even mobster Al Capone had to endure.’
In fact Manafort’s prison conditions were set by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which is ultimately overseen by Bill Barr, the attorney general; Berman Jackson remanded him in custody for breaching bail conditions and was one of two judges to sentence him to prison time.
Berman Jackson has scheduled a sentencing hearing for Stone on February 20, when she will decide his punishment for lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering.
But that process had already been thrown into chaos by Trump and his Justice Department on Tuesday, after prosecutors on Monday calling for Stone to get nine years in prison.
First Trump tweeted just after midnight on Tuesday that the nine years demand was a ‘miscarriage of justice,’ then just before midday the Department of Justice overruled the prosecutors and said senior leaders found nine years ‘excessive.’
Trump rant: The president tweeted a series of claims about the investigation into Roger Stone, including a false suggestion that U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson had put Paul Manafort in solitary confinement, and that John Podesta’s brother Tony had escaped prosecution; the Department of Justice had edned an investigation into Podesta in September
New target: Amy Berman Jackson, the Obama-appointed federal judge who will sentence Roger Stone, found herself in Trump’s twitter crosshairs after a day of unprecedented drama involving the Department of Justice
Within hours the four career prosecutors quit the case one by one, and Trump was questioned in the Oval Office on whether he ordered them to be overruled.
He denied it but said he had the power to do so if he had wanted to, called the recommendation ‘ridiculous,’ said the prosecutors should be ‘ashamed’ for a case he called a ‘disgrace.’
Attacking Berman Jackson, an Obama appointee, now puts Trump on a collision course with John Roberts, the Chief Justice, who presided over his impeachment acquittal last week.
Roberts had hit Trump hard in November 2018 when the president had lashed out at a judge for ruling against an immigrant measure calling him an ‘Obama judge.’
In response Roberts said: ‘We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges.
‘What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them.
‘That independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for.’
Trump also tweeted that ‘a swamp creature with “pull” was just sentenced to two months in jail for a similar thing that they want Stone to serve 9 years for.’
That was an apparent reference to James Wolfe, a Senate Intelligence Committee staffer who was jailed for two months in December – by a different federal judge – for lying to the FBI.
Wolfe had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contact with the media while they investigated a leak of classified material. Trump had gleefully tweeted that the FBI ‘caught a leaker,’ something with which Wolfe was not charged.
Trump’s widening attacks came after he denied asking his attorney general to roll back prosecutors’ recommendation that longtime advisor Stone face serious jail time.
The Department of Justice dramatically reversed its demand to jail Stone for up to nine years in a move announced Tuesday – hours after Donald Trump slammed it on Twitter as a ‘miscarriage of justice.’
The reversal prompted the extraordinary decision by three experienced federal prosecutors to remove themselves from the case – with one resigning his position with the government entirely.
Trump stood by his decision Tuesday afternoon, calling the original recommendation a ‘disgrace,’ and terming the proposed sentence ‘ridiculous.’
Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to sentence Donald Trump’s confidant Roger Stone to serve between seven and nine years in prison after his conviction in November 2019
Trump denies asking Justice Department to review Stone’s case
‘I thought it was ridiculous,’ Trump said.
‘No I didn’t speak to the Jus – I’d be able to do it if I wanted. I have the absolute right to do it. I stay out of things to a degree that people wouldn’t believe.
But I didn’t speak to them. I thought the (original) recommendation was ridiculous, I thought the whole prosecution was ridiculous,’ Trump vented. ‘I look at others that haven’t been prosecutors.’
He said he considered it an ‘insult to our country.’ He called them ‘the same Mueller people that put everybody through hell.’
But he also maintained: ‘I have not been involved.’
‘I think it’s a disgrace. See what happens.’
Trump declined to say whether he was considering commuting Stone’s sentence, whatever it turns out to be. But he did suggest another man he considers a political enemy, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, might face a military investigation.
‘We sent him on his way to a much different location, and the military can handle him any way they want. General Milley has him now. I congratulate General Milley,’ Trump said, referencing chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Mark Milley. ‘He can have him. And his brother also,’ Trump said. ‘We’ll find out,’ he added, without explanation.
According to its updated filing, which came after Trump’s overnight tweets: ‘The defendant committed serious offenses and deserves a sentence of incarceration that is ‘sufficient, but not greater than necessary’ to satisfy the factors set forth in’ sentencing guidelines.
‘Based on the facts known to the government, a sentence of between 87 to 108 months’ imprisonment, however, could be considered excessive and unwarranted … Ultimately, the government defers to the Court as to what specific sentence is appropriate under the facts and circumstances of this case,’ the updated memo said.
A senior Justice Department official told ABC News “it does appear” the the prosecutors asked to be taken off the case as a form of protest. But the official denied Trump’s nearly 2 am tweet played a role in the turnaround, calling it an ‘inconvenient coincidence.’
Stone has been a Trump confidant for decades, and served as an informal advisor during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump’s denial came after prosecutors filed a new memo in the Stone case leaving it to the judge to recommend the appropriate sentence.
Leaders at the department, which is headed by Attorney General Bill Barr, found it extreme and excessive, and disproportionate to Stone’s offenses, one official said.
Shortly after the announcement, the lead prosecutor in the case, Aaron Zelinsky, used a court filing to announce that he had resigned ‘effective immediately’ as a special assistant U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C. He retains a federal post in Maryland. A second, Jonathan Kravis, followed him shortly afterwards, resigning from government service as an assistant U.S. attorney.
A third federal prosecutor, Adam Jed, also withdrew as counsel to the government in the case. Later Tuesday, it was revealed that prosecutor Michael Marando withdrew from the case.
Kravis served in the public integrity of the Justice Department, served in the White House counsel’s office under Barack Obama, and clerked for Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.
Jed clerked for Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.
All four used court filings to announce their departures, apparently to the surprise of their own colleagues – in an unmistakable sign of protest.
Zelinsky was a member of Mueller’s team, but remained after Mueller departed to work on the Stone case.
Trump had tweeted in the early hours of Tuesday morning: ‘This is a horrible and very unfair situation. The real crimes were on the other side, as nothing happens to them. Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice!’
Just before midday, the DOJ announced its walk back but one official told Fox News the decision had been made before Trump’s Twitter rant.
All three were seasoned prosecutors who worked on special counsel Robert Mueller’s team.
The official did not explain why the reversal had not been announced until after the tweet. The DOJ has not said what sentence it will now seek.
The move prompted immediate anger and derision from Democrats with Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer saying: ‘They’ll probably recommend the presidential medal of freedom!’
He said he was asking the Department of Justice Inspector General to investigate whether Bill Barr had directed the reversal.
Veteran ‘dirty trickster’ Stone is due to face sentencing by U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson on February 20, after a jury in November found him guilty on seven counts of lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering.
Attack: Democratic congressman Bill Pascrell likened Trump and the DOJ’s move to a banana republic
Trump tweeted Monday night: ”This is a horrible and very unfair situation. The real crimes were on the other side, as nothing happens to them. Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice!’ (pictured: at a campaign rally in Manchester last night)
Prosecutors will now have to ask the judge for permission to abandon their initial recommendation and submit a new one.
‘We look forward to reviewing the government’s supplemental filing,’ Stone’s lawyer, Grant Smith, said in an email to Reuters.
It is extremely rare for Justice Department leaders to reverse the decision of its own prosecutors on a sentencing recommendation, particularly after that recommendation has been submitted to the court. Normally, United States attorneys have wide latitude to recommend sentences on cases that they prosecuted.
Sentencing decisions are ultimately up to the judge, who in this case may side with the original Justice Department recommendation.
Long-time consigliere: Roger Stone has been advising Donald Trump on politics for more than 20 years, including in 1999 during his first putative White House run
Jackson, the judge, has repeatedly scolded Stone for his out-of-court behavior, which included a social media post he made of the judge with what appeared to be crosshairs of a gun.
The judge barred Stone from social media last July after concluding that she repeatedly flouted his gag order.
Besides, judges invariably frown upon crimes that they see as perverting the functions of the criminal justice system, such as making false statements or obstructing an investigation.
The Justice Department plans to refile the recommendation later Tuesday.
Federal prosecutors also recently softened their sentencing position onFlynn, saying that they would not oppose a probation of punishment after initially saying that he deserved up to six months in prison for lying to the FBI. The Flynn prosecution is also being handled by the U.S. Attorney´s office in Washington.
The White House referred questions about the decision to the Justice Department.
Stone is one of several people close to Trump who faced charges stemming from then-Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Trump has the power to pardon people for federal crimes, although he has yet to use it in the cases of other former aides convicted in the wake of the Mueller investigations.
His tweet hunted he could use that power, or his power to commute sentences if Stone were to get the level of custody demanded by prosecutors.
Stone’s own defense had asked for probation.
Senior Democratic lawmakers expressed amazement at the move but Trump loyalists said they now hoped Mike Flynn – the disgraced former national security advisor who is currently trying to get out of his guilty plea to lying to the FBI – would also get ‘clemency.’
As sentencing approaches, Roger Stone turns to former mob lawyer for help
Roger Stone is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 20.
By
Ali Dukakis
February 13, 2020, 5:29 PM
With his sentencing fast approaching, Roger Stone is bolstering his defense team with a veteran criminal defense attorney whose past roster of clients included John Gotti Jr. and other high-profile figures allegedly involved in organized crime.New York attorney Seth Ginsberg has an extensive background in criminal defense work. In a filing this week, Judge Amy Berman Jackson granted Stone’s request to bring Ginsberg onto his team.
“Roger has an excellent team of attorneys and I’m very pleased he’s asked me to assist them,” Ginsberg told ABC News on Thursday. Ginsberg added that he was brought on to help Stone’s legal team with their sentencing strategy.
Ginsberg has had a colorful career inside and outside the courthouse. At one point, in 2010, he was banned from a Manhattan federal detention center after he was caught walking in with marijuana in his bag while on his way to visit an alleged associate of the Gambino crime family.
He also previously represented an alleged member of the Luchese crime family.
Last November, Stone — President Donald Trump‘s longtime friend and former campaign adviser — was tried and found guilty of all charges in the seven-count indictment brought against him by former special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Stone, who pleaded not guilty to all charges, has maintained his innocence since his initial arrest during a pre-dawn FBI raid on his home Jan. 25, 2019, was found guilty of obstructing a congressional inquiry, witness tampering, and five counts of lying to Congress.
When prosecutors filed a memo recommending a sentencing guideline of seven to nine years in prison for Stone on Monday evening, it prompted Trump to tweet overnight that the recommendation reflected a “miscarriage of justice” and was a “horrible and very unfair situation.”
On Tuesday, the Department of Justice made a highly scrutinized decision to overrule the sentencing recommendation made by the federal prosecutors who successfully convicted Stone of all counts brought against him by Mueller’s team. The reversal prompted all four line prosecutors on the case to withdraw from the case, and one of the four to leave DOJ entirely.
In an exclusive interview with ABC News on Thursday, Attorney General Bill Barr told fiercely defended his actions in the case and said the Justice Department’s reversal on Stone’s sentencing recommendation had nothing to do with the president. He said he was supportive of Stone’s convictions but thought the initial sentencing recommendation of seven to nine years was excessive.
Judge Jackson is scheduled to sentence Stone on Feb. 20.
(CNSNews.com) – The federal government set records for both the amount of taxes it collected and the amount of money it spent in the first four months of fiscal 2020 (October through January), according to data released today in the Monthly Treasury Statement.
So far in fiscal 2020, the federal government has collected $1,178,800,000,000 in total taxes.
The previous high for total federal taxes collected in the first four months of the fiscal year came in fiscal 2018, when the Treasury collected $1,172,088,080,000 in constant December 2019 dollars.
While the federal government was collecting that record $1,178,800,000 in federal taxes in October through January of this fiscal year, it was spending a record total of $1,567,985,000,000.
That was up $116,800,410,000 from the $1,451,184,590,000 (in constant December 2019 dollars) that the federal government spent in the first four months of fiscal 2019.
Before fiscal 2019, the record for federal spending in the first four months of the fiscal year had been set in fiscal 2009. That year in October through January, the federal government spent $1,423,253,530,000 (in constant December 2019 dollars). Part of the spending at the beginning of that fiscal year was driven by the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which President George W. Bush signed into law at the beginning of October 2008 to bail out insolvent banks.
In the first four months of this fiscal year—while collecting a record $1,178,800,000,000 and spending a record $1,567,985,000,000—the federal government ran a deficit of $389,185,000,000.
The Department of Health and Human Services led all federal agencies in spending in the first four months of fiscal 2020 with outlays of $443,759,000,000. The Social Security Administration was second with $380,623,000,000 in spending. The Defense Department and Military Programs was third with $237,702,000,000.
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The Pronk Pops Show 1398, February 13, 2020, Story 1: Hope Returns To The White House — White Lies Resume — Videos — Story 2: Attorney General Bill Barr Will Do The Right Thing — Stone Should Get A New Trial Due To Juror Foreperson Bias– Total Miscarriage of Justice In Political Prosecution of Stone to Silence Telling Truth To Power By A Great Public Speaker — Long List of Liars To Congress Not Prosecuted — Double Standard Justice — Revenge Recommendation of 9 Years For Lying To Congress! — Vacate Stone’s Conviction — Videos — Story 3: Massive Federal Spending and Taxes of The Two Party Tyranny Sets New Records — Videos
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Story 1: Hope Returns To The White House — White Lies Resume — Videos
Hope Hicks returning to Trump White House as senior adviser
A Trump favorite is making a return after departing for the Fox Corporation.
Since her departure, she has served as the head of communications for the Fox Corporation, the parent company of Fox News, among other entities owned by Rupert Murdoch.
News of her resignation came the day after Hicks testified before the House Intelligence Committee that she had occasionally told white lies on Trump’s behalf, according to a source familiar with the interview. Then-White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders denied that her departure was related to her testimony.
Hicks met with Mueller’s teams for multiple interviews as part of the probe into Russian interference and obstruction of justice by the president.
Since her departure, Hicks appeared before the House Judiciary committee. During the closed-door hearing, Hicks answered questions related to her time working on Trump’s 2016 campaign, but declined to comment on her work in the White House.
The White House also blocked Hicks from turning over documents subpoenaed by the committee.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hope-hicks-returning-trump-white-house-senior-adviser/story?id=68961123
Story 2: Attorney General Bill Barr Will Do The Right Thing — Stone Should Get A New Trial Due To Juror Foreperson Bias– Total Miscarriage of Justice In Political Prosecution of Stone to Silence Telling Truth To Power By A Great Public Speaker — Long List of Liars To Congress Not Prosecuted — Double Standard Justice — Revenge Recommendation of 9 Years For Lying To Congress! — Vacate Stone’s Conviction — Videos
Kevin McCarthy on Democrats’ unequal standard of justice exposed
Tucker: Fairness is the most important American idea
Tucker Carlson Tonight 2/13/20 | Fox News February 13, 2020
Attorney General William Barr speaks to ABC News’ Pierre Thomas (Full)
McConnell on Trump’s tweets: He should listen to Barr
Whitaker weighs in on Barr seeking a lighter sentence for Roger Stone
The ‘remarkable’ DOJ controversy over Roger Stone’s sentencing
Napolitano explains why Roger Stone is ‘absolutely entitled’ to a new trial
DOJ likely to lessen Roger Stone’s ‘extreme’ sentencing recommendation
Roger Stone jury foreperson’s anti-Trump social media posts surface
Tucker Carlson Calls For Roger Stone Pardon, Rips Media For Wanting Longer Term Than For Rapists
Trump weighs in on DOJ’s decision to reverse recommended prison sentence for Roger Stone
The ‘remarkable’ DOJ controversy over Roger Stone’s sentencing
Trump congratulates Barr for taking control of Roger Stone case
Trump lashes out at former Roger Stone prosecutors
Gowdy on Roger Stone: Nine years is a long sentence for lying to Congress
AG Barr: I’m not going to be bullied by the President
The Five’ reacts to DOJ overruling Roger Stone’s suggested sentence
Gingrich: By Super Tuesday you’ll realize how big a threat Bloomberg is
Alex Jones Comments on Roger Stone Verdict
Roger Stone found guilty on all counts in federal trial
Roger Stone, Dinesh D’Souza react to DOJ IG’s report
Roger Stone to Hannity: They want to silence me
Gowdy on Roger Stone charges, Dems’ progressive push in 2020
Christie: No reason for Stone raid except to intimidate
Alan Dershowitz reacts to Roger Stone’s indictment
Roger Stone Addresses Mueller Indictment Live | NowThis
Roger Stone | Full Address and Q&A | Oxford Union
Feb 13, 2018
Roger Stone – BBC HARDtalk 5th February 2018
Roger Stone: Inside the World of a Political Hitman
Roger Stone jury foreperson comes forward to defend prosecutors – but social media history of the failed Democrat candidate reveals she mocked his arrest, labeled Trump supporters racist and posed with ex-DNC chair Donna Brazil
By KEITH GRIFFITH FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:
The foreperson on the jury that convicted Roger Stone has come forward, and is revealed to be a failed Democrat candidate for Congress and activist vehemently opposed to President Donald Trump.
Tomeka Hart, a former Memphis City Schools Board President, came forward as the Stone jury foreperson in a Facebook post on Wednesday, voicing support for prosecutors in the case.
Hart confirmed to The Daily Memphian that she wrote the Facebook post, but she declined an interview with the newspaper.
It’s unclear whether Stone’s political views and social media history were disclosed during jury selection, potentially raising questions about fairness that could impact the verdict on appeal.
Hart (left) is seen with former Democratic National Committee chairwoman Donna Brazile
Hart retweeted a post about Stone’s arrest in January 2019, months before the trial
Hart came forward amid controversy over Stone’s sentencing, after the four prosecutors on the case withdrew in response to Trump criticizing the government’s recommendation that Stone be sentenced to nine years in prison.
Trump has said that the prosecution of his former campaign advisor Stone prosecution for obstruction, false statements, and witness tampering was handled in a manner that was ‘ridiculous’ and an ‘insult to our country.’
‘I have kept my silence for months. Initially, it was for my safety. Then, I decided to remain silent out of fear of politicizing the matter,’ Hart said in her Facebook post on Wednesday.
‘But I can’t keep quiet any longer. I want to stand up for Aaron Zelinsky, Adam Jed, Michael Marando, and Jonathan Kravis – the prosecutors on the Roger Stone trial,’ Hart wrote, referring to the prosecutors who resigned in protest.
‘It pains me to see the DOJ now interfere with the hard work of the prosecutors. They acted with the utmost intelligence, integrity, and respect for our system of justice. For that, I wanted to speak up for them and ask you to join me in thanking them for their service,’ she said.
Hart unsuccessfully ran for Congress as a Democrat in 2012, and is an activist who has participated in anti-Trump rallies and protests.
Immediately, journalists and Trump supporters began scouring Hart’s social media history, finding a trove of anti-Trump sentiment.
Independent journalist Mike Cernovich was the first to report on Hart’s extensive history of anti-Trump social media posts.
In January 2019, Hart also re-tweeted a post by pundit Bakari Sellers mocking Stone’s arrest, and suggesting that racism was the reason conservatives were upset about the use of force in the FBI’s armed pre-dawn raid on his home.
Months later, Hart was impaneled on Stone’s jury. On the day the jury convicted him, she posted emojis of hearts and fist pumps.
Meanwhile, it emerged that U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson had denied a defense request to strike a potential juror on the case, who was an Obama-era press official with admitted anti-Trump views.
That juror’s husband worked at the same Justice Department division that handled the probe leading to Stone’s prosecution.
Another Stone juror, Seth Cousins, donated to former Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke and other progressive causes, federal election records reviewed by Fox News show.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7998815/Tomeka-Hart-Roger-Stone-jury-foreperson-revealed-anti-Trump-activist.html
Barr blasts Trump’s tweets on Stone case: ‘Impossible for me to do my job’: ABC News Exclusive
The AG spoke with ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas.
“I think it’s time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases,” Barr told ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas.
When asked if he was prepared for the consequences of criticizing the president – his boss – Barr said “of course” because his job is to run the Justice Department and make decisions on “what I think is the right thing to do.”
In a stunning reversal, the Justice Department overruled a recommendation by its own prosecution team that Stone spend seven to nine years in jail and told a judge that such a punishment – which was in line with sentencing guidelines – “would not be appropriate.”
The about-face raised serious questions about whether Barr had intervened on behalf of the president’s friend. It also raised questions about whether Trump personally pressured the Justice Department, either directly or indirectly.
In the interview with ABC News, Barr fiercely defended his actions and said it had nothing to do with the president. He said he was supportive of Stone’s convictions but thought the sentencing recommendation of seven to nine years was excessive. When news outlets reported the seven to nine year sentencing recommendation last Monday, Barr said he thought it was spin.
Barr said he told his staff that night that the Justice Department has to amend its recommendation. Hours later, the president tweeted that it was “horrible and very unfair” and that “the real crimes were on the other side.”
“Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice!” Trump tweeted.
The blowback from such an unprecedented move by the Justice Department leadership was immediate, both internally among the rank-and-file and in Congress. The entire four-man DOJ prosecution team withdrew from the case, and one prosecutor resigned from the Justice Department entirely. Sen. Lindsey Graham, chair of the Judiciary Committee that oversees the Justice Department and one of Trump’s closest allies on Capitol Hill, said the president should not have tweeted about an ongoing case.
The Justice Department, while led by a president appointee and Cabinet member, is tasked with enforcing the law and defending the interests of the U.S. without political influence.
Barr said Trump’s middle-of-the-night tweet put him in a bad position. He insists he had already discussed with staff that the sentencing recommendation was too long.
“Do you go forward with what you think is the right decision or do you pull back because of the tweet? And that just sort of illustrates how disruptive these tweets can be,” he said.
Barr also told ABC News he was “a little surprised” that the prosecution team withdrew from the case and said he hadn’t spoken to the team.
He said it was “preposterous” to suggest that he “intervened” in the case as much as he acted to resolve a dispute within the department on a sentencing recommendation.
Trump has been pleased with Barr’s actions on Stone, praising him on Twitter. Trump on Wednesday said he was “not concerned about anything” about the resignations at the Justice Department and suggested the prosecutors “should go back to school and learn.”
“Congratulations to Attorney General Bill Barr for taking charge of a case that was totally out of control and perhaps should not have even been brought,” Trump tweeted this week, after all prosecutors assigned to the case quit.
Trump has repeatedly come under fire for trying to influence the Justice Department, including forcing out his first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, in 2018 after Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation. Early in his presidency, Trump also encouraged then-FBI Director James Comey to drop a probe into Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, according to a memo Comey wrote at the time.
When asked earlier this week if he would pardon Stone, Trump said: “I don’t want to talk about that now.”
“If (Trump) were to say, ‘Go investigate somebody because’—and you sense it’s because they’re a political opponent, then the attorney general shouldn’t carry that out, wouldn’t carry that out,” Barr said.
When asked if he expects the president to react to his criticism of the tweets, Barr said: “I hope he will react.”
“And respect it?” ABC’s Thomas asked.
“Yes,” Barr said.
Senior level White House sources insisted to ABC News that the president and top aides were unaware of Barr’s intentions in the interview and were informed of the content only just before it aired.
The White House had no immediate comment.
ABC News’ Jack Date, Alexander Mallin, John Santucci, Katherine Faulders, Justin Fishel, Liz Alesse and Jordyn Phelps contributed to this report.
Donald Trump goes after Obama-appointed judge who will sentence Roger Stone claiming she ‘put Paul Manafort in solitary’ after denying overruling prosecutors’ demand to jail dirty trickster for nine years
By GEOFF EARLE, DEPUTY US POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:
President Donald Trump on Tuesday attacked the federal judge who will sentence Roger Stone – after an extraordinary 24 hours saw the entire prosecution quit after their call to jail the dirty trickster for nine years was overruled.
Trump went after U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson accusing her of ‘putting Paul Manafort in solitary confinement something that not even mobster Al Capone had to endure.’
In fact Manafort’s prison conditions were set by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which is ultimately overseen by Bill Barr, the attorney general; Berman Jackson remanded him in custody for breaching bail conditions and was one of two judges to sentence him to prison time.
Berman Jackson has scheduled a sentencing hearing for Stone on February 20, when she will decide his punishment for lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering.
First Trump tweeted just after midnight on Tuesday that the nine years demand was a ‘miscarriage of justice,’ then just before midday the Department of Justice overruled the prosecutors and said senior leaders found nine years ‘excessive.’
Trump rant: The president tweeted a series of claims about the investigation into Roger Stone, including a false suggestion that U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson had put Paul Manafort in solitary confinement, and that John Podesta’s brother Tony had escaped prosecution; the Department of Justice had edned an investigation into Podesta in September
Within hours the four career prosecutors quit the case one by one, and Trump was questioned in the Oval Office on whether he ordered them to be overruled.
He denied it but said he had the power to do so if he had wanted to, called the recommendation ‘ridiculous,’ said the prosecutors should be ‘ashamed’ for a case he called a ‘disgrace.’
Attacking Berman Jackson, an Obama appointee, now puts Trump on a collision course with John Roberts, the Chief Justice, who presided over his impeachment acquittal last week.
Roberts had hit Trump hard in November 2018 when the president had lashed out at a judge for ruling against an immigrant measure calling him an ‘Obama judge.’
In response Roberts said: ‘We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges.
‘What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them.
‘That independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for.’
Trump also tweeted that ‘a swamp creature with “pull” was just sentenced to two months in jail for a similar thing that they want Stone to serve 9 years for.’
That was an apparent reference to James Wolfe, a Senate Intelligence Committee staffer who was jailed for two months in December – by a different federal judge – for lying to the FBI.
Wolfe had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contact with the media while they investigated a leak of classified material. Trump had gleefully tweeted that the FBI ‘caught a leaker,’ something with which Wolfe was not charged.
Trump’s widening attacks came after he denied asking his attorney general to roll back prosecutors’ recommendation that longtime advisor Stone face serious jail time.
The Department of Justice dramatically reversed its demand to jail Stone for up to nine years in a move announced Tuesday – hours after Donald Trump slammed it on Twitter as a ‘miscarriage of justice.’
The reversal prompted the extraordinary decision by three experienced federal prosecutors to remove themselves from the case – with one resigning his position with the government entirely.
Trump stood by his decision Tuesday afternoon, calling the original recommendation a ‘disgrace,’ and terming the proposed sentence ‘ridiculous.’
‘No I didn’t speak to the Jus – I’d be able to do it if I wanted. I have the absolute right to do it. I stay out of things to a degree that people wouldn’t believe.
But I didn’t speak to them. I thought the (original) recommendation was ridiculous, I thought the whole prosecution was ridiculous,’ Trump vented. ‘I look at others that haven’t been prosecutors.’
He said he considered it an ‘insult to our country.’ He called them ‘the same Mueller people that put everybody through hell.’
But he also maintained: ‘I have not been involved.’
‘I think it’s a disgrace. See what happens.’
Trump declined to say whether he was considering commuting Stone’s sentence, whatever it turns out to be. But he did suggest another man he considers a political enemy, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, might face a military investigation.
‘We sent him on his way to a much different location, and the military can handle him any way they want. General Milley has him now. I congratulate General Milley,’ Trump said, referencing chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Mark Milley. ‘He can have him. And his brother also,’ Trump said. ‘We’ll find out,’ he added, without explanation.
According to its updated filing, which came after Trump’s overnight tweets: ‘The defendant committed serious offenses and deserves a sentence of incarceration that is ‘sufficient, but not greater than necessary’ to satisfy the factors set forth in’ sentencing guidelines.
‘Based on the facts known to the government, a sentence of between 87 to 108 months’ imprisonment, however, could be considered excessive and unwarranted … Ultimately, the government defers to the Court as to what specific sentence is appropriate under the facts and circumstances of this case,’ the updated memo said.
A senior Justice Department official told ABC News “it does appear” the the prosecutors asked to be taken off the case as a form of protest. But the official denied Trump’s nearly 2 am tweet played a role in the turnaround, calling it an ‘inconvenient coincidence.’
Stone has been a Trump confidant for decades, and served as an informal advisor during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump’s denial came after prosecutors filed a new memo in the Stone case leaving it to the judge to recommend the appropriate sentence.
Leaders at the department, which is headed by Attorney General Bill Barr, found it extreme and excessive, and disproportionate to Stone’s offenses, one official said.
Shortly after the announcement, the lead prosecutor in the case, Aaron Zelinsky, used a court filing to announce that he had resigned ‘effective immediately’ as a special assistant U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C. He retains a federal post in Maryland. A second, Jonathan Kravis, followed him shortly afterwards, resigning from government service as an assistant U.S. attorney.
A third federal prosecutor, Adam Jed, also withdrew as counsel to the government in the case. Later Tuesday, it was revealed that prosecutor Michael Marando withdrew from the case.
Kravis served in the public integrity of the Justice Department, served in the White House counsel’s office under Barack Obama, and clerked for Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.
Jed clerked for Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.
All four used court filings to announce their departures, apparently to the surprise of their own colleagues – in an unmistakable sign of protest.
Zelinsky was a member of Mueller’s team, but remained after Mueller departed to work on the Stone case.
Trump had tweeted in the early hours of Tuesday morning: ‘This is a horrible and very unfair situation. The real crimes were on the other side, as nothing happens to them. Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice!’
Just before midday, the DOJ announced its walk back but one official told Fox News the decision had been made before Trump’s Twitter rant.
All three were seasoned prosecutors who worked on special counsel Robert Mueller’s team.
The official did not explain why the reversal had not been announced until after the tweet. The DOJ has not said what sentence it will now seek.
The move prompted immediate anger and derision from Democrats with Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer saying: ‘They’ll probably recommend the presidential medal of freedom!’
He said he was asking the Department of Justice Inspector General to investigate whether Bill Barr had directed the reversal.
Veteran ‘dirty trickster’ Stone is due to face sentencing by U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson on February 20, after a jury in November found him guilty on seven counts of lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering.
Attack: Democratic congressman Bill Pascrell likened Trump and the DOJ’s move to a banana republic
Trump tweeted Monday night: ”This is a horrible and very unfair situation. The real crimes were on the other side, as nothing happens to them. Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice!’ (pictured: at a campaign rally in Manchester last night)
‘We look forward to reviewing the government’s supplemental filing,’ Stone’s lawyer, Grant Smith, said in an email to Reuters.
It is extremely rare for Justice Department leaders to reverse the decision of its own prosecutors on a sentencing recommendation, particularly after that recommendation has been submitted to the court. Normally, United States attorneys have wide latitude to recommend sentences on cases that they prosecuted.
Sentencing decisions are ultimately up to the judge, who in this case may side with the original Justice Department recommendation.
Long-time consigliere: Roger Stone has been advising Donald Trump on politics for more than 20 years, including in 1999 during his first putative White House run
Jackson, the judge, has repeatedly scolded Stone for his out-of-court behavior, which included a social media post he made of the judge with what appeared to be crosshairs of a gun.
The judge barred Stone from social media last July after concluding that she repeatedly flouted his gag order.
Besides, judges invariably frown upon crimes that they see as perverting the functions of the criminal justice system, such as making false statements or obstructing an investigation.
The Justice Department plans to refile the recommendation later Tuesday.
Federal prosecutors also recently softened their sentencing position onFlynn, saying that they would not oppose a probation of punishment after initially saying that he deserved up to six months in prison for lying to the FBI. The Flynn prosecution is also being handled by the U.S. Attorney´s office in Washington.
The White House referred questions about the decision to the Justice Department.
Stone is one of several people close to Trump who faced charges stemming from then-Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Trump has the power to pardon people for federal crimes, although he has yet to use it in the cases of other former aides convicted in the wake of the Mueller investigations.
His tweet hunted he could use that power, or his power to commute sentences if Stone were to get the level of custody demanded by prosecutors.
Stone’s own defense had asked for probation.
Senior Democratic lawmakers expressed amazement at the move but Trump loyalists said they now hoped Mike Flynn – the disgraced former national security advisor who is currently trying to get out of his guilty plea to lying to the FBI – would also get ‘clemency.’
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7993827/Donald-Trump-goes-Obama-appointed-judge-sentence-Roger-Stone.html
As sentencing approaches, Roger Stone turns to former mob lawyer for help
Roger Stone is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 20.
“Roger has an excellent team of attorneys and I’m very pleased he’s asked me to assist them,” Ginsberg told ABC News on Thursday. Ginsberg added that he was brought on to help Stone’s legal team with their sentencing strategy.
Ginsberg has had a colorful career inside and outside the courthouse. At one point, in 2010, he was banned from a Manhattan federal detention center after he was caught walking in with marijuana in his bag while on his way to visit an alleged associate of the Gambino crime family.
He also previously represented an alleged member of the Luchese crime family.
Last November, Stone — President Donald Trump‘s longtime friend and former campaign adviser — was tried and found guilty of all charges in the seven-count indictment brought against him by former special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Stone, who pleaded not guilty to all charges, has maintained his innocence since his initial arrest during a pre-dawn FBI raid on his home Jan. 25, 2019, was found guilty of obstructing a congressional inquiry, witness tampering, and five counts of lying to Congress.
The move comes after Stone’s case unexpectedly touched off a major firestorm in Washington this week.
When prosecutors filed a memo recommending a sentencing guideline of seven to nine years in prison for Stone on Monday evening, it prompted Trump to tweet overnight that the recommendation reflected a “miscarriage of justice” and was a “horrible and very unfair situation.”
On Tuesday, the Department of Justice made a highly scrutinized decision to overrule the sentencing recommendation made by the federal prosecutors who successfully convicted Stone of all counts brought against him by Mueller’s team. The reversal prompted all four line prosecutors on the case to withdraw from the case, and one of the four to leave DOJ entirely.
In an exclusive interview with ABC News on Thursday, Attorney General Bill Barr told fiercely defended his actions in the case and said the Justice Department’s reversal on Stone’s sentencing recommendation had nothing to do with the president. He said he was supportive of Stone’s convictions but thought the initial sentencing recommendation of seven to nine years was excessive.
Judge Jackson is scheduled to sentence Stone on Feb. 20.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/sentencing-approaches-roger-stone-turns-mob-lawyer/story?id=68973648
Story 3: Massive Federal Spending and Taxes of The Two Party Tyranny Sets New Records — Videos
The High Cost of Good Intentions Featuring John Cogan
The 2018 Hayek Lecture: John Cogan on “The High Cost of Good Intentions”
The President Trump’s 2021 budget request will kick off the annual spending roulette
Romina Boccia: Out of Control Spending A Bipartisan Problem
Blueprint for Balance: A Federal Budget for FY 2019
What Will Balance the Budget?
Coffee with Scott Adams #4 — How to balance the federal budget
What Can We Cut to Balance the Budget
Oct 16, 2012
Federal Taxes and Spending Set Records Through January
(CNSNews.com) – The federal government set records for both the amount of taxes it collected and the amount of money it spent in the first four months of fiscal 2020 (October through January), according to data released today in the Monthly Treasury Statement.
So far in fiscal 2020, the federal government has collected $1,178,800,000,000 in total taxes.
The previous high for total federal taxes collected in the first four months of the fiscal year came in fiscal 2018, when the Treasury collected $1,172,088,080,000 in constant December 2019 dollars.
While the federal government was collecting that record $1,178,800,000 in federal taxes in October through January of this fiscal year, it was spending a record total of $1,567,985,000,000.
That was up $116,800,410,000 from the $1,451,184,590,000 (in constant December 2019 dollars) that the federal government spent in the first four months of fiscal 2019.
Before fiscal 2019, the record for federal spending in the first four months of the fiscal year had been set in fiscal 2009. That year in October through January, the federal government spent $1,423,253,530,000 (in constant December 2019 dollars). Part of the spending at the beginning of that fiscal year was driven by the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which President George W. Bush signed into law at the beginning of October 2008 to bail out insolvent banks.
In the first four months of this fiscal year—while collecting a record $1,178,800,000,000 and spending a record $1,567,985,000,000—the federal government ran a deficit of $389,185,000,000.
The Department of Health and Human Services led all federal agencies in spending in the first four months of fiscal 2020 with outlays of $443,759,000,000. The Social Security Administration was second with $380,623,000,000 in spending. The Defense Department and Military Programs was third with $237,702,000,000.
(The dollar figures in this story and in the charts were adjusted into constant December 2019 dollars using the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator.)
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