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#after emigrating from Germany Drumpf changed named to Tr*mp
malenipshadows · 3 years
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+ Woodrow Johnston, the vice president of McShane LLC who had been hired by the Republican Party to investigate election fraud, tried to recruit the Proud Boys for a November rally held at the Clark County Election Department in North Las Vegas, The Post reported. + In doing so, he contacted Sarah Ashton-Cirillo -- a liberal activist who was working closely with people on the far-right under a fake identity -- saying that they would "need to get the Proud Boys out" to Nevada, according to The Post.
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malenipshadows · 3 years
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+ Miller will tell the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday (5-12-23021) that he was concerned before the insurrection that sending troops to the building could fan fears of a military coup and cause a repeat of the deadly Kent State shootings, according to a copy of prepared remarks obtained by The Associated Press. + His testimony, in the latest in a series of congressional hearings centered on the riot, is aimed at rebutting broad criticism that military forces were too slow to arrive, even as pro-Tr*mp rioters violently breached the building and stormed inside. + Miller will be joined by former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, who is also testifying for the first time about the Justice Department's role in the run-up to the riot.Miller will say he was determined that the military have only limited involvement, a perspective he says was shaped by criticism of the aggressive
response to the civil unrest that roiled American cities months earlier, as well as decades-old episodes that ended in violence. + The Defense Department has “an extremely poor record in supporting domestic law enforcement," including during civil rights and Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and 1970s and the fatal shooting 51 years ago of four students at Kent State University by Ohio National Guard members, Miller says in his prepared remarks. “I was committed to avoiding repeating these scenarios," he says. + Miller also denies that former pres-ident Donald Tr*mp, criticized for failing to forcefully condemn the rioters, had any involvement in the Defense Department's response. + Miller will be the most senior Pentagon official to participate in hearings on the riots. The sessions so far have featured finger-pointing about missed intelligence, poor preparations and an inadequate law enforcement response.  The Capitol Police have faced criticism for being badly overmatched, the FBI for failing to share with sufficient urgency intelligence suggesting a possible “war” at the Capitol, and the Defense Department for an hourslong delay in getting support to the complex despite the violent, deadly chaos unfolding on TV.
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malenipshadows · 3 years
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+ With Republicans close to reclaiming control of the House next year, the treatment of Cheney suggests GOP leaders will do almost anything to rally the party's base, even if that means sweeping the events of Jan. 6 under the rug and embracing — or refusing to confront — Tr*mp's ongoing lie that he won the 2020 election, a campaign that he actually lost by a wide margin. + Those backing Cheney's ouster argue she has become a distraction by continuing to criticize Tr*mp, who remains the dominating force in the party. They want to move forward, they say, and focus on policy ideas and providing
a clear contrast with Democrats. + But critics see the fight as a larger distraction.  “My unsolicited advice would be: Talk about the future and what you offer to Americans,” said Alyssa Farah, the former Tr*mp White House communications director.  “I do worry that this is sort of showing that we're going to continue more the politics of personality, as opposed to the politics of policy and deliverables to the American public." + While a message about being “sufficiently pro-Tr*mp” may work in certain districts, Farah noted Republicans' focus on election interference depressed GOP turnout in Georgia, where the party lost two runoff elections in January that gave Democrats control of the Senate.  And Farah warned that aligning the party with lies about voter fraud could turn off suburban voters and older voters in key swing districts.
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malenipshadows · 3 years
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+ A former federal prosecutor has called for the criminal prosecution of Donald Tr*mp, saying he was responsible for “an unabated crime wave as president.” + On (6-11-2021)  Friday’s episode of MSNBC’s “The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell,” Glenn Kirschner warned of a future “runaway criminal president” if Tr*mp is not held accountable for some of the “many” offenses he committed while in office. + Kirschner, who was a prosecutor in the District of Columbia’s U.S. attorney’s office for 24 years and now works as an MSNBC legal analyst, listed some of Tr*mp’s misdeeds, including being impeached over the Ukraine scandal and his administration’s obstruction of congressional proceedings. + “There are so many other offenses,” Kirschner said. “There are countless, avoidable COVID deaths that I think could be pursued by the states.  Then, of course, there is inciting the insurrection. We saw it with our own eyes.” + “If (Tr*mp) is not held accountable, if we don’t prosecute him, then what we are doing is we are encouraging tomorrow’s version of Donald Tr*mp,” Kirschner added. “We have to prosecute today’s version of Donald Tr*mp to send the message that we will not tolerate a runaway, criminal president.”
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malenipshadows · 3 years
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+ “This is a very ongoing investigation and there's a lot more to come," Wray said during an oversight hearing held by the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee. "I would expect to see more charges — some of them maybe more serious charges." + Wray testified that the FBI considered the attack an act of "domestic terrorism." He said he understands why Democratic lawmakers have called the attack an "insurrection," but said it would not be appropriate for him to use that word because of the effect it could have on pending criminal cases. + "In my role as FBI director, because that's a term that has legal meaning, I really have to be careful about using words like that," Wray said. + Democratic lawmakers repeatedly grilled Wray, appointed by Tr*mp in 2017,
over what they said were intelligence failures that left law enforcement ill-prepared for the deadly attack.  "The FBI's inaction in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6 is simply baffling," House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said. + "It is hard to tell whether FBI headquarters merely missed the evidence — which had been flagged by your field offices and was available online for all the world to see — or whether the Bureau saw the intelligence, underestimated the threat, and simply failed to act,"  Nadler said. + Wray responded that on Jan. 5 an FBI field office in Virginia issued an explicit warning, sent to U.S. Capitol Police, that extremists were preparing to travel to Washington to commit violence.  Wray added that "almost none" of the 500 people charged so far with participating in the attack had been under FBI investigation previously, suggesting it would have been difficult for the FBI to have monitored them in advance. + "You can be darn sure that we are going to be looking hard at how we can do better, how we can do more, how we can do things differently in terms of collecting and disseminating" intelligence, Wray said. + Asked whether the FBI was investigating Tr*mp or his associate Roger Stone, Wray said he could neither confirm nor deny any FBI investigation. + "I'm talking about Mr. Big, Number One," said Tennessee Democrat Steve Cohen, referring to Trump. "Have you gone after the people who incited the riot?" + Wray responded: "I don't think it would be appropriate for me to be discussing whether or not we are or aren't investigating specific individuals."
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malenipshadows · 3 years
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+ The development is the latest step towards the 74-year-old Tr*mp, who left the White House in January, possibly becoming the first ever ex-U eader to face criminal charges.  The grand jury was set up recently and will sit three days a week for six months, reported The Washington Post, citing two unnamed people familiar with the case. + The panel is also hearing several matters unrelated to Trump's case, the paper added.ABC also reported the move. + The Washington Post said it suggests that Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance may have found evidence of a crime, if not by Tr*mp, then by somebody close to him. + A spokesman for Vance refused to comment when contacted by AFP. + In the United States, prosecutors typically refer important cases to grand juries, made up of citizens who examine the prosecution's case in secret. They hear evidence and can request additional documents before deciding whether criminal charges should be brought. + Vance and New York state Attorney General Letitia James, both Democrats, are investigating Tr*mp's business dealings.They are probing whether the Tr*mp Organization committed tax evasion, insurance and bank fraud.
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malenipshadows · 3 years
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+ The news comes weeks after it was revealed that Michael Cohen, former pres-ident Donald Tr*mp's one-time personal attorney, had been interviewed multiple times by Manhattan's district attorney. + The district attorney's criminal inquiry has focused on whether the Tr*mp Organization -- an umbrella company for the former president's business interests -- engaged in tax and insurance fraud, among other crimes. + Speaking to Insider, Cohen said his former boss should expect more bad news.  "As more documents are reviewed by the NYAG and NYDA, it appears that the troubles for Donald Tr*mp just keep on coming," he said.  "Soon enough, Donald and Associates will be held responsible for their actions," Cohen added. + Attorney General Letitia James's office had been working with Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance's Office since 2019.  Vance is looking at documents
including Tr*mp's tax returns to see if the former president's organization misled lenders about the value of their properties and paid appropriate taxes. + Last week (10 to 14 May 2021), prosecutors from Vance's office subpoenaed Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School, an elite private school attended by Tr*mp Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg's grandchildren.  The children's mother, Jennifer Weisselberg, previously told Insider that Tr*mp would include school tuition in compensation packages to her husband, Barry Weisselberg. + Prosecutors are looking into whether including tuition in the compensation package allowed Barry or Allen Weisselberg to avoid paying taxes. + A spokesperson for the former president did not immediately return a request for comment.
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malenipshadows · 3 years
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+ "He's the most popular Republican in the country by a lot," Graham said of Tr*mp in an interview with Fox News. "If you try to drive him out of the Republican Party, half the people will leave." + Yes they will!  And if half (or even a third) of people who identify as Republicans right now left the party if there were a concerted effort on behalf of the establishment -- such as it is -- to rid the party of Tr*mp, then the GOP would have approximately a 0.0% chance of winning a national election.  Which Tr*mp knows.  And Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell knows. And House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy knows. (Worth noting: Republicans lost control of the White House, the Senate and the House during Tr**mp's time in office.) + All of which creates a simple dynamic: Tr*mp has the Republican Party right
where he wants it -- using his cult following among a large-ish segment of the Republican base to hold the party hostage.  + What's all the more remarkable about the barrel that Tr*mp has the Republican Party over is that the GOP establishment has no one to blame for it but themselves. + When Tr*mp initially began to show movement in the 2016 GOP primary polls, the general view among Republican establishment types was that he would flame out.  When he won the GOP nomination, they said that either he wouldn't win or if he did he would moderate his behavior to be more presidential.  When he won the White House, they said they could use him to get conservative priorities through because he didn't care about policy. + While these establishment types were busy rationalizing how they could support Tr*mp -- a man whose commitment to the Republican Party is, um, loose at best -- the backers of the billionaire businessman were pouring out of the Trojan horse that had been dragged into the GOP camp. + And by the time these "leaders" realized what was happening, it was too late. Tr*mp was not only fully in charge of the GOP base but was also purging voices within the party that disagreed with him -- tightening his grip all the while.Which brings us back to Graham's assessment of what the GOP would look like without Tr*mp. It wouldn't look like much -- and certainly wouldn't be a competitive national party.
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malenipshadows · 3 years
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+ The Biden Justice Department and lawyers for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have reached an agreement about how to handle a congressional subpoena for testimony from former Tr*mp White House counsel Donald McGahn. + The House Judiciary Committee and the Biden administration announced the deal Tuesday (5-11-2021) in a filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.  The parties told the court they have “an agreement in principle on an accommodation.” + Former pres-ident Donald Tr*mp is “not a party to the agreement,” the filing states. No additional details were provided about the negotiated settlement. + It was not known whether the agreement means McGahn will appear on Capitol Hill to answer lawmakers’ questions. McGahn’s lawyer did not
immediately respond to a request for comment. The parties plan to formally ask the D.C. Circuit to remove from its calendar a hearing in the case set for next week. + The House Judiciary Committee first subpoenaed McGahn in 2019. Pelosi’s general counsel, Douglas Letter, told the court that McGahn’s testimony related to the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election is still “essential” to lawmakers’ oversight responsibilities. + A central question in the case is whether a congressional committee can compel testimony of a close presidential adviser. U.S. District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, now a Biden nominee for the appeals court, initially rejected Tr*mp’s claim that senior presidential aides have “absolute immunity” from testifying. 
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malenipshadows · 3 years
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+ Facebook has increasingly become one of the most vital weapons in a political campaign’s arsenal, with its ability to juice small-dollar online-fund-raising numbers into the millions, expand and acquire contact information, help build out data on a campaign’s voter file and provide the most sophisticated advertising platform available. + Few campaigns had tapped into Facebook’s potential for advertising and fund-raising as aggressively as Mr. Tr*mp’s. His successful 2016 campaign said its prolific use of Facebook had allowed it to send millions of different, hyper-targeted political ads to small slices of the population. + “Facebook was the method,” Brad Parscale, the Tr*mp campaign manager in 2020 and digital director in 2016, told “60 Minutes” in 2017.  “It was the highway which his car drove on.”  That continued in 2020, as his re-election operation devoted a nine-figure budget to Facebook advertising.  And much as he did with his Twitter account, Mr. Tr*mp often turned to Facebook’s advertising
platform in times of political crisis. + During Mr. Tr*mp’s first impeachment trial in September 2019, his campaign began flooding Facebook with ads criticizing the impeachment as a hoax and subversive effort by far-left Democrats. + Though Mr. Tr*mp is out of office and living at his resort in Florida, he retains broad influence over the Republican Party.  But his platform for reaching Americans has diminished greatly without access to big social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, which has permanently suspended the former pres-ident.  Some Tr*mp aides think that the absence of Facebook, which was crucial to his success in 2016, will hinder him if he decides to run again in 2024, which he has told several advisers is his plan. + Facebook’s ruling was delivered by an oversight board, which also said the company’s indefinite suspension was “not appropriate’’ and gave Facebook six months to come up with a final decision on whether Mr. Tr*mp would regain access. + His Facebook ads proved a useful tool to draw out big crowds to his signature rallies.  Days before the president was scheduled to arrive in a given city, Facebook users around the region would begin seeing ads about the rally, with a link to sign up for a free ticket. + The decision by Facebook does not immediately hamper Mr. Tr*mp’s fund-raising ability — he still maintains control of a large number of supporter email addresses and phone numbers. But fund-raising lists must be continually refreshed, and Facebook has proved a crucial place for Mr. Tr*mp to do so.
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malenipshadows · 3 years
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+ A Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General report made public Thursday (4-22-2021) also found that tensions between the department and the Office of Management and Budget resulted in unprecedented procedural hurdles that produced delays in the disbursement of the congressionally approved funds. + It all started after 2018 when OMB began requiring HUD to send grant notices for disaster funds through an interagency review process for approval, making it hard for HUD to publish the notices needed to unlock funding in a timely manner.  Investigators found that OMB had never before required such a review process for a notice allocating recovery funds. + Former HUD Deputy Secretary Brian Montgomery told investigators about a phone call he had with then-OMB Director Russell Vought in which Montgomery told Vought the actions from his office were equivalent to holding disaster-relief
funds “hostage,” according to the report. + Investigators said they were unable to obtain testimonies from  officials who ordered the interagency review process.  Former HUD Secretary Ben Carson and another former HUD official also declined to be interviewed by investigators. ... + The Tr*mp administration's OMB also insisted on overhauls to Puerto Rico’s property management records, suspension of its minimum wage on federal contracts and other prerequisites to access relief funds, according to the report. Some HUD officials worried such requirements were potentially beyond HUD’s authority to impose on grantees. + The Office of Inspector General began the review in March 2019 after Congress asked it to look into hurricane aid delays as the island sought to recover from a storm that resulted in the deaths of 2,975 people and triggered the world's second-longest blackout.
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malenipshadows · 3 years
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+ The full-size passenger airliner, which bears Tr*mp's name across the side in large block letters, has fallen into disrepair.  One engine is shrink-wrapped and the other is missing parts, according to the outlet. + Getting the plane, which was 20 years old when Tr*mp purchased it in 2010, back into flying shape could reportedly cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Flight records obtained by CNN signal that Tr*mp hasn't used the plane since leaving office in January. + Tr*mp's Boeing 757 was a staple during his 2016 presidential campaign. Since becoming a private citizen, he's been flying on his smaller 1997 Cessna 750 Citation X corporate jet, according to CNN. + According to the Tr*mp Organization, Tr*mp's current jet can seat nine
passengers comfortably. + "The small jet isn't his favorite," a former White House official told CNN.  "It also doesn't have his name on the outside."  The source went on to explain that cost behind operating the large airliner, which the Tr*mp Organization website dubs his "crown jewel," was a financial strain.  "Flying that thing was so expensive. I don't think people realized that just to get it up in the air and make one stop was literally tens of thousands of dollars," CNN's source said. + CNN aviation analyst David Soucie note that operating a Boeing 757 can cost anywhere from $15,000 to $18,000 per hour.  "It's an older engine and parts availability is becoming a challenge.  So , operating costs go up significantly," Soucie said, according to CNN.  "Most airlines are retiring the 757, since more cost-effective models are now available." + According to Forbes, chartering a 757 similar to Tr*mp's would cost about $25,000 an hour as a base charge.  A jet similar to his Citation X would be in the price range of about $30,000 total.
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malenipshadows · 3 years
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+ Fani Willis built her career trying homicide cases in Atlanta. She now finds herself doing what most Republican Senators were trying to avoid: weighing whether to punish Tr*mp for his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. ... + According to a letter sent on Wednesday to top Georgia state officials informing them of her campaign interference investigation, Willis is focused on the solicitation of election fraud, false statements, conspiracy and racketeering. She doesn’t specifically name Tr*mp, but the subject of the investigation is clear. + ”It has come to our attention via media reports that contacts were made by subjects of the investigation with other agencies that could be investigating this
matter, including the Secretary of State, the Attorney General and the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of Georgia,” she wrote. + Tr*mp called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Jan. 2, urging the election official to find 11,780 votes -- one more than he needed to beat Joe Biden.  A recording of the hour-long call was made public. Raffensperger’s office declined to comment.  + Willis’ investigation comes days after Raffensperger announced his own probe of attempts to alter the result of the vote.Several of Georgia’s laws related to election fraud are misdemeanors, punishable by as long as a year in jail.  A conspiracy charge is a felony, according to Kay Levine, a law professor at Emory University.  She said Tr*mp’s call to Raffensperger seems to be evidence of solicitation.... + Kay Levine, a law professor at Emory University, said the conspiracy didn’t have to be successful in order to be charged. + While the public is aware of the Raffensperger call, other evidence might also emerge, she said. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who is sitting in judgment of Trump’s conduct in the Senate impeachment trial, called Raffensperger in November, in what appeared to be a quest to find out if some Biden votes could be disqualified.House impeachment managers concluded their case in the Senate on Thursday and while some Republicans said the Democrats’ presentation was very effective, there was little sign that enough of them would be moved to convict Trump. At least 17 GOP votes are needed to reach the two-thirds majority necessary for conviction.
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malenipshadows · 3 years
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+ U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) noted the “panic-stricken” pleas from police officers overwhelmed by the mob, coming at the same time as Tr*mp was calling up senators to demand they decertify the election.“Presumably, since we were at that point being evacuated, and I think he was told that, there was some awareness of the events. What I hope the defense does is explain that.” ... + Tr*mp’s delayed response to the attack on the Capitol has been detailed in news reports that he was delighted by the spectacle as he watched it unfold on television. + Democratic House impeachment managers also noted a tweet sent out by
Tr*mp, minutes after his vice president Mike Pence was evacuated from the senate, saying, “Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution.” + The argument that Tr*mp was derelict in duty as president and commander in chief by failing to take action to stop the riot — or even urge his supporters to go home — is what National Review columnist Andy McCarthy says is the strongest argument that Tr*mp should be convicted.
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malenipshadows · 3 years
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+ New York federal prosecutors investigating Rudy Giuliani's activities in Ukraine raised the prospect of seeking a search warrant late last year for the lawyer's communications but were met with resistance from Justice Department officials in Washington over the strength of their evidence, people familiar with the discussions said. + Justice Department officials in Washington said a search warrant would be an extraordinary step to take against a lawyer -- who is also a key adviser to a president -- in an investigation into the possible violation of foreign lobbying laws. + The matter remains open, and any decision rests with the Biden administration.
+ The issue got the attention of officials as high as Jeffrey Rosen, deputy attorney general, who along with other officials at Justice headquarters and the US attorney's office in Manhattan decided not to make a final decision, these people say, in part because there would soon be a change in the administration.  But the issue was sensitive enough that Rosen issued a December 30 memorandum adding new hurdles for prosecutors to consult with the Justice Department's criminal division in Washington and with the deputy attorney general before seeking a warrant to search the offices of a lawyer. +  The decision of how and whether to proceed with the investigation into Giuliani, who is Tr*mp's personal attorney, will be an early test for the Biden Justice Department.  Judge Merrick Garland, the nominee for attorney general, is awaiting a Senate hearing, and it's unclear whether the interim leaders of the department would want to approve an extraordinary step in a high-profile investigation before he takes the reins.
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malenipshadows · 3 years
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+ It appears that nobody wants to stay at his namesake hotel in Washington, D.C.Jane Mayer, a staff writer at the New Yorker, just tweeted a video from inside the hotel’s main lobby… and it’s empty. Like, completely. There’s not a soul in sight, despite loud music pulsating through the speaker system, like it’s some super hopping nightclub. + “Looks like they drained the swamp,” Mayer tweeted. + Earlier this month, the Washington Post reported that the Tr*mp Organization has actually been shopping its lease on the 263-room luxury hotel for the past year, hoping to unload it to the tune of $500 million, but the real-estate broker hasn’t been able to find any interested buyers and has, in fact, quit. + Apparently, nobody wants to take over the hotel, which has significantly underperformed since Tr*mp took office in 2017. Part of the issue could be that one of the requirements of the new tenants is that they retain the Tr*mp name, which has become toxic since members of the MAGA militia stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6.
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