Scoop: Israel says it found Hamas files with instructions for making cyanide-based weapon​

• Barak Ravid

An armed member of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Photo: Yousef Masoud/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The Israeli military found a USB key with instructions for the production of a "cyanide dispersion device" on the body of a Hamas operative who participated in the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, according to two Israeli officials and a copy of a classified Israeli Foreign Ministry cable obtained by Axios.

The big picture: It is not clear from the file whether Hamas had any serious or operational plan for using makeshift chemical weapons or whether the group had attempted to produce them.

Behind the scenes: The Israeli Foreign Ministry's weapons of mass destruction non-proliferation department sent a classified cable to Israeli embassies in dozens of capitals worldwide, including Washington, on Thursday under the headline: "Hamas intention of using chemical weapons."

• The authenticity of the Hamas file could not be independently confirmed by Axios, but Israeli officials have previously said they wouldn't share information with allies if they didn't think it was authentic and reliable.
• The Israeli Foreign Ministry declined to comment.
• A Hamas spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Israeli intelligence traced the origin of the document to a 2003 Al-Qaeda manual, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in the cable.

• "This finding points to an intention by Hamas to use chemical weapons as part of its terror attack against civilians," the cable alleges.
• The Israeli Foreign Ministry sent the original file with an English description to its embassies and in the cable asked them to privately transfer it to the embassies' host governments and not use it publicly in any way.

• The Israeli Foreign Ministry in the cable instructed its diplomats to tell their counterparts that Hamas wants "to conduct attacks in a similar way that ISIS tried to do."

Between the lines: Israel has both publicly and privately shared many documents it says it found on dead Hamas attackers since Oct. 7, including information that has provided more insight into the group's planning.

• Several of these documents, which were classified by Hamas as "Top Secret," allegedly included operational plans for attacking Israeli villages and military bases near the border with explicit orders to kill as many people as possible and take hostages back to Gaza.

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USC has put itself in a good position here. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.

The starting lineup up front may or may not look different this week, but one thing was clear in talking to Lincoln Riley and Josh Henson -- the leash is short for all linemen not named Jonah Monheim moving forward.

I dive deeper into the situation here:

We debate USC's Pac-12 hopes, whether Caleb Williams still has a shot at the Heisman, our confidence level in the OL fixing itself, thoughts on the matchup and predictions, plus I lead it off with a spotlight on Williams.

Utah's run defense is downright dominant and its pass rush will cause problems for USC. But the Trojans just need to not turn the ball over and they should be able to score enough to make it difficult for the Utes' limited offense.

Listen to the Gazans who are seeking a path away from Hamas​

By David Ignatius
Columnist|Follow
October 20, 2023 at 5:24 p.m. EDT

As Israeli commanders plan the next stages of their campaign in Gaza, I hope they realize that some Palestinians there hate Hamas nearly as much as they do — and that it’s those Gazans who must eventually build a different political structure that will bring stability and security to that tormented enclave.

If you doubt there are Palestinians who oppose the terrorist regime that Hamas has created, visit a project called “Whispered in Gaza” online. You’ll hear 25 powerful narratives that were recorded over the past 18 months. The Gazans’ names are changed and their faces drawn by animators, but their message has the unmistakable power of truth.

Here are some of those Gaza whispers: A pharmacist called “Basma” explains how she had to close her shop because of harassment by Hamas officials. A journalist called “Maha” says she was “muzzled” and threatened by Hamas and gave up her work. “Layla” describes how Hamas operatives forced her to close a counseling center because they were afraid it might encourage unhappy Gazans to protest the regime. “Othman” says bluntly: “The so-called ‘resistance’ has become a business.”

Listen to “Zainab,” her voice barely audible, expressing what sounds like a plea to the world: “There is a false stereotype that Palestinians in Gaza love rockets and wars. Gazans don’t love wars. The wars that happen are waged by the Hamas government for political aims that serve them alone. … We don’t want war. We want a decent life.”

I wouldn’t pretend that these dissident voices represent a majority, or that they aren’t angered by Israeli bombardment of civilian areas. But Joseph Braude, who heads the Center for Peace Communications, the New York-based group that organized “Whispered in Gaza,” has been talking to Palestinians there every day since this war began Oct. 7. He says he has heard a consistent theme: “There are trained, skilled, professional people who would step up and participate in an effort to reconstruct Gaza. Israel should show them it understands that many Gazans do not want to be ruled by Hamas.”

As this war progresses, the political and economic reconstruction of Gaza can’t be an afterthought for Israel; it’s a strategic necessity. Hamas laid a trap, betting that Israeli retaliation would entrench extremism all the more. If Israel treats all Gazans as enemies, it will fall into that trap and guarantee the ultimate failure of its mission. Fighting Hamas is a just war, but it must be accompanied by a clear plan, framed by the United States and friendly Arab countries working with a new generation of Palestinian leaders, to rebuild Gaza and invest in the West Bank. Otherwise, the war will create nothing but more rage in a barren land.

President Biden has tempered his deep empathy for Israel with a blunt warning. “Shock, pain, rage — an all-consuming rage. I understand and many Americans understand,” he said during a televised address during his visit to Israel this week. “But I caution this: While you feel that rage, don’t be consumed by it. After 9/11, we were enraged in the United States. While we sought justice and got justice, we also made mistakes.”

The biggest mistake Israel could make in this conflict is not thinking carefully about “the day after.” That starts with governance. If Israel means to break Hamas’s control, what power will fill the vacuum? Israel doesn’t want to run Gaza, and its proxies will be rejected as collaborators. The best hope — the only hope, really — is that moderate Arab nations will work to create a new, post-Hamas structure that will represent a new Palestinian Authority that could govern the West Bank, as well.

Polls suggest that Palestinians are ready for a different order. In a July 2023 survey by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, half of those polled in Gaza agreed that “Hamas should stop calling for Israel’s destruction, and instead accept a permanent two-state solution.” And 70 percent of Gazans favored the Palestinian Authority sending “officials and security officers to Gaza to take over the administration there.”

Gazans have even protested publicly against Hamas. A 2019 movement called “We Want to Live” drew a crowd estimated at about 1,000, according to Braude. A similar protest on July 30 brought crowds, too. The Associated Press estimated “thousands”; the New York Times said “several hundred.” But either way, a lot of brave people were ready to challenge Hamas in public, just as protesters have challenged the Iranian regime and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The United States and its friends need to learn from the past. Gaza has seen a half-dozen wars over two decades, usually followed by plans for reconstruction. These good intentions have all failed. The reason is that Hamas has maintained its oppressive political power and run the enclave as a garrison state to prepare for the next assault. Even when it pretended to be cooperating with Israel, as was the case the past several years, Hamas was preparing for war.

I have a stack of reconstruction plans for Gaza that went nowhere. After the 2014 war, Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations agreed on a “Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism” to allow shipment of construction materials for rebuilding. But Israel balked at giving Hamas tools that could be used for tunnels and fortifications, and the effort “ended up creating a cumbersome bureaucracy,” according to a 2017 Brookings study aptly titled “Still in Ruins.” The Persian Gulf countries delivered only 22 percent of the reconstruction money they had pledged, the report says.

The World Bank issued its own reconstruction plan in 2021, after that year’s war. It estimated necessary reconstruction costs at between $345 million and $485 million in the first two years. The bank made detailed proposals for “building back better,” including new power projects, fishing zones and commercial activities. Israel tried in the following two years to expand work permits and economic opportunities for Gaza, thinking that Hamas wanted economic growth. Tragically, that proved wrong.

Biden this week announced a $100 million U.S. humanitarian assistance package for Gaza and the West Bank, but given the scale of destruction over the past two weeks, it’s just a drop in the bucket of what’s needed.

“How this war is prosecuted — and what’s left behind when it’s over — will shape the future,” says Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute who has lived in Gaza. He says that Israel, the United States and its Arab allies have to help the Palestinians find an “alternative political path.”

The worst days of this war are ahead. Talking about reconstruction might seem delusional when Israeli bombs are falling and their tanks are rolling forward. But if Israel’s leaders aren’t careful, they could once again win the war but lose the peace.

No update on any specific O-line changes. The most interesting stuff today was about Dorian Singer and why he hasn't been the factor we all expected ...

Is there an update on Max Williams, and what did you learn from preparing for the wildcat against Arizona State?

"Yeah, Max has been limited for us this week, not full go, we’ll see if he’s available, but definitely questionable right now. Yeah, and I think lessons from the wildcat, we certainly prepared for it for Arizona State. We were anticipating it. I think the biggest lesson for us on it was how important it is to tackle good backs. Obviously, Utah has several good backs on the roster, they’ve shown that here through the years, shown it through this year, and our ability to tackle, to get off blocks, to constrict the gaps, not give those guys room to run, I think is the most important thing. We did a good job on the back last week, a bigger guy, obviously tackling for us, like any defense, is paramount to your success and the No. 1 thing is we gotta control gaps so that they don’t come through with a lot of momentum and then obviously we gotta do a great job tackling, gang tackling, getting these guys down, not having yards after the contact."

Do you expect any OL personnel changes and how much can that unit really get better this deep into the season?

"You can definitely – we can definitely still get a lot better. WE have some options, we’ve looked at a couple of different lineups this week. Still got a couple days here to go before game time so we’ll make that decision, but like I said the other day, playing some of the different lineups that we did early in the year, playing different people has its benefits and i think in the second half of the season, we’ll see that. In terms of, we’ve had different guys play, we’ve had different guys rep and feel that we have some options. We went through this a little bit last year too and had some guys out. Had some different lineups. Vorhees was out a little bit during some of that time. Obviously we lost Brett at the end. Dedich was out for some time last year. So Haskins was out some time. So we’re used to it. Yeah, I think, can we get better and play better? Of course we can. We’ve played – we’ve had some stretches this year on the offensive line where we’ve played better than we did at any point last year. We’ve kind of been, kind of like the rest of the offense, we’ve been really close to playing really good. There’s a lot of good, you just don't see it yet because we haven’t put it together all 11 and that’s obviously our challenge and what we gotta do a lot better job of. And we did it pretty well early in the year and played really well in some of those games, played really well in Stanford, played really well against Arizona State, played really well the first half, kind of the first three quarters of Colorado, so we’ve done it, but we gotta go do it, do go it against a good group here this week and we do feel like we’ve got some options in terms of lineup and we’ll make a decision going into the game and if it’s going good, then we’ll stick with it, if not, we feel like we have some different combinations that we feel like we can go to."

Caleb Williams' right pinky finger has been taped up for a couple games, is that affecting his throws?
"Nah, he got it hit, ah, I can’t remember, it’s been a few games ago, it’s just been a little bit sore, kind of tender, but hasn’t affect him, hasn’t affected play, so nah, just more of a, I don’t know, kind of a nagging nuisance, but not a hindrance to play."

What have you seen from Zion Branch's progress and for his role moving forward?

"I think he’s right there. We were obviously disappointed when the two guys got dinged last week, but it was exciting to see Zion get his opportunity. That’s a lot of times how these things happen. Somebody gets hurt, and a young guy gets the opportunity and he’s ready to seize it, and he goes in and plays well. And Zion played very well in the game. He was aggressive. He tackled well. He did a really nice job with communication. He’s really started to gain confidence back physically from the injury, but I would say the biggest jump for him has been the understanding of our defense – calls, checks, alignments. Our safeties are at times responsible for a good amount of that, and give the kid credit, he’s invested. He invested himself last year while he was rehabilitating from the injury. He’s very detail-oriented, very consistent in his work ethic, and it’s been cool to see him come about. He has obvious talent. He’s certainly one of the most talented DB’s we have in the room. So it’s been fun to see the play come along. Gained a lot of confidence from how he played last week, and I foresee him having a big role from here on out."

Have you had to make any changes to practices to account for not playing up to standards recently?

"I think it’s – there’s not a lot of probably changing fully to what we do, like a wholesale change. There’s been a few tweaks to the schedule that we’ve done. We’ve created a few more things in terms of a little more competitive work, even though we’re in the middle of a pretty heavy stretch here. That’s been very positive this week. I feel like the guys have prepared well. We had a good week of practice last week. Guys were excited to play, excited to prepare. I could look back on the Arizona game and say, you know, was it fair to say we were maybe asleep at the wheel a little bit? And practice, it wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t exceptional that week. We practiced very well last week. Our guys were ready to play, team was ready to play. Again, you can be as ready as you can to play, but you lose the turnover battle five to nothing, that’s what you’re going to get. I didn’t think that had anything to do with a lack of preparation or our guys being ready. But you’ve got to carry it over. Against good teams – I know we talked about on the road, but against good teams period, you’re gonna get your chances. You’ve got to make your plays. Notre Dame last week, we gave them some opportunities with mistakes and they made us pay for it. They caught the balls. They caught the interceptions. They made the plays when we made mistakes. They also made mistakes, and we had some wide windows open to really hurt them, and we didn’t capitalize on those. And again, when it’s two good teams, going at it, that’s typically what it comes down to. Who can make the least mistakes? And who can make the other team pay for it when they make those mistakes? To answer your question, the team is very, very hungry, very competitive right now. We have practiced our tail off this week. We’ve emphasized a few key points internally that I’ll keep there that I think are really important for us going forward. But yeah, I mean, we’ve got to carry over what we’re doing on the practice field and go turn it loose and go cut it loose and just play. That I think is a bigger issue for us right now than maybe the preparation."

What do you need to see from Caleb this week in terms of being more consistent?

"Just let him be himself. That's that. He's played two games against these guys. He's played two really good games against these guys. They are a tough defense, they're very good at what they do, but so are we. It'll be a fun matchup, I'm excited for him. He in his career, in all the time I've had him, when you play this level you're not going to throw six touchdown passes and zero interceptions every game. It's not going to happen. You're going to have some tough moments that don't go your way. It's more about your response, and throughout his career he's always responded when he wasn't at his best. He'll be very ready to play this game, he needs to play within himself and go do what he does best. We need to play great on the other 10 positions and everywhere else across the field and that's the plan."

Another good film breakdown here from Tajwar on Christian Roland-Wallace, who had pass breakups on all 3 passes thrown his way last weekend plus 3 tackles.

Podcast is up!

I start with a monologue about some things on my mind and tee off on the Twitter crazies who have attacked Caleb Williams' comments this week.

Then the LA Times' Brady McCollough comes on to give his perspective on what the ugly loss to Notre Dame actually means in the big picture, sizing up the Pac-12 race, Caleb's Heisman chances and where the Trojans fit in the Big Ten next season.

And then I have two segments with Ute Nation publisher Alex Markham -- first his appearance on this pod breaking down the matchup, Utah's QB situation, stout defense and more, and then I run the segment I did on his podcast talking more about USC ahead of this matchup.

LISTEN HERE

Jordan is out after a secret vote, and Republicans are now jumping into the race to replace Kevin McCarthy.

Mark Alfred​

Breaking News Intern

Matt Fuller​

Washington Bureau Chief

Updated Oct. 20, 2023 4:52PM EDT / Published Oct. 20, 2023 2:24PM EDT

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst​

After he failed for a third time to muster the votes needed on the House floor, House Republicans voted in a secret ballot Friday to ditch Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) as their nominee for Speaker, setting off a scramble among Republicans to find a new candidate for the House GOP's top job.

Jordan tried and failed for days to break through the opposition. With every hour that passed, his detractors just dug in their heels more, ultimately tanking his speakership dreams and thrusting the House into a third week without a leader.

The speakership has now been vacant for 17 days since eight Republican hardliners moved to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), kicking off an unprecedented power vacuum that has highlighted deep divisions within the Republican conference. (The House GOP ultimately needs near unanimity on the floor to elect a new leader—that is, if they're to do it without Democratic help.)

Jordan spent a week as the Speaker nominee, working against the tides of bitter Republican infighting that eventually swallowed his candidacy, landing lawmakers back at square one.

After Jordan lost his third speaker vote—shedding support on each successive ballot—Jordan moved to shore up his position as the speaker-designee by holding a vote behind closed doors among Republicans. The strategy backfired, with Jordan losing on a secret ballot 112-86, with five Republicans voting present.

With Jordan out, a bevy of Republicans either jumped into the race or suggested they may jump in. Among the announced candidates—and those considering it—was a collection of conservatives, defense hawks, and rank-and-file Republicans.

There was No. 3 Republican, Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN). There was Chairman of the Republican Study Committee Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK). Former RSC Chairman Mike Johnson (R-LA). Conservative favorite Byron Donalds (R-FL). Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-TN). Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX). Fellow Texan Pete Sessions, a former Rules Committee Chairman. Fellow Texan Roger Williams. Austin Scott (R-GA). Dan Meuser (R-PA). And Jack Bergman (R-MI).

Among those 11 Republicans, Emmer likely has the immediate advantage. As the GOP whip, his job is literally to find the votes, and he has a leadership staff accustomed to winning these sorts of battles. Already, Emmer garnered an important endorsement Friday afternoon: McCarthy.

But the other candidates could certainly find a way to win. With 10 Republicans immediately showing interest, much of the race will be about surviving rounds of voting, making coalitions, and building support.

Of course, this is what the previous speaker candidates were all supposed to be doing as well—and neither Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) nor Jordan could get the votes needed on the floor.

Part of the issue for both men—and any future speaker nominee—was that they couldn't overcome the hardline opposition to their bids. And even though this crop of candidates may have less baggage than either Scalise or Jordan, there's no guarantee they will get Republicans to fall in line—especially if this open race becomes a bruising leadership battle, as these elections are normally wont to do.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/speaker-saga-house-gop-cant-even-agree-on-not-agreeing
Republicans are now scheduled to have a “candidate forum” Monday night, and will then likely move to rounds of voting on Tuesday—with the lowest vote-getter dropping off on each ballot—until they have a new designee.

But again, with both conservatives and GOP “moderates” already proving they're not afraid to tank candidates on the floor if they personally disapprove of them, winning behind closed doors next week is no guarantee that they will win on the floor.

Already, the bad blood of Jordan losing his status as the speaker designee seemed to be stirring up problems with the Republicans who ousted McCarthy.

Far-right Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), the chief architect of the crisis that led to McCarthy’s ouster, decried the outcome of the secret vote on Friday.

“The most popular Republican in Congress was just knifed in an an anonymous vote in a secret closed door meeting in the basement of the Capitol,” he fumed in a post to X. “This is the Swamp at work.”

Netanyahu Party Member Furiously Threatens Russia—on Russian State TV​

‘YOU WILL PAY’

Dan Ladden-Hall​

News Correspondent
Published Oct. 20, 2023 5:12AM EDT

​

An Israeli politician issued a series of furious threats against Russia during an appearance on a Russian state-controlled TV network Thursday, vowing to retaliate against Moscow’s actions during the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

Amir Weitmann, the founder and chairman of the libertarian caucus in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, said “Russia will pay the price” after Israel defeats Hamas. “Russia will pay the price?” British RT host Rory Suchet asked incredulously. “Russia is supporting the enemies of Israel,” Weitmann raged. “Russia is supporting Nazi people who want to commit genocide on us.” He went on to add: “We’re not forgetting what you are doing. We’re not forgetting. We will come. We will make sure that Ukraine wins. We will make sure that you pay the price for what you have done.”

In a televised address Thursday night, President Joe Biden linked Hamas and Russia, saying they “both want to annihilate a neighboring democracy.”

Ilhan Omar Shares Voicemails of Vile Death Threats She Received​

HORRIFYING

Alex Nguyen​

Breaking News Intern
Published Oct. 20, 2023 2:40PM EDT

Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters​

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has shared voicemails with NBC News of chilling death threats she and her family have received amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the resulting rise in anti-Muslim sentiment. One message labeled Omar as a “terrorist Muslim,” while another caller suggested that a vigilante organization was following the lawmaker and her kids and had found “all your addresses and handed them out to rapists.” Another person claimed they were “from a militant group” and said, “I can’t wait ‘till your group sees you one day, and I can rip your f*cking rag off your head… I hope the Israelis kill every f*cking one of you.”

On Oct. 7, Omar criticized the Hamas attack, but her history of condemning Israel’s actions against Palestinians have made her a clear target for racist trolls. Since becoming a congresswoman, two men have pleaded guilty to making death threats against her. “This is very real,” she said in a statement. “I fear for my children and have to speak to them about remaining vigilant because you just never know.”

It takes a certain IQ to think like these idiots think. I bet everyone of them is a Trump supporter. Mindless morons.

Matt Gaetz, of All People, Whines After His Preferred Speaker Is Dumped​

OWN MEDICINE

Mark Alfred​

Breaking News Intern
Published Oct. 20, 2023 3:39PM EDT

Win McNamee/Getty Images​

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) isn’t happy about the way the Capitol Hill chaos he orchestrated is developing. Seventeen days after he and seven other hardliners voted to boot Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from the speakership, Gaetz’s preferred replacement, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), got the same treatment as scores of Republicans voted secretly to kick him off the ticket on Friday. Gaetz fumed about the outcome online—conveniently blaming it on the “swamp.”

“The most popular Republican in Congress (that's hysterical in itself) was just knifed in an anonymous vote in a secret closed door meeting in the basement of the Capitol,” Gaetz wrote in a post to X, formerly known as Twitter. “This is the Swamp at work.” McCarthy, in turn, told reporters that Gaetz and Co. had done “insurmountable” damage to the country, and that he was “concerned about where we go from here.”

Judge Arthur Engoron said in a filing on Friday that the court is fining Trump $5,000 for leaving up "an untrue and disparaging post about my clerk" on his campaign website.


Judge Arthur Engoron presides over former President Donald Trump's fraud trial in New York on Oct. 3.Dave Sanders / Pool via AP

Oct. 20, 2023, 9:50 AM CDT / Updated Oct. 20, 2023, 2:49 PM CDT
By Adam Reiss and Rebecca Shabad

The judge presiding over Donald Trump’s $250 million civil fraud trial on Friday fined the former president $5,000 and floated the idea of jailing him for defying a partial gag order requiring him to remove a post trashing the judge's law clerk on social media.

Earlier in the day, Judge Arthur Engoron was livid when he revealed that Trump failed to comply with the order and raised the possibility of putting the former president in prison. Engoron said Trump had posted on his social media account “an untrue and disparaging post about my clerk” and that he "ordered him to remove the post immediately and he said he did take it down."

He continued, “Despite this order, last night I learned the offending post was never removed from a website. This is a blatant violation of the gag order. I made it clear [that] failure to comply will result in serious sanctions.”

“Incendiary untruths can and have led to serious physical harm. I will now allow the defendant to explain why this should not end up with serious sanctions or I could possibly imprison him,” Engoron said.

In his ruling levying the fine, Engoron warned Trump against violating the gag order again.

"Make no mistake: future violations, whether intentional or unintentional, will subject the violator to far more severe sanctions, which may include, but are not limited to, steeper financial penalties, holding Donald Trump in contempt of court, and possibly imprisoning him," Engoron wrote.

Engoron said that though Trump said he removed the post, it remained on the former president's 2024 campaign website for 17 days and was only removed late Thursday night after the court emailed him. The judge imposed the limited gag order in early October.

In response, Trump's defense attorney, Chris Kise said, "Based on my understanding this was truly inadvertent."

"The Truth Social post was taken down when the court asked," Kise said. "Truth Social was taken down and Trump never made any more comments about court staff, but it appears no one took it down on the campaign website. It is unfortunate and I apologize on behalf of my client."



In his online posts and in public remarks to reporters, Trump implied that the clerk had an inappropriate relationship with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. Schumer spokeswoman Allison Biasotti categorically denied the claim, calling it “pathetic,” “ridiculous, absurd and false." She said that Schumer does not know the clerk.

Trump has also bashed Engoron in public statements and in emails sent out by his presidential campaign, including one criticizing the judge as a “far-left Democrat."

Trump also faces a partial gag order in one of the four criminal cases against him. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who's overseeing the D.C. election interference case, banned Trump from making statements about potential witnesses or disparaging comments about the prosecutors. Trump on Friday asked Chutkan to stay the gag order, saying that the order violates his First Amendment rights.

The New York civil fraud trial, which does not have a jury, began in early October. New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Trump in Sept. 2022, alleging that the former president and his two adult sons had engaged in efforts to inflate Trump’s personal net worth to attract favorable loan agreements. James alleges that there were more than 200 instances of fraud over a 10-year period.

In a ruling allowing the trial to proceed, Engoron said that Trump committed fraud for years, inflating and deflating the value of his assets to his own benefit and overstating his wealth by billions.

The attorney general is seeking about $250 million in penalties and to permanently bar the Trump family from serving as officers of New York companies and prevent Trump from striking commercial real estate deals in the state for five years.

Trump fined $5,000 by N.Y. judge for violating gag order in civil fraud trial​

• Sareen Habeshian,
• Erin Doherty

Former President Trump during a break in his civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court on Oct. 18. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The judge overseeing former President Trump's New York civil fraud trial fined the former president $5,000 on Friday for violating his gag order, according to a court filing.

Why it matters: Judge Arthur Engoron did not hold Trump in contempt as he threatened earlier on Friday, but said that "future violations, whether intentional or unintentional," could result in possible jail time or steeper financial penalties.

The big picture: Engoron earlier on Friday said that a Truth Social post attacking his law clerk remained accessible on Trump's campaign site for more than two weeks, despite an order to remove the post earlier this month.

• "I learned that the subject post was never removed from the website," Engoron said in court Friday, per CNN. The judge added that the post was removed only after the court emailed Trump's legal team late Thursday.
• "I will now provide defendants an opportunity to explain why this blatant violation of this gag order should not result in serious sanctions including financial penalties… and or possibly imprisonment."
• Trump's attorney apologized and said the violation was "inadvertent."

Catch up quick: Trump returned to the Manhattan courthouse this week for his trial, voluntarily appearing in person several times in recent weeks in an unusual campout.

• New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a $250 million lawsuit against Trump and members of his family last year accusing them of financial fraud.

Trump now faces 91 criminal counts across four jurisdictions and has made his legal troubles a central theme of his 2024 presidential campaign.

Of note: Trump is also facing a narrow gag order in his Jan. 6 criminal case.

• The order bars "interested parties," including Trump, from making any public statements targeting the special counsel or his staff, witnesses or court staff.

Former Trump Legal Advisor Kenneth Chesebro Pleads Guilty In Georgia Case​

OCT 20, 2023

Former Trump Campaign legal advisor Kenneth Chesebro, a lawyer who authored memos detailing how Republicans could send false slates of presidential electors to Congress, has pleaded guilty in the Georgia election interference case that charged him and 18 others.



The plea deal is another major victory for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who charged Trump and 18 others in the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Thursday, former Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell also pleaded guilty.

A source familiar with the discussions said the likelihood of Chesebro taking a deal increased after his co-defendant Sidney Powell made a surprise turn and pleaded guilty herself on Thursday, leaving Chesebro as the sole defendant whose trial was scheduled to begin Friday.

American hostages are being reunited with family 'as we speak,' National Security Council official says​

Natalie Kainz
National Security Council Middle East Coordinator Brett McGurk said on NBC News Now that Natalie and Judith Raanan are being reunited with family "as we speak."

McGurk also said President Joe Biden just spoke with Natalie Raanan's father and Judith's ex-husband in an emotional phone call from the Oval Office.

"We have been in touch as a government not only with the families of Natalie and Judith but also with the families of the other missing Americans," said McGurk. "We made very clear that we’re doing all we can to secure their safety, too."

Dipshit Comer slams up against a wall again.

Right here:

Right here:

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I was out at Galen Center last night as the USC men's and women's basketball teams had their season tipoff event, Trojan HoopLA, to allow fans an opportunity to be introduced to both squads for the first time. There wasn't a ton of basketball played (a skills competition, dunk contest and 3-point shooting contest) but overall it was a nice event that was pretty well attended. There were a few musical performances and appearances by members of the football team (as you can see in the photo above) and some of the football players even got in on the action as Brenden Rice, Duce Robinson and Calen Bullock all participated in the skills competition as well.

Hit the link for a full photo gallery from the evening at Galen Center.

The fascists, petit tyrants, the nazis, the bigots, the putinists, the confederates, the trumpers, the America-firsters, maga - all are losing, all are facing financial ruin, all are looking at jail, disgrace, or exile, humiliation, scorn, shame and irrelvance. And all the while, BIDEN AND THE A-TEAM, together with American Patriots - lead the way!

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Say No To Fascism

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