Month: April 2024

On Thursday, a Georgia judge upheld the criminal indictment against former President Donald Trump, rejecting Trump’s bid to overturn the 2020 state election interference case on the grounds they were protected under the First Amendment (per CNN.) Trump and 18 of his supporters pleaded not guilty in August 2023 to all charges alleging interference in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia; four of the co-defendants have since accepted plea deals in exchange for their willingness to testify against the other defendants.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said in his 14-page ruling that their right to protest the results of the 2020 presidential election did not protect them from the charges that District Attorney Fani Willis’s office brought.  In his order denying the motion, McAfree argued that “even core political speech addressing matters of public concern is not impenetrable from prosecution if allegedly used to further criminal activity.” The judge wrote that “the Court finds these vital constitutional protections do not reach the actions and statements alleged by the State,” and their motions to dismiss are “therefore denied.”

Trump’s attorney Steve Sadow argued at a hearing held last week in Fulton County that the former president’s statements regarding the 2020 presidential election are “the zenith of protected speech” and that even false statements are protected under the First Amendment. However, McAfee determined the defendants had not presented “any authority that the speech and conduct alleged is protected political speech.”

In response to the ruling, Sadow in a statement wrote, “President Trump and other defendants respectfully disagree with Judge McAfee’s order and will continue to evaluate their options regarding the First Amendment challenges. It is significant that the court’s ruling made clear that defendants were not foreclosed from again raising their ‘as-applied challenges at the appropriate time after the establishment of a factual record …’”

Editorial credit: Grindstone Media Group / Shutterstock.com

As first reported by The Wall Street Journal, the centrist political group No Labels announced on Thursday that they will not run a third-party “unity” ticket against Donald Trump and Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential election.

In a statement, the group said they were unable to find a candidate that had a credible path to winning, “so the responsible course of action is for us to stand down. We will remain engaged over the next year during what is likely to be the most divisive presidential election of our lifetimes and will promote dialogue around major policy challenges and call out both sides when they speak and act in bad faith.”

No Labels said Thursday that “Americans remain more open to an independent presidential run and hungrier for unifying national leadership than ever before. Big ideas are not new for us. We have been working since 2010 to organize citizens across America and members of Congress through the Problem Solvers Caucus, which we created to push back on the extremes in our politics and push forward solutions to America’s biggest problems. That work is more important now than ever. Big ideas are not new for us …we have been working since 2010 to organize citizens across America and members of Congress through the Problem Solvers Caucus, which we created to push back on the extremes in our politics and push forward solutions to America’s biggest problems. That work is more important now than ever – for now, suffice it to say that this movement is not done, in fact, it is just beginning.”

Potential candidates previously considered for a No Labels ticket included Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, and Larry Hogan, former Republican governor of Maryland. Hogan ultimately decided to run for the U.S. Senate in Maryland. Before announcing its decision to abandon the plans for a third-party candidate, No Labels said it qualified on the ballot in 21 states, which is far more than independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with only one state so far confirming him qualified for the ballot.

Editorial credit: Castleski / Shutterstock.com

At Disney’s virtual 2024 meeting of shareholders on Wednesday, members rejected nominees allied with activist investor Nelson Peltz‘s effort to win seats on their Board of Directors. Peltz, 81 who heads investment firm Trian Partners, failed to get enough votes in his favor to clinch a board seat (as did Trian’s other nominee, ex-Disney Jay Rasulo).

The company announced that the majority of shareholders voted in support of a 12-person slate of board nominees put forward by Disney (including CEO Bob Iger), ending a months-long proxy battle centered on the company’s navigation of the onset of the streaming era. Trian Partners had leveraged its standing as one of Disney’s largest shareholders to carry out a high-profile campaign critical of the company’s growth strategy. Peltz sought board seats for himself as well as former Disney Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo, calling on shareholders to deliver them the seats currently held by Maria Elena Lagomasino and Michael Froman.

Per Variety, preliminary results show that Iger won reelection with 94% of the votes cast in his favor, with Peltz receiving just 31% and Rasulo much less. Maria Elena Lagomasino, the incumbent Disney director, received twice as many votes as Peltz and five times as many as Rasulo. Investors voted on three competing board candidate slates — Disney’s own recommended 12-member lineup; Trian’s nominees, Peltz and Rasulo; and three from investment firm Blackwells Capital, which also did not get enough votes to win board seats.

Iger said in a statement: “I want to thank our shareholders for their trust and confidence in our board and management. With the distracting proxy contest now behind us, we’re eager to focus 100% of our attention on our most important priorities: growth and value creation for our shareholders and creative excellence for our consumers.”

Editorial credit: lev radin / Shutterstock.com

Two brothers pleaded guilty on Wednesday to insider trading in securities in the company that ultimately took former President Donald Trump’s media business public.

According to federal prosecutors in New York, Michael Shvartsman, 53, and Gerald Shvartsman, 46, made millions by trading in shares of Digital World Acquisition Corporation before it merged with Trump Media. Michael Shvartsman, head of Miami-based venture capital firm Rocket One Capital, and Gerald Shvartsman, 46, each pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud before U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan. Rocket One’s chief investment officer, Bruce Garelick, is scheduled to face trial on related charges on April 29.

Reuters reports that prosecutors charged the trio last year with illegally trading on inside information about Trump Media & Technology Group’s (TMTG) plan to go public through a merger with a blank-check company. TMTG operates Truth Social, Trump’s main social media platform.  It is alleged that the trio signed confidentiality agreements in June 2021, when they were approached to become early investors in Digital World Acquisition, the blank-check company, which required them to keep information they learned confidential and not trade the company’s securities in the open market.  Prosecutors say that after hearing the company was in merger talks with TMTG, the trio tipped others and bought Digital World securities, selling them after the deal was announced on Oct. 20, 2021, to make a total of $22 million in illegal profit.

Per ABC News, each of the men face up to 20 years in prison when they’re sentenced in July, but prosecutors have agreed to recommend a sentence of about three years. There was no evidence that former President Trump was aware of the brothers’ conduct, and he was not part of the case.

Editorial credit: mundissima / Shutterstock.com