A Judge Finally Found Fraudulent Votes. They’re All From a Republican.

A prominent Georgia state Republican, who has repeatedly claimed the 2020 election was stolen, was found to have voted illegally nine times.

Brian Pritchard, the first vice chairman of the state Republican Party, violated state election laws when he voted illegally in nine elections from 2008 to 2010, a Georgia judge ruled Wednesday. At the time he cast those votes, Pritchard was still on probation after being convicted of a forgery felony in Pennsylvania in 1996.

Georgia is one of 15 states that bars people from voting until they have completed their sentence, including probation. Judge Lisa Boggs ordered Pritchard to pay a $5,000 fine for his illegal votes. He will also receive a public reprimand.

Pritchard told Boggs he believed he had completed his sentence when he cast the illegal votes. He said he was not aware that the Pennsylvania criminal court had extended his probation until 2011 for allegedly failing to pay $38,000 in restitution.

The confusing nature of the U.S. sentencing system is a real issue when it comes to voting rights. Multiple people, particularly Black people, have been charged for trying to vote while ineligible due to felony convictions. But Boggs said she did not believe this was the case for Pritchard.

In her ruling, Boggs wrote that she did not find Pritchard’s defense credible because he had appeared in court multiple times while his probation was extended. So he should have known he had not completed his sentence.

Pritchard, like many Republicans, has repeatedly insisted that the 2020 election was fraudulent, tipped in Joe Biden’s favor by thousands of illegal votes. No one, including investigators hired by former President Donald Trump, has found any evidence to back up this conspiracy.

Several members of the Michigan GOP—including the head of the party—made an incredibly embarrassing mistake about why a group of buses arrived at the Wayne County Airport.

On Wednesday, Michigan state Representative Matt Maddock posted a couple of photos capturing three buses waiting outside a hangar at Detroit Metro accompanied by a police escort. And the Republican didn’t waste any time looking for an answer before catapulting his theory into the social media stratosphere: It was the arrival of an army of undocumented immigrants.

“Happening right now. Three busses just loaded up with illegal invaders at Detroit Metro. Anyone have any idea where they’re headed with their police escort?” Maddock posted on X, tagging the state’s GOP chairman, Pete Hoekstra.

A local radio host, Justin Barclay, also joined in on elevating the lie, quote-tweeting it with a side-eye emoji, which was then reposted by Hoekstra.

But the buses in question were actually arriving to scoop up a group of college-age American boys, better known as the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, who had just arrived by plane for March Madness.

After being roundly criticized—and thoroughly corrected—on the platform, Maddock doubled down on Thursday, refusing to admit that his unfounded allegation was completely incorrect.

“We know this is happening. 100,000’s of illegals are pouring into our country. We know it’s happening in Michigan. Our own governor is offering money to take them in!” Maddock wrote, referring to a controversial program, announced last month by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s administration, offering $500 subsidies to households that volunteer to shelter refugees. “Since we can’t trust the #FakeNews to investigate, citizens will. The process of investigating these issues takes time.”

Maddock also showcased he was far more interested in rummaging up trouble than finding a legitimate answer to his incensed query, brushing off the truth as if it were conspiracy.

“Probably teams for the NCAA Mens Sweet 16 playing at LCA on Friday and Sunday,” responded one user.

“Sure kommie. Good talking point,” Maddock replied.

Donald Trump’s former lawyer has been recommended for disbarment, and according to the presiding judge, it’s for a very good reason.

State Bar Court of California Judge Yvette Roland recommended Wednesday that Eastman’s law license be put on “involuntary inactive” status starting three days after her ruling. Roland also recommended that he pay a $10,000 fine to the State Bar of California Client Security Fund.

“The court rejects Eastman’s contention that this disciplinary proceeding and Eastman’s resultant discipline is motivated by his political views or his representation of President Trump or President Trump’s Campaign,” Roland said in her ruling. “Rather, Eastman’s wrongdoing constitutes exceptionally serious ethical violations warranting severe professional discipline.”

But one other line in particular stood out in the ruling: “The scale and egregiousness of Eastman’s unethical actions far surpasses the misconduct at issue in Segretti.”

Donald Segretti, of course, was the lawyer who worked on Richard Nixon’s reelection campaign and who coined the term “ratfucking.” Segretti first came up with “ratfucking” when he was at the University of Southern California, where he and his friends would sabotage campus elections, including by stuffing ballot boxes, planting spies on opponents’ teams, and spreading disinformation.

Investigations into the Watergate scandal found that Segretti had applied those same strategies to Nixon’s campaign and took a leading role in the political sabotage efforts.

But Eastman’s transgressions are worse, according to Wednesday’s ruling, because he took those actions in the course of his role as Trump’s lawyer. Segretti’s actions occurred outside his legal role.

What’s more, when Segretti faced trial, the “court found compelling mitigation based on his expressed remorse and recognition of his wrongdoing,” Roland wrote. But “no such mitigating factor is present with Eastman. To the contrary, Eastman has exhibited an unwillingness to acknowledge any ethical lapses regarding his actions, demonstrating an apparent inability to accept responsibility.”

Eastman helped lead Trump’s legal efforts to undermine the election results and prevent certification of the votes, including by appealing directly to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. He also helped try to implement the plan to create slates of fake pro-Trump electors in states that Joe Biden had won.

He can appeal Wednesday’s decision. And the California Supreme Court still has to issue a final ruling.

The California bar association opened disbarment proceedings against Eastman in January, for helping Trump spread election fraud falsehoods, including at the January 6, 2021, rally in Washington, D.C., that turned into the insurrection at the Capitol. His trial was set to begin in August, but it was delayed so Eastman could surrender himself to Georgia authorities for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 election.

Eastman also has been identified as one of the unnamed co-conspirators in special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment against Trump for trying to overturn the 2020 election.

Representative Dan Meuser had an unusual take on the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge: It’s not the government’s job to fix it.

During an interview on Fox Business on Thursday, the Pennsylvania Republican slammed President Joe Biden for daring to say the multibillion-dollar reconstruction job is a responsibility of the federal government.

“Is Congress going to need to pony up more money, or is there enough money in the infrastructure package?” asked host Maria Bartiromo.

“Yea, it was kind of outrageous immediately for Biden to express in this tragedy the idea that he’s going to use federal funds to pay for the—in the entirety,” Meuser responded, suggesting instead that Biden use the money set aside for electric vehicle infrastructure to fund the collapsed bridge. “You know, he doesn’t refer to it as the American taxpayer dollars on anything. You know, the first reaction, in fact the only reaction, tends to be to spend.”

But Meuser’s comments completely overlook the role the federal government has to play in repairing federal property. The Key Bridge was a section of Interstate 695, an alternative route passing Baltimore on Interstate 95—both of which are a part of the federal highway system, funded by the national government by as much as 90 percent, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

On Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that the federal government has approximately $950 million set aside in an emergency fund that could be used to reconstruct the bridge—though that may only cover part of the bill, which federal officials estimate could cost as much as $2 billion.

All the while, Baltimore is bleeding approximately $15 million a day in economic activity as the major artery, and the Port of Baltimore, remains closed “until further notice.”

But maintaining critical infrastructure might not be that important to Meuser. In 2021, the GOP lawmaker joined several dozen other Republicans in voting against a $1 trillion infrastructure package that promised to fix outdated roads, bridges, and other transit systems—though it passed without their help.

Former billionaire and tech wunderkind Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years on Thursday for defrauding clients around the world out of billions of dollars via his crypto exchange, FTX.

Once a poster boy for the emerging virtual market, Bankman-Fried was found guilty on all charges in November, including seven federal counts of fraud and conspiracy for stealing as much as $10 billion in customer funds, transferring them to another one of his companies, Alameda Research.

The sentencing was significantly less than the one recommended by federal prosecutors, who suggested the 32-year-old be put away for upward of 40 years, or by the Probation Department, which recommended a maximum sentence of 105 years.

“I know a lot of people felt very let down, and they were very let down. I’m sorry about that. I’m sorry about what happened at every stage—things I should have done and said and things I shouldn’t have,” Bankman-Fried told the court moments before his sentencing. “I failed everyone I care about and everything I cared about too.”

In his closing words, Judge Lewis Kaplan noted that Bankman-Fried “knew it was wrong.”

“A man willing to flip a coin as to the continued existence of life on earth. Mr. Bankman-Fried knew that Alameda was spending customer funds on risky investments, political contributions, and Bahamas real estate,” said Kaplan. “The funds were not his to use.”

“People need to feel it’s fair, or we’re back to trial by combat, folks, or something like it,” Kaplan continued. “So punishment must fit the seriousness of the crime. And this … was a serious crime.”