E. Jean Carroll Scores Massive Win Against Trump Yet Again

Donald Trump’s request for a new trial in E. Jean Carroll’s defamation and sexual abuse case against him was shut down by a federal appeals court Monday.

In a new 77-page filing, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the original verdict from the district court that Trump was liable for sexually abusing Carroll in 1996, then defaming her in 2022.

“On review for abuse of discretion, we conclude that Mr. Trump has not demonstrated that the district court erred in any of the challenged rulings,” the filing stated. “Further, he has not carried his burden to show that any claimed error or combination of claimed errors affected his substantial rights as required to warrant a new trial.”

Trump’s attorneys had argued that the May 2023 verdict should be thrown out because U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan should not have allowed jurors to hear testimony from two other women, Jessica Leeds and Natasha Stoynoff, who also accused the president-elect of sexual misconduct.

The appeals court, however, ruled that the district court “did not abuse its discretion” in admitting their testimonies into evidence.

Trump’s lawyers also tried to argue that the judge should not have allowed the jury to view the 2005 Access Hollywood tape, in which Trump claimed that “when you’re a star” women will let you “grab them” by their genitals, a video that many people not on the jury have also seen.

The court ruled that the inclusion of the tape into evidence was “relevant to prove that the alleged sexual assault actually occurred.”

This story has been updated.

American flags will be flying at half-mast for Trump’s January 20 inauguration after the death of former President Jimmy Carter on Sunday at age 100.

Federal guidelines state that the flag must be “half-staff for 30 days at all federal buildings, grounds, and naval vessels throughout the United States and its territories and possessions after the death of the president or a former president.”

President-elect Trump has yet to mention the flags, and offered condolences to the Carter family.

“I just heard of the news about the passing of President Jimmy Carter. Those of us who have been fortunate to have served as President understand this is a very exclusive club, and only we can relate to the enormous responsibility of leading the Greatest Nation in History,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Sunday that angered some of the MAGA faithful. “The challenges Jimmy faced as President came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude.”

Given Trump’s general obsession with appearances, such as the crowd size at his first inauguration, he may well feel emasculated by a half-mast American flag at his second one.

Nearly half of Republicans support Donald Trump’s plan to use the U.S. military to forcibly round up undocumented immigrants into camps and deport them en masse.

A postelection survey by the Public Religion Research Institute, or PRRI, found that 46 percent of Republicans supported using the military to enact sweeping deportation raids and widespread internment.

Meanwhile, only 9 percent of Democrats and 19 percent of independents endorsed the idea. Twenty-six percent of all voters surveyed endorsed the plan.

PRRI surveyed 5,772 U.S. adults between November 8 and December 2.

Robert P. Jones, PRRI’s president and founder, told Axios on Monday that there was good news and bad news.

“I guess the good news is that three-quarters of the country rejects this idea that we should be putting immigrants in the country illegally into internment camps guarded by the military,” Jones said. The bad news is that support for Trump’s extreme plot is apparently supported by nearly half the members of a mainstream political party.

Trump has claimed he will use the military to carry out mass deportations and has promised to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1789 to expel suspected members of drug cartels from the country without due process. Trump’s extreme immigration views suggest that his administration would plan to target more than violent criminals, undermining protections for legal immigrants as well.

Trump’s new “border czar,” Tom Homan, previously said that he expected support from the U.S. military and special operations to carry out their immigration blitz.

Alt-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer’s fiery spat with Elon Musk has quietly ended with a bent knee and a plea for the X chief to reinstate her blue check status on his website.

“I appreciated the conversation last night with @AdrianDittmann and others,” Loomer wrote, referring to an individual that has been widely speculated to be Musk’s burner account. “It was productive & informative, and I look forward to more of these conversations in the future. I also hope that @elonmusk will agree to reinstate my @premium features.”

Loomer, a self-described journalist and “white advocate,” went head-to-head with Musk last week over the billionaire’s ardent defense of the H-1B work visa program.

In several posts, Loomer accused Musk of having “bought his way into MAGA,” claimed he was a pawn of China, and said that the “divorce” between the “stage 5 clinger” and President-elect Donald Trump was on the horizon.

That was apparently enough back talk to strip Loomer of her verified status on the site—a loss that, for her, warranted backtracking on her previous positions.

“My comments do not come from hate, but rather compassion for the struggle of the everyday American,” she continued in a separate post. “I believe loyalty is the most important quality, and I am loyal to my country and my people. I want what’s best for Americans. And I will always keep fighting for Americans.”

Loomer’s renowned Islamophobia and xenophobia were extreme enough to shove her temporarily away from the MAGA movement earlier this year after she posted that Vice President Kamala Harris’s ascendency to the Oval Office would make the White House “smell like curry.” Loomer has also taken credit for urging Trump to utter the Haitian migrant conspiracy theory that wrecked Ohio in the months leading up to the election.

Meanwhile, the account that supposedly convinced Loomer to concede the fight has some otherwise inexplicable ties to the Tesla CEO. Dittmann also purports to be a South African billionaire with identical beliefs to Musk. The account frequently responds to Musk’s posts, supporting his decisions related to his forthcoming government positions and the way in which the tech leader is raising his children. But the account also, at times, goes so far as to speak on behalf of Musk, organizing events with Musk’s friends while continuing to claim that the two aren’t affiliated.

X users felt that the illusion was completely shattered over the weekend, when Dittman participated in an X space using his actual voice—and, suspiciously, had the exact same cadence, accent, and vocal intonations as Musk himself.

Donald Trump’s public condolences for former President Jimmy Carter, who passed away at the age of 100 on Sunday, sparked an uproar among his own fans.

“I just heard of the news about the passing of President Jimmy Carter. Those of us who have been fortunate to have served as President understand this is a very exclusive club, and only we can relate to the enormous responsibility of leading the Greatest Nation in History,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Sunday.

“The challenges Jimmy faced as President came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude,” Trump wrote. “Melania and I are thinking warmly of the Carter Family and their loved ones during this difficult time. We urge everyone to keep them in their hearts and prayers.”

Apparently, that relatively simple statement was too much for some in the MAGA crowd, according to RawStory.

“Lol, I know you’re being nice. But you’re tripping,” replied an account called Theodore Winters. “Carter was a terrible president and damaged The United States Of America to such an extent that we are STILL dealing with his horribly policy decisions and his inflation repercussions in 2024.”

“I get it. He just passed. And we have to be respectful and nice. But let’s still keep it real,” Winters added.

An account called Commieskillpuppies noted that the president-elect’s words wouldn’t have any political value. “I appreciate your graciousness toward him but it won’t win you any points from the leftists,” the user wrote. “They’re soulless.”

One user, John55, who identified himself as an “America First” veteran on his profile, complained that Carter had pardoned draft dodgers during the Vietnam War—with no recognition that Trump himself dodged the Vietnam War draft.

“Jimmy Carter pardoned all the Vietnam draft dodgers that forced other men to take their place! Many of these men did not come home,” the user wrote. “Personally, I think Carter lived a long life to suffer for the pardons to the draft dodgers he pardoned.”

It’s possible that these reactions were just adjusting to the shock of the president-elect’s standard condolence statement, especially seeing how Trump has disparaged Carter in the past.

After Joe Biden’s disastrous presidential debate performance in June, Trump claimed that Carter was the “happiest guy around” because he now “looked like a genius” compared to Biden. The thirty-ninth president was in hospice at the time.