onthedarkside

At least two dozen people – from Mar-a-Lago resort staff to members of Donald Trump’s inner circle at the Florida estate – have been subpoenaed to testify to a federal grand jury that’s investigating the former president’s handling of classified documents, multiple sources familiar with the investigation told CNN. On Thursday, Trump’s communications aide Margo Martin, who worked in the White House and then moved with Trump to Florida, appeared before the grand jury in Washington, DC. One of special counsel Jack Smith’s senior-most prosecutors was involved in the interview. Martin, who is among a small group of former White House advisers who have remained employed by Trump after he left office, declined to answer any questions when approached by a CNN reporter. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/16/politics/mar-a-lago-trump-subpoenas/index.html

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Trolling posts reported and removed

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Donald Trump’s allies are stepping up their battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, formally accusing him of violating state ethics and election laws with his “shadow presidential campaign.” Make America Great Again Inc. is filing a 15-page complaint Wednesday with the Florida Commission on Ethics, a draft of which was obtained exclusively by NBC News. It asks the commission to probe whether pro-DeSantis super PACs, his "personally lucrative book tour" and a continued wave of state-level campaign contributions, among other things, "are unlawful because they serve his personal political objectives, are in furtherance of his personal financial gain at the expense of Florida taxpayers, and are intended to influence his official decision to resign from office." https://news.yahoo.com/ron-desantis-hit-ethics-complaint-165930766.html

Federal prosecutors in New York involved in the criminal investigation into Donald Trump’s social media company last year started examining whether it violated money laundering statutes in connection with the acceptance of $8m with suspected Russian ties, according to sources familiar with the matter. The company – Trump Media, which owns Trump’s Truth Social platform – initially came under criminal investigation over its preparations for a potential merger with a blank check company called Digital World (DWAC) that was also the subject of an earlier probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Towards the end of last year, federal prosecutors started examining two loans totaling $8m wired to Trump Media, through the Caribbean, from two obscure entities that both appear to be controlled in part by the relation of an ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, the sources said. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/15/trump-media-investigated-possible-money-laundering

A federal judge will hear arguments Wednesday in a high-stakes court case that could threaten access to medication abortion and blunt the authority of U.S. drug regulators. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of Texas is weighing a lawsuit from Christian conservatives aimed at overturning the Food and Drug Administration’s more than 2-decade-old approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. The drug, when used with a second pill, has become the most common method of abortion in the U.S. https://www.wdtv.com/2023/03/15/abortion-pill-challenge-goes-before-judge-texas/

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Troll post linking the BBC license fee to North Korea has been removed along with reply. Along with post commenting on moderation

Can you imagine such blood thirsty despots as: Adolf Hitler; Saddam Hussein; or Pol Pot presiding over the U.N. Security Council, charged with preserving global peace and harmony? It may read like one, but this is no April Fool’s prank—next month, Russia—and by extension, Vladimir Putin—will assume the Presidency of the U.N. Security Council. Known burglars are not given banks to run, nor are convicted sex offenders given charge of daycare centers, in the same vein, Putin should not be allowed to make a mockery of international diplomacy by becoming the face of global peace as he escalates his unjust invasion of Ukraine with new attacks daily. https://time.com/6262698/danger-russia-president-u-n-security-council/ Read more no paywall

More posts and replies from the usual suspect have been removed, carry on and face a warning "Any alleged factual claims must be supported by a valid link to an approved credible source."

Two videos have been removed, one from GBnews: GB News Right Biased and Questionable based on a lack of transparency with ownership and funding, numerous failed fact checks, and the promotion of conspiracy theories and pseudoscience. https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/gb-news-uk-bias/

off topic video removed. This is not about Gary Lineker

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The prosecutor at the international criminal court will formally open two war crimes cases and issue arrest warrants for several Russians deemed responsible for the mass abduction of Ukrainian children and the targeting of Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, according to reports on Monday. The New York Times and Reuters news agency reported that the prosecutor, Karim Khan, would ask pre-trial judges to approve arrest warrants on the basis of evidence collected so far. If successful, it would be the first time ICC warrants have been issued in relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. https://www.theguardian.com/law/2023/mar/13/icc-to-issue-first-arrest-warrants-linked-to-russias-invasion-of-ukraine

As Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corporation battles to contain the Dominion lawsuit scandal that has engulfed its top executives and stars, another crisis is building in the wings that has the potential to cause further turbulence for the media empire. Smartmatic’s lawsuit against Fox News has attracted only a fraction of the attention garnered by the legal action of Dominion Voting Systems, yet both firms are suing Fox for defamation related to its coverage of Donald Trump’s stolen-election lie, and both pose a serious threat to Fox’s finances and reputation. In fact, on paper Smartmatic’s suit appears to be the more dangerous. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/mar/13/smartmatic-defamation-lawsuit-against-fox-news

Disgraced former pop star Gary Glitter has been recalled to prison after breaching his licence conditions, the Probation Service has said. The singer, whose real name is Paul Gadd, was freed in February after serving half his 16-year jail term for sexually abusing three schoolgirls. His recall comes just over a month since being freed. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-64946392

A Texas man is suing three women for helping his now-ex-wife obtain pills to have an abortion last year. The lawsuit says under Texas law, "a person who assists a pregnant woman in obtaining a self-managed abortion has committed the crime of murder". Marcus Silva's lawsuit heavily relies on text messages between his ex-wife and the three women. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64944416

House Oversight Chairman James Comer has quietly subpoenaed Bank of America asking for records relating to three of Hunter Biden’s business associates, the committee’s ranking Democrat, Rep. Jamie Raskin, disclosed in a letter sent to Comer on Sunday. The subpoena was broad and called for “all financial records” spanning 14 years, beginning in 2009, according to a copy of the letter obtained by CNN. Bank of America has since turned over a considerable number of materials in compliance with the subpoena, a source familiar with the communications told CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/13/politics/hunter-biden-associates-bank-records-subpoena/index.html

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An off topic post with numerous unsubstantiated claims has been removed along with replies

Anthony Fauci, who led much of the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic, said on Saturday that calls from the GOP to prosecute him over the handling of the outbreak are an example of “craziness.” “There’s no response to that craziness,” Fauci said on CNN. “It doesn’t make any sense to say something like that and it actually is irresponsible.” https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/3896317-fauci-on-calls-to-prosecute-him-theres-no-response-to-that-craziness/

Democrats are expected to bring a sweeping 11-bill gun safety package before the Michigan Legislature this week, emboldened by their sweeping victories in statewide elections in November that gave them legislative control. Responding to two mass school shootings in 15 months, the party's leaders say it is only the beginning of gun reform in the state. “Nothing is off the table,” said Democratic state Sen. Rosemary Bayer, who leads the firearm safety caucus, “but every state has a culture, so I think we’re trying to be conscious of Michigan and how we do things.” https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2023-03-12/gun-reform-coming-in-michigan-after-2nd-school-mass-shooting

More unsubstantiated antivax nonsense and troll posts reported/removed