Conflicted New York judge Juan Merchan has fined former President Donald J. Trump $1,000 per breach of his gag order, imposed to prevent the former President from communicating with the public about endemic corruption in the Alvin Bragg and Joe Biden-led case. The total fine equates to $9,000, or less than President Trump spent in fuel to reach New York from Florida on Monday.
Trump’s jet is believed to have used $11,416 of fuel to reach La Guardia Airport following his weekend meeting with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Merchan also demanded the social media posts be removed, and further hearings on more potential breaches of the unconstitutional gag order will be heard later this week.
Meanwhile, polls suggest the Biden-led prosecution of Trump may be backfiring, with critical swing state independent voters saying they would be more, not less, likely to vote for Trump if the jury in New York finds him guilty.
show less
Conflicted New York judge Juan Merchan has fined former President Donald J. Trump $1,000 per breach of his gag order, imposed to prevent the former President from communicating with the public about endemic corruption in the Alvin Bragg and Joe Biden-led case. The total fine equates to $9,000, or less than President Trump spent in fuel to reach New York from Florida on Monday.
show more
Stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld told the New Yorker Radio Hour that the “extreme left” and political correctness are killing comedy, with too many outside committees and other groups weighing in on comic scripts.
“Nothing really affects comedy. People always need it, they need it so badly,” Seinfeld said. He argued, however, that the public is not getting the comedy they need.
“It used to be you would go home at the end of the day. Most people would go, ‘Oh, Cheers is on.’ ‘Oh, M*A*S*H is on.’ ‘Oh, Mary Tyler Moore is on.’ ‘All in the Family is on.’ You just expected, ‘There’ll be some funny stuff we can watch on TV tonight.’ Well, guess what? Where is it? Where is it?” Seinfeld demanded.
“This is the result of the extreme Left, PC crap, and people worrying so much about offending other people. Now they’re going to see stand-up comics because we are not policed by anyone. The audience polices us. We know when we’re off-track, we know instantly, and we adjust to it instantly. But when you write a script, and it goes into four or five different hands, committees, groups, ‘Here’s our thought about this joke,’ well, that’s the end of your comedy,” he explained.
Seinfeld, whose eponymous sit-com was among the highest-rated shows of all time, has said his upcoming Unfrosted movie will feature a “very funny January 6 parody.”
He also featured in the final season of Seinfeld co-creator Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, with a storyline based around leftist talking points against Georgia election integrity laws.
show less
Stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld told the New Yorker Radio Hour that the "extreme left" and political correctness are killing comedy, with too many outside committees and other groups weighing in on comic scripts.
show more
The first seven of 70 Minnesotans charged with defrauding taxpayers of a quarter of a billion dollars in pandemic food aid are standing trial Monday. Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, Mohamed Jama Ismail, Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, Said Shafii Farah, Abdiwahab Maalim Aftin, Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff, and Hayat Mohamed Nur are accused of taking money that was supposed to feed underprivileged children and allegedly spending it on property, cars, jewelry, and other luxury items.
Nonprofits Feeding Our Future and Partners in Nutrition are among the organizations implicated in a wider scandal. It draws in prominent figures in the Somali community, such as journalist Mohamed Muse Noor. Noor was caught trying to flee to Turkey from Chicago O’Hare Airport in 2022. Eighteen people have previously pleaded guilty.
“The defendants’ fraud, like an aggressive cancer, spread and grew,” prosecutors say of the case.
“By the time the defendants’ scheme was exposed in early 2022, they collectively claimed to have served over 18 million meals from 50 unique locations for which they fraudulently sought reimbursement of $49 million from the Federal Child Nutrition Program,” they added.
Very few meals were served to children, prosecutors say. Defendants allegedly laundered the money through shell companies. They also engaged in passport fraud, taking kickbacks, and flipping houses with the money, among other abuses.
Like the Black Lives Matter movement, the Covid pandemic was a massive vehicle for fraud. China-linked tech firm Womply allegedly defrauded taxpayers of around $2 billion in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.
show less
The first seven of 70 Minnesotans charged with defrauding taxpayers of a quarter of a billion dollars in pandemic food aid are standing trial Monday. Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, Mohamed Jama Ismail, Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, Said Shafii Farah, Abdiwahab Maalim Aftin, Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff, and Hayat Mohamed Nur are accused of taking money that was supposed to feed underprivileged children and allegedly spending it on property, cars, jewelry, and other luxury items.
show more
James ‘Jim’ Biden, brother of Joe Biden, has deeper links to the Qatari government than previously disclosed. Fund manager Michael Lewitt, a former business partner of Jim Biden, testified that Jim directly partnered with one company owned partly by Qatar. A second company part-owned by Qatar backed the loans that disgraced hospital chain Americore paid the Biden brother to facilitate.
Lewitt, Jim Biden, and Platinum Group CEO Amer Rustom courted numerous potential funders for Americore in the Middle East. Meanwhile, Qatar sought friends in the West after being sanctioned by its neighbors for sponsoring terrorism. It became the main focus of Jim Biden’s efforts, according to an Americore executive.
“My family could provide a wealth of introductions and business opportunities at the highest levels that I believe would be worthy of the interest of His Excellency,” Jim Biden wrote in a 2017 draft letter to an official at Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.
Implying his influential brother had a stake in these dealings, he added: “On behalf of the Biden family, I welcome your interest here.”
AMERICORE.
Jim Biden confirmed he “agreed to go to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and China (at my own expense)” in another email addressed to Grant White, Americore’s CEO.
Americore paid roughly $600,000 to Jim Biden. $200,000 of these payments were transferred to Joe Biden, supposedly to repay a loan.
Jim Biden frequently used his brother to promote Americore. He also “spoke of plans to give his brother equity in Americore… and install him on its board.” Americore collapsed in 2019 partly due to his failure to raise money in the Middle East.
Its hospitals suffered dangerous shortages, and it faces criminal proceedings related to $100 million in Medicare fraud.
show less
James 'Jim' Biden, brother of Joe Biden, has deeper links to the Qatari government than previously disclosed. Fund manager Michael Lewitt, a former business partner of Jim Biden, testified that Jim directly partnered with one company owned partly by Qatar. A second company part-owned by Qatar backed the loans that disgraced hospital chain Americore paid the Biden brother to facilitate.
show more
The Hotel Le Jolie in the fashionable Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, has been selected as a sanctuary site for migrants by Mayor Eric Adams’s administration. City officials are awarding a $12.3 million contract for the hotel to serve as a “temporary” home for migrants under the management of St. P.A.U.L.S. Inc.
The city has allocated $1.3 billion to the Hotel Association of New York City to make blocks of rooms available to illegalaliens in Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx. Over 100 hotels citywide are offering rooms to migrants, many at taxpayers’ expense.
Almost 200,000 migrants are believed to have entered New York City since the spring of 2022, significantly straining public resources. A total of $2.4 billion has been carved out of the state budget to provide for them. This involves significant waste, however, with thousands of free meals for migrants winding up trashed.
Mayor Adams once boasted NYC would always be a “sanctuary city” under his leadership, praising Joe Biden for halting border wall construction. Now, he says the migrant crisis will “destroy” his city and wants to change its “sanctuary” status. He has also attacked the Biden regime for not doing enough to assist him.
It is not only the Big Apple that is struggling to deal with the border crisis. Sources in Massachusetts also describe illegals absorbing vast resources living in hotels, both material and in terms of first responders’ time — due to regular callouts involving “fights, guns, drugs, [and] overdoses.”
Migrants in Massachusetts are also given resources that might have been used to help local people, such as the historic Chelsea Old Soldiers’ Home, which formerly housed veterans.
show less
The Hotel Le Jolie in the fashionable Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, has been selected as a sanctuary site for migrants by Mayor Eric Adams's administration. City officials are awarding a $12.3 million contract for the hotel to serve as a "temporary" home for migrants under the management of St. P.A.U.L.S. Inc.
show more
Lachlan Cartwright appears to have confessed to being one of the most critical sources for the “catch and kill” claims against President Donald J. Trump, as well as the initial ‘hush money’ story published in the Wall Street Journal just days before the 2016 presidential election. During his time as executive editor with the National Enquirer, Cartwright claims he was intimately involved in the tabloid publication’s work to protect certain individuals from negative press and to direct scathing stories at others.
In a lengthy essay for The New York Times, the former tabloid editor describes these efforts in great detail, shedding more light on the origins of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s prosecution of former President Trump. Additionally, Cartwright admits he promoted the narrative that the tabloid acted under the direction of Trump.
Even more troubling is his admission that his decision to serve as a confidential source was primarily motivated by a need to retain his U.S. work visa and rehabilitate his byline after working for the Enquirer. An Australian national, Cartwright went on to serve as an editor at large for the far-left Daily Beast website and is currently a special correspondent for The Hollywood Reporter.
ALL FOR A WORK VISA.
In his essay, Cartwright readily admits that after leaving the Enquirer, he worked as a source—with no compensation—for several national news publications as a means of integrating himself back into corporatejournalist circles. He says this was prompted after he already technically left his role with the tabloid in July 2017, but remained listed as an employee as part of his severance agreement. This allowed him to retain his U.S. work visa as an Australian national.
According to Cartwright, in October 2017, his attorney received a letter from the National Enquirer‘s then-parent company, American Media, Inc. (AMI), which threatened a termination of employment per the severance agreement. This, the letter noted, would result in him losing his work visa and subsequent deportation from the U.S. The letter suggested they believed he was behind several leaks to national media outlets regarding the Enquirer’s involvement in purchasing and burying stories on behalf of several notable public figures.
Now, several years after the letter, Cartwright admits AMI’s suspicions were correct. He also suggests his work as a confidential source on AMI likely contributed to his gaining employment with the far-left Daily Beast.
ORIGIN OF “CATCH AND KILL”?
Cartwright claims he first heard the term “catch and kill” from an unnamed colleague. The phrase was used in conjunction with a $30,000 payout by AMI to Trump Tower doorman Dino Sajudin. According to the doorman, Trump had fathered a love child in an affair. However, Cartwright says the tabloid’s investigation into the matter found Sajudin to be unreliable, noting the man’s claims were unfounded. Despite Cartwright and his colleagues concluding that Sajudin’s story was likely untrue, he says AMI CEO David Pecker authorized a $30,000 payment to the doorman anyway.
“I stressed to him the importance of the term ‘catch and kill’…
– Lachlan Cartwright
Cartwright says the second occasion he heard the term “catch and kill” was in relation to former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal’s alleged affair with Trump. At the time, McDougal was being represented by Hollywood entertainment lawyer Keith Davidson.
The confirmed connection with Keith Davidson raises questions about the “catch and kill” term’s origins. During his testimony in the hush money trial, David Pecker insisted “catch and kill” was not a term used by AMI or the National Enquirer. However, as The National Pulse’s Editor-in-Chief, Raheem Kassam, reported last week, the phrase has a history of being used in connection with Hollywood, and disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein.
SOURCE FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
“Catch and kill” made its first appearance in connection to former President Donald Trump in a November 4, 2016, story in the Wall Street Journal detailing the alleged payments and nondisclosure agreement between AMI and Karen McDougal. Cartwright admits to being the newspaper‘s source and using the term “catch and kill’ when speaking with reporter Lukas Alpert.
The WSJ story from 2016.
According to Cartwright, Alpert had never heard the phrase prior to his use of it.
“I stressed to him the importance of the term ‘catch and kill‘ and told him that if the Journal included it, it would give me some breathing room,” Cartwright wrote, recalling their conversation. In addition, Cartwright says he broke into the safe where the Sajudin nondisclosure agreement was kept and supplied details from the document, including names of individuals involved, to the Wall Street Journal.
THE TRUMP NON-CONNECTION.
The most glaring omission from Cartwright’s recollection of events is that he can never definitively connect former President Trump to any of AMI’s actions prior to the 2016 election. He either assumes a connection or makes innuendo to one, but the former editor for the Daily Beast is careful never to claim Trump actually directed any of his or David Pecker’s actions. In fact, Cartwright strangely only mentions MichaelCohen, Trump’s then-personal attorney, in passing — despite the District Attorney’s office insisting that Cohen was heavily involved with Pecker, AMI, and the National Enquirer‘s senior staff in executing the “catch and kill” operations.
Cartwright admits that he also spoke to the New York Times after the paper broke the Harvey Weinstein story and detailed the National Enquirer‘s handling of the McDougal allegations. Regarding his conversations with the newspaper, Cartwright admits he “stressed that the real story was the Enquirer’s work on behalf of Trump.” He has yet to provide any evidence of this claim.
The Australian national’s essay for the New York Times could have serious implications for Bragg’s prosecution of Trump.
Cartwright appears to be not only an originator of the “catch and kill” phrase now being bandied about by the District Attorney‘s office but also the source for the idea that the tabloid worked on behalf of the Trump campaign. The fact that Cartwright admits to opening an AMI safe and leaking documents and other materials to competing news outlets calls into question not only his ethics but also his credibility.
show less
Lachlan Cartwright appears to have confessed to being one of the most critical sources for the "catch and kill" claims against President Donald J. Trump, as well as the initial 'hush money' story published in the Wall Street Journal just days before the 2016 presidential election. During his time as executive editor with the National Enquirer, Cartwright claims he was intimately involved in the tabloid publication's work to protect certain individuals from negative press and to direct scathing stories at others.
show more
Ukraine’s top military official, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, reported on Sunday that Ukrainian troops have been forced to retreat to new positions west of three villages on the eastern front amid significant Russian military advances. The Russian advances come as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky begs for more weapons following the approval of a $61 billion aid package in the U.S.
“The situation at the front has worsened,” Syrskyi said. “In an attempt to seize the strategic initiative and break through the front line, the enemy has focused its main efforts on several areas, creating a significant advantage in forces and means.”
Skyrski confirmed that the “most difficult situation” currently was around villages to the west of Avdeyevka, a city seized by Russia this year in one of its most significant battlefield victories. He also confirmed a buildup of Russian forces near Kharkov.
Around 25,000 Russian troops are also reported to be advancing on the key city of Chasiv Yar. According to the Institute for the Study of War’s most recent Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, “Russian forces currently have opportunities to achieve operationally significant gains near Chasiv Yar and are preparing reserves to support a large-scale offensive effort expected this summer.”
‘STILL WAITING’ FOR MILITARY AID.
Meanwhile, Zelensky is begging the U.S. to deliver military aid swiftly following the approval of a $61 billion aid package to the beleaguered nation. During a Sunday call with U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Zelensky emphasized the pressing need for Patriot missile defense systems.
“We are still waiting for the supplies Ukraine was promised,” Zelensky said in a video address Sunday. “In my conversation with Mr. Jeffries, I underscored that Patriot systems are needed, and as soon as possible,” he said.
The dire situation facing Ukraine on the eastern front follows warnings of an inevitable Ukrainian defeat in the war. Earlier this month, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg admitted Ukraine would likely need to make concessions to Russia in order to achieve peace.
show less
Ukraine's top military official, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, reported on Sunday that Ukrainian troops have been forced to retreat to new positions west of three villages on the eastern front amid significant Russian military advances. The Russian advances come as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky begs for more weapons following the approval of a $61 billion aid package in the U.S.
show more
Disgraced attorney MichaelCohen may face sanctions in the Manhattan-based Trump “hush money” trial even though he has yet to testify. Last Tuesday, Cohen took to TikTok to discuss the trial details with tens of thousands of listeners. “Trump 2024?” Cohen said before adding: “More like Trump 20-24 years.”
Cohen went on to use the Chinese–owned social media app to discuss his history with former President DonaldTrump, his thoughts on the trial, and the testimony of other witnesses so far. Even more concerning is that it appears the disgraced lawyer, who was dubbed “perverse” by a federal judge in late March, is personally profiting from his social media appearance on TikTok.
While Cohen‘s social media activity is ethically dubious and will likely further damage his already tattered credibility, it does not appear to violate any standing court order for those involved in the trial other than former President Trump and his attorneys. Judge Juan Merchan, who presides over the case, enacted a gagorder that only affects Trump at the request of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
After the former President began publicizing that Merchan’s daughter is a well-connected Democrat fundraiser with ties to national party leaders, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, the judge expanded the order to include himself and family members.
Earlier on Monday, Cohen said he’d cease his social media posts, still striking a defiant tone. “I am not the defendant in this criminal matter and am not the subject of Judge Merchan’s gag order. Donald is,” the disgraced and ethically challenged lawyer said in a statement. He added: “Nevertheless, I elected, out of respect to the court and the prosecutors, to cease commenting on Trump and this matter; which I have done.”
show less
Disgraced attorney MichaelCohen may face sanctions in the Manhattan-based Trump "hush money" trial even though he has yet to testify. Last Tuesday, Cohen took to TikTok to discuss the trial details with tens of thousands of listeners. "Trump 2024?" Cohen said before adding: "More like Trump 20-24 years."
show more
Research by the Heartland Institute confirms that mail-in voting in 2020 was tainted by widespread fraud. Justin Haskins, director of the Socialism Research Center at the think-tank, revealed how they polled people on whether they voted in 2020 and whether they used an absentee ballot. Respondents who answered ‘yes’ to both questions received a series of follow-up queries.
Poll respondents were not asked directly whether they committed voter fraud. Instead, they were asked if they engaged in certain behaviors that are illegal under electoral law. Haskins revealed:
17 percentanswered ‘yes’ when asked, “Did you vote in a state where you’re no longer a legal resident?”
21 percent answered ‘yes’ when asked, “Did you fill out a ballot for someone else on their behalf?”
17 percent answered ‘yes’ when asked if they “forge[d] the signature of a friend or family member on their behalf, with or without their permission?”
“So, all told, it’s at least, and I say at least, one in five mail-in ballots involved some kind of fraudulent activity,” Haskins highlighted.
The Heartland Institute also asked respondents whether they used an absentee ballot, and if they knew anyone who had admitted to committing one of the above forms of voter fraud. Ten percent answered ‘yes.’
Mail-in or postal voting is banned or heavily restricted in many countries, due to the ease of fraud and the difficulty of proving it after the fact.
NO WIDESPREAD FRAUD?
Despite insisting there is no evidence of “widespread” fraud in 2020, the authorities are increasingly being forced to acknowledge the abuse of mail-in ballots in the U.S. In November 2023, a judge overturned the results of a Democrat primary after Mayor Joe Ganim, who was losing the race, surged into the lead after a suspicious influx of absentee ballots. In February 2024, Craig Callaway, a Democrat organizer and former President of the City Council of Atlantic City, was arrested for an elaborate scheme involving paid “messengers” and his office filing vote-by-mail applications and casting ballots on people’s behalf without their knowledge.
Republican lawmakers have attempted to strengthen election integrity in several states, but Democrat governors are vetoing the bills.
WATCH:
NEW: 1 in 5 mail-in-ballots was fraudulent according to a new study conducted by the Heartland Institute.
Wow, shocker!
According to the Heartland Institute’s Justin Haskins, 20% of people *admitted* to committing voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Research by the Heartland Institute confirms that mail-in voting in 2020 was tainted by widespread fraud. Justin Haskins, director of the Socialism Research Center at the think-tank, revealed how they polled people on whether they voted in 2020 and whether they used an absentee ballot. Respondents who answered 'yes' to both questions received a series of follow-up queries.
show more
Editor’s Notes
Behind-the-scenes political intrigue exclusively for Pulse+ subscribers.
New York Cityhealth officials have raised concerns over increasing cases of leptospirosis, a bacterial illness transmitted by rat urine.
The city saw 24 cases in 2023, which is four times more than the annual average — six — reported between 2001 and 2020. The disease, associated with exposure to common rat urine, presents with fever, headache, vomiting, and a host of other symptoms. It can cause severe complications, including kidney failure and meningitis, if untreated.
The health department’s Deputy Commissioner, Celia Quinn, issued a memo on April 12 outlining the risks and transmission modes of the disease. The majority of the cases from 2001 to 2023 were reported in the Bronx, 37, and Manhattan, 28, with six resulting in fatalities.
Quinn noted that seasons might play a role in disease transmission: leptospira bacteria struggle to survive in both extreme heat and cold conditions but may thrive in temperate climates with warmer and wetter conditions. More than half of the reported cases in 2023 occurred between June and October, coinciding with such weather conditions. Approximately 3 million rats are thought to infest New York City.
The city’s escalating rat problem has prompted Mayor Eric Adams to acknowledge the issue as a central factor driving people to leave.
show less
New York City health officials have raised concerns over increasing cases of leptospirosis, a bacterial illness transmitted by rat urine.
show more
Share Story
FacebookTwitterWhatsappTruthTelegramGettrCopy Link
Real News Fan? Show It!
Many people are shocked to learn that because of active censorship, we currently have to spend more time making sure you can even see The National Pulse, than on producing the news itself. Which sucks. Because we do this for the truth, and for you.
But the regime doesn’t want you being informed. That’s why they want us to go away. And that will happen if more people don’t sign up to support our work. It’s basic supply and demand. So demand you get to read The National Pulse, unrestricted. Sign up, today.
We don’t sell ads, and refuse corporate or political cash. It all comes down to you, the reader. I hope you can help.
