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Bruce Reinhart, the Magistrate Judge Who Approved the Mar-a-Lago Search

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Bruce Reinhart, the Magistrate Judge Who Approved the Mar-a-Lago Search

Ever for the reason that F.B.I. searched the Mar-a-Lago property of former President Donald J. Trump for categorized paperwork, the federal choose in Florida who signed the warrant authorizing the transfer, Bruce E. Reinhart, has been thrust into the highlight.

His suggestion on Thursday that he was inclined to unseal components of the affidavit used to justify the search warrant as soon as the federal government proposed redactions solely intensified the scrutiny.

Choose Reinhart has already confronted a torrent of criticism from Republicans and change into the topic of disinformation and on-line assaults, a lot of them anti-Semitic. His approval of the search warrant, right-wing critics contend, was a partisan try and harass a former president.

Outstanding Republicans, together with Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, shortly denounced Choose Reinhart for a political donation he had made to President Barack Obama in 2008. (He has additionally donated to Republicans, together with the previous governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, throughout his presidential marketing campaign in 2015.)

However as a Justice of the Peace choose, Choose Reinhart decided typical of his tasks, based on authorized consultants, who say the job usually helps district courtroom judges with duties like reviewing warrants.

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He was sworn in as a Justice of the Peace choose for the Southern District of Florida in 2018.

After graduating from Princeton, he obtained his regulation diploma from the College of Pennsylvania in 1987.

From 1988 till 1994, he labored for the Justice Division’s public integrity part inside its legal division, based on courtroom paperwork from over a decade in the past. He then joined the Treasury Division to assist draft insurance policies for different companies conducting legal investigations.

He additionally served for 11 years as a federal prosecutor within the U.S. lawyer’s workplace for the Southern District of Florida.

His time there coincided with the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein, a rich financier who was accused of luring teenage women to his Palm Seashore mansion and sexually abusing them. Mr. Epstein was allowed to plead responsible to lesser costs and keep away from a prolonged jail sentence in a plea settlement the Justice Division later acknowledged confirmed “poor judgment.” Mr. Reinhart has denied taking part within the investigation. Shortly after leaving the Justice Division in late 2008, he went into personal apply, the place he represented a few of Mr. Epstein’s workers who had been accused of facilitating intercourse trafficking.

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A kind of purchasers was Sarah Kellen, who was accused of serving to procure younger women for Mr. Epstein.

In courtroom filings, attorneys for Mr. Epstein’s victims accused Mr. Reinhart of violating Florida bar guidelines. His involvement “gave the looks” of currying favor with Mr. Epstein whereas working on the Justice Division with a purpose to reap rewards with profitable employment, a criticism stated.

Paul G. Cassell, a lawyer representing the victims who lodged a criticism about Choose Reinhart’s involvement, declined to remark. Choose Reinhart didn’t reply to a request for remark.

In courtroom filings, Mr. Reinhart denied that he had achieved something improper, stating in a sworn affidavit that he had not participated in his workplace’s investigation of Mr. Epstein and had no particular information that may assist his protection of Ms. Kellen. The false accusations, he stated, disparaged his character.

However Choose Reinhart’s critics instantly seized on his connection to Mr. Epstein, shortly inspiring disinformation about it.

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Final week, in a phase on Fox Information, a bunch confirmed a manipulated photograph that appeared to indicate Choose Reinhart seated on a aircraft with Ghislaine Maxwell, Mr. Epstein’s companion who had been convicted final yr of aiding Mr. Epstein in sexually abusing minors.

(In 2019, Mr. Epstein was once more charged in New York, however was discovered useless of obvious suicide in his cell.)

The host, Brian Kilmeade, stated on Twitter a day later that the picture “wasn’t actual” and that the community was “exhibiting a meme in jest.”

However all of the scrutiny of Choose Reinhart has additionally prompted the native authorities to step up safety. His synagogue canceled a Friday night time Shabbat service final week in response to a number of antisemitic threats, and the police in his neighborhood stated officers had intensified patrols close to his home.

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Video: Biden Says Israeli Military Assault in Gaza Is ‘Not Genocide’

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Video: Biden Says Israeli Military Assault in Gaza Is ‘Not Genocide’

new video loaded: Biden Says Israeli Military Assault in Gaza Is ‘Not Genocide’

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transcript

Biden Says Israeli Military Assault in Gaza Is ‘Not Genocide’

At a celebration of Jewish Heritage Month, President Biden pledged support to Israel and condemned a decision by the prosecutor for the International Criminal Court to seek arrest warrants for top Israeli officials.

We stand with Israel to take out Sinwar and the rest of the butchers of Hamas. We want Hamas defeated. We’ll work with Israel to make that happen. And consistent with Jewish values and compassion, kindness and dignity and human life, my team also is providing critical humanitarian assistance to help innocent Palestinian civilians who are suffering greatly because of the war Hamas, Hamas has unleashed. [clapping] Its heartbreaking. Let me be clear. We reject the I.C.C.’s application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders. [cheering] Whatever these warrants may imply, there is no equivalence between Israel and Hamas, and it’s clear Israel wants to do all it can to ensure civilian protection. But let me be clear. Contrary to allegations against Israel made by the International Court of Justice, what’s happening is not genocide. We reject that. [cheering]

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2024 showdown: Trump tops Biden in April campaign cash dash

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2024 showdown: Trump tops Biden in April campaign cash dash

With five and a half months to go until the November election, former President Donald Trump enjoys the edge over President Biden in many national polls and surveys in the key battleground states that will likely decide their 2024 rematch.

And in April, for the first time, Trump also enjoyed the lead in monthly fundraising.

The president’s campaign announced on Monday evening that they and the Democratic National Committee hauled in over $51 million in fundraising last month. 

That’s significantly less than the $76 million that the former president and the Republican National Committee raised in April, according to an announcement earlier this month.

THE BLUE STATES TRUMP AIMS TO FLIP RED IN HIS 2024 REMATCH WITH BIDEN

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Former President Donald Trump is joined by top GOP officials, allies, and potential 2024 running mates, as he speaks at a Republican National Committee donor retreat, on May 4, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida (2024 Donald Trump campaign )

“@TeamTrump and the RNC outraised Biden by $25 MILLION in April!” the RNC touted in a social media post.

The fundraising totals are a switch from March, when Biden and the DNC brought in roughly $90 million compared to $65.6 million for Trump and the RNC.

Biden had regularly been outpacing Trump in monthly fundraising, but Trump’s April haul was boosted by a record-setting $50.5 million that the former president’s campaign raked in at a single event early in the month with top dollar GOP donors that was hosted at the Palm Beach, Florida home of billionaire investor John Paulson.

WARNING SIGNS FOR TRUMP AND BIDEN AS THEY CAREEN TOWARDS FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

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The Biden campaign, in their announcement, spotlighted that they have hauled in $473 million in the year since the president formally launched his re-election bid. 

They also showcased that they were sitting on a massive $192 million war chest as of the end of April.

They touted that Trump “trails badly in cash on hand” and that they have “the highest total of any Democratic candidate in history at this point in the cycle.”

Biden, Obama and Clinton.

Former Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and President Joe Biden. (Getty Images)

The Biden campaign also spotlighted their small dollar donations, saying that “a majority of April’s raise came from grassroots donors, and one million more supporters were added to our email list in the month alone.”

They also took aim at Trump, arguing that his campaign “has focused nearly entirely on courting billionaire donors, maxing out early in the cycle instead of building a durable grassroots fundraising program.”

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In their announcement earlier this month, Trump campaign senior advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles pointed to their grassroots fundraising prowess, saying that “with half of funds raised coming from small dollar donors, it is clear that our base is energized.”

And they pledged that “we are raising the resources necessary to deliver a victory in November.”

Trump and Biden

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon / Curtis Means/DailyMail.com via AP, Pool)

But the Biden campaign said that its fundraising advantage in recent months has allowed it to go up with major ad buys in the key states and to build formidable ground game teams in the battlegrounds.

Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said their fundraising “is giving us the resources necessary to invest in opening offices, hiring organizers and communicating across our battleground states in order to mobilize the coalition of voters who will decide this election.”

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Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

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California Assembly passes bill allowing Amsterdam-style cannabis cafes

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California Assembly passes bill allowing Amsterdam-style cannabis cafes

A bill that would allow Amsterdam-style cannabis cafes in California passed the state Assembly Monday afternoon on a 49-4 vote and is headed to the Senate. But even if the Legislature’s upper chamber approves AB 1775, legalization remains far from a sure thing.

Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a prior iteration of the bill in October, citing the state’s long-standing smoke-free workplace protections.

The bill would authorize local jurisdictions to allow licensed cannabis retailers to prepare and sell non-cannabis food and nonalcoholic beverages. The bill would also allow the cafes to host live music and other performances.

Under current state law, consumers can consume cannabis at a dispensary, but dispensaries can’t legally sell non-cannabis products like coffee and food, as is legal in Amsterdam.

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California’s symbolic position at the apex of weed culture has long been rivaled by the Dutch capital, where cannabis cafes have been legal since the 1970s.

Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco), who introduced the legislation, has framed it as a matter of fairness. He argues that the cafes would level the playing field for the state’s highly taxed and regulated legal weed industry, allowing legitimate businesses to compete with black-market sellers who don’t operate under the same constraints.

“This is a bill that supports our legal small businesses that just want to diversify their businesses and do the right thing,” Haney said Monday on the Assembly floor. “The illicit illegal market is continuing to grow and thrive, while our legal cannabis market is struggling.”

Haney cited the governor’s prior veto, saying he had been working to address Newsom’s concerns through amendments to the bill. The new version would prohibit cannabis smoking or vaping in “back of house” of lounges, where food is being prepared or stored, creating separation between where people are consuming cannabis and other work areas.

Rather than taking a blunt statewide approach, the bill would put the decision to allow cannabis cafes in the hands of local jurisdictions. Should a jurisdiction decide to greenlight the lounges, it would have to hash out its own permitting process and regulations.

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West Hollywood put a licensing system in place several years ago, and a handful of cannabis lounges operate within the city’s 1.89 square miles. The West Hollywood businesses operate with workarounds that separate the food businesses, The Times has previously reported.

No such licensing system exists in the city of Los Angeles.

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Heart Assn. and the American Lung Assn. have all opposed the bill, raising concerns about the health effects of secondhand marijuana smoke. They argue that the bill would undo hard-fought workplace protections “by re-creating the harmful work environments of the past.”

Marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access has argued that patrons and employees would face no health risks because of the highly regulated nature of such establishments.

A Newsom spokesperson declined to comment on pending legislation.

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Staff writer Nathan Solis contributed to this report.

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