Maryland, My Maryland

Rep. David Trone’s (D-MD) PG
County Executive Angela Alsobrooks

At the Free Bacon, David Trone's Financial Disclosures Don't Add Up. Experts Say That Could Land Him in Legal Trouble.

It’s unclear how much Rep. David Trone’s stake in Indiana Fine Wine & Spirits is worth, but it’s enough that the Maryland Democrat pledged it as collateral for a loan worth up to $25 million in August 2020.

But you wouldn’t know that from Trone’s financial disclosures. In both 2020 and 2022, Trone didn’t even mention the Indiana wine franchise—an extension of his Total Wine empire he launched with his brother in 2019—omissions that imply his stake in the business those years was worth $0.

For more than a decade, the Maryland Democrat has pledged at least 20 offshoots of his $2.4 billion Total Wine empire as collateral for the loan, which PNC Bank first disbursed in 2008. But a Washington Free Beacon review found that for years after launching his first campaign for Congress in 2016 and winning his first term in 2018, Trone didn’t disclose his ownership in at least eight of those offshoots in his financial disclosures to the public.

Experts say Trone’s apparent failure to disclose all his assets could land the Democrat in legal trouble.

"Our democracy depends on the trust of the people in our elected officials," said Tom Anderson, the president of Last Government Watchdog. "Congressman Trone appears to have violated that trust."

By "failing to take seriously the disclosure of all assets and liabilities," Trone is "opening the door to serious penalties of up to five years in prison and/or up to a $50,000 fine if he is found to be criminally avoiding disclosure," Anderson told the Free Beacon.

Trone, the favorite to challenge former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R.) for Maryland’s open Senate seat in November, has made no secret of his wealth. The congressman signaled he would be willing to spend $50 million of his own money on his Senate campaign before entering the race in May 2023 and has since spent a record-breaking $41 million leading up to the primary.

In a primary debate on Apr. 19, Trone boasted that he was "the largest donor to Democrats in the last three cycles," and that his donations help "drive our Democratic Party. Not only in the House but also in the Senate."

Trone has Total Wine to thank for providing him with the revenue necessary to finance his political career. He’s raked in at least $120 million in distributions from Total Wine since 2018, and in 2022 he reported owning interest in 21 of the chain’s affiliates with a combined stake of no more than $80 million.

Taking Trone’s disclosures at face value, it appears he has already poured a significant chunk of his net worth into his Senate campaign. But the figures in Trone’s financial disclosures pale in comparison to Total Wine’s $2.4 billion valuation as estimated by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The liquor behemoth is exclusively owned by the Trone family, with at least 71 state and local affiliates, each of which operate anywhere from one to several dozen storefronts. The company raked in $5.5 billion in revenue in 2022, doubling its haul from 2017.

I'm sure if he's done anything wrong, the Biden administration's DOJ will be right on it. /sarc 

I will say this; he's pouring a ton of money into TV ads currently.

Flotsam and Jetsam - Waiting on the Flood

We're expecting 3 or more inches of rain today, and extremely high tides due to storm surge. 

A fairly thin crop today, thankfully. Nick Arama at RedState cites Jonathan Turley  who Thinks KJP May Have Just Put Biden in More Potential Impeachment Trouble. "If this latest allegation is true, the president was speaking with his son about committing a potentially criminal act of contempt. Hunter was refusing to give testimony focused not on his own role but on his father's potential role in the alleged influence peddling. The House can pursue evidence on that conversation and how the president may have supported his son’s effort. . . In addition, President Biden has enlisted White House staff to actively push challenged accounts of his conduct and attack the House Republicans’ investigative process. Such acts could legally bootstrap prior misconduct into his presidency under abuse-of-power allegations." At Althouse, "James Biden’s dealmaking caught on FBI tapes in unrelated bribery probe/While Joe Biden campaigned in Mississippi, his brother planned to build a powerful consulting business -- a deal that brought him to the periphery of a federal case." "This is a long, detailed article by Michael Kranish in The Washington Post. . . . "When a larger version of the tobacco settlement finally reached the Senate floor," Joe Biden went "from being one of its biggest critics to becoming one of its leading defenders." The Biden family business has always been about selling Joe to the highest bidder. 

At the Free Bacon, news that ‘Historic’ Biden Judicial Nominee Sits on Board of Group Founded by Cop-Killing Domestic Terrorist "Adeel Abdullah Mangi, whom Biden tapped to serve on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, is an advisory board member of Alliance of Families for Justice. The organization, which works to end "mass incarceration," was formed in 2016 with Weather Underground member Kathy Boudin as a founding director. Boudin pleaded guilty to the murder of two police officers and a security guard during an armored truck robbery in 1981. The FBI named Weather Underground a domestic terrorist organization following a string of bombings and robberies in the 1970s and ‘80s." Kathy Boudin and  boyfriend and fellow Weatherperson Bill Ayers were also personal friends of Barack Obama.

Insty, A UNITER, NOT A DIVIDER! Trump ‘may turn off the internet’ if re-elected, former aide says. "One of Donald Trump‘s former staffers claims the former president may “turn off the internet” if he is re-elected. Miles Taylor, Mr Trump’s former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security, made the claim during an appearance on MSNBC. . ."  An utterly ridiculous claim, as Trump relies heavily on internet publicity. Althouse "Most Americans already don’t want Trump — or Biden, for that matter — to run, despite the overwhelming likelihood they will be the nominees." 

""If 2024 is a 2020 rematch, it will be a contest between two candidates the country doesn’t particularly want. And voters appear to be pricing in Trump’s legal woes already." Those are last 3 sentences of "Why a Trump conviction might not save Biden’s reelection. Pollsters have already started to explore what effect, if any, a criminal conviction before the election would have on Trump’s support" (Politico). 

People expect Trump to get convicted of something, and the actual occurrence of a conviction before the election is not going to give Biden the boost he needs. The polls already show the effect of this future event, and Biden supporters who are hoping for new abhorrence of Trump when he's Trump the Convicted Felon need to wake up.

Hat Hair's Jazz Shaw notices  Congress Moves to Stop Trump From Leaving NATO, so they expect him to win. 

At ET, an INFOGRAPHIC: Trump’s Legal Challenges Explained. NewBusters observes TV News Won’t Call Anti-Trump Attorney General and Judge ‘Democrats.’ Roger Kimball at Am Great asks is ‘Liberty and Justice For All’ – A Tattered Cliche? "One set of laws for Donald Trump and his supporters, and another set for the harassers."

Jonathon Turley,  Capitol Police Investigating Porn Video Shot in Senate Committee Room and discusses some legal aspects "Obviously, the videotape will result in the termination of any staffers involved. However, the question is any possible criminal charge. We have previously discussed porn videos shot in churches or other locations. Such porn shoots in church have also raised calls for prosecutions in other countries." Beege Welborn at Hat Hair kibbitzes "Personally I think the good professor is overly optimistic that people will be fired. Particularly if the people involved know about OTHER people “involved” in one form or another. But I’m cynical that way. Wonder how I got to be so jaded…" Kevin Downey at PJM snarks the Senate Sodomite in Capitol Sex Tape Is the Latest Attempt by Biden to 'Bring Back Decency'. "Senate Sodomite," I like that moniker, but I'm sure he's not the only one. Nick Arama, Liberal Media Take on 'Sex in the Senate Hearing Room' Is Everything You'd Expect, Including GOP Pouncing. Matt Vespa at TownHall, Here Are the Reactions to a Dem Staffer Getting Caught Having Gay Sex in a Senate Hearing Room

Kamala coming back to the Senate Hearing Room after forgetting her venn diagram files pic.twitter.com/kY5bFeapna

— Joey?❎ (@JoeyChipotle) December 16, 2023

At Bastiat's Window, Bob Graboyes discusses Antisemitism's Sharp Left Turn "An Open Letter to My Left-of-Center Friends." In recent year's it has been far more prevalent on the left than the right, but the Israel Hamas war really brought it into the news. The Tax Prof also compares  Tobacco Company CEOs, Ivy League Presidents, And Race

 

Rather than fix their ailing schools, Chicago has decided to trash the ones that work in the name of equity, Noah Rothman at NRO, Equality in Misery "In his pursuit of a more equitable status quo, Johnson plans to dismantle his city’s selective-enrollment schools, thereby reducing the prospects for competition among students and rendering all of Chicago’s schoolkids equal insofar as they would all be shackled to the same underperforming system." At Campus Reform, Oklahoma bans DEI requirements at public colleges and universities, requires cuts to 'non-critical personnel.' "Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt announced the mandate Wednesday, citing a need to spend more money on preparing young Oklahomans for the workforce, and less on 'six-figure salaries to DEI staff.'"

Insty, SEGREGATION NOW, SEGREGATION TOMORROW, SEGREGATION FOREVER! 

Boston City Hall roiled by email party invitation for ‘electeds of color’ sent to all. A Wu administration official, on behalf of the mayor, mistakenly sent all Boston city councilors an email Tuesday inviting them to a holiday party that was meant exclusively for “electeds of color,” prompting an apology and mixed reactions.
. . .
“I wanted to apologize for my previous email regarding a Holiday Party for tomorrow,” DosSantos, a Cape Verdean Black woman, wrote. “I did send that to everyone by accident, and I apologize if my email may have offended or came across as so. Sorry for any confusion this may have caused.”

Translation: I’m not sorry I’m a racialist; I’m only sorry that I was caught.

Lansing State J, cited at Hat Hair,  reports a Farmer Wins Six Figure Lawsuit Against MI City After Being Denied Spot in Farmers Market Over Religious Beliefs. Beege Welborn on the back story, "This all started back in 2017 when Tennes wouldn’t hold same-sex marriages at his Country Mil center because of his religious beliefs. The freaks-out was off to the races. How delightful for him to prevail."

At WaEx, Mark Judge (remember him?) explains Why conservatives need reporters in Hollywood. 

At Da Wire, Megan Rapinoe Calls Playing For U.S. Team ‘Worst Job In The World’ Check your lesbian privilege.

Maryland, My Maryland

Start this one off with Beege Welborn at Hat Hair, Looking Like Sen Staffer Who Dissed Jewish Congressman Just About What We Figured

Congressman Max Miller, who just happens to be Jewish, was trucking along, minding his own p’s and q’s, when a House staffer smart-mouthed off to him, right in front of an NBC reporter, God, and everybody else in the hallway.

Snapshot from the halls of the Hill: a House staffer just passed by GOP Rep. Max Miller —who is Jewish and has been supportive of sending aide to Israel— and said “free Palestine.” Pretty rare and stunning to see staff challenge members to their faces this way.

— Ali Vitali (@alivitali) December 13, 2023

FREE PALESTINE

So #Stunning so #Brave and, oh, gosh – original. But pretty frickin’ ballsy for an employee to be popping off at the mouth what is basically an anti-Semitic, damn near genocidal tag-line to a boss of the targeted religion.

Identified as  "Aidan Maese Czeropski…and works for Sen Ben Cardin (D-MD). Whose office, once it was confirmed the miscreant with the appalling manners was theirs, couldn’t seem to find anything to say." But (in best Billy Mays voice), wait, there's more 'Bonchie' at Red State, NEW: Senate Staffer Caught Making Hardcore Porn in Capitol Office Building, Democrat Senator Identified

Democrat Sen. Ben Cardin is going to have some explaining to do after one of his staffers was caught making hardcore gay porn inside the Capitol Complex.

The news was first broken by "Cockburn," an anonymous writer over at The Spectator, who shared the tale in rather poetic terms. That story also identified the Senate office involved as belonging to Cardin.

The so-called hallowed Halls of Congress play host to a plethora of indecent acts every day — but one staffer for Senator Ben Cardin is taking it to new levels.

The public Twitter account of the audacious young “twink” is comprised almost solely of him in flagrante delicto with his older “bear” partner. The images and videos are explicit — and conspicuously and deliberately contain the staffer’s face.

One pic in particular, shared privately with Cockburn, raised his eyebrow, as it was taken in what certainly appears to be a conference room in the Hart Senate Office Building, where his boss’s office is located.

Shortly after that report, one of the videos posted by the staffer was found and published by a conservative news outlet. It showed a nearly naked man on all fours inside the Capitol office building with a well-placed Capitol Dome over his genitals. The video wasn't just nude posing either. The male staffer and his boyfriend filmed themselves having anal sex inside a meeting room. I'd think some congressional members won't be too happy with the news.

According to Cockburn's original write-up, this male staffer and his boyfriend, who is described as an "older bear," have been using Twitter as their personal porn set for a while.

EXCLUSIVE: Senate Staffer Caught Filming Gay Sex Tape In Senate Hearing Room (GRAPHIC)

Read more here first and watch the video: https://t.co/gm2ZSoNMjU— Henry Rodgers (@henryrodgersdc) December 15, 2023

I can't wait for the mainstream press to claim this is "revenge" porn and that these videos were improperly published by right-leaning news outlets. That's exactly what they did in the case of Susanna Gibson, the Democrat state senate candidate from Virginia who streamed sex videos of herself online.

According to journalist Greg Price, the staffer in question has been identified.

Can confirm that the @SenatorCardin staffer who filmed himself having sex in a senate hearing room is this guy.

Aidan Maese-Czeropski.

He's also the same guy who yelled "Free Palestine" at Jewish Rep. Max Miller on Wednesday. https://t.co/nM9uzWIYg9 pic.twitter.com/ULffKqj8eY— Greg Price (@greg_price11) December 15, 2023

Don we now our gay apparel, fa la la, la la la, la la la. 

UPDATE, at WaEx, Democratic senator's staffer accused of filming hearing room sex act 'no longer employed'.