On November 18, 2022, the third-highest-ranking official in the Department of Justice under President Joe Biden resigned to join the Manhattan office that was investigating Donald Trump.
This occurred only three days after Trump announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election, and on the same day that Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed special counsel Jack Smith, according to Breitbart News.
Additionally, White House attorneys met with Nathan Wade for eight hours.
The Biden White House's denial of involvement in the lawfare against the former president is undermined by the seismic timeline that now reveals the initial actions of White House officials on that single day, which revived and accelerated cases against Trump in Manhattan, Washington, Atlanta, and Florida.
Following the conviction of Trump by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in May, Michael Colangelo's abrupt resignation as Acting Associate Attorney General to become an assistant prosecutor in Bragg's office was seen as a significant development.
After Bragg's conviction of Trump on 34 felony counts, which was doubtful before Colangelo's DOJ resignation, his self-imposed career kneecapping has come under investigation. The verdict has been criticized across political factions.
The former DOJ lawyer revitalized Bragg's Trump investigations after returning in Manhattan on December 5, 2022. Colangelo renewed Bragg's office's emphasis on Trump, prompting charges in April 2023.
The move supports Trump's claims that the current administration, and his presidential opposites have gone after him and his campaign intentionally.
According to Trump, he is being targeted in a political manner so that the current president can win a second term.
Because both Trump and Biden have held the position of president, it's hard for Biden to assert that Trump doesn't know what goes into his office or where the pressure can be applied to various agencies.
The weaponization of the Department of Justice and other law enforcement agencies has been a point of contention for many in Washington and abroad.
The move of someone working directly with a Biden-appointed legal force to move toward working to prosecute Trump appears to be an incriminating move on the part of Beltway insiders.
“This is a profoundly serious matter not only for legal scholars, but also equally important that everyday folks understand the threat to them – their lives, their families, their futures,” said former U.S. Ambassador Ken Blackwell, chairman of the Conservative Action Project and chairman of the Center for Election Integrity at the America First Policy Institute.
“If the Left succeeds in this, it will literally change our form of government forever.”
A 42-year-old news anchor whose sudden death shocked her Pennsylvania community died from suicide, according to a coroner's investigation.
Emily Matson, a news anchor for Erie News Now, leapt to her death in front of a train after midnight Monday.
Matson had worked for Erie News Now for nearly two decades, starting out as a morning news producer before moving to the crime beat. She married a local policeman, Ryan Onderko.
At the time of her death, she was co-anchor for the 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. weekday newscasts at Erie News Now. She also produced newscasts in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam.
When Matson showed up for work on Friday, December 8, her colleagues had no idea that would be their last time seeing her.
"After the show last Friday, I thought I’d see her again. I said, 'Have a nice weekend.' Like the end of many of our shows, we truly didn’t have enough time to say goodbye. I will miss Emily," her co-anchor John Stehlin said.
Matson was hit by a train in Fairview Township, where she lived, around 12:45 a.m. Monday, the Erie County Coroner's Office said. The cause of death was ruled a suicide.
The Erie County native was remembered by colleagues as talented and full of life.
"She was very, very upbeat," Paul Wagner, a retired reporter at Erie News Now said. "She was a very positive person. She was always encouraging the new people. She always had a joke for everyone."
Her mother Patricia shared a touching tribute on Facebook, which showed the two of them making pasta together.
"Teaching emily how to make sauce and lasagna last friday. she was so happy and proud," Patricia Matson wrote. "She wanted her picture taken to show her brother travis that she made lasagna just for him!"
In her professional bio, Matson called being a news anchor in her hometown her personal dream.
"I must be dreaming! An anchor gig in my hometown! I am so happy to be in Erie, telling the stories which impact my neighbors every day," she wrote.
Matson is survived by her husband Ryan, her parents, her children Kyle and Emily, two siblings, and her in-laws, nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her daughter Kayla, her cousin Tricia McAndrew, and her maternal and paternal grandparents.
Matson will receive a Catholic funeral mass on Saturday in Erie.
The tiny and extremely rich European nation of Liechtenstein is mourning the loss of a member of its royal family, Prince Constantin.
The cause of death was not shared for the 51-year-old, who passed away unexpectedly.
He was the youngest son of the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein, Hans-Adam II, and seventh in line to the throne.
The prince leaves behind his wife, Princess Marie, and their three children, Prince Moritz, 20, Princess Georgina, 18, and Prince Benedikt, 15.
After studying law in Salzburg, Prince Constantin took on management roles at Liechtenstein Group, the largest royal family-owned private banking and asset management group in the world.
He also ran the Prince of Liechtenstein Foundation, which controls nearly all of the royal family's wealth, estimated at roughly $6 billion.
The family's property includes "one of the largest private art collections in the world, the LGT Group, a museum, the Vaduz Court Winery and various real estate," local newspaper Vaterland reported.
A minute's silence was observed in the state parliament in tribute to the departed prince.
Bishop Benno Elbs, the Apostolic Administrator of the capital Vaduz, sent his condolences to the royal family and urged the people of Liechtenstein to pray for the prince.
"This afternoon, at 15 p.m., the bells rang in all the parish churches of the archdiocese," Elbs said.
"I invite all the faithful of the Principality to join in praying for Prince Constantine and thus to express their attachment to the Princely House. I wish Prince Hans-Adam II, Princess Marie, the children and all those who mourn the deceased much strength and comfort in the hope of the resurrection."
"They may be supported by the many people who pray for the deceased throughout the Principality. May God grant Prince Constantine eternal rest."
Liechtenstein was formed in 1719 as a principality of the Holy Roman Empire, eventually gaining independence in the 19th century after the wars of Napoleon.
The Princely House of Liechtenstein is one of the oldest royal families in Europe. Dating to the 12th century, the family takes its name from a castle near Vienna, Austria.
Liechtenstein is one of the wealthiest countries on the planet, per capita.
The German-speaking, landlocked constitutional monarchy is situated between Austria and Switzerland and is one of the smallest countries in the world, with an area of just 62 square miles and a population of about 40,000.
A mother and son who helped steal Nancy Pelosi's (D-Ca.) laptop on January 6th have been sentenced to home incarceration.
Maryann Mooney-Rondon, of upstate New York, and her son Rafael Rondon were reprimanded by U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb for their "juvenile" actions.
They both spent about half an hour inside the Capitol. Neither was accused of any violence.
At one point, they entered a conference room where they helped an unidentified man steal Pelosi's laptop. They also stole a pair of respiratory devices meant for lawmakers and then left the Capitol.
Mooney-Rondon was convicted of obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting theft of government property following a bench trial in March. Her son pled guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding last December.
The judge sentenced Maryann Mooney-Rondon to 12 months of home incarceration and Rafael Rondon to 18 months of home incarceration. Both were sentenced to five years' probation.
Judge Cobb described the punishment as "jail but at home."
In addition, Maryann Rondon must pay $3,657.51 in restitution, a fine of $7,500, and perform 350 hours of community service, and her son was ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution and perform 350 hours of community service.
The Biden Justice Department wanted more than 51 months in prison - more than 4 years - for Rafael Rondon and 46 months for Maryann Moony-Rondon.
But the judge resisted these steep punishments, distinguishing between their "juvenile" conduct and more dramatic crimes like espionage or theft of government secrets.
The judge did not find their conduct reflected any "master plot," a reporter who was present said.
While acknowledging their crimes were not particularly serious, the judge insisted she was letting them off easy.
"I just think that they were acting very stupidly,” Cobb said. “No offense.”
Moony-Rondon and Rondon have both apologized, saying they suffered a lapse in judgment.
“I was the adult in the room, and I failed,” Mooney-Rondon said. “I have brought embarrassment to my family.”
“If we had to do it all over, we would have just stayed home and watched from the safety of our living room,” she continued.
More than 1,000 people have been charged in the Justice Department's probe. Some have been accused of assaulting police, but most of the defendants are not accused of any violence.