QAnon Supporter Speaks at Mar-a-Lago Event

A QAnon and Pizzagate conspiracy theorist was seen posing with former President Donald Trump Tuesday night while attending an event at his Mar-a-Lago club, according to ABC News.

Photos posted on Truth Social showed conspiracy theorist Liz Crokin smiling in photos taken with Trump. She posted on her account that she was at Mar-a-Lago to speak at an America's Future fundraising event "to combat child trafficking."

"Some of the topics I discussed were Pizzagate, Balenciaga and what President Trump's Administration did to combat human trafficking," Crokin's post said.

The event was held in support of the Out of the Shadows documentary, a website for which says the film "lifts the mask on how the mainstream media & Hollywood manipulate & control the masses by spreading propaganda throughout their content."

Trump was seen addressing attendees at the event shortly after Crokin's speech ended. Crokin shared a video of his brief remarks on her Truth Social account.

"President Trump made a surprise appearance and spoke at America's Future fundraiser to combat trafficking," Crokin wrote in a post accompanying the video.

In the clip, Trump can be heard saying, "I heard a lot of commotion down here and I said, 'Who the hell is that? Who is it?'"

Trump then asked attendees if they were having a good time and if they were enjoying the food. He said he'd requested "the A team" when he learned which group had gathered for the event.

"Having everybody here is my honor, it's my honor. You are incredible people, and you're doing unbelievable work," Trump said. "The job that this group in particular has done, it's really astounding."

Trump 'Demanded' Herschel Walker Run, Son Says

Herschel Walker's son blasted Republicans for supporting his father in the Georgia Senate race and claims Donald Trump 'demanded' he run.

Christian Walker, a 23-year-old conservative social media influencer, has long been critical of his father. He has characterized the former college football star a deadbeat father, a liar and a hypocrite for saying he is for Christian, family values while forcing women to get abortions.

After Herschel Walker lost the runoff Tuesday, Christian took to Twitter to condemn the GOP for picking him as a candidate.

"Trump called my dad for months DEMANDING that he run," Christian Walker tweeted.

He said "everyone with a brain" begged his father not to run, because the race was "too dirty" and Walker has an "insane past."

Christian Walker said those around his father "got the middle finger" and accused Republicans of playing "identity politics" by electing a Black man with no political background to run against an incumbent Black Senator.

"A boring old Republican could have won," he said.

Before the general election, Christian Walker said everyone of Herschel Walker's family members urged him not to run for office "because we all knew (some of) his past."

"He decided to... air out all of his dirty laundry in public, while simultaneously lying about it," Christian Walker said in a tweet.

Christian also asked Herschel Walker to stop "lying and making a mockery" of him and his mother.

"You're not a 'family man' when you left us to bang a bunch of women, threatened to kill us, and had us move over 6 times in 6 months running from your violence," he tweeted in October.

'Pastors for Trump' Launches to Support 2024 Bid

A new coalition of religious leaders called Pastors for Trump, designed to support former President Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, officially launched Wednesday.

Trump officially declared his intent to run for office again during an event at his Mar-a-Lago home last month.

The coalition was announced less than 24 hours after Trump-backed Republican Herschel Walker lost his bid to become a U.S. Senator for Georgia in the state's Senate runoff election.

Pastors for Trump was created by Jackson Lahmeyer, the lead pastor of the Sheridan Christian Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Lahmeyer ran as a Republican in Oklahoma's Senate primary earlier this year but was defeated by incumbent Senator James Lankford. Lahmeyer received support during his campaign from Roger Stone and former Trump personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, both allies of the former president.

Lahmeyer announced the new coalition Wednesday on social media.

"For the last several months, I have been working with Pastors & Ministry Leaders across the country to lay the infrastructure for a NEW coalition designed to help get President Donald J. Trump elected in 2024: Pastors for Trump," Lahmeyer wrote.

He said the coalition comprises of religious leaders "from different denominations and backgrounds" but said they all share "the common ground of wanting to Make America Great Again by Making America Godly Again."

Pastors for Trump will hold "monthly prayer calls" that will be open to members of the public who register on the coalition's website. The website says the group is "committed to pray for Donald J. Trump and present our requests before him on issues such as life, marriage, freedom of speech and personal responsibility."

Trump Less Popular 2024 Candidate Than DeSantis

Donald Trump is not the most popular 2024 presidential candidate, according to recent polls.

A recent Marquette Law School poll, 63 percent of voters would rather have Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as the GOP nominee over Trump, who received 36 percent support in the poll.

DeSantis had a 10-point lead over Trump among Republican respondents, gaining 55 percent support over 45 percent for Trump.

The Marist Poll survey on 2024 candidates found that 52 percent of Republicans believe the GOP's best chance of wining the next presidential election will come with a candidate other than Trump.

About 46 percent of Democrats said their party's best chance of maintaining the White House would be with a nominee other than President Joe Biden.

Quinnipiac University conducted a poll that found that 43 percent of voters would pick DeSantis as the 2024 Republican nominee, while only 29 percent support Trump. Republican voters surveyed were split at 44 percent between the two candidates.

The poll also found that 57 percent of adults said it was a bad move for Trump to announce his third bid for the White House last month, while 34 percent supported his decision.

After the New York Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Trump's company in Sept., Yahoo News/ YouGov conducted a poll that found that a majority (51 percent) of registered voters believe Trump should not "be allowed to serve as president again in the future."

Jan. 6 Committee Considers Criminal Referrals for Trump

The House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot is considering criminal referrals for former President Donald Trump and his allies, according to reports.

Committee Chairman Representative Bennie Thompson told reporters Tuesday that he expects the panel to make criminal referrals to the Justice Department soon, but that members have not yet decided who to target or how many referrals to make.

Sources close to the matter told CNN that committee members will use these referrals to put their views on the record in order to complete their investigation, as these referrals are largely symbolic.

"The committee wants to make sure nothing falls between the cracks and make an emphatic statement who it has identified as key organizers," of the Capitol riot, a separate source said.

The referrals will focus on "the main organizers and leaders of the attacks," a source told the outlet.

A spokesperson for the committee told CNN that the criminal referrals will be "considered as a final part" of the panel's job.

"The Committee has determined that referrals to outside entities should be considered as a final part of its work. The committee will make decisions about specifics in the days ahead," the spokesperson said.

Any referrals to DOJ or other federal agencies are expected to come before the end of the year, as the committee's final report must be issued by Dec. 31.

The final report will compile all the work done by the committee over the past year and a half. It will outline its findings and offer recommendations to prevent another attack like the one on Jan. 6, 2021 from ever happening again.

"The committee continues to meet. [We have a] meeting upcoming, and decision points to be made," Democratic committee member Rep. Pete Aguilar of California said. "We will announce anything we have likely as a part of our final report."

Aguilar said the committee has not finalized any decisions yet.

"Our options are on the table. Referrals to outside agencies are possible and as soon as the committee finishes our work moving forward to sharing our results," he said.

Lara Trump Reportedly Out As Paid Fox Contributor

Lara Trump is reportedly no longer one of Fox News' paid contributors.

A statement from a Fox News spokesperson that was shared with The Washington Post said, "We appreciate Lara's valuable contributions across Fox News Media programming."

An unnamed source reportedly told the paper that former President Donald Trump's daughter-in-law saw her paid contributions to the network end due to its rules about political activity. The end of her role on Fox News was reported following the former president's announcement that he will run for president again in 2024.

Lara Trump, who is married to Eric Trump, joined Fox News as a paid contributor in March 2021, about two months after her father-in-law left office. She has not been seen on the network since the week of the former president's campaign announcement but could return in an unpaid capacity, according to The Los Angeles Times.

Trump Reportedly Hires Teams to Search His Properties

Lawyers representing former President Donald Trump reportedly hired teams to search some of Trump's properties for classified materials following the FBI's seizure of such documents from his Mar-a-Lago home earlier this year.

The teams' searches took place near the end of November. The New York Times initially reported Wednesday that unnamed sources said no classified materials were found in the searches, but the paper later updated its report saying at least two classified documents were discovered.

The classified documents in question were found at a West Palm Beach storage facility, according to The Washington Post. Citing unnamed sources, the Post reported that the documents were given to the FBI.

The storage unit was reportedly used for materials that were temporarily housed by Trump staff members working out of a Virginia office after he left the White House. One of the sources quoted in the Post's reporting said other items in the storage unit included clothing and gifts, and added, "To my knowledge, [Trump] has never even been to that storage unit."

Searches were also conducted by teams Trump hired in New York's Trump Tower and at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, according to CNN. The searches began after a federal judge instructed Trump's team to look for additional top secret or classified materials.

Members of Trump's legal team first indicated they would consider bringing more people in to assist with searching for classified materials after the U.S. Department of Justice suggested federal agents may still have additional documents to locate, according to the Times.

Trump Takes Aim at Media Outlets

Amid ongoing legal woes and political losses, Donald Trump sent out emails Wednesday focused on media layoffs.

Trump sent four emails highlighting layoffs at CNN and Gannett, the end of the Washington Post's Sunday magazine and NPR's hiring freeze to avoid layoffs.

Each email had a simply headline and link to the full article:

• ICYMI: "Gannett Joins CNN in Laying Off Staffers, The Recount to Shut Down as Industry Struggles with Revenue"
• ICYMI: "The Washington Post will end its Sunday magazine, eliminate positions"
• ICYMI: "CNN makes massive staff cuts as news industry prepares for a dark winter"
• ICYMI: "NPR to impose near-freeze on hiring but avoids layoffs as budget cuts loom"

Under the headline about CNN, Trump wrote "Fake News is never good!"

Trump Facing Several Legal Problems

The tax fraud case against the Trump Organization that concluded in New York on Tuesday with a guilty verdict is one of many legal issues former President Donald Trump is facing.

Trump's legal problems are brewing even as he prepares to run for president again in 2024. He officially announced his 2024 campaign at his Mar-a-Lago home last month.

In New York, there is another lawsuit pending against Trump and the Trump Organization that alleges the company has been untruthful or misleading about its value. New York's attorney general is seeking fines and a ban on conducting future business in the state for Trump, according to the Associated Press.

Another of Trump's legal problems involves classified documents that the FBI seized from Mar-a-Lago in August. There is a grand jury investigation underway to determine whether the documents were kept legally and if there were efforts to obstruct that investigation.

Trump's efforts to change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election and his activities on January 6, 2021, as rioters descended on the U.S. Capitol Building, are also under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and by a U.S. House of Representatives select committee.

A former White House attorney under Trump's administration and a former aide to former Vice President Mike Pence have appeared before a grand jury in connection to the Justice Department's investigation, according to AP. The House January 6 Committee said Tuesday it will be making criminal referrals to the DOJ soon.

In addition to the DOJ and House select committee's investigations, prosecutors in Georgia are investigating a call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in early 2021, during which Trump asked Raffensperger to "find" votes that he suggested could change the outcome of the state's election results.

Trump is also the target of a defamation case filed by writer E. Jean Carroll, whose legal team is urging an appeals court in Washington, D.C. to allow the case to move forward.

Trump to Appeal Tax Fraud Verdict

Former President Donald Trump said he will appeal the guilty verdict in the tax fraud case against two of his companies.

Trump said he is "disappointed" in the verdict and blasted New York officials for getting an employee to take a plea deal amid "record setting murder and other forms of violent crime that are taking place in New York City."

He also attempted to distance himself form the case, saying it was about the Trump Organization's former chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg.

"[Weisselberg] and every witness repeatedly testifying that President Trump and the Trump Family knew nothing about his actions, which he admits were done solely for his own benefit, and with no benefit to the two companies," the statement said.

Trump said the Trump Organization and Trump Payroll Corporation knew nothing about Weisselberg's personal tax returns, saying they shouldn't "be prosecuted for that person's conduct."

The 2024 presidential candidate said this case is "unprecedented" and "involved no monetary gain to these two Corporations."

"It is a continuation of the Greatest Political Witch Hunt in the History of our Country," he said. "New York City is a hard place to be 'Trump,' as businesses and people flee our once Great City!"

Some Republicans Blame Georgia Loss on Trump

Some Republicans are laying blame for Herschel Walker's loss in Tuesday's Georgia U.S. Senate runoff election on former President Donald Trump.

Trump had endorsed Walker in the race against Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock, who won the election.

John Bolton, Trump's former national security adviser, said the loss in Georgia "is due primarily to Trump," whom Bolton said "cast a long shadow over the race."

In a Wednesday morning tweet, Bolton predicted Trump "will deliver more losses." He said the former president "remains a huge liability" and is the Democratic Party's "best asset."

"It's time to disavow him and move on," Bolton said.

Mick Mulvaney, Trump's former acting chief of staff, said in a Wednesday tweet that Walker's loss in Georgia also served as a loss for Trump.

"Trump has now lost 4 races in Georgia in two years. One of his own and 3 by proxy. Similar stories in AZ and PA," Mulvaney said. "He has a swing-state problem for 2024 that is real."

Scott Jennings, a former special assistant to President George W. Bush, also weighed in on Trump and the lost Senate race Tuesday night, according to The Daily Mail.

"Georgia may be remembered as the state that broke Trump once and for all," Jennings tweeted.

Republican Senator John Thune of South Dakota told CNN reporter Manu Raju Wednesday that Democratic candidates in many races across the U.S. turned their midterm races into "a choice election because of Trump's presence out there."

"So, was a he a factor? I don't think there's any question about that, because a lot of the candidates that had problems in these elections were running on the 2020 election being stolen. And I don't think independent voters were having it," Thune said.

Not all Republicans agreed with those who blamed Trump for Walker's loss. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, an ally of Trump's, criticized the conclusions Bolton posted about the race on Twitter.

"His campaign told Trump to stay out, so don't blame Trump," Greene tweeted. "Blame the one who was hand holding him all over the state, among many other reasons."

Trump Calls Tax Fraud Verdict a 'Witch Hunt'

New York Attorney General Letitia James said she is "proud" of the role she played in the tax fraud case against the Trump Organization.

"Today's guilty verdict against the Trump Organization shows that we will hold individuals and organizations accountable when they violate our laws to line their pockets," she said in a tweet Tuesday.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said this case was about "greed and cheating" and reminding New York that "no corporation is above the law."

"For 15 years the Trump Corporation and the Trump Payroll Corporation got away with a scheme that awarded high-level executives with lavish perks and compensation while intentionally concealing the benefits from the taxing authorities to avoid paying taxes," Bragg said in a statement announcing the guilty verdict.

While speaking to reporters Tuesday, Bragg said "the former President's companies now stand convicted of crimes."

"That is consequential," he said. "It underscores that in Manhattan we have one standard of justice for all."

In response to the verdict, former President Donald Trump said "the greatest witch hunt of all time continues."

"The people of this great country aren't going to take it much longer," he added. "A giant political scam."

Schumer Credits MAGA Extremism for GOP Losses

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York is celebrating the new 51-49 Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate.

"This is the first time since 1934 where every Democratic incumbent of the party in power won," he told reporters Wednesday morning.

Schumer credited Democrats' victory in the midterms to putting "great candidates" on the ballot, the success of Democratic bills in the last two years, the revelations of the Jan. 6 hearings, the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade over the summer and Republican "extremism."

"First in May and June, the public began to realize how far right these MAGA Republicans have gone with the Dobbs decision and this was the crystallization of that," he said. "People said wow, these MAGA Republicans are serious about turning the clock all the way back."

Schumer said he looks forward to working on bi-partisan efforts with non-MAGA Republicans in the Senate as majority leader.

"If [Republicans] follow a MAGA direction, they're going to lose," he said. "And so I think there's going to be a real imperative for them to work with us."

At one point in the press conference, someone's phone navigation said "turn left."

Schumer jumped on that moment to push a new message to his GOP colleagues: "Turn left Republicans. Or at least don't turn hard right."

He added that Republicans rejecting the MAGA agenda and working with Democrats will not only be good for the country, but good for "their own survival."

"People are here to get things done, not make speeches and be negative," he said.

Schumer blames poor candidates and a lack of policy solutions for the GOP losses in the 2022 midterm elections. He added that there are some Republicans in both the House and Senate who "have solutions" and are willing to work in a bi-partisan manner.

Poll Finds 24% of Georgians Voted to Oppose Trump

Former President Donald Trump was hit with another political blow Tuesday when his endorsement in the Georgia Senate runoff election lost to Democratic incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock.

Republican Herschel Walker's loss gave Democrats a majority in the Senate and further signified voter's condemnation of Trumpism in the midterm elections.

NBC News exit polls found that one in four Georgia voters said their vote was about opposing Trump, with 94 percent saying they voted for Warnock over Walker.

The poll showed that 19 percent of those surveyed voted to support Trump, with 97 percent casting their ballot for Walker.

The majority of those polled (54 percent), however, said the former president was not a factor.

GOP leaders have blames poor candidate quality for their losses in recent elections. Many Republicans on the ballot were Trump-endorsed "MAGA Republicans," including several 2020 election deniers.

"The only way to explain this is candidate quality," Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan told CNN. "If we don't take our medicine here, it's our fault. Every Republican in this country ought to hold Donald Trump accountable for this."

After the lack of a massive "Red Wave" in the general election last month, many Republican leaders noted that party must move on from Trump, who recently announced his candidacy in the 2024 presidential election.