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Ken Bensinger Profile picture
Ken Bensinger
@kenbensinger
Reporter for @nytpolitics; co-host of "The Michigan Plot" podcast - https://t.co/IPZRMwNYoU - ken.bensinger@nytimes.com - DMs open; ask for Signal
2 subscribers
Aug 2, 2024 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
Steve Mnuchin called the $10 million loan Trump made to his campaign late in 2016 a "cash advance" that could be repaid over time, I reported w/ @kadiagoba a few years ago.

W/ the big @washingtonpost story on the Egypt connection out, worth a 2nd look

buzzfeednews.com/article/kenben… @kadiagoba @washingtonpost Here's the story by @carolleonnig and @byaaroncdavis, describing how $10 million in cash was withdrawn from an Egyptian bank in Jan 2017. The account was held by a company with links to Egyptian intelligence. It's not known where that money went.

washingtonpost.com/investigations…
May 13, 2024 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
NEW: the 6th Circuit has issued a letter in the Whitmer kidnap appeal strongly suggesting it's open to arguments that out-of-court statements excluded by the district judge as hearsay should have been admitted.

This could lead to a possible retrial for Barry Croft and Adam Fox. Image Fox and Croft were convicted in August 2022 in a 2nd federal trial in the case (following a hung jury the prior April) and were given long sentences. They appealed & on May 2 made oral arguments before the circuit, which seemed particularly receptive to the hearsay issue.
May 8, 2024 • 9 tweets • 4 min read
After being called "ethically compromised," the new law firm brought in to replace the firm brought in to replace the firm that wants to withdraw from representing the Trump Campaign fired back, calling the claims "salacious and entirely improper" Image The firm, Schulman Bhattachary, had been recruited to represent Donald J. Trump for President Inc. (& 2 other defendants) on Monday in a pregnancy discrimination suit brought by AJ Delgado in 2019. Backstory here

May 3, 2024 • 7 tweets • 4 min read
NEW: the Trump campaign has just moved to substitute its attorneys in a long-running discrimination case with lawyers from Harmeet Dhillon's law firm. The switch appears to be a tactic to circumvent the court's denial, yesterday, of the current law firm's request to withdraw. Image The current firm, LaRocca Hornik, had sought permission to dump the case citing an "irreparable breakdown" with the client just as it faced a deadline to discover all gender discrimination complaints from the 2020 presidential campaign. Image
May 2, 2024 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
A federal court has just denied a law firm's request to withdraw from representing the Trump Campaign in a long-running discrimination suit.

The firm, LaRocca Hornik, had cited an "irreparable breakdown," but magistrate Katherine Parker said its explanation was "insufficient" Image Judge Parker ordered the firm to "submit a more detailed declaration setting forth the basis for the deterioration in the attorney-client relationship" by May 7 - the same day that the campaign is obliged to hand over discovery is has been trying not to share. Image
Apr 24, 2024 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
NEW: an Arizona grand jury has indicted 18 people, including former state senator Kelli Ward and Turning Point official Tyler Bowyer on multiple counts for conspiring to keep Donald Trump in office after the 2020 election. Image The 58 page indictment, handed up yesterday but just announced a few minutes ago by AG Mayes, includes 7 defendants whose names are redacted. Image
Jun 12, 2023 • 13 tweets • 4 min read
Social medial platform Gab is seeking to raise $5M in an SEC regulated crowdfunding effort.

Per the offering, the site, known for its far right users, has 5.94m registered users - well more than double those on Truth Social. Image Some interesting stuff in prospectus:

- estimates the global social media market worth $193B and will grow to $940B by 2026 (>4x growth)
- Gab says it's not just social media but seeks "to build a parallel internet and a parallel economy"
Mar 3, 2023 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Smack in the middle of the 2nd FIFA trial - w/two ex-Fox officials as defendants - Mexican broadcaster Televisa has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a shareholder lawsuit accusing it of using bribes to win rights to the 2018-2030 World Cups.

reuters.com/article/televi… The settlement is particularly relevant because prosecutors allege Fox won rights to the 2018-26 World Cups thanks to relationships cultivated through bribery. Televisa, Fox and Globo were all accused of corruption by cooperator Alejandro Burzaco, who has twice testified
Feb 22, 2023 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
A bill was just introduced in FL that would massively overhaul libel laws in the state & potentially the country. It comes 2 weeks after Gov. DeSantis spoke out on defamation

Among other things, the bill, HB991, would gut the "actual malice" provision under NYT v Sullivan. Image I wrote about DeSantis' targeting of Sullivan last week, and how a growing number of Republicans are joining in efforts to roll back or overturn the landmark precedent. But this bill goes far beyond just that.

nytimes.com/2023/02/10/us/…
Dec 15, 2022 • 7 tweets • 4 min read
The company that licensed Trump's image and likeness for the $99 NFT trading cards appears to be one founded in 2021 by former Trump advisor Nick Luna and current Trump lawyer John Marion.

Its mailing address is the same as the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. Little is known about CIC, but a little digging shows that a manila folder seized from Mar-a-Lago by the FBI in August was marked "Serio Contract" and contained a contract with CIC Ventures and Gold Ventures, per a federal court filing.
Dec 15, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
So the questions are:

- who/what is NFT INT LLC?
- who/what is CIC Digital LLC?
- how can they make all these promises about access to Trump if this company or companies "is not owned, managed or controlled by Donald J. Trump" ? ImageImage Quick skim of public records show an NFT International LLC registered in Wyoming in March 2021 and an NFT INT LLC registered in Delaware in in Feb 2022. Both using 3rd party firms to obscure ownership. ImageImage
Nov 29, 2022 • 23 tweets • 4 min read
🎶 Tim and Ye and Milo and Nick 🎶 Great origin story:

So Ye was talking to Trump and then Alex reached out to Ye and said he should get to know Milo. And then Milo said, hey you should get to know Nick!
Nov 28, 2022 • 16 tweets • 4 min read
Maricopa County's board of supervisors just started a meeting. People were lined up to get in & screaming the pledge of allegiance. Chair Bill Gates starts by warning people things should not get out of hand and they're limited to 2 minutes time.

IT'S ABOUT TO GET LIT Oh wait, in a potentially ingenious strategic move, the board first calls Steven Richer, the County Recorder, to describe in minute detail the voter registration and mail-in ballot verification process, potentially putting hostile elements into a stupor...
Nov 9, 2022 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
BREAKING: An Arizona judge just DENIED a GOP motion to keep polls in Maricopa county open for 3 extra hours because of the tabulations issues today. the Judge was not compelled by the RNC's arguments, noting that voters had several alternatives, including going to another polling place or putting the ballot in "box 3" for counting later. "No voters...have been prevented from submitting a ballot."
Nov 9, 2022 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Turns out issue in Maricopa is with printers that are NOT made by Dominion, per my reporting. The printers were incorrectly causing bad ink adhesion. In that sense, the Dominion tabulators worked correctly and didn't read what appeared to be bad ballots

nytimes.com/2022/11/08/us/… Maricopa has county-wide voting, so ballots are printed on-demand for each voter at the polling place. Some of the on-site printers (not made by Dominion) were not set correctly, leading to poor toner adhesion to the ballot paper. This could cause the ink to flake off.
Aug 18, 2022 • 6 tweets • 4 min read
I have a new job: covering conservative media and ideas for the @nytimes politics desk. I'm excited about this beat, which is important and complex and (I think) requires sensitivity and nuance at a critical time for this nation.

Please send me your ideas, tips, thoughts, etc! @nytimes I spent the past 8 years working on the investigations team @BuzzFeedNews under a series of fantastic editors & collaborating w/ some of the best folks in journalism. I'm particularly grateful to @semaforben @SchoofsFeed & @arielkaminer for their brilliant leadership.
Aug 16, 2022 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Interesting development: Brandon Caserta, one of 2 acquitted defendants in prior Whitmer kidnapping trial, has just asserted his intention to plead the Fifth if called to testify in the retrial.

Defense counsel had subpoenaed him as a potential witness. Image Caserta stood trial in March/April of this year &, along with Daniel Harris, was acquitted on all counts. The jury could not reach a verdict on Barry Croft and Adam Fox and so they face the retrial.
Aug 15, 2022 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
NEW: According to an FBI informant, the Michigan State Police allowed armed protesters into the Capitol in Lansing on April 30, 2020, at the specific request of the FBI, which wanted to "de-escalate" the situation. Dan Chappel, a confidential human source n the Gov. Whitmer kidnapping case, testified just now that he alerted his FBI handlers that he was concerned members of the Wolverine Watchmen, an armed militant group he had infiltrated, was preparing for violence outside the building.
Mar 31, 2022 • 34 tweets • 6 min read
BIG NEWS to start Day 13 of testimony in the Michigan Kidnap case: Daniel Harris, one of the four defendants in the case, is testifying.

Obviously that rarely happens in a criminal case. This could be interesting. His attorney, Julia Kelly, starts with some biographical background, discussing him entering the Marine Corps fresh out of high school in 2015. He left in 2019 and returned home to Lake Orion, MI, and said his parents treated him like he was still in HS>
Mar 30, 2022 • 49 tweets • 9 min read
It's day 12 of testimony in the Michigan Kidnap Case & Judge Jonker is pleased, once again, that everyone is on time & things can get off to a punctual start.

The govt calls an FBI agent from Delaware (Catherine Martinez) who helped w/ the search of Barry Croft's truck. It's a quick witness; she had a camera that night and photographed his tricorn hat, backpack, Hawaiian shirt, and Glock pistol & magazines. On cross she says there was a "green leafy substance" and smoking paraphernalia in the truck as well (but did not mention it on direct)
Mar 30, 2022 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
Not so fast! Judge Amit Mehta has denied a joint request from defendants and prosecutors to delay the Oath Keepers seditious conspiracy trial. It's set for July 11, but the parties asked to push it to Sept 26.

"A further delay...is not in the public interest." Defendants earlier this month claimed they needed more time because of the "herculean task" of managing all the evidence, and the DoJ seemed happy to support that claim.