#Trump Tues night on the conservative network #Newsmax:
“I said, ‘Wouldn’t it really be bad? … wouldn’t it be terrible to throw the president’s wife & the fmr secretary of state — think of it, the fmr secretary of state — but the president’s wife into #jail? … But they want to do it … So, you know, it’s a terrible, terrible path that they’re leading us to, & it’s very possible that it’s going to HAVE TO HAPPEN to them.”
During remarks this week, #Trump said he wanted to “pay tribute” to a person he very much respected.
Trump thanked #TomHoman, who served as acting director of #ICE during Trump’s admin [Trump loved “acting” posts bc they aren’t subject to congressional confirmation] & has since been a frequent commentator on #FauxNews.
#Trump’s open-armed association w/the group — & his intensifying focus on migrants & crime on the campaign trail — provide one of the clearest windows yet into a potential 2nd term & the hard-liners he might appoint to #DHS to enforce #immigration#law.
In campaign rallies & interviews w/ #Newsmax & #FauxNews, Trump has said he’d put #TomHoman & others back into a potential 2nd admin “to have great border security.”
Qatari royal invested ~$50M in pro #Trump network #Newsmax
Before & after the investment, snr newsroom ldrs urged Newsmax staff to soften coverage of #Qatar, current & fmr employees said
A member of the Qatari royal family invested ~$50 million in Newsmax, acc/to docs & representatives for the #FarRight#media co & the royal, in a moment of acute #MiddleEast tensions during the #Trump admin.
In 2019 & 2020, Sheikh Sultan bin Jassim Al Thani, a fmr Qatari govt ofcl & the owner of a London-based investment fund, Heritage Advisors, invested in #Newsmax. The investment has not been previously reported.
Newsmax was looking for outside investors to better compete w/its much larger rival, #FoxNews, acc/to people who spoke at the time w/its founder & CEO, #ChristopherRuddy. Before & after the investment, snr newsroom ldrs urged staff to soften coverage of #Qatar….
A rep for #Newsmax disputed that the network “slanted coverage to be favorable to #Qatar”….
Newsmax & Heritage Advisors confirmed the investment after being presented w/documents detailing the transaction, which show that Sultan subsequently transferred his stake to a #CaymanIslands based corporate structure. The $50M investment represents a significant minority stake in Newsmax, a privately held #media company estimated to be worth between $100M & $200M, acc/to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
The docs came from a trove of ~100k leaked files from #GenesisTrust, a #CaymanIslands based financial services provider, which were obtained by the International Consortium of #Investigative#Journalists & reviewed by WaPo.
Among the docs were internal forms prepared by Genesis that proposed the corporate structure would be “set up with the intention of benefiting the State of #Qatar.”
“A member of the Qatari royal family invested roughly $50 million in #Newsmax ..in a moment of acute Middle East tensions during #Trump admin. The investment bolstered a key conservative media outlet at a time when #Qatar was facing intense diplomatic pressure from its neighbors & seeking allies in US” https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/03/26/qatar-newsmax-investment/
#Newsmax adds a disclaimer at the end of #Trump’s rally: The president mentioned in his speech, the 2020 elections. Newsmax as a network believes the results were legal and final.