State Department Provided Therapy Sessions to Its Employees Traumatized by Trump Victory

According to a court filing exclusively obtained by NewsBusters, CNN’s Jake Tapper refused to answer basic questions about his show’s finances, including his salary, during a sworn deposition on Wednesday. The legal team for Plaintiff and Navy veteran Zachary Young was now requesting Florida’s 14 Circuit Court to step in and force him to answer the questions. Tapper was compelled into being deposed by a previous court order against CNN back in August as part of the $1 billion defamation suit they’re facing. During a hearing on August 13, Judge William Scott Henry said he had a “hard time believing” Tapper’s declaration to the court that he didn’t know anything about the finances of his show, The Lead. In the hearing, CNN counsel Allison Lovelady quoted Tapper as saying “I have no knowledge about CNN's net worth. I don't have any knowledge regarding what the Tapper show may or may not generate that may go toward CNN's net worth."   Video from the hearing on August 13,2024    “I kind of have a hard time believing what Mr. Tapper put in that declaration,” Judge Henry said, referencing Tapper's stated lack of knowledge.  "I have a feeling that is the basis of what time slot he gets and how much his contract is and everything else with CNN." In their motion on Friday, lead counsel for Young, Vel Freedman quoted Judge Henry’s order that questions to Tapper “may relate to financial things for his show, penalties, things of that nature that would relate to his show . . . So it’s only limited to financial type of issues.” The filing details how Tapper refused to answer questions in line with the order and CNN’s present counsel stepped in to intercede in several answers as Tapper was delivering them (emphasis included in original filing): Mr. Tapper sat for deposition on November 20, 2024. In the course of less than two hours, CNN’s counsel directed Tapper not to answer more than thirty questions. The end result was that CNN prevented Plaintiffs from (1) gathering basic financial information (e.g., Tapper’s salary); (2) exploring issues the jury might need to assess a punitive damages award (e.g., Tapper’s opinion on what financial penalty might deter CNN from future misconduct); and (3) from even asking for clarification of Tapper’s answers or getting complete answers to the questions the witness did answer (e.g., interrupting the witness mid-answer saying: “Just answer the question as asked”). Freedman listed off “Some of the more egregious examples of CNN’s improper instructions” which included: “CNN instructed Tapper not to answer questions about his salary, which clearly constitutes information about the finances of CNN and his show” and “CNN instructed Tapper not to answer questions about financial penalties that directly tracked the Court’s order.” The deposition transcript excerpts included in the filing were redacted, likely from CNN’s insistence that anything and everything discussed about how CNN’s runs its shop was confidential. Just like how they had the court seal their journalistic standards guidelines to block them from public view, which was the exact opposite of how the Associated Press and The New York Times present theirs. Despite the redactions, it was clear that CNN didn’t want transparency for the jury by having their counsel interject and stop Tapper from answering: During the deposition, Tapper would at times respond with answers injecting topics or issues into the deposition. When counsel tried to follow up on those answers, or seek clarity or further explanation of them, CNN’s counsel objected. (…) Another example occurred when Tapper injected comments made before the deposition commenced into the deposition. When Plaintiffs asked for clarification and follow up, CNN instructed Tapper not to respond, prejudicing Plaintiffs from making a full record for the jury. (…) In another instance, CNN’s counsel cut Tapper off mid-sentence to stop him from testifying about something CNN didn’t want him to, despite the issue not being privileged. This was just the latest instance of CNN trying to keep crucial information about the facts of the case and about CNN from getting to a jury. Earlier this month, CNN tried to get Young’s expert witness kicked off the case by essentially arguing that he was just too good. CNN was also trying to keep the jury from learning that they gave reporter Alex Marquardt a big promotion and pay raise despite being the one largely responsible for getting them wrapped up in the defamation suit. The trial is slated to begin January 6, 2025.

MSNBC host Joy Reid tried to explain why some Americans were legitimate in their decisions to cut friends and family out of their lives over their support for President-elect Donald Trump. 'They're afraid. Autocracy and fascism are things that are legitimate to be afraid of.' Reid jumped into a debate on social media over whether it was proper to excise people over political disputes, and she weighed heavily on the side of estrangement. "People are rightfully alarmed. They have a reason to be alarmed. And if you would vote for that, people may not feel so confident that they are safe with you," said Reid. "This is not crazy. This is legitimate feelings of fear of you," she added. "And a feeling that you might not be someone they can trust if this thing goes way south. Autocracies go south real fast, and things get ugly, and people get asked to do things and turn people in and point people out and turn on them."Reid has been known for her histrionic left-wing takes and anti-Trump screeds. Very soon after the historically devastating election, Reid mocked white liberal women and said that black women were not going to join them if they tried to protest against the second Trump term. "If you're voting affirmatively, gleefully, for this, people might not feel so confident in you anymore. That's real, and you kind of have to live with it," she continued in the latest video. "If you think you can vote for what people see as their destruction and then demand that they're still cool with you and have Thanksgiving with you, you are kind of missing the point about what people are upset about," she concluded. "They're afraid. Autocracy and fascism are things that are legitimate to be afraid of. So you might want to step back."The video was circulated on social media where it garnered more than 730K views. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) put FEMA on the spot during a congressional hearing, revealing that the government organization meant to help disaster victims is prioritizing illegal aliens over survivors of Hurricane Helene. “In North Carolina, for example, where I visited, you could have a flood or disaster victim that can get a check for $750, yet when I go through and I look at the programs and resources that are available to a citizen of a different country that came illegally into the United States under the FEMA administrative program, using nonprofits, you could be eligible for housing, for food, for transportation, for health care costs, and others,” Graves said at the hearing. “I was able to get to a figure in excess of $10,000 for an individual, let me make note again, that is a citizen of a foreign country. How would I explain to a taxpayer, that a taxpayer, a citizen of the United States, is eligible for $750, yet a citizen of a foreign country under your agency is still eligible for assistance of $10,000?” he asked. Former Army Green Beret and Savage Freedoms Relief Operations founder Adam Smith, who spent 17 years conducting global military operations in defense of the United States, is infuriated but not surprised. “It would be a lie if I was surprised,” Smith tells Jill Savage and Matthew Peterson of “Blaze News Tonight.” “Watching it real time, firsthand on the ground, we’re having conversations with individuals who are regularly denied applying for assistance.” “They apply for assistance, and it’s denied to them, and it’s a multitude of different types of assistance. Everything from a $750 check, which is immediate response assistance, to having FEMA support for grant money, coming in to help cover down on damage to the homes,” he explains. “There’s a lot of people that are having conversations about just leaving because of the amount of challenge that they’re facing with regards to trying to get FEMA assistance on the ground,” he adds. And it’s more complicated than just receiving help, as victims are also waiting on FEMA to decide whether or not their property has been rezoned as a flood zone. “There’s a lot of inefficient effort that’s taking place, and it’s costing the American taxpayers a lot of dollars,” Smith says. “And add it to the next problem, which is the second disaster that we’re going to face, which is an economic disaster in the region.” “We’ve already had the tragedy of the loss of life, and we’ve had the tragedy of loss of homes and homesteads. Now, we’re going to have the tragedy of loss of economic stability in the region because capital’s not getting reinjected back into the local businesses,” he adds. Want more from 'Blaze News Tonight'?To enjoy more provocative opinions, expert analysis, and breaking stories you won’t see anywhere else, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

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