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Pictures released before the Thanksgiving holiday showed Donald Trump with Kyle Rittenhouse, with the head of a martial arts organisation and with his own miniature Mount Rushmore, his own visage visable next to those of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.

The internet duly lit up.

One of the South Dakota artists behind the work, Lee Leuning, confirmed its provenance to the Daily Beast.

Cool, Leuning said. Thats our piece. Definitely. Thats pretty cool.

Leuning also said he was glad to see the maquette on display at Mar-a-Lago behind the former president, the teenager found not guilty after shooting dead two people and wounding one in Wisconsin, and the martial arts executive, because often stuff ends up in a closet.

Trump was given the Mount Trumpmore piece, also made by Sherri Treeby, by the governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem, last year.

The 45th president visited South Dakota in July 2020 for a speech in front of Mount Rushmore, into which are carved the faces of the first, third, 16th and 26th holders of the office.

In his speech, Trump attacked criticisms of both Mount Rushmore itself which the supreme court ruled was constructed on land wrongly taken from the Lakota Sioux and which was made by an artist, Gutzon Borglum, with ties to the Ku Klux Klan and reinterpretations of US history which seek to emphasise the role of racism and white supremacy.

Describing what he called far-left fascism, Trump said: This movement is openly attacking the legacies of every person on Mount Rushmore. They defile the memory of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt.

Today, we will set history and historys record straight. Before these figures were immortalised in stone, they were American giants in full flesh and blood, gallant men whose intrepid deeds unleashed the greatest leap of human advancement the world has ever known.

Trump was pictured so his head appeared in sequence with those on the mountain. He later denied reports that the White House asked how his likeness could be added to the monument but said it sounds like a good idea to me!

Noem, a rising Republican star said to have presidential ambitions of her own, has said her comparatively tiny gift to Trump cost $1,100 and was paid for by donors who retain two copies.

In September, a spokesman said the governors philosophy towards giving gifts is to always give the person something that theyll appreciate, and thats how she approached this sculpture.

Leuning and Treeby are Trump supporters. They were not invited to attend his South Dakota speech but Treeby recently told the Beast she was a Trump fan and would vote for him in 2024 if he ran again which he remains free to do despite inciting a deadly attack on Congress in an attempt to overturn his defeat by Joe Biden.

If Trump did not run again, she said, she would vote for Noem or the Florida guy, a reference to the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, Trumps only remotely serious rivals in polls regarding potential Republican nominees.

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Trump photo with Rittenhouse reveals Mount Trumpmore sculpture - The Guardian

Matthew Calamari, an executive vice president with the Trump Organization, stands in the lobby at Trump Tower, January 12, 2017 in New York City.

Drew Angerer | Getty Images

Prosecutors in New York have issued new subpoenas for records on former President Donald Trump's properties as part of an ongoing criminal probe of his business, a new report said Wednesday.

The prosecutors in Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.'s office also recently told the Trump Organization's chief operating officer, Matthew Calamari, that they do not plan to indict him, Calamari's lawyer said.

The demand for the documents shows a renewed focus by investigators from the DA's office on the accuracy of Trump's statements about the value of his company's various real estate assets, according to The New York Times, which first reported the subpoenas.

Michael Cohen, Trump's onetime personal attorney and fixer, in testimony to Congress in 2019 accused Trump of inflating the value of his assets and overstating his personal wealth in financial documents for potential lenders. Experts at the time said that testimony raised questions about possible fraud.

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The DA's office this summer charged both the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, with crimes related to an alleged scheme to avoid paying taxes on executive compensation.

The Times reported that prosecutors had for months weighed whether to pursue related charges against Calamari.

"I have been informed that there is no present intention to bring charges against Mr. Calamari," his attorney, Nicholas Gravante, told CNBC in an email. "We believe that is the fair and just decision."

"What the future holds in terms of the District Attorney's continuing investigation is anyone's guess," Gravante said. "In the meantime, however, we are pleased that the considerations raised on Mr. Calamari's behalf have not fallen on deaf ears."

Calamari's son, Matthew Calamari Jr., was called to testify in September before a Manhattan grand jury, which is hearing evidence about the probe behind closed doors.

Gravante told NBC News that if the elder Calamari is subpoenaed to speak before the grand jury, "he will appear and testify truthfully."

The new developments come as Trump, the de facto leader of the Republican Party despite losing the 2020 election to President Joe Biden, openly signals he could run for president again in three years.

The Times' report said that the new subpoenas from Vance's prosecutors include requests for records about Trump's hotels, golf clubs and office buildings.

Investigators also recently interviewed a banker from Deutsche Bank, which lent hundreds of millions of dollars to Trump's company, the Times reported, citing people with knowledge of the probe.

Vance spokesman Danny Frost declined to comment to CNBC.

A spokesperson for New York state Attorney General Letitia James, whose office is also involved in the probe, had no immediate comment.

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Trump hotels, other businesses reportedly subpoenaed, but executive Matthew Calamari expected to avoid charges - CNBC

Kyle Rittenhouse enters the courtroom at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021.

Sean Krajacic | Pool | Reuters

Since he was acquitted of homicide and other charges last Friday, Kyle Rittenhouse has said he wanted to stay out of politics, and that he was disturbed by how his case became politicized.

"How polarized it became is absolutely sickening: Right or left, people using me for a cause that should never have been used as a cause," the 18-year-old saidearlier this week.

Yet Rittenhouse, who argued he was acting in self defense when he fatally shot two people during protests last year in Kenosha, Wisconsin, has emerged as a symbolic figure for the pro-Trump right wing as the former president considers running again and wields power by issuing endorsements in various Republican primary races.

Some prominent conservatives have worked to make a hero out of Rittenhouse, who was armed with an AR-15-style rifle on the streets of Kenosha during protests that sprung up after the police shooting of Black man Jacob Blake. Rittenhouse made the comments about politics and polarization on Tucker Carlson's Fox News show, which had a crew embedded with the Rittenhouse team during his trial. He has appeared alongside Republican operatives in photos, and he met with Donald Trump himself at the former president's private Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

One key figure in Rittenhouse's post-acquittal life is Jillian Anderson, a former Fox News guest booker who once was a contestant on "The Bachelor." A former cheerleader for the team now known as the Washington Football Team, she is currently a self-employed booker, producer, publicist and director of communications, according to her LinkedIn page.

Anderson wasphotographednext to Rittenhouse at a Florida restaurant after he was acquitted. She was also pictured in another group that included Carlson and subsequent other photos. Almost all of these pictures have been posted on Anderson's social media pages.

Jillian Anderson in "Bachelor in Paradise."

Bob D'Amico | Disney General Entertainment Content | Getty Images

"I'm working with the team," Anderson told CNBC in a Twitter message after she was asked about her role with Rittenhouse. She then requested that CNBC email her. Since then, Anderson has yet to respond to multiple requests for comment.

Mark Richards, an attorney for Rittenhouse, told CNBC "I never met w/ or spoke to Jillian Anderson."

Anderson has been linked to Trump and his conservative allies for years. She recently was paid over $10,000 for media relations consulting by a political action committee backing Josh Mandel's Ohio Senate campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records reviewed by CNBC. The committee is called Team Josh and has paid Anderson for what's described as "media relations consulting." Anderson posted asplit screen photo on her Twitter page this weekof herself, alongside another featuring Mandel holding up a laptop. Mandel hascalledRittenhouse an "American hero" and "role model."

Anderson and Rittenhouse have also recently been photographed next to Adam Waldeck, who worked on former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich's 2012 presidential campaign before running two right-leaning groups that do not publicly disclose their donors. One of thoseorganizationstook aim at Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election before changing its name to 1776 Actionto focus on fighting critical race theory education. Waldeck appeared in a photo with Rittenhouse that was posted to Anderson's social media.

Anderson has ties to other Trump allies. Conservative publication The FederalistlistsAnderson as an Ambassador of Turning Point USA and the Falkirk Center. Turning Point USA, founded by longtime Trump supporter Charlie Kirk, advocates for conservative voices on school campuses.

The Falkirk Center is a think tank backed by evangelical Liberty University. It was co-founded by Kirk and Jerry Falwell Jr., who resigned as president of Liberty University followingvarious scandals.Kirk left the think tank this year.The Falkirk Center's podcasts,according to The Bulwark, have been a source of various conspiracy theories, including those questioning the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Anderson boasts in a photo that she credits Jack Posobiec, a longtime right-wing operative and activist, for what she describes as her "behind the scenes schemes."

"For the last 12+ months@jackmposobiec has been one of the best front men for a lot of my behind the scenes schemes. I appreciate you brother!" she said in a previous Instagram post.

Another photo on Anderson's Instagram page shows her at a November event at Trump's Mar-a-Lago. The gathering was to celebrate theAmerica First Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank that was created to promote several of Trump's preferred policies. The event featured Trump himself and the pictures show Anderson with multiple Trump allies, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C. Cawthorn was among a group conservative lawmakers who said Rittenhouse could come work for his office.

"Congratulations to@a1policy[America First Policy Institute] on a great event and continually keeping America First. #MAGAA," Anderson's Instagram post reads.

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Trump and his allies have embraced, promoted and counseled Kyle Rittenhouse since his acquittal - CNBC

Former trade adviser Peter Navarro has made several disparaging comments against Anthony Fauci and former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney while promoting his book.

In a 24 November appearance on Steve Bannons show War Room: Pandemic on the far-right news website Real Americas Voice, Mr Navarro said he had asked the former president to fire the countrys top infectious diseases expert over the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The show has been known to give a platform to several conspiracy theories, including QAnon, during the pandemic.

Mr Navarro claimed to have told Donald Trump to strangle that Fauci baby in his crib to prevent a Churchill with Hitler situation in the White House, adding that the countrys top infectious disease expert was saved by former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.

He pointed to the cover of his book In Trump Time, featuring a photograph of himself and the former president, and said this may or may not be me telling the boss to fire Fauci.

Mr Navarro added that he had asked Mr Trump to fire Dr Fauci twice but was unsuccessful.

Heres the problem we had, Steve. We had two two forces that were pushing Fauci, Mr Navarro said.

He pointed to the big four in the healthcare bureaucracy, including Alex Azar, former US health secretary, Robert Redfield, the director of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health and Steven Hahn, former commissioner of food and drugs at the Food and Drugs Administration.

They were all like Fauci is the best thing that has happened since sliced bread, he said.

Mr Navarro claimed, however, that more than the bureaucracy, it was Mr Mulvaney who was scared of getting Dr Fauci fired.

The bigger thing, breaking news here, was the coward in the chief of staffs office. Acting chief Mick Mulvaney and the press shop were quivering in their knees at the thought that they might take any blowback if Fauci got fired, Mr Navarro claimed, in strong comments against Mr Mulvaney.

I dont blame the chief for not taking my advice. What am I, Steve? I am like the trade and economics guy. Meanwhile hes got all stuff going on... When Mulvaney-ites and the press people were going, No we cant fire him [Fauci], blowback, he further said.

I go, no no, this is like Churchill with Hitler. Strangle that Fauci baby in his crib. Rip the band aid off. I lost that. If I had known everything in Kennedys book then, I would have blown him up, he said, referring to Robert F Kennedy Jrs book The Real Anthony Fauci , which blames the expert for the spread of the Covid pandemic.

Dr Fauci, who heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has been consistently attacked by several conservatives throughout the pandemic.

Mr Navarro, in his book, alleged Dr Fauci was responsible for the spread of the disease, while propagating the conspiracy theory that Covid-19 was a biological weapon developed as a genetically engineered virus from a lab in Wuhan, without offering any evidence.

Mr Navarro has made repeated attacks on Dr Fauci in the past. In March, he blamed the pandemic on Dr Fauci and said, Fauci is the father of the actual virus. Faucis the guy.

Mr Navarro had also routinely sparred with top White House health officials in his stint there. In April 2020, he said he was qualified to measure the effectiveness of anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine against Covid-19 because he was a social scientist despite not having a degree in medicine.

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Peter Navarro said he wanted Trump to fire Fauci saying strangle that baby in its crib - The Independent

In the early goings of the Kyle Rittenhouse homicide proceedings, Judge Bruce Schroeder told attorneys that the case would focus narrowly on the facts and the law. This is not a political trial, he said in September. This is not going to be a political trial. That was obviously never going to be possibleespecially not in a case in which an armed minor, who claims to have been helping protect private property during racial justice protests in a city he didnt live in, fatally shot two men and wounded a third.

But Schroeder wasnt actually cautioning lawyers to leave politics at the door as much as he was warning them to leave their politics at the doorthe kind of politics that would, say, regard the men Rittenhouse shot and killed in Kenosha last year as victims. Indeed, a great deal of politics was permitted in the case, both inside the courtroom and out: The Rittenhouse team was allowed to describe those killed as rioters and looters, jurors were encouraged to applaud a defense witness because he happened to be a veteran, and the teens mother appeared on Sean Hannitys Fox News program to defend her son ahead of the verdict. She also defended Schroeder in that interview: The judge was very fair, she said, and doesnt allow nonsense in the courtroom.

That Schroeders court also apparently regarded one kind of politics as neutrality and another as nonsense is, of course, an example of the very bias in the legal system that critics have lamented in the wake of Rittenhouses acquittal. Insisting something isnt political in nature doesnt make it so. But Rittenhouse has continued to do so in his post-trial media tour. Speaking to Ashleigh Banfield in a NewsNation interview Tuesday, the 18-year-old said that he did not want to get involved in politics at all and that his case was only about the right to self-defensenot where you fall, left or right.

Im not a cause person, Rittenhouse told Banfield. Im just a person who was attacked and defended myself.

But while he may not be accepting any of those internship offers from Matt Gaetz and other right-wing lawmakers trying to out-crazy one another, Rittenhouse hasnt actually divorced himself from the politics of his case. Before he spoke with Banfield, he sat down for a fawning interview with Tucker Carlson, who had a film crew embedded with Rittenhouse and his defense during the trial for an upcoming documentary on Fox Nation. And, after talking to Carlson, he and his mother went down to Mar-a-Lago to visit Donald Trump, who posed for one of his traditional thumbs-up photos with the smiling teen. (The photo-op, weirdly, took place in front of a photo of the former president meeting Kim Jong Un.) Really a nice young man, the former president said of Rittenhouse in an interview Tuesday with Hannity. What he went through...that was prosecutorial misconduct.

Just left Mar-a-Lago a little while ago, Trump said, describing Rittenhouse as a fan of his. He never should have been put through that, the former president said. That was prosecutorial misconduct, and its happening all over the United States right now with the Democrats.

Trump in 2020 described the riots, which grew out of protests over the shooting of Jacob Blake by a white police officer, as anti-American acts of domestic terror. He also defended Rittenhouse at the time while decrying the violence in Democrat cities. Last week, after Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all counts, Trump cheered not only the verdicts, but the teens actions: If thats not self-defense, nothing is! he wrote.

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Kyle Rittenhouse, Who Doesnt Want to Get Involved in Politics, Turns to Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump - Vanity Fair