Dear Commons Community,

Today while most of us will be celebrating the end of summer with family and friends, we should take a moment to remember the contributions and achievements of American workers. They are the true builders of America – its freedoms, accomplishments, and strengths.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Carolina Amesty, a Republican state representative in central Florida has been indicted on felony forgery charges related to her administration of a private Christian school that she helped run with her family.

Amnesty, 29, turned herself in to authorities at the Orange County Jail on Thursday and was booked on four felony counts. That is after a grand jury found that Amesty forged a man’s signature on a document that she notarized in 2021 while working as an administrator at her family’s Central Christian Academy, according to State Attorney Andrew Bain. The alleged forgery happened before Amesty was elected to the Florida House of Representatives.

Each of the charges are third-degree felonies, punishable by up to five years in prison and $5,000 in fines.

The indictment of Amesty — who is currently running for reelection in her district west of Orlando — follows investigations by the Orlando Sentinel into Amesty’s background, financial practices and role in the family-run school.

Reached by phone, Amesty declined to answer questions from The Associated Press but pointed to a statement posted to the social media platform X.

“This prosecution, initiated just a few weeks prior to absentee ballots being dropped, is based on misleading reports from a partisan newspaper about a notarization of an employee verification background report,” reads the statement from Amesty’s campaign. “Rep. Amesty calls for a speedy trial, looks forward to her day in court, and is confident of her public vindication.”

First elected to the Florida House in 2022, Amesty touted herself as a successful businesswoman and staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, winning a competitive district that represents parts of Orange and Osceola counties, including Walt Disney World.

Following the indictment, the Florida Democratic Party called on Amesty to resign.

“Carolina Amesty can’t effectively represent the people of House District 45 while defending herself from felony charges,” party Chair Nikki Fried said. “She should resign from office immediately, and if she refuses to take responsibility for her actions, we demand that the Florida House of Representatives expel her from membership.”

A spokesperson for the Florida Speaker of the House did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.

Tony

Sebastian Stan, right, as Donald Trump in “The Apprentice”.   Cannes Film Festival

Dear Commons Community,

The Press Rundown is reporting that after facing challenges in generating interest following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, the film “The Apprentice,” starring Sebastian Stan as a young Donald Trump, has secured a distributor.  Briarcliff Entertainment is set to release the movie in U.S. and Canadian theaters on October 11, just weeks before the November election.

Director Ali Abbasi, a Danish Iranian filmmaker, has been keen on getting the film out before voters head to the polls. Despite facing setbacks with larger studios and distributors passing on the film, Abbasi expressed frustration in June over what he perceived as interference in the film’s release.

The Trump campaign, however, has strongly condemned the movie’s release as “election interference by Hollywood elites.” Steven Cheung, communications director for the campaign, labeled the film as “malicious defamation” that should not see the light of day.

One factor contributing to the lack of interest in “The Apprentice” was the potential threat of legal action from the Trump team. Following the Cannes premiere, Cheung dismissed the film as “pure fiction” and pledged to take legal action against the filmmakers.

The film portrays Trump’s ascent in New York real estate under the guidance of defense attorney Roy Cohn, with controversial scenes depicting allegations of rape involving Trump and his ex-wife Ivana Trump. Despite the sensitive subject matter, Abbasi has expressed a willingness to engage with the Trump campaign to discuss the context of the movie.

Briarcliff Entertainment, the distributor behind “The Apprentice,” has a track record of releasing a variety of films, including the documentary “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down” and the Liam Neeson thriller “Memory.” The distributor is led by Tom Ortenberg, known for his involvement in successful films like “Fahrenheit 9/11” and “Spotlight.”

This will be a much-watched film at least among Democrats!

Tony