NationalWatch

Queen Elizabeth II Met With 13 US Presidents Queen Elizabeth II, then-President George W. Bush, and then-British Ambassador David Manning arrive at the British Embassy for a dinner hosted by the queen on May 8, 2007 in Washington, D.C. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

By Jack Gournell | Thursday, 08 September 2022 05:13 PM EDT

When Queen Elizabeth II died Thursday at age 96 as Great Britain's longest-reigning monarch, she had met with 13 U.S. presidents: one before she became queen, and only skipping Lyndon B. Johnson.

Her visits with American leaders began in 1951, a year before she ascended to the throne, when she and her husband, Prince Philip, met with President Harry S. Truman and his family at Blair House during a visit to Washington D.C., according to Yahoo News.

In 1957, now-Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip spent four days at the White House with President Dwight D. Eisenhower and first lady Mamie Eisenhower.

In 1961, it was time for an American president to visit the queen. That's when President John F. Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy visited her at Buckingham Palace. Elizabeth reportedly felt upstaged by Jackie Kennedy, but still had a friendly relationship with the family.

Though Elizabeth never met Johnson, her sister, Princess Margaret did meet him in 1965 during a famous White House dinner party at which Johnson said in a formal toast that he hoped the two countries' friendship would always remain so close. Later, in a not-so-formal toast, he advised Margaret's husband how to keep her happy: "First, let her think she is having her way. And second, let her have it!"

The queen did meet again with America's next president, Richard Nixon, when he and first lady Pat Nixon visited Great Britain in 1970.

She came back to American soil in 1976 for the U.S. Bicentennial celebration, dancing with President Gerald Ford.

The next year, the United States had a new president, and Jimmy Carter was part of a group of world leaders who arrived at Buckingham Palace for a summit dinner with the queen.

President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan visited the queen at Windsor Castle in 1982, and the president and queen rode horses. The Reagans invited the queen to their ranch, and she later visited.

In 1991, Elizabeth came to the White House where she and President George H.W. Bush planted a tree on the South Lawn. That tree was a replacement for one that had been planted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1937 in honor of King George VI's coronation. He was the father of Queen Elizabeth II.

President Bill Clinton met the queen several times, including at a D-Day commemoration at the Guildhall in London. Clinton said of her in his memoir, "Her Majesty impressed me as someone who but for the circumstance of her birth, might have become a successful politician or diplomat. As it was, she had to be both, without quite seeming to be either."

President George W. Bush met Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace in 2003. She gave him a good-natured teasing for saying she had come to America in 1776 rather than 1976.

In 2016, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama had a private lunch at Windsor Castle with the queen and Prince Philip.

Elizabeth met President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump when they visited Buckingham Palace in 2019.

And President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden met the queen in 2021 at Windsor Castle during Biden's first foreign trip as president.

Original Article

Group of Hunter Biden Laptop Dissenters Now Leading DC-Based Spy Museum Hunter Biden. (Getty Images)

By Jay Clemons | Thursday, 08 September 2022 05:02 PM EDT

The recent additions to the International Spy Museum's advisory board have a common thread, according to the Washington Examiner:

Each appointment involves an ex-intelligence official who dismissed the New York Post's October 2020 story on Hunter Biden's laptop as "Russian disinformation."

The Washington D.C.-based Spy Museum, which touts itself as "lifting the veil of secrecy on the hidden world of intelligence, exploring its successes and failures, challenges, and controversies," just added Jeremy Bash, Malcolm Nance, and Joanna Hiestand Mendez to the board.

Formerly a chief of staff at both the CIA and Department of Defense (DOD), Bash was recently hand-picked by President Joe Biden to join the President's Intelligence Advisory Board.

Regarding Hunter Biden's laptop, Bash said this on MSNBC for Oct. 19, 2020: "This looks like Russian intelligence. This walks like Russian intelligence. This talks like Russian intelligence."

Malcolm Nance, a former member of Navy intelligence, offered this insight on Twitter regarding Hunter Biden's laptop.

Shortly after, Nance posted this response, according to the Examiner:

"BAD SPYCRAFT ALERT: The 'laptop' (briefcase, safe, harddrive, purse, wallet, jacket pocket) full of accidentally abandoned 'secret' is an OLD KGB/FSB TECHNIQUE of PLANTING data to be 'suddenly discovered' just for a gullible newsmedia," wrote Nance.

Later on, Nance likened the Hunter Biden materials to "[Rudy] Giuliani/Russian Intelligence generated fake emails" in a separate tweet.

And Mendez, a founding board member of the Spy Museum, worked at the CIA for 27 years (1966-93), is also the former chief of disguise in the CIA's Office of Technical Service.

For her introductory video at the museum, actor Morgan Freeman reportedly handled the narration.

Among the other Spy Museum notables:

Mike Morelli, the former acting CIA director under former President Barack Obama.

Marc Polymeropoulos, a former senior operations officer at the CIA, told the National Review in 2020 that he and Morelli crafted the letter of intelligence officials denouncing the New York Post's Hunter Biden story as "Russian disinformation."

John McLaughlin's run as former deputy director of the CIA covered the George W. Bush administration.

Doug Wise, who spent 29 years in the CIA, was a former deputy director of the Defense Intelligence Agency under Obama.

And James Clapper, honorary board member at the Spy Museum, was Obama's former director of national intelligence.

Earlier this year, Clapper reasoned to the Post that "sounding such a cautionary note at the time was appropriate."

For what it's worth, the original Post story broke just three weeks before the 2020 presidential election, pitting Joe Biden vs. Donald Trump.

Original Article

DOJ Appeals Ruling That Called for Special Master in Trump Doc Probe (Dreamstime)

Thursday, 08 September 2022 04:11 PM EDT

The Justice Department is appealing a judge’s decision to name an independent arbiter to review records seized by the FBI from former President Donald Trump’s Florida home.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on Monday granted the Trump team’s request for a so-called special master and temporarily blocked the Justice Department from using for investigative purposes the thousands of records taken from Mar-a-Lago during the Aug. 8 search.

That order has the likely impact of slowing the pace of the investigation into the presence of classified documents at the Florida property.

The Justice Department, which had strenuously opposed such an appointment, filed a notice of appeal Thursday, saying it was contesting the ruling to the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Cannon, a Trump appointee, said the yet-to-be-named special master will be responsible for reviewing the records from Mar-a-Lago and segregating out those that are potentially protected by attorney-client privilege or executive privilege.

The Justice Department has been investigating what it says was the unlawful retention of national defense information at Mar-a-Lago as well as efforts to obstruct the probe. It is not clear whether Trump or anyone else will face charges.

The two sides were directed to submit proposed names of a special master by Friday. That role is often filled by a lawyer or former judge.

Original Article

DOJ Appeals Ruling That Called for Special Master in Trump Doc Probe (Dreamstime)

Thursday, 08 September 2022 04:11 PM EDT

The Justice Department is appealing a judge’s decision to name an independent arbiter to review records seized by the FBI from former President Donald Trump’s Florida home.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on Monday granted the Trump team’s request for a so-called special master and temporarily blocked the Justice Department from using for investigative purposes the thousands of records taken from Mar-a-Lago during the Aug. 8 search.

That order has the likely impact of slowing the pace of the investigation into the presence of classified documents at the Florida property.

The Justice Department, which had strenuously opposed such an appointment, filed a notice of appeal Thursday, saying it was contesting the ruling to the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Cannon, a Trump appointee, said the yet-to-be-named special master will be responsible for reviewing the records from Mar-a-Lago and segregating out those that are potentially protected by attorney-client privilege or executive privilege.

The Justice Department has been investigating what it says was the unlawful retention of national defense information at Mar-a-Lago as well as efforts to obstruct the probe. It is not clear whether Trump or anyone else will face charges.

The two sides were directed to submit proposed names of a special master by Friday. That role is often filled by a lawyer or former judge.

Letter: House GOP 'Gravely Concerned' About Marines' Role in Biden Speech President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden emerge from Independence Hall between Marines before last week's speech in Philadelphia. (AP)

By Jay Clemons | Thursday, 08 September 2022 03:45 PM EDT

The fallout continues from President Joe Biden's controversial speech in Philadelphia last week in which he condemned "MAGA Republicans" as a threat to the republic.

On Thursday, the House Republicans informed the Department of Defense they were "gravely concerned" about President Biden's usage of the Marine Corps in the speech, saying the two Marines standing behind the president were "political props."

In the letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin — which was signed by House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., and Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif. — the Republican lawmakers wrote: "We are gravely concerned that throughout the entirety of this partisan, politically charged, and divisive address to the nation, two United States Marines were visibly present flanking the President in the background."

The letter continued: "The President's use of active-duty Marines as political props undermines the apolitical nature of our servicemembers and erodes trust in our military."

Also, the House Republicans asked Austin to respond to three particular questions, regarding the Pentagon's possible coordination with the White House.

Among the questions:

• Did the Pentagon know the contents of Biden's speech before his appearance in Philadelphia?
• Did the DOD know two active-duty service members would be involved in the TV presentation?
• And if so, what guidance was given to the White House regarding their participation in the event?

"You've expressed your concern about politicization of the military and have insisted the military will not become a political instrument under your watch. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened with the participation of the Marines at this political event," the lawmakers wrote.

The Pentagon reportedly referred questions on the use of the Marines to the Biden administration.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended Biden's usage of the Marines last week, saying it was done out of respect for the Marines and their role in defending democracy.

"It is not abnormal. It is actually normal for presidents from either side of the aisle to give speeches in front of members of the military," said Jean-Pierre. "It is not an unusual sight or is not an unusual event to have happen."

Original Article

Harriet Hageman to Newsmax: Cheney Was Focused on Jan. 6, Not Wyoming (Newsmax/"National Report")

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Thursday, 08 September 2022 03:14 PM EDT

Much of the focus of the recent Wyoming GOP primary was on incumbent Rep. Liz Cheney, considering her role in the House Jan. 6 committee, and she concentrated more on that than she had in the election to keep her seat, nominee Harriet Hageman, the Trump-backed candidate who beat her, said on Newsmax Thursday.

"I understand that she's a Cheney and she was an incumbent," Hageman said on Newsmax's "National Report." "She's Dick Cheney's daughter. There's no doubt that that legacy has helped her with her name recognition and being elected to the seat in the first place, but in my view in a constitutional republic, which is what we are, we're mere representatives."

And as such, Hageman said the biggest contrast between her and Cheney was that while the incumbent was focusing on the Jan. 6 committee, or on things that are not important to Wyoming, "I was in Wyoming meeting with the people.

"I was talking about the issues such as inflation, the open border, the skyrocketing fuel costs. … I was talking to real people in Wyoming, not only about the problems but real solutions," said Hageman.

She added that as a constitutional attorney for more than 30 years, she has the "experience and background to go back to Congress and be effective for the people of Wyoming as well as people across the country."

However, said Hageman, too many of the nation's leaders only want to talk "about issues that are important to them" rather than what's important to the nation.

Hageman also discussed President Joe Biden's recent speeches, and said that despite his campaign promises to unite the nation, he's "never been a unifier."

"Anybody who's paid any attention to Joe Biden over the last 50 years knows that was rhetoric," she said. "That was political noise, and that was the media attempting to prop up someone incompetent, even at the time that he was running for the office."

And Biden's speech in Philadelphia, where he disparaged "MAGA" Republicans while standing in front of a dark red background was "stagecraft," she said. "It was purely about deflection and the problem is that the media and so many of the people in the public took the bait," said Hageman.

"They want to focus on Donald Trump because they can't focus on their record. The record of the Democrats has been an abysmal failure."

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Original Article

Levell: Trump Stood Up for You, Now Do the Same for Him

Former U.S. President Donald Trump during a campaign rally in support of Doug Mastriano for governor and Mehmet Oz for U.S. Senate at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania – Sept. 3, 2022. (Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images)

By Bruce Levell | Thursday, 08 September 2022 03:05 PM EDT

President Donald Trump’s red wave continues sweeping the nation.

Despite what the mainstream media tells you, the Trump endorsement is a significant political advantage. Many politicians benefited from his recognition and moral support.

Some candidates straight up begged and cried to receive it.

But, alas, the mainstream media continues to deceive.

The recent politically-motivated raid at the president's Palm Beach, Florida residence (Mar a Lago) seems to have spooked some of the people President Trump so graciously gave his approval to.

This writer, as a friend of President Trump, hates to see him (as well as his family) endure constant political attacks. Rest assured, this writer understands the word loyalty and will continue to speak out against corruption between federal agencies, politicians, and the mainstream media.

Unfortunately, some Team Trump newcomers have lapsed into radio silence.

Loyal members of the original team, like myself, know this is just another distraction organized by those seeking America's destruction.

There are questions for our new members to consider, specfically directed toward those who haven’t spoken up about Mr. Trump being targeted — yet again.

Does a sensational headline scare you that much?

Why would you start to believe the mainstream media now?

Do you genuinely believe in the America First agenda?

If you can’t stand up for President Trump now, how will you stand up to globalists and their radical liberal agenda?

Are you just another swamp creature only motivated by selfish gain?

President Trump has had to come to the rescue of many in the GOP.

Our nation's 45th commander in chief never complained about what he had to do for our country. Even people who had previously turned their back on him.

For example, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, had he not received Trump's endorsement, could have lost his seat to former Congressman Beto O'Rourke, D-Texas.

Or even Gov. Brian Kemp, R-Ga., who in short order denied President Trump.

Yet, Trump still came to save him during a contentious race.

Our team cannot allow the mainstream media to make us run for cover.

We must stand firm and unite against the psychological warfare and poison that the mainstream media spews. If the government had any real criminal evidence on President Trump, don’t you think he would have been arrested long ago?

The point is, when you receive Trump's endorsement, it's like joining a team.

And as a team, we have one common goal, to save America.

Perhaps certain team members remaining silent don't fully understand the word loyalty.

Call me old-school, but I believe loyalty is one of a person's most important attributes.

Loyalty is an unconditional quality. You're either consistently loyal, or you're not.

It's that simple.

Fidelity is certainly not a one-way street or engaged in only when it benefits you.

A winning team must act as a "we," not a singular "me."

When the going gets tough, weak people run, but loyal people remain.

Loyalists don't fade into the background or completely disappear.

They stand firm, act with courage, and do what's morally right.

In these times, we must bravely continue to fight to save America.

This means, we must call out corruption.

Nefarious forces are working against this mission, so we must always stand together courageously.Yes, the politico-media complex is a formidable opponent, but the truth is on our side.

Remember, President Trump has the support of over half of America.

He will prevail. Do not let the mainstream media's deceptive psychological tactics and fake spin make you lose your loyalty.

Remember, all of this is meant to scare the weak-willed and the easily deceived.

Hold on to the vision, hold the line. Stand up for the man who stood up for you.

Bruce LeVell is a longtime adviser and appointee to President Donald J. Trump, Former Trump Campaigns 2016 and 2020 senior adviser.

Original Article

Devin Nunes to Newsmax: Dems, DOJ, Media Working Together on Trump Leaks Devin Nunes (Getty Images)

By Jay Clemons | Thursday, 08 September 2022 03:00 PM EDT

Devin Nunes hasn't been shocked by any of the left-leaning media's coverage of the documents dispute between the Justice Department (DOJ) and former President Donald Trump.

That's because it's largely the "same play-call" from seven years ago, when the Democrats, law enforcement agencies, and media first worked together on the Russia Collusion "hoax," says Nunes, which included the "laughable" rumors of then-candidate Trump and a so-called pee tape.

"I don't think it's a [coincidence] at all. [The leaks are] actually quite planned," Nunes told Newsmax on on Thursday while appearing on "John Bachman Now."

"A lot of the conspiracies [the media] has chased around" — including the aforementioned pee-tape incident, allegedly involving Russia — "those were the top news agencies that did that for the better part of a couple years," says Nunes, even after the House Republicans "proved it was a hoax."

Nunes had a front-row street for the House chamber's Russia-collusion investigations. As a then-congressman representing the state of California, Nunes had insider access to the true reality, not just scurrilous rumors.

Back then, "you had the [Hillary] Clinton campaign working with the media to start investigations, and this [media leaking] has never stopped, even though it's been totally debunked," says Nunes, current CEO of the Trump Media and Technology Group.

Nunes says the various news drops coming from the Washington Post, New York Times, and TV outlets — largely quoting unnamed sources — are all designed to paint Trump in a negative light, and also help justify the FBI's Aug. 8 raid on the former president's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

However, if the federal government had something of actual substance against Trump, Nunes says that information would have already been leaked to the media.

"It's the same play-call that was used during the Russia hoax," says Nunes, of how law enforcement agencies and national media pull together for a common cause — supporting the Democrats. "If there were super-secret-type of nuclear documents [involving Trump], everyone would know" by now.

From Nunes' perspective, there's little distinction between the Obama and Biden administrations in how White House officials launch false narratives against political opponents.

"There's no truth to the [Mar-a-Lago] leaks; and I believe this is all about the Russia hoax," Nunes said. "The people at the top" are still looking for the Russia collusion documents.

"And I'm just happy the federal courts are looking into it. … We have an administration that has gone way out of bounds of their constitutional authority," says Nunes.

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Record Number of Migrants Die at Border in Biden's First 2 Years Southern border along the Rio Grande River in Texas. (Dreamstime)

By Eric Mack | Thursday, 08 September 2022 01:54 PM EDT

A record number of migrants died at the border this year, 748 to date, a mark that surpassed the previous high set just last year by more than 200 victims, CNN reported.

The Department of Homeland Security data makes the Biden administration the deadliest one on the border for a president's first two years in office.

There have been 1,305 border deaths during the past two years under President Joe Biden. Former President Donald Trump had 581 total border migrant deaths in the 2017 and 2018 fiscal years, the fewest of any president's first two years since the data records began.

Trump's body count was dwarfed by the Biden administration in this year alone and almost surpassed by the previous record of 557 border migrant deaths in fiscal year 2021, which covered most of Biden's first year in office.

Biden's DHS data total almost doubles the previous most deadly border situation in the first two presidential years of former President Barack Obama, which saw 805 migrants die on the border in the 2008 and 2009 fiscal years.

Former President George W. Bush, who formed DHS after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, had 660 total migrant border deaths in 2001 and 2002, according to the DHS data that only goes back to 1998.

The 2022 totals will still rise, as the fiscal year ends Friday, Sept. 30.

Also, CNN reported, the death counts are likely higher because the dead bodies recovered by DHS are the only ones recorded. Other law enforcement agencies recovering deaths at the southern border do not figure in this data.

"Migrants, refugees, and entire families are using more distant and dangerous routes to come to the United States," Border Network for Human Rights Executive Director Fernando García told CNN.

Customs and Border Protection point to transnational human trafficking rings as being responsible for the deaths of migrants at the border. Experts have told Newsmax the Mexican cartels are emboldened and enriched financially by Biden's border policies.

"Transnational criminal organizations continue to recklessly endanger the lives of individuals they smuggle for their own financial gain with no regard for human life," CBP told CNN in a statement. "Smuggling organizations are abandoning migrants in remote and dangerous areas, leading to a rise in the number of rescues but also tragically a rise in the number of deaths.

"The terrain along the border is extreme, the summer heat is severe, and the miles of desert migrants must hike after crossing the border in many areas are unforgiving."

DOJ Investigating Trump's Save America PAC Fundraising Former President Donald Trump (Getty Images)

By Eric Mack | Thursday, 08 September 2022 12:59 PM EDT

The Justice Department is looking into former President Donald Trump's fundraising for his GOP midterm candidates and potentially his own 2024 presidential campaign.

A federal grand jury has subpoenaed Save America PAC for information on its formation and spending, The New York Times and ABC News reported Thursday.

The subpoenas have targeted mid- and low-level aides Beau Harrison and William Russell, according to the reports.

Harrison and Russell representatives did not respond to the outlets' requests for comment.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said at a June hearing of the House Jan. 6 Select Committee that Trump's campaign raised $250 million in a Trump-led GOP fight for election integrity after claims the 2020 presidential election was compromised by fraud.

Lofgren claimed it constituted a "big rip-off," adding "donors deserve to know where their funds are really going."

Trump has not mentioned these subpoenas — which ostensibly seek to find out how the recognized leader of the Republican Party is funding campaigns against Democrats — in recent Truth Social remarks.

But he did blast the "latest witch hunt" Tuesday by the media, Democrats, and Republicans In Name Only (RINOs), all seeking to stop his America First/Make America Great Again movement, saying he does things "by the book," perhaps a references to fundraising bookkeeping.

"The fake news mainstream media, Democrats, and RINOs are obsessed with pushing the latest Witch Hunt against me," Trump posted to Truth Social.

"All American patriots know that I always do everything 'by the book' and that this hoax will fail miserably just like the Russia, Russia, Russia Scam, Impeachment Hoax # 1, Impeachment Hoax #2, and all other attempts, perpetrated by the same people, to weaponize law enforcement against the 45th President, me."

Original Article

Herschel Walker to Newsmax: Warnock Should Put 'Big Man Pants On' and Debate Herschel Walker (Getty Images

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Thursday, 08 September 2022 12:44 PM EDT

Georgia GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker laid down a challenge on Newsmax on Thursday to Sen. Raphael Warner to "put your big man pants on and show up" for a debate on Oct. 14 in Savannah, Georgia.

"Show up because I'm ready to debate you any time," Walker, a former NFL star and Heisman Trophy winner, said on Newsmax's "National Report," while rejecting claims by Warnock and the news media that he won't engage in a campaign debate.

"I've been saying that for weeks I've been ready to debate him, and you know they're raising a lot of money and telling a lot of lies, and I'm going to say they're telling bald-faced lies," Walker said. "I'm saying I want him to come to Savannah, Georgia, on October 14 and quit complaining."

Walker added that he's tired of Warnock "running away" and "hiding behind his Twitter account, hiding behind the news media saying that I don't want to debate him."

In the debate, Walker said, people will see the difference between him and Warnock, as the senator "represents" President Joe Biden while "I will represent Georgia."

Walker and Warnock are in a neck-and-neck race for Georgia's Senate seat, with Warnock just one point ahead of Walker in the polls, according to a RealClearPolitics average.

Walker, who is endorsed by former President Donald Trump, opened another attack on Warnock this week with a new advertisement, slamming him and Democrats for making comments on race.

In Walker's ad, he says that Warnock "believes America is a bad place full of racist people," but he does not agree.

"I believe we are a great country full of generous people," Walker said. "Warnock wants to divide us. I want to bring us together."

Walker told Newsmax Thursday that Biden is also a divider, as shown in his speech in Philadelphia a week ago.
"I'm running against Senator Warnock, who made a statement that America needs to apologize for whiteness," said Walker. "I believe that we've got to come together. We have a lot of good people in this country. We have a lot of good people in the state of Georgia and I'm about bringing people together.

"I remember the great saying, 'A house divided cannot stand.' And right now, it seems like this administration just wants to continue to divide and and I don't believe in that. I believe that we have to come together to get things done."

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Original Article

Biden Administration Rolls Back Trump 'Public Charge' Green Card Regulation (Dreamstime)

By Charlie McCarthy | Thursday, 08 September 2022 11:59 AM EDT

The Biden administration announced it will ease regulations for low-income immigrants seeking to become permanent U.S. residents.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a rule, to take effect Dec. 23, that dictates when immigrants can be considered a "public charge," or an economic burden.

The rule rolls back regulations under the Trump administration, which began to consider supplemental public health benefits such as Medicaid and nutritional assistance as part of the public charge inadmissibility determination.

Under the rule, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) only will consider green card applicants a public charge if "they are likely at any time to become primarily dependent on the government for subsistence."

"This action ensures fair and humane treatment of legal immigrants and their U.S. citizen family members," Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas said in a DHS press release.

"Consistent with America's bedrock values, we will not penalize individuals for choosing to access the health benefits and other supplemental government services available to them."

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Ur M. Jaddou said the policy "treats all those we serve with fairness and respect."

"Though there is still much to do to overcome confusion and fear, we will continue to work to break down barriers in the immigration system, restore faith and trust with our immigrant communities, and eliminate excessive burdens in the application process," Jaddou said.

A noncitizen deemed likely to become a "public charge" can be denied admission or lawful permanent residence (green card).

Before 2019, almost all non-cash government benefits such as Medicaid or nutrition assistance were excluded from consideration. The Trump administration rule, which ultimately was vacated and no longer is in effect, resulted in a drop in enrollments in such programs among individuals, such as U.S. citizen children in mixed-status households, who are not subject to the public charge ground of inadmissibility.

The DHS said that publication of this rule in the Federal Register avoids these effects by formally codifying the historical understanding of the term.

The administration in February released a draft version of its public charge regulation, which received more than 10,000 public comments.

The Department of Health and Human Services also praised the changes, calling Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) essential services.

"People who qualify for Medicaid, CHIP, and other health programs should receive the care they need without fear of jeopardizing their immigration status," HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a release.

Original Article

Poll: Majority of Americans Support Maximum Age Limits for Elected Officials Poll. (Dreamstime)

By Solange Reyner | Thursday, 08 September 2022 11:43 AM EDT

Seventy-three percent of U.S. voters say there should be maximum age limits for elected officials, according to a CBS News/YouGov poll released Thursday.

And 40% say the maximum age limit for elected officials should be 70, compared with 18% who say 80 and 26% who say 60.

Additionally, just 12% think having more older people in elected office would make politics better, compared with 47% who say young people, women (45%), racial minorities (41%) and LGBTQ people (32%).

The poll, conducted Aug. 29-31, also found:

• 47% of U.S. voters say having young people in elected office would make politics better, while 42% say having older people in elected office would make politics worse.
• Voters across the board favor maximum age limits for elected officials: 71% of Democrats, 75% of independents and 75% of Republicans and 74% of voters ages 65 and over, 75% of voters ages 45-64 and voters ages 30-44 and 68% of voters ages 18-29.

An analysis from the Congressional Research Service on the current members of Congress published in January found that the current group is the oldest on average of any Congress in at least the past 20 years.

A January YouGov survey noted that the average age of U.S. senators is 64, while 58 is the average of U.S. House members. President Joe Biden became the oldest president in U.S. history when he defeated Donald Trump in 2020.

The CBS News/YouGov poll published Thursday surveyed 2,085 U.S. adults. The margin of error is +/-2.6 percentage points.

Original Article

Bannon Charged With Money Laundering in Wall Donor Case Steve Bannon, former adviser to former President Donald Trump, arrives at the New York District Attorney's office to turn himself in on Sept. 8, 2022 in New York City. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

MICHAEL R. SISAK Thursday, 08 September 2022 11:08 AM EDT

Former President Donald Trump’s longtime ally Steve Bannon surrendered Thursday to face state money laundering and conspiracy charges in New York alleging he duped donors who gave money to build a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Prosecutors say that while Bannon promised donors all the money they gave would go to building the wall, he was involved in funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars to two other people. The indictment didn't identify those people by name, but the details match those of Brian Kolfage and Andrew Badolato, who pleaded guilty to federal charges in April.

Bannon’s state-level charges in New York stem from the same alleged conduct covered in a federal prosecution that ended abruptly, before trial, when Trump pardoned Bannon on his last day in office.

Manhattan prosecutors also charged WeBuildTheWall, Inc., a nonprofit entity that Bannon and others allegedly used to solicit donations.

Presidential pardons apply only to federal crimes, not state offenses. In Bannon’s case, any double jeopardy argument would likely fall flat because his federal case didn’t involve an acquittal or conviction.

Bannon, 68, arrived at the Manhattan district attorney's office shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday.

“This is an irony,” Bannon told reporters as he entered the building.

“On the very day the mayor of this city has a delegation down on the border, they are persecuting people here, that try to stop them at the border,” he said, referring to a recent trip by New York City officials to Texas.

“This is all about 60 days from the day,” he said, referring to the upcoming national election in November.

In an earlier, written statement, Bannon accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of pursing “phony charges” against him ahead of the midterm election, saying the Democratic prosecutor targeted him because Bannon and his radio show are popular among Trump’s Republican supporters.

Bannon said federal prosecutors “did the exact same thing in August 2020 to try to take me out of the election,” referring to his arrest months before Trump’s reelection loss. “This is nothing more than a partisan political weaponization of the criminal justice system.”

In 2020, federal agents pulled Bannon from a yacht off the Connecticut coast and arrested him on charges he pocketed more than $1 million in wall donations. Prosecutors alleged thousands of investors were tricked into thinking all of their donations would go toward the border wall project, although Bannon instead paid a salary to one campaign official and personal expenses for himself.

The states of Texas and Arizona recently began busing asylum-seekers to New York and Washington, D.C., in an attempt to ratchet up political pressure on President Joe Biden’s administration to stop people from crossing into their states from Mexico. New York City Mayor Eric Adams recently dispatched a fact-finding team to Texas, partly to find out whether migrants were getting on the buses voluntarily.

While the wall Bannon’s group proposed was to be built on the U.S. southern border, more than 1,000 miles from the Big Apple, Manhattan prosecutors have jurisdiction to pursue charges against Bannon because some donors to the effort lived in New York.

Federal prosecutors, in the trial of a former Bannon co-defendant, noted that some residents of the New York City area had donated to the wall-building project. One witness that testified was an official with the charities bureau of the New York attorney general’s office who said that a charity backing the wall project had filed paperwork to accept donations in the state. The attorney general’s office is also involved in Bannon’s state criminal case.

Bannon, who pleaded not guilty to the federal charges, was dropped from the federal case when Trump pardoned him.

Kolfage and Badolato had been scheduled to be sentenced this week, but that was recently postponed to December. A third defendant’s trial ended in a mistrial in June after jurors said they could not reach a unanimous verdict.

In another case not covered by Trump’s pardon, Bannon was convicted in July on contempt charges for defying a congressional subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. He is scheduled to be sentenced in October and faces up to two years in federal prison.

Original Article

Trump Was Worried Biden, 'Deep State' Would Destroy Russian Probe Documents Former President Donald Trump (AP)

By Charlie McCarthy | Thursday, 08 September 2022 09:50 AM EDT

Former President Donald Trump was worried that his enemies would destroy certain Russia-related documents that exonerated him, and pushed to declassify the records during his final days in office.

Trump, believing the documents would expose a "Deep State" plot against him, told several people that he was concerned that incoming President Joe Biden's administration would "shred," bury, or destroy "the evidence," Rolling Stone reported Wednesday.

The documents were related to the federal investigation into the since discredited story about Russian collusion with Trump's 2016 campaign.

Trump and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows worked to declassify information right up to when Biden took the oath of office, Rolling Stone said.

The Rolling Stone story came a month after FBI agents raided Trump's Florida home with a warrant saying the former president had 11 sets of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, and that the DOJ had probable cause to conduct the search based on possible Espionage Act violations.

Trump and allies, however, say the documents had been declassified.

Neither Trump nor the Department of Justice (DOJ) have said much about what documents were taken during the Aug. 8 raid.

The former president, though, did hint that Russia-related documents could be among the materials the FBI sought.

"I think they thought it was something to do with the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax," Trump told a Newsmax host during a Sept. 1 radio interview.

"They were afraid that things were in there — part of their scam material."

John Ratcliffe, former director of National Intelligence, told CBS that, "it wouldn't surprise me if there were records related to [Russia] there."

Ratcliffe, a month before the 2020 election, declassified intelligence detailing how the U.S. had obtained information about "Russian intelligence analysis" on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's campaign.

Critics of Ratcliffe's move said declassifications could out sensitive sources.

A day before leaving office, Trump sent a memo to the acting attorney general and intelligence officials to say the DOJ had sent him a binder of materials on the FBI's so-called "Crossfire Hurricane" investigation in late December 2020 "so I could determine to what extent materials in the binder should be released in unclassified form."

The materials, according to journalist John Solomon, Trump's representative to the National Archives, included "transcripts of intercepts made by the FBI of Trump aides, a declassified copy of the final FISA warrant approved by an intelligence court, and the tasking orders and debriefings of the two main confidential human sources."

Meadows later in his memoir wrote that he "personally went through every page" of the documents to make sure the declassified portions didn't "disclose sources and methods." He also described his frustration by what he considered "push back" from the DOJ and FBI.

Original Article

Rep. Steube to Newsmax: DOJ Leaking to Media to Push Narrative (Newsmax/''Rob Schmitt Tonight'')

By Luca Cacciatore | Wednesday, 07 September 2022 09:15 PM EDT

Rep. Greg Steube told Newsmax on Wednesday that the Department of Justice has a history of leaking to the media ''to start a narrative.''

On ''Rob Schmitt Tonight,'' the Florida Republican said that although ''the deep state and the Democrats and the mainstream media'' are working together, most Americans aren't fooled by their agenda.

''The American people have gotten smart on this in the last four years, and I tell you what, when Republicans take the [House] majority back — God willing — in November, and we get the gavels in January, there is going to be a lot of depositions and a lot of hell to pay,'' Steube said.

His comments follow those of Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.,who revealed earlier in the day on ''Fox & Friends'' that the FBI and DOJ never approached congressional leaders about sensitive files at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence.

''As a member of the Gang of Eight, which is the eight officials in Congress with insight to intelligence, we run into all kinds of things all the time,'' Rubio explained. ''Never once were we approached and told, 'There is this massive brewing counterintelligence threat to the United States, and we want to make you aware of it.'''

Steube, who is seeking reelection in Florida's 17th Congressional District, emphasized that the federal government ''waited over a year and a half'' after Trump left office to clamp down on the supposedly essential documents, adding that the FBI ''waited days'' with a warrant before conducting the search.

''I mean, if this is a huge national security risk, then why in the world did they wait days to execute the search warrant?'' the congressman said. ''This is an opportunity, and they are using their power in a corrupt DOJ and a weaponized DOJ to go in and get information on Donald Trump.''

''The deep state and the DOJ will stop at nothing to prevent Donald Trump from running for president in 2024 and becoming president again,'' he concluded.

About NEWSMAX TV:

NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!

• Find NEWSMAX in over 100 million U.S. homes via cable/streaming – More Info Here
• Watch NEWSMAX TV online – See It Here
• Download the FREE NEWSMAX App on Your Smartphone to Watch Now!

Original Article

Rep. Steube to Newsmax: DOJ Leaking to Media to Push Narrative (Newsmax/''Rob Schmitt Tonight'')

By Luca Cacciatore | Wednesday, 07 September 2022 09:15 PM EDT

Rep. Greg Steube told Newsmax on Wednesday that the Department of Justice has a history of leaking to the media ''to start a narrative.''

On ''Rob Schmitt Tonight,'' the Florida Republican said that although ''the deep state and the Democrats and the mainstream media'' are working together, most Americans aren't fooled by their agenda.

''The American people have gotten smart on this in the last four years, and I tell you what, when Republicans take the [House] majority back — God willing — in November, and we get the gavels in January, there is going to be a lot of depositions and a lot of hell to pay,'' Steube said.

His comments follow those of Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who revealed earlier in the day on ''Fox & Friends'' that the FBI and DOJ never approached congressional leaders about sensitive files at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence.

''As a member of the Gang of Eight, which is the eight officials in Congress with insight to intelligence, we run into all kinds of things all the time,'' Rubio explained. ''Never once were we approached and told, 'There is this massive brewing counterintelligence threat to the United States, and we want to make you aware of it.'''

Steube, who is seeking reelection in Florida's 17th Congressional District, emphasized that the federal government ''waited over a year and a half'' after Trump left office to clamp down on the supposedly essential documents, adding that the FBI ''waited days'' with a warrant before conducting the search.

''I mean, if this is a huge national security risk, then why in the world did they wait days to execute the search warrant?'' the congressman said. ''This is an opportunity, and they are using their power in a corrupt DOJ and a weaponized DOJ to go in and get information on Donald Trump.''

''The deep state and the DOJ will stop at nothing to prevent Donald Trump from running for president in 2024 and becoming president again,'' he concluded.

About NEWSMAX TV:

NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!

• Find NEWSMAX in over 100 million U.S. homes via cable/streaming – More Info Here
• Watch NEWSMAX TV online – See It Here
• Download the FREE NEWSMAX App on Your Smartphone to Watch Now!

Original Article