NationalWatch

Why Is Biden Avoiding Battleground States 8 Days Before Vital Midterms? (Newsmax)

By Jack Gournell | Monday, 31 October 2022 04:56 PM EDT

President Joe Biden's relatively light midterm campaign schedule has him completely avoiding battleground states that aided in his election two years ago.

Instead, the Daily Mail notes, with just more than a week before the final in-person votes are cast, Biden is focusing on Democratic strongholds that would normally be easy wins.

In some cases, candidates don't want to be seen with the current president. Inflation is the top concern of most voters, according to multiple polls, and it has dragged Biden's approval numbers down. Some hopefuls fear they'll be dragged down with him if voters see them on stage together.

Instead, former President Barack Obama, who remains popular with Democrats, has served as a campaign surrogate.

Also, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris produce a large "footprint" when showing up with required Secret Service protection and other White House staffers that are required to travel with them at all times. Nongovernment travel expenses must be reimbursed, so that can put a strain on campaigns as well.

The Wall Street Journal writes that since Sept. 1, Biden has visited only 6 of the 14 states with the most competitive races for U.S. Senate and governors, according to the Cook Political Report. Biden has not campaigned i, Nevada or Arizona at all, even though all three were critical to his 2020 presidential win.

He has made three campaign stops in New York and two in Maryland, but has been to Michigan and Wisconsin only one time apiece, the Journal noted. All four states are solid "blue" states with a few competitive races.

The only major battleground state he has gone to repeatedly is Pennsylvania — where he was born.

Biden is scheduled to be in the competitive state of Florida on Tuesday to campaign for Charlie Crist for governor and Val Demings for Senate. But both are down in the polls to incumbent Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Marco Rubio.

Biden lost the state in 2020 to former President Donald Trump.

He will be in Delaware, his current home state, on Monday, a traditionally blue state.

Obama will be the attraction on Tuesday in Nevada, on Wednesday in Arizona and on Saturday in Pennsylvania.

Republicans are seen as taking control of the House easily, but with a 50-50 Senate, those races, are seen as vital to controlling the president's agenda.

Original Article

Feds Concerned About Armed People at Arizona Ballot Boxes (Dreamstime)

LINDSAY WHITEHURST Monday, 31 October 2022 04:31 PM EDT

Reports of people watching ballot boxes in Arizona, sometimes armed or wearing ballistic vests, raise serious concerns about voter intimidation, the Justice Department said Monday as it stepped into a lawsuit over the monitoring.

The statement from the Justice Department comes days after a federal judge refused to bar a group from monitoring the outdoor drop boxes in the suburbs of Phoenix.

Threats, intimidation and coercion are illegal under the federal Voting Rights Act, even if they doesn't succeed, the government's attorneys wrote. While lawful poll watching can support transparency, “ballot security forces” present a significant risk of voter intimidation, the court documents state.

“While the First Amendment protects expressive conduct and peaceable assembly generally, it affords no protection for threats of harm directed at voters,” U.S. government attorneys wrote.

The filing runs counter to a judge's order Friday.

U.S. District Court Judge Michael Liburdi found the allegations present “serious questions” but it wasn't clear they were a ”true threat" to specific people or groups and barring them could violate the watchers' freedom of speech.

Liburdi is a Trump appointee and a member of the Federalist Society, a conservative legal organization. The Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans is appealing the order in the swing state with several closely contested races this year.

The group sued a group calling itself Clean Elections USA after reports that people were watching 24-hour ballot boxes in Maricopa County, including some who were masked and armed. A separate suit was filed in rural Yavapai County, where the League of Women Voters alleges voters have been intimidated by three groups, including one associated with the far-right anti-government group Oath Keepers.

The two cases were merged and the Justice Department filed a statement of interest Monday. Attorneys for Clean Elections USA did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Complaints that people were watching the boxes, taking photos and videos, and following voters alarmed local and federal law enforcement. Sheriff’s deputies began providing security around two outdoor drop boxes in Maricopa County after a pair of people carrying guns and wearing bulletproof vests showed up at a box in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa. Another 24-hour outdoor drop box in downtown Phoenix is now surrounded by a chain link fence.

The law doesn't specifically list which activities are prohibited near polling places, but video recording and photographing voters has been recognized as a concerns for decades and was named in a 1994 Justice Department letter on potential violations of the Voting Rights Act, federal attorneys wrote.

As of last week, Arizona’s secretary of state said her office has referred six cases of potential voter intimidation to the state attorney general and the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as a threatening email sent to the state elections director. Arizona law states electioneers and monitors must remain 75 feet (23 meters) from a voting location.

Groups around the United States have embraced a film called “2000 Mules” that claimed people were paid to travel among drop boxes and stuff them with fraudulent ballots during the 2020 presidential vote.

Original Article

Police: Pelosi Suspect Wanted to Hold House Speaker Hostage, Break Kneecaps (AP)

LISA MASCARO and STEFANIE DAZIO Monday, 31 October 2022 03:19 PM EDT

The man accused of attacking Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, told police he wanted to hold the speaker hostage and “break her kneecaps," authorities said Monday.

David DePape, 42, confronted a sleeping Paul Pelosi in the couple's San Francisco bedroom early Friday morning, according to a federal affidavit filed in court Monday.

Federal prosecutors have filed two charges against DePape, days after police say he broke into the Pelosi's home and struck the Democratic leader’s 82-year-old husband in the head with a hammer. He was left seriously injured in the attack, underwent surgery for a skull fracture, and suffered other injuries to his arms and hands.

DePape is charged federally with influencing, impeding, or retaliating against a federal official by threatening or injuring a family member. He also faces one count of attempted kidnapping of a United States official on account of the performance of official duties.

The announcement of the federal charges comes as San Francisco's district attorney is set to announce state criminal charges as well against DePape, who police say shouted out “Where is Nancy?” during the attack. He was arrested Friday on suspicion of attempted murder, elder abuse and burglary and is expected to be arraigned on state charges Tuesday.

San Francisco's district attorney, Brooke Jenkins, also rejected conspiracy theories about the attack, confirming the assailant was targeting the Democratic leader when he broke into the couple’s home.

“At the time that the suspect had entered the Pelosi home that he was in fact, looking for Ms. Pelosi,” Jenkins told reporters late Sunday in San Francisco.

“The other thing is we want to make it clear that there were only two people in the home at the time that the police arrived, Mr. Pelosi and the suspect, there was no third person present,” she said.

“We have nothing to suggest that these two men knew each other prior to this incident.”

The district attorney’s remarks come as the gruesome attack on the husband of the House speaker is being mocked and dismissed in conservative, far-right social media, even among some Republicans leaders and those at the highest levels of social power. San Francisco’s police chief has also said the attack was targeted.

Elon Musk over the weekend tweeted, then deleted, a fringe website’s far-flung conspiracy theories to his millions of followers, as his purchase of Twitter has raised concerns that the social media platform would no longer seek to limit misinformation and hate speech.

In the toxic political climate, a week before the midterm elections, tensions are high with record security threats against lawmakers and other officials.

Paul Pelosi remains hospitalized in San Francisco after undergoing surgery for a fractured skull and other injuries. Speaker Pelosi, who was in Washington, D.C., at the time, returned swiftly to California. Unlike presidents, the congressional leaders have security protection for themselves, but not their families.

The attack was an unsettling echo of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, when rioters trying to overturn Joe Biden’s election defeat of Donald Trump stormed the halls eerily calling “Where’s Nancy?” DePape, was also carrying zip ties into the Pelosi home, two people briefed on the matter told The Associated Press. The people could not discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

Police were dispatched to the home in the upscale Pacific Heights neighborhood around 2:20 a.m. Friday after Paul Pelosi placed a 911 call. Jenkins said DePape broke into the rear door and made his way upstairs to confront Paul Pelosi. Police said they arrived to see the two men struggling over a hammer, when DePape struck Pelosi at least once before being tackled by officers.

The incident sparked fresh security concerns for lawmakers and other elected officials before the midterms.

With nearly 10,000 threats against members of Congress in the last year, U.S. Capitol Police have advised lawmakers to take precautions. Chief Tom Manger, who leads the U.S. Capitol Police, has said the threat from lone-wolf attackers has been growing and the most significant threat the force is facing is the historically high number of threats against lawmakers, thousands more than just a few years before.

The beating of the speaker’s husband follows other attacks and threats. This summer, a man carrying a gun, a knife and zip ties was arrested near Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s house in Maryland after threatening to kill the justice. In 2017, Republican Rep. Steve Scalise was seriously injured when a Bernie Sanders supporter opened fire on Republicans at a congressional baseball game practice.

Original Article

TSA Can Require Masks After Supreme Court Backs Lower Court Photo illustration of a mask covering an airplane's nose. (Dreamstime)

By Jay Clemons | Monday, 31 October 2022 02:36 PM EDT

The Supreme Court has opted not to supersede a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals, which had previously determined the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) could require airline passengers to wear masks during national health emergencies.

In the D.C. Circuit's original decision, it ruled the TSA had broad authority to maintain security and safety during emergency situations, similar to the pandemic of 2020 and 2021

Back in April, the TSA scrapped its mask mandate, after a Florida-based federal judge ruled — in a separate case — the mask mandate had exceeded the agency's authority, when dealing with the public.

For that case, Tampa-based U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, who was nominated by President Donald Trump in 2020, determined the mask mandate on public transportation to be unlawful, overturning a Biden administration effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Judge Mizelle also said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) improperly failed to justify its decision, and also did not follow proper rulemaking.

According to Bloomberg News, the Supreme Court's most recent standing order represents a "defeat for Jonathan Corbett, a California lawyer and self-described frequent flier who sued to challenge the mask mandate."

Corbett had reportedly asked the Supreme Court to either take up his appeal or declare the case "legally moot "and eradicate the D.C. Circuit opinion — so it could not serve as a precedent.

President Joe Biden made the transportation mask mandate a priority on his first day in office (January 2021), issuing an executive order which required masks with public planes, trains, intercity buses, and other forms of transportation.

The mask mandate also included people walking inside public airports and terminals.

Prior to the current "stay" decision, the Biden administration had urged the Supreme Court to keep the D.C. Circuit's opinion, as precedent.

As Newsmax chronicled in late September, the Canadian government dropped its mask mandates for public transportation, after citing the large number of Canadian citizens who "rolled up their sleeves and got vaccinated."

Government officials also confirmed Canada would eliminate its masking requirement for vaccinated people entering the country after Oct. 1.

Unvaccinated foreign travelers who enter Canada, however, are still subject to mandatory arrival tests and a 14-day quarantine.

Patriots' Owner Launches Ad Campaign Against Antisemitism (Newsmax)

By Brian Pfail | Monday, 31 October 2022 02:15 PM EDT

Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, is now encouraging Americans to stand against antisemitism in a new TV ad airing during NFL games.

Kraft's Foundation to Combat Antisemitism ran the ad during the first quarter of the Patriots-Jets game Sunday.

"There are less than 8 million Jewish people in this country," the ad read. "Fewer than are watching this game. They need you to add your voice."

In a press release, Kraft's organization stated it plans to launch a multi-million dollar campaign this spring.

"Recent events and conversations have accelerated the urgency for the Foundation and the Kraft family to issue a rallying cry," read the release.

Kraft's advocacy comes only days after antisemitic comments from Ye, the rapper and entrepreneur previously known as Kayne West.

Former President Trump also faced similar criticism after he remarked on Truth Social that he felt the Jewish people were not grateful for what he had done for them during his presidency.

Amidst the backlash, it was announced that the Zionist Organization of America would be awarding Trump with the esteemed Theodor Herzl Medallion. The organization called him "the best friend Israel ever had in the White House."

Kraft's foundation is spreading the hashtag #StandUpToJewishHate as part of its campaign to fight antisemitism and associated violence. The foundation is recording statistics of crimes against Jewish people, which have doubled from 2013 to 2020, according to FBI data.

Although Jewish people only represent a super minority at a mere 2.4% of the U.S. population, FBI crime stats show they are victims of 55% of all religious hate crimes.

Trump Calls Attack on Paul Pelosi a 'Terrible Thing' as He Rails Against Crime (Newsmax)

By Brian Freeman | Monday, 31 October 2022 01:13 PM EDT

Former President Donald Trump called the attack on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband in their San Francisco home a "terrible thing" as he railed against crime in Democrat-led cities in an interview with the conservative Spanish-language network Americano Media on Sunday.

"With Paul Pelosi, that’s a terrible thing. With all of them, it’s a terrible thing," Trump said. "Look at what’s happened to San Francisco, generally. Look at what’s happening in Chicago. It was far worse than Afghanistan."

The former president said that "we have to give the police back their dignity, their respect. They can solve the problem. But today if a police officer says something that’s slightly out of line, it’s like the end of his life, the end of his pension, the end of his family.

"We can’t do that. We have to give the police back their authority and their power and their respect. Because this country is out of control."

Trump, when asked about the attack on Pelosi in the greater context of increasing crime rates nationwide, said that "these people are crazy," referring to Illinois politicians who passed a law last year abolishing cash bail, which goes into effect next year. "They’re gonna release stone-cold killers from jails; nobody knows why. I mean, they need room, or something," the New York Post reported.

Trump, who repeatedly derides the speaker as "crazy Nancy," had kept quiet about the attack on Paul Pelosi over the weekend, even as others in the Republican Party had spoken out against it, The Hill reported.

Many Democrats urged those in both parties to unequivocally condemn the attack as they expressed concern about an increase in political violence.

Democrats have connected the attack and the suspect's rhetoric to claims by Trump and other Republicans that the 2020 election was stolen.

Original Article

Trump Asks US Supreme Court to Block Lawmakers From Obtaining Tax Returns (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Andrew Chung Monday, 31 October 2022 01:11 PM EDT

Former President Donald Trump on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in his fight to prevent a U.S. House of Representatives committee from gaining access to his tax returns for reasons he claims are politically motivated.

Trump filed an emergency request to put on hold a lower court ruling against the Republican former president that upheld the Democrat-led House Ways and Means Committee's request for the tax materials as a justified part of its legislative work while his attorneys prepare an appeal.

"If allowed to stand, it will undermine the separation of powers and render the office of the Presidency vulnerable to invasive information demands from political opponents in the legislative branch," Trump's lawyers wrote, referring to the division of authority among the three branches of the U.S. government.

The fight has lingered since 2019 when the committee sued Trump to force disclosure of the tax returns. Trump was the first president in four decades years not to release his tax returns as he aimed to keep secret the details of his wealth and the activities of his company, the Trump Organization.

The committee in its request invoked a federal law that empowers the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee to request any person's tax returns from the IRS.

House Democrats have said they need Trump's tax returns to see if the IRS is properly auditing presidential returns and to assess whether new legislation is needed. Trump's lawyers have called that explanation "pretextual" and "disingenuous," saying the real aim is to unearth politically damaging information about Trump, who is considering another run for the presidency in 2024.

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, sided with Congress in December 2021 and threw out the case, finding that the committee holds broad authority over a former president's tax returns.

In August, the District of Columbia U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also ruled against Trump, concluding that "every president takes office knowing that he will be subject to the same laws as all other citizens upon leaving office." The appeals court refused a rehearing on Oct. 27.

Original Article

GOP Strategists: AG Garland to Indict Trump After Midterms Attorney General Merrick Garland (Getty Images)

By Brian Pfail | Monday, 31 October 2022 12:50 PM EDT

Republican strategists anticipate Attorney General Merrick Garland to pursue an indictment of former President Trump 60 to 90 days after Election Day while predicting the window for prosecution to close once the 2024 presidential campaign takes off.

Republican aides on Capitol Hill and party strategist stress they do not have inside information on what Garland may or may not do. Still, they say he is under intense pressure from Democrats demanding action before the deadline for a possible indictment.

GOP aids warn that Trump's indictment under the Biden administration would further add to the polarized political atmosphere. They also believe it would only strengthen Trump's base and frame the Justice Department as seeking a political witch hunt.

"A couple of weeks after the election, I assume that Garland will indict Trump," said one veteran Republican aid.

Another aid warned the indictment "could actually end up helping the [former] president politically."

"People have been talking about splintering support and dampening enthusiasm among Republican voters for him," said the aide "An indictment could actually galvanize and reunify Republicans around him."

Republicans rallied behind Trump after the FBI raid at his Mar-a-Lago estate in early August.

The Republican aide said, "the decision Garland has to make is really tough," saying the case against Trump is strong, but it would "plunge the country which is already so divided… into a potentially precarious situation."

Trump would be charged with violating Section 793 of the Espionage Act for taking highly classified government documents to his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Garland has been silent on his decision, but the FBI raid in August shows it's clear he is willing to investigate.

Original Article

With Eastman Appeal Pending, Jan. 6 Panel Reviews 8 Disputed Emails (Newsmax)

By Nicole Wells | Monday, 31 October 2022 11:55 AM EDT

The House Jan. 6 select committee has obtained eight emails former President Donald Trump attorney John Eastman asked a federal appeals court to block the panel from accessing.

In a Sunday court filing, Eastman stated he provided a link for access to the emails to the Jan. 6 committee last week but requested the committee hold off on reviewing the documents while his appeal played out.

According to Eastman, the panel instead declined his request and downloaded the documents anyway. He is now seeking intervention from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, asking the court to mandate the committee return or destroy the documents.

"While a stay barring the production is no longer available, an order directing the return or destruction of the documents and barring further use of them pending the appeal remains a viable remedy," Eastman's attorney Anthony Caso wrote.

Such a court order – one coequal branch of government pitted against another – would be practically impossible to enforce. A Washington, D.C., district court judge was extremely disinclined to intervene when Trump spokesperson Taylor Budowich requested financial records that JP Morgan provided to the panel in December be recovered, according to Politico.

Chief attorney for the committee Douglas Letter stressed in an email to Eastman's lawyers there was no restriction on the emails after U.S. District Court Judge David Carter rejected Eastman's request for reconsideration.

"The select committee did so because the district court had ordered that these documents be disclosed to the select committee by 5 p.m. ET [Friday], and the district court had summarily denied your request for reconsideration or a stay (which had not been filed by you until the very eve of the disclosure deadline)," Letter wrote in the email, which Eastman attached to the appeals court filing. "There was thus no court order prohibiting the select committee from examining the documents that the district court had ordered your client to produce. Any controversy about those particular documents is thus now moot."

According to Politico, Carter characterized the eight emails in dispute as evidence of a likely crime by Eastman and Trump and ordered they be included in a set of documents Eastman was required to produce for the panel.

The ruling marks the latest defeat in a series of setbacks for Eastman by the judge.

Carter's ruling in March – that Trump and Eastman were likely involved in a criminal conspiracy – has become central to the committee's public hearings on evidence.

Included in the newly unveiled documents is an email Carter claimed showed Trump signed legal documents certifying voter fraud data he knew was false, according to Politico.

Original Article

With Eastman Appeal Pending, Jan. 6 Panel Reviews 8 Disputed Emails (Newsmax)

By Nicole Wells | Monday, 31 October 2022 11:55 AM EDT

The House Jan. 6 select committee has obtained eight emails former President Donald Trump attorney John Eastman asked a federal appeals court to block the panel from accessing.

In a Sunday court filing, Eastman stated he provided a link for access to the emails to the Jan. 6 committee last week but requested the committee hold off on reviewing the documents while his appeal played out.

According to Eastman, the panel instead declined his request and downloaded the documents anyway. He is now seeking intervention from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, asking the court to mandate the committee return or destroy the documents.

"While a stay barring the production is no longer available, an order directing the return or destruction of the documents and barring further use of them pending the appeal remains a viable remedy," Eastman's attorney Anthony Caso wrote.

Such a court order – one coequal branch of government pitted against another – would be practically impossible to enforce. A Washington, D.C., district court judge was extremely disinclined to intervene when Trump spokesperson Taylor Budowich requested financial records that JP Morgan provided to the panel in December be recovered, according to Politico.

Chief attorney for the committee Douglas Letter stressed in an email to Eastman's lawyers there was no restriction on the emails after U.S. District Court Judge David Carter rejected Eastman's request for reconsideration.

"The select committee did so because the district court had ordered that these documents be disclosed to the select committee by 5 p.m. ET [Friday], and the district court had summarily denied your request for reconsideration or a stay (which had not been filed by you until the very eve of the disclosure deadline)," Letter wrote in the email, which Eastman attached to the appeals court filing. "There was thus no court order prohibiting the select committee from examining the documents that the district court had ordered your client to produce. Any controversy about those particular documents is thus now moot."

According to Politico, Carter characterized the eight emails in dispute as evidence of a likely crime by Eastman and Trump and ordered they be included in a set of documents Eastman was required to produce for the panel.

The ruling marks the latest defeat in a series of setbacks for Eastman by the judge.

Carter's ruling in March – that Trump and Eastman were likely involved in a criminal conspiracy – has become central to the committee's public hearings on evidence.

Included in the newly unveiled documents is an email Carter claimed showed Trump signed legal documents certifying voter fraud data he knew was false, according to Politico.

Marvel Chairman Commits Millions for Law School to Fight Faulty Forensics Then-President Donald Trump, left, accompanied by Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, center, shakes hands with Isaac "Ike" Perlmutter, the CEO of Marvel, right, during a signing ceremony at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Also pictured is Laura Perlmutter, second from right. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

Monday, 31 October 2022 10:08 AM EDT

From bite marks to blood spatter, a New York law school wants to train current and future attorneys about forensic evidence and the ways it can be misused in the courtroom.

The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law on Thursday unveiled a $15 million initiative that includes two new clinics in which students will work on clemency and wrongful conviction cases based on faulty forensic evidence, as well as a slate of continuing legal education courses for judges, prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys on forensic evidence and how it can be abused.

Funding for the new Perlmutter Center for Legal Justice comes from Isaac and Laura Perlmutter and the Perlmutter Foundation and is the largest single donation in Cardozo’s history. Isaac Perlmutter is the chairman of Marvel Entertainment LLC.

The Perlmutters met the new law school center's executive director, Josh Dubin, when he assisted them in a long-running legal case stemming from a Florida tennis club dispute involving, among other things, allegations that the couple’s DNA was stolen during a deposition. A neighbor in their Palm Beach community accused the Perlmutters of sending hate mail in a contested libel lawsuit that was dismissed in 2021.

While other law schools already have clinics devoted to clemency or wrongful convictions, Cardozo’s will be unique in its focus on forensic science beyond DNA, said Dubin.

“DNA has become the sexy, foolproof way to get people off because you have some biological material,” he said, noting that many successful wrongful conviction cases have involved DNA evidence, while other forensic techniques and their shortcomings have received less attention.

Dubin pointed to a 2009 report from the National Academy of Sciences that concluded that many commonly used forensic techniques — including fingerprint analysis, shoe-print comparisons and firearm examinations, have not undergone sufficient validity testing to support court claims. DNA analysis was the only method that met the reliability threshold, it found.

Serving as deputy director of Cardozo’s new center is Derrick Hamilton, who spent 21 years in prison for a murder he steadfastly maintained he didn't commit. Hamilton, now a paralegal, became a prolific jailhouse lawyer and successfully convinced prosecutors to throw out his conviction and those of five others.

The 2009 report on forensic failings “should have turned the entire criminal justice system on its head, and it didn’t,” Dubin said. “We are trying to equip a new generation of lawyers with the tools — whether they are prosecutors or defense attorneys — to do it properly.”

McLaughlin to Newsmax: Polling Puts GOP Ahead in Key Races in Arizona, Georgia Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Blake Masters speaks at a campaign rally attended by former President Donald Trump at Legacy Sports USA in Mesa, Arizona, on Oct. 9. (Getty Images)

By Fran Beyer | Monday, 31 October 2022 10:15 AM EDT

Hispanic voters will be a big factor in tight races in Arizona and Utah, but the GOP will likely win there and in key contests in Georgia and Pennsylvania as well, pollster Jim McLaughlin said Monday.

In an interview on Newsmax's "Wake Up America," McLaughlin predicted in Arizona, where Senate and governor positions are in play, Democrats are vulnerable.

"I think it's really, really close" in Arizona's Senate race between incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly and challenger Blake Masters, McLaughlin said.

"Mark Kelly, the incumbent is only at 45% of the vote," he continued, asserting: "The vast majority of the undecided voters are going to go against the incumbent and for the challenger."

"Watch the Hispanic vote," he said. "What you're seeing in a lot of these states is the Republicans aren't just doing well with Hispanic voters — they're actually winning with Hispanic voters. And I think you're going to see the same thing on election day in Arizona for Blake Masters."

According to McLaughlin, the Arizona governor race between GOP candidate Kari Lake and Democrat Katie Hobbs illustrates Democrats' "candidate problem."

"They're all afraid to debate the Republicans," he said of the Democrats running in races including Pennsylvania and New York.

"John Fetterman [in Pennsylvania], [incumbent Gov.] Kathy Hochul in New York — they're all afraid to debate the Republicans," he said. "But we see why, when they actually have to go out there and try to debate and try to defend their failed records."

In Arizona, he added, gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs "hasn't even pretended to want a debate."

Republican Kari Lake "knows the issues. She really understands and has so much passion in her campaign that I think that's why [Hobbs] refused to debate here," he charged.

"Over the summer, the media and the Democrats were trying to tell us it was the Republicans that have the candidate problems," he added. "The truth is, it's the Democrats with the candidate problems."

McLaughlin also predicted Georgia Senate candidate and former football player Herschel Walker has an edge in the race with incumbent Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock.

"Warnock has spent tens of millions of dollars before election day – there was some reports saying he had outspent Herschel Walker on the air by about five to one," McLaughlin said. "And if you're Raphael Warnock, you're only at 43% of the vote right now, you're in real trouble."

In Utah's Senate race, he added, Republican challenger Adam Laxalt's race against incumbent Democrat Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto could also come down to the Hispanic voters.

"The polling I've been seeing, actually, Adam Laxalt is ahead. And [Joe] Lombardo, the Republican running for governor [against Democrat incumbent Steve Sisolak] is also ahead," he said.

"I think what's going to put Laxalt over the top is Hispanic voters," he predicted.

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Original Article

Pelosi Attacker Was Progressive and Mentally Ill, Says Ex-Girlfriend

(Newsmax/"Rob Schmitt Tonight")

By Eric Mack | Sunday, 30 October 2022 10:25 PM EDT

He was not a MAGA member; he did not support the "insurrection" of Jan. 6; and he was never even a Republican.

But David DePape was a known nudist activist who his ex-girlfriend says was also a progressive and mentally ill.

DePape, 42, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, elder abuse and burglary for having bludgeoned Paul Pelosi, 82, with a hammer, fracturing his skull.

DePape has been residing in a decrepit school bus that sits outside the Berkeley home of his ex-girlfriend, Oxane "Gypsy" Taub, also a pro-nudist activist.

A two-decade resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, DePape was also known for his pro-nudity activism. He had picketed naked at protests against laws requiring people to be clothed in public.

Protesting such a reasonable law is not usually an activity of a Trump supporter.

Taub, the mother of DePape's three children, told the New York Post he has been suffering from mental illness.

"He is mentally ill. He has been mentally ill for a long time," she told ABC 7.

Taub, who currently is serving time in a California prison for abducting a teenage boy, said DePape had disappeared for over a year and then resurfaced recently.

"He thought he was Jesus," she told ABC 7.

"He was constantly paranoid, thinking people were after him. And it took a good year or two to get back to, you know, being halfway normal."

She also noted DePape's politics were not right-wing.

"Well, when I met him, he was only 20 years old, and he didn't have any experience in politics. And he was very much in alignment with my views, and I've always been very progressive," she said.

"This was not a random act," San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said. "This was intentional. And it's wrong."

But no definitive motive has been reported for this "intentional" crime, just a week from an earth-shaking midterm election.

"I wasn't surprised because another crazy story is coming from someone in that house," DePape's Berkeley neighbor Ryan La Coste told The Post.

"They are always toxic and always up to something. They are always on the news and trying to be 'activists.' They always want to be in the spotlight."

Reporters on social media noted some shaky details in mainstream media's initial portrayal of Pelosi's attacker as a right-wing activist.

"Why did Paul Pelosi's alleged attacker, a nudist Green Party activist, go off the grid for years and then start posting Q rants just a few weeks ago?" Charlie Kirk tweeted Saturday.

Formal charges against DePape will be filed Monday, and his arraignment is expected Tuesday, according to the San Francisco district attorney's office.

SFPD Chief Scott told a Friday night news briefing that police detectives, assisted by FBI agents, had yet to determine what precipitated the home invasion.

The media and Speaker Pelosi were also quick to note DePape was shouting "Where is Nancy?" during the attack on her husband at their San Francisco home. Nancy Pelosi was in Washington, D.C.

In the search for a motive, attention turned to the suspect's alleged internet profile.

In recent posts on several websites, an internet user named "daviddepape" expressed support for former President Donald Trump and embraced the cult-like conspiracy theory QAnon.

The posts included references to "satanic pedophilia," antisemitic tropes and criticism of women, transgender people and censorship by tech companies.

Older messages promoted quartz crystals and hemp bracelets. Reuters could not confirm that the posts were created by the man arrested Friday.

Experts on extremism said the man who attacked Pelosi's husband could be an example of a growing trend they call "stochastic terrorism," in which sometimes-unstable individuals are inspired to violence by hate speech and scenarios they see online and hear echoed by public figures.

"This was clearly a targeted attack. The purpose was to locate and potentially harm the speaker of the House," said John Cohen, a former counterterrorism coordinator and head of intelligence at the Department of Homeland Security who is working with U.S. law enforcement agencies on the issue.

The San Francisco Chronicle posted a photo of a man it identified as DePape dancing at the 2013 wedding of two nudist activists in San Francisco, though he was clothed.

DePape, then a hemp jewelry maker who lived with the couple in Berkeley, was the best man, the newspaper reported.

The incident came a day after New York City police warned extremists could target politicians, political events and polling sites ahead of the midterm elections.

Newsmax host Rob Schmitt noted there are hints of midterm narrative deflection on the issue of crime and some hypocrisy in the fact Pelosi's daughter once suggested Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., deserved to be attacked by his neighbor.

That fact had resurfaced earlier this week — days before DePape's alleged attack — in the Democrats' attempt to flip the Senate seat of Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

"The daughter of Nancy Pelosi celebrated that 2017 attack on Rand Paul, saying, 'Rand Paul's neighbor was right,'" Schmitt noted on Friday's "Rob Schmitt Tonight."

"Christine Pelosi apparently loves political violence. I wonder what she thinks of it being directed at her own family, though?"

Paul himself gave his condolences to Paul Pelosi, noting their family did not afford him the same respect.

"No one deserves to be assaulted," Paul tweeted Friday. "Unlike Nancy Pelosi's daughter who celebrated my assault, I condemn this attack and wish Mr. Pelosi a speedy recovery."

Earlier in the week, comments surfaced from Adm. Mike Franken, a Democrat opposing Iowa's Chuck Grassley as the Senate majority weighs in the balance next month.

"Wasn't Rand's neighbor more than a little in the right?" Franken tweeted Jan. 21, 2021, on Twitter, years after the attack on Paul.

Paul was the one who resurfaced those Franken remarks this week.

"Disgusting that Mike Franken would celebrate an assault (from behind) that resulted in 6 broken ribs, a damaged lung that had to be removed, and chronic pain," Paul tweeted Tuesday. "Advocacy for violence should disqualify Franken from holding any office."

But Franken did not back down, upping the ante on political division and violence, while spinning the Democrat narrative of the false claim Paul, a sitting U.S. senator, had sought to insurrect the government.

"I'm not going to be lectured to by an insurrectionist," Franken tweeted in response Wednesday to Paul.

Less than 48 hours later, DePape would allegedly bludgeoned the speaker's husband within inches of his life.

Information from Reuters and The Associated Press was used in this report.

Original Article

Trump Lauds Rubio's Significant Poll Lead in Senate Race

(Newsmax/"John Bachman Now")

By Jeremy Frankel | Sunday, 30 October 2022 08:49 PM EDT

Former President Donald Trump applauded Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla., for his double-digit lead in a recent poll regarding his reelection, an 11-point lead over Rep. Val Demings, a Democrat.

Trump is planning to headline a rally for Rubio next week.

"Wow, Senator Marco Rubio has taken an 11 point lead in his run against a weak on crime Radical Left Impeacher, someone who is incapable of doing the job that needs to be done, since we announced the Big Rally for him on the following Sunday (November 6th) in Miami. He deserves to win, and win BIG. See you at the Rally!!!" Trump posted on Truth Social.

Demings served as an impeachment manager during Trump's first impeachment in early 2020.

Original Article

Musk Denies Allegations of Avoiding Stock Grant Payout

(Newsmax/"Wake Up America")

By Brian Pfail | Sunday, 30 October 2022 08:16 PM EDT

A recent New York Times article claimed Elon Musk avoided paying out stock grants to Twitter employees by laying them off before the Nov. 1 cutoff. Elon Musk responded in a tweet, "This is false."

Musk told investors that he plans to fire 75 percent of Twitter's staff; still, it is unclear how many of the 7,500 employees will be laid off. Managers have already been asked to provide a list of Twitter employees set to be let go.

Citing unidentified people familiar with the matter, The Times reported the cuts could begin as soon as Saturday.

According to media reports on Saturday, Musk fired top executives in an effort to avoid hefty severance payouts, while lining up other layoffs as soon as Saturday.

The billionaire mogul started his new job as "Chief Twit" just last week and has fired several top executives at Twitter, including now-former CEO Parag Agrawal, chief financial officer Ned Segal and head of legal and public policy Vijaya Gadde, who is responsible for President Donald Trump's ban.

The executives were allegedly fired "for cause," meaning they may not receive the multimillion-dollar "golden parachute" severance package that employees receive when they're fired through no fault.

He had accused them of misleading him and Twitter investors over the number of fake accounts on the platform. According to research firm Equilar, the executives stood to receive separation payouts totaling some $122 million.

Citing unidentified people familiar with the matter, The Information reported that Elon Musk terminated four top Twitter executives, including Agrawal and Segal "for cause," in an apparent effort to avoid severance pay and unvested stock awards.

In a tweet on Saturday LightShed analyst Rich Greenfield said Musk fired top Twitter execs "for cause," preventing their unvested stock from vesting as part of a change of control.

Twitter did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

Reuters wasn't immediately able to contact the fired executives.

Director of research at Equilar Courtney Yu told Reuters on Friday that the fired executives "should be getting these (severance) payments unless Elon Musk had cause for termination, with cause in these cases usually being that they broke the law or violated company policy."

Musk has not elaborated on the topic.

He has announced plans to overhaul Twitter into what he called a "digital town square," making the company private, reducing content moderation and overturning bans on Twitter accounts like Trump's.

Many have expressed concern over trolls and misinformation, but in a message to Twitter advertisers, Musk promised Twitter would not be a "free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences."

Musk plans to create a content moderation council with "widely diverse viewpoints." He hopes Twitter will someday become a "warm and welcoming" platform.

Information from Reuters was used in this report.

N.H. Gov. Sununu Calls on Americans to 'Take Down the Heat'

(Newsmax/"John Bachman Now")

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Sunday, 30 October 2022 04:31 PM EDT

The riots in the nation's streets in the summer of 2020 set a "new standard" for political violence that is continuing now with the attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and "people have to just take down the heat," New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said Sunday.

"The line for folks that were disagreeing with what might have been happening and were not happy with what was happening in their communities, the line completely moved with very little accountability," the governor, a Republican, said on NBC News' "Meet the Press." "That set kind of a new standard in a very dangerous way, and then that carries over into the politics and what happened in 2020, the insanity of what we saw on Jan. 6."

Such violence is nothing new, he noted, and "it's on both sides of the aisle," but still, "this is America."

"This is one of the most amazing places on the planet Earth. We should all wake up and be grateful," he said. "We can disagree and have heated arguments of course, but when you cross that line into violence it does your cause no good, it does the system no good, and it just brings everything to a more fragile state."

When asked if he sees any connection between the Pelosi attack and former President Donald Trump and his rhetoric, Sununu responded that there is a "connection to everyone in this."

"People are getting upset about inflation," he said. "They're getting upset with, you know, issues that happened on what we would consider a very minor level. But to them it's passionate; it's just the end of days for them."

But the answer is a cultural solution, not one from the government, and "we all, all 300 million of us, have to take a very deep responsibility toward that," Sununu added.

He said he's also concerned that the nation is becoming "numb" to acts of violence, and said he finds that to be scarier than the acts themselves.

"If you have a disagreement, get involved in your local community, get involved, run for office, have the debates, whatever it might be," he said. "Keep it civil, of course. It can be heated. It can be passionate. But you've got to keep it civil because it's the only way that, as a society, we're going to move forward."

Original Article

Sen. Cruz: Hunter Biden Probe a 'Prelude' for Indicting Trump (Newsmax)

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Sunday, 30 October 2022 02:58 PM EDT

The Department of Justice's leaks about investigating Hunter Biden for drug and tax offenses, and the potential for him facing criminal charges are a "prelude" to President Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland doing what they want to do, indicting former President Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz said Sunday.

"They want to say, 'look how even-handed we are,'" the Texas Republican said on Fox News's "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo." "That is politics, not law enforcement."

In the last month, Biden's DOJ leaked that it planned to indict the president's son, Hunter, and those leaks are troubling, as the department should not be leaking anything, and the substance of what was leaked means little, the senator said.

"By any measure, Hunter Biden is a deeply troubled soul, a soul who has struggled with addiction all his life," said Cruz. "What is concerning about their focus on the drug and tax issues is that it is very carefully walling off why this is a matter of public concern. If Hunter Biden was just a regular guy who struggled with addiction, it wouldn't be a matter of public interest."

What makes an investigation into Hunter Biden a matter of national concern, said Cruz, is that there is "significant and overwhelming evidence" that he was "actively involved in official corruption with his father, Joe Biden."

That involved the Ukraine natural gas company Burisma that paid Hunter $83,000 a month "when he spoke no Ukrainian, knew nothing about oil and gas and his father was actively doing favors on behalf of the oligarch who was paying Hunter Biden," said Cruz.

Then there is the matter of China, where Hunter and his family made more than $5 million, "including 10% for the 'big guy,' Joe Biden," said Cruz. " The Biden DOJ is saying, oh, this is a drug matter, don't pay attention to the big guy, don't pay attention to the corruption, just make it one poor person struggling with addiction. That's highly concerning."

Cruz also discussed his new book, "Justice Interrupted: How the Left Weaponized our Legal System," in which he describes how former President Barack Obama began using the DOJ, FBI, IRS, and the CIA to attack political enemies, and how that action is continuing.

"When Trump became president, those hard-core partisans burrowed into senior career positions at those agencies, and they waged war against him both personally and against his administration, and now under Joe Biden, they are out in the open," said Cruz. "This is the most political and the most corrupt Department of Justice we've ever seen. We see the FBI storming President Trump's home at Mar-a-Lago. That's never happened in the history of our nation."

Original Article

Rep. Fallon to Newsmax: Biden Mistaken to Remove Oil from Reserves (Newsmax/"Wake Up America Weekend")

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Sunday, 30 October 2022 01:13 PM EDT

Rep. Pat Fallon, who has introduced legislation to require an act of Congress to remove oil from the nation's strategic reserves supply, said on Newsmax Sunday that President Joe Biden's moves to use the supplies show a "fundamental misunderstanding of how the economy works.

"He's never signed the front of one paycheck in all of his 174 years of life," the Texas Republican told Newsmax's "Wake Up America Weekend." "The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was established in 1975 to protect the United States in case of an act of God, a national emergency, and in time of war. It is not to be used for political expediency by any party two weeks before an election that they're about to lose."

The reserve, at its height under former President Donald Trump, held 695 million barrels, but now it sits at 401 barrels, and that's because Biden is taking out the supplies "by fiat and decree."

Biden last week claimed that gas was already at $5 a gallon when he took office, but Fallon pointed out that wasn't true, as it was $2.38 a gallon then.

He also noted that Biden didn't mention that prices are up everywhere, with inflation at 8.2%, and "real wages down 5,000" for a year.

Biden also wants to rely on "mini-Putins" like Venezuela and Saudi Arabia for oil, "when we can unleash the American energy sector," said Fallon.

Fallon also discussed the national races, with just 9 days left before the midterm, and said there are several Democrat incumbents in trouble, but he also spoke out about the "debacle" shown in the debate matchup in Pennsylvania between Dr. Mehmet Oz, the GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate, and Democrat candidate John Fetterman.

"I've been watching politics and debates for over 30 years and I have never seen anything like that," said Fallon, calling it "short-sighted" to have Fetterman on stage so soon after his stroke during the primary election.

"I wish him the best but I wouldn't want him to fly a plane that I'm on and I don't want him voting for our country when he's going to be 1% of the Senate," said Fallon. "Oz just ran circles around him and he's going to be the far better choice."

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
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Original Article

Rep. Fallon to Newsmax: Biden Mistaken to Remove Oil from Reserves (Newsmax/"Wake Up America Weekend")

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Sunday, 30 October 2022 01:13 PM EDT

Rep. Pat Fallon, who has introduced legislation to require an act of Congress to remove oil from the nation's strategic reserves supply, told Newsmax on Sunday that President Joe Biden's moves to use the supplies show a "fundamental misunderstanding of how the economy works."

"He's never signed the front of one paycheck in all of his 174 years of life," the Texas Republican told Newsmax's "Wake Up America Weekend." "The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was established in 1975 to protect the United States in case of an act of God, a national emergency, and in time of war. It is not to be used for political expediency by any party two weeks before an election that they're about to lose."

The reserve, at its height under former President Donald Trump, held 695 million barrels, but now it sits at 401 barrels, and that's because Biden is taking out the supplies "by fiat and decree."

Biden last week claimed that gas was already at $5 a gallon when he took office, but Fallon pointed out that wasn't true, as it was $2.38 a gallon then.

He also noted that Biden didn't mention that prices are up everywhere, with inflation at 8.2%, and "real wages down $5,000" for a year.

Biden also wants to rely on "mini-Putins" like Venezuela and Saudi Arabia for oil, "when we can unleash the American energy sector," said Fallon.

Fallon also discussed the national races, with just nine days left before the midterm, and said there are several Democrat incumbents in trouble, but he also spoke out about the "debacle" shown in the debate matchup in Pennsylvania between Dr. Mehmet Oz, the GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate, and Democrat candidate John Fetterman.

"I've been watching politics and debates for over 30 years and I have never seen anything like that," said Fallon, calling it "short-sighted" to have Fetterman on stage so soon after his stroke during the primary election.

"I wish him the best but I wouldn't want him to fly a plane that I'm on, and I don't want him voting for our country when he's going to be 1% of the Senate," said Fallon. "Oz just ran circles around him, and he's going to be the far better choice."

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

Rick Scott: GOP Will Hold '52-Plus' Senate Seats After Midterms (Newsmax)

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Sunday, 30 October 2022 12:14 PM EDT

Republicans will have "52-plus" Senate seats after the upcoming midterm elections, including with victories in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada, as well as other states, Sen. Rick Scott, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said Sunday.

"Herschel Walker will win in Georgia," the Florida Republican told CNN's "State of the Union." "We’re going to keep all 21 of ours. (Mehmet) Oz is going to win against (John) Fetterman in Pennsylvania. Adam Laxalt will win in Nevada.”

Scott on Sunday asserted wins for GOP nominees Don Bolduc in New Hampshire, Tiffany Smiley in Washington, and Joe O'Dea in Colorado, even though they're now trailing in the polls.

The wins will come, said Scott, as "Democrats can't run on anything they've done," and Americans aren't happy with their party's performance as a result.

"They don't like high inflation, gas prices, food prices up," said Scott. "The public doesn't like an open border. They don't like high crime. That's what the Democrats are known for. They've done all these things. Democrats did it. They did it and they want to run away from it."

The FiveThirtyEight model is now suggesting Democrats have a 53% chance of keeping their Senate majority to 47% for Republicans, but many poll numbers are starting to shift nationally, and the GOP is highly favored to win control of the House, if not both chambers.

Scott, also appearing Sunday on ABC's' "This Week," said that as a result of the high inflation and crime rates, as well as the border situation, the Democrats are due for a "rude awakening," as such policies are "not what the American public wants."

He also said that while there still are disputes over former President Donald Trump's 2020 loss, including with several GOP candidates denying the election's legitimacy, he said his goal is to make sure people feel comfortable that there are free and fair elections.

"What I tell everybody, if you want to make sure we have a fair and free election, go vote," said Scott. "Be a poll watcher. I'm optimistic."

And if Republicans take back the Senate, they will work to get inflation down and to secure the border, said Scott.

"We have to live within our means, and we (must) get a secured border so we can get some immigration reform done," said Scott.

Scott, on both programs, spoke out about the attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul, in their San Francisco home this past week.

"It's disgusting," he told CNN. "This violence is horrible. That's happened. We had a door knocker in Florida that was attacked. This stuff has to stop."

He noted that when he took his part as head of the senatorial committee last year, he went to the Federal Elections Commission and asked if candidates and senators could use campaign dollars to pay for security.

"House and Senate members don't have security, most of them, outside of D.C.," said Scott. "We can have a heated conversation about the issues, but this violence has got to stop. This is horrible. My heart goes out to Paul Pelosi and I hope he has a full recovery."

Original Article