NationalWatch

Third-Party Candidates Could Impact Senate Races Outcomes (Newsmax)

By Charlie McCarthy | Friday, 21 October 2022 02:41 PM EDT

Third-party candidates could affect the outcome in several U.S. Senate races, NBC News reported.

Candidates other than those from the Democratic Party or Republican Party could impact races in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, NBC News said Friday.

The third-party effect is of heightened importance because Republicans are trying to wrestle control of the 50-50 Senate from Democrats.

The third-party candidates have little to no chance of winning their respective races, NBC said, but they have more than enough backing to influence results in what are considered to be tight races.

"I think it's going to be significant," Arizona Republican pollster Chuck Coughlin told NBC News of the third-party impact in key senate races.

"After all the ballots are counted, [candidates] are going to say, That guy had 5% of the vote or 4% of the vote, and if I add that 4%, I win, because that’s how close these races are going to be.

"When all the shouting and hollering is done, and all the ballots get counted, people are going to look around and go, God, we’ve got to keep that guy out of the race in the future. We've got to do something to stop that from happening."

In Georgia, Libertarian candidate Chase Oliver could force a Dec. 6 runoff between Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker.

"I want the voters to know that they do have a third choice in this election," Oliver said in a debate Sunday that included Warnock but not Walker. "I don’t have any interest in partisan bickering. I owe no allegiance to either party. I only owe allegiance to you, the voter."

In Arizona, Libertarian candidate Marc Victor is running against Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly and Republican Blake Masters.

During a debate earlier this month, Victor blasted both of his opponents.

"One of them kisses [President Joe] Biden’s ring, one of them kisses [former President Donald] Trump’s ring. I don’t kiss anybody’s ring," said Victor, a combat veteran.

"Live your life however you choose. Just let other people do the same thing. My name is Marc J. Victor. And if you’re tired of the same old politics, I’m your guy."

In Pennsylvania, an Insider Advantage/Fox 29 Philadelphia poll showed Libertarian Erik Gerhardt at about 2% and "someone else" garnering about 1.5% support in a hotly contested race between Republican Mehmet Oz and Democrat Lt. Gov. John Fetterman.

In Nevada, Democrat Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, Republican Adam Laxalt, three third-party hopefuls, and a line for "none of these candidates" appear on the ballot.

NBC News reported that recent surveys have shown the combined share backing "someone else" and "none of these candidates" to be greater than the margin separating the two major-party candidates.

Pollsters said Libertarian candidates traditionally tend to win over more Republican-leaning voters than those who would back Democrats; other third-party candidates, such as Green Party nominees, have the inverse effect, NBC reported.

Original Article

Texas State Rep. Harrison to Newsmax: Deferring to CDC Dereliction of Duty (Newsmax/"National Report")

By Theodore Bunker | Friday, 21 October 2022 02:27 PM EDT

Texas state Rep. Brian Harrison, a Republican, claimed on Newsmax on Friday that governors who defer to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on student healthcare issues are "derelict in their duty."

Harrison, who previously worked in the Department of Health and Human Services under former President Donald Trump, said on "National Report" that he opposes the CDC’s recent COVID-19 vaccination recommendation.

"I absolutely do not agree with this recommendation," he said. "I mean, this is an example of just the rank hypocrisy from the Democrat Joe Biden administration and quite frankly their allies in a lot of the major media outlets in America. It was exactly two years ago in October of 2020 when I was having to deal with CNN and all these other major media outlets saying that if we in the Trump administration bypassed the normal processes here and approved vaccines without mountains of robust data, something by the way we were gathering, that would be a quote worst-case scenario for public health."

Harrison said, "And now we have the Biden administration and Joe Biden CDC, the most political and anti-science CDC in history, making recommendations for every school child in America to get a COVID vaccine, and they did this without a shred of clinical data. They did this without any evidence of any efficacy in that population of children. There's never been a vaccine put on that childhood immunization schedule absent that type of data."

He went on to claim "that the bigger point here is that … no matter what the CDC said, you have no obligation whatsoever to follow these recommendations. And I'd go further and say not only do you not have an obligation to follow, any governor who blindly defers to the CDC on health-care mandates for their schoolchildren is derelict in their duty.

"I would say that every state legislature in America that blindly defers, or lets any state agency blindly defer to the unelected bureaucrats in the CDC to make healthcare decisions and force shots into children, a decision that should be made by parents and doctors, not by unelected bureaucrats. They would be derelict in their duty."

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Original Article

Sen. McConnell Breaks From House GOP, Pledges More Weapons to Ukraine (Newsmax)

By Jay Clemons | Friday, 21 October 2022 02:13 PM EDT

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called on the Biden administration to expedite military aid to Ukraine Friday, while also pledging that Senate Republicans would guarantee "timely delivery" of more weapons for the Ukrainian troops, as their war with Russia spills into a ninth month.

In his Friday statement, McConnell applauded Congress for approving billions of dollars' worth of aid to Ukraine, and said a Republican majority in the Senate for 2023 "would focus its oversight on ensuring timely delivery of needed weapons and greater allied assistance to Ukraine."

McConnell's Ukraine vision among Senate Republicans might not match that of House Republicans.

Earlier in the day, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., reportedly suggested a Republican-controlled House chamber — presuming the GOP claims the majority in the upcoming midterm elections on Nov. 8 — might impede aid to Ukraine, citing a refocused effort on prioritizing at-home issues, such as the uneven economy and the situation at the United States-Mexico border.

According to Politico, McConnell has often scoffed at Republicans being labeled "isolationists."

In a recent interview with Punchbowl News, McCarthy said the U.S. shouldn't be sending a "blank check" to Ukraine while major issues in America — such as the economy, inflation, immigration, and the fentanyl crisis — are receiving secondary attention.

This wouldn't be the first time McConnell has butted heads with other Republican leaders.

As Newsmax chronicled in August, former President Donald Trump demanded that GOP senators replace McConnell as leader "immediately," using the subjective rationale of McConnell believing he'd be in a stronger position of power — if Republicans failed to take over the Senate next month.

"[McConnell] was afraid to use the 'debt ceiling card' in order to stop the most expensive waste of money in our country's history, to be spent on the Green New Deal, which will only cause one thing, a Depression," said Trump, via the Truth Social app. "These expenditures are something our country can never recover from.

Trump added: "Mitch McConnell is not an opposition leader. He is a pawn for the Democrats to get whatever they want. He is afraid of them, and will not do what has to be done. A new Republican Leader in the Senate should be picked immediately!"

Last week, the Biden administration promised another $725 million in military/financial aid to Ukraine.

Also around that time, NATO leaders from the United States, Europe, and other regions pledged more weapons and air defense systems to the Ukrainian government.

According to ABC News estimates, the U.S. alone has committed more than $17.5 billion in military/financial aid to Ukraine, dating back to when Russia launched a full-scale invasion on Feb. 24.

Original Article

Jan. 6 Panel Issues Subpoena to Trump, Demanding He Testify (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

FARNOUSH AMIRI and MARY CLARE JALONICK Friday, 21 October 2022 02:12 PM EDT

The Democrat-led House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol issued a subpoena Friday to former President Donald Trump, exercising its power against the man the committee claims is the “central cause” of a coordinated, multi-part effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

The nine-member panel issued a letter to Trump's lawyers, demanding his testimony under oath by Nov. 14 and outlining a request for a series of documents, including personal communications between the former president and members of Congress as well as extremist groups.

“We recognize that a subpoena to a former President is a significant and historic action," Chairman Bennie Thompson and Vice Chair Liz Cheney wrote in the letter to Trump. “We do not take this action lightly.”

It was not immediately unclear how Trump and his legal team will respond to the subpoena. He could comply or negotiate with the committee, announce he will defy the subpoena or ignore it altogether. He could also go to court and try to stop it.

The subpoena is the latest escalation in the House committee’s 15-month investigation of the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, bringing members of the panel into direct conflict with the man they have investigated from afar through the testimony of aides, allies, and associates.

The committee writes in its letter that it has assembled “overwhelming evidence” that Trump “personally orchestrated” an effort to overturn his own defeat in the 2020 election, including by spreading false allegations of widespread voter fraud, “attempting to corrupt” the Justice Department and by pressuring state officials, members of Congress, and his vice president to try to change the results.

But lawmakers say key details about what Trump was doing and saying during the siege remain unknown. According to the committee, the only person who can fill the gaps is Trump himself.

The panel — comprising seven Democrats and two Republicans — approved the subpoena for Trump in a surprise vote last week. Every member voted in support.

The day after, Trump posted a lengthy memo on Truth Social, his social media website, repeating his claims of widespread election fraud and expressing his “anger, disappointment and complaint” that the committee wasn’t investigating his claims. He made no mention of the subpoena.

Original Article

FAU Poll: DeSantis Up 11 Points Over Crist, 6 Points Over Biden (Newsmax)

By Brian Pfail | Friday, 21 October 2022 01:13 PM EDT

Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis is on track for re-election, leading Democrat challenger Charlie Crist by 11 percentage points in the latest Florida Atlantic University poll.

The poll comes off of solid approval ratings, particularly for DeSantis' response to Hurricane Ian. DeSantis leads Crist 51%-40% in the survey conducted of registered voters by the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative.

The Republican incumbent's approval rating was 53%, with his response to the hurricane garnering 63% approval. Nearly 67% of respondents expect DeSantis to be reelected, as well.

The survey of 719 Floridians revealed the most pressing of issues to be inflation, by a wide margin of 36%. Next was threats to democracy which received 19%. Only 9% felt abortion to be the most important of issues.

Senate races found Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., leading challenger Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., 48% to 42%, with 60% of respondents anticipating Rubio to be reelected.

"If these numbers hold, Florida's status as a battleground state might be in question," Kevin Wagner, Ph.D., a professor of political science at FAU and a research fellow, said.

Wagner noted younger voters leaned Democrat but would require a higher turnout to close the gaps in either race.

The poll also found respondents favored DeSantis and former President Donald Trump over President Joe Biden in a hypothetical 2024 matchup. DeSantis led 48% to 42% against Biden, and Trump led 45% to 41%.

Biden's approval rating was 41%, while 50% approve of the job he has done as president.

There were 34% who said the recent FBI raid of Trump's Mar-a-Lago makes them less likely to support the former president if he were to run again. A third of respondents said the search would make them more likely to support Trump.

The survey was conducted between Oct. 12-16. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.65 percentage points. The poll was weighted according to the demographics based on 2020 turnout modeling.

Original Article

FAU Poll: DeSantis Up 11 Points Over Crist, 6 Points Over Biden (Newsmax)

By Brian Pfail | Friday, 21 October 2022 01:13 PM EDT

Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis is on track for re-election, leading Democrat challenger Charlie Crist by 11 percentage points in the latest Florida Atlantic University poll.

The poll comes off of solid approval ratings, particularly for DeSantis' response to Hurricane Ian. DeSantis leads Crist 51-40% in the survey conducted of registered voters by the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative.

The Republican incumbent's approval rating was 53%, with his response to the hurricane garnering 63% approval. Nearly 67% of respondents expect DeSantis to be reelected, as well.

The survey of 719 Floridians revealed the most pressing of issues to be inflation, by a wide margin of 36%. Next were threats to democracy which received 19%. Only 9% felt abortion to be the most important of issues.

Senate races found Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., leading challenger Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., 48% to 42%, with 60% of respondents anticipating Rubio to be reelected.

"If these numbers hold, Florida's status as a battleground state might be in question," Kevin Wagner, Ph.D., a professor of political science at FAU and a research fellow, said.

Wagner noted younger voters leaned Democrat but would require a higher turnout to close the gaps in either race.

The poll also found respondents favored DeSantis and former President Donald Trump over President Joe Biden in a hypothetical 2024 matchup. DeSantis led 48% to 42% against Biden, and Trump led 45% to 41%.

Biden's approval rating was 41%, while 50% approve of the job he has done as president.

There were 34% who said the recent FBI raid of Trump's Mar-a-Lago makes them less likely to support the former president if he were to run again. A third of respondents said the search would make them more likely to support Trump.

The survey was conducted between Oct. 12-16. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.65 percentage points. The poll was weighted according to the demographics based on 2020 turnout modeling.

Bannon Gets 4 Months Behind Bars for Defying Jan. 6 Subpoena Former Trump White House senior advisor Steve Bannon speaks to the media as he arrives at federal court to be sentenced Friday. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

LINDSAY WHITEHURST Friday, 21 October 2022 11:12 AM EDT

Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, was sentenced Friday to serve four months behind bars after defying a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The judge allowed Bannon to stay free pending appeal and also imposed a fine of $6,500 as part of the sentence. Bannon was convicted in July of two counts of contempt of Congress: one for refusing to sit for a deposition and the other for refusing to provide documents.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols handed down the sentence after saying the law was clear that contempt of Congress is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of at least one month behind bars. Bannon’s lawyers had argued the judge could have sentenced him to probation instead. Prosecutors had asked for Bannon to be sent to jail for six months.

The House panel had sought Bannon’s testimony over his involvement in Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Bannon has yet to testify or provide any documents to the committee, prosecutors wrote.

Prosecutors argued Bannon, 68, deserved the longer sentence because he had pursued a “bad faith strategy” and his public statements disparaging the committee itself made it clear he wanted to undermine their effort to get to the bottom of the attack and keep anything like it from happening again.

Original Article

Trump's Boeing 757 Back in West Palm Beach After Repairs Donald Trump's Boeing 757. (Getty Images)

By Nicole Wells | Friday, 21 October 2022 10:16 AM EDT

Donald Trump's plans to run for president again are seemingly still up in the air, where his Boeing 757 will presumably be sometime in the near future.

Trump's jet — dubbed "Trump Force One" — spent hours running pattern flights above a small airport in Lake Charles, Louisiana, this week, likely testing updated components, according to an analysis of flight data by CNN. Following the tests, the plane headed to the Palm Beach International Airport, where it arrived Wednesday night.

The former president had said previously that the plane would undergo repairs in Louisiana.

The 31-year-old jumbo jet had been idle for the four years of Trump's presidency and several months afterwards, and its arrival at the airport close to Mar-a-Lago, less than three weeks before the midterm elections, could indicate it may be getting ready to resume its past position as an oversized campaign component.

The plane made a series of short flight loops at varying altitudes twice in recent days, taking off and landing at Chennault International Airport in Louisiana, according to CNN. While some of the flights lasted less than 10 minutes and did not go above altitudes of 3,000 feet, others were longer, at 20 to 30 minutes, and reached altitudes of 9,000 to 23,000 feet, according to the flight data.

"It is common after a plane has had upgrades — or other new equipment or general avionic tweaks — for pilots to make a series of test flights to ensure safety and function," Peter Goelz, a former managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board, told CNN. "The series of passes at different altitudes, such as the ones completed in Louisiana, are indicative of standard checks."

A regular at Trump's campaign appearances and rallies during the run up to the 2016 election, the 757 was featured in a video Eric Trump posted to social media in July that showed the jet being painted at a hanger in Louisiana.

"SHE'S BACK!!" he wrote.

Original Article

Rabbi Menken to Newsmax: Trump's Post on US Jews, Israel 'Absolutely True' (Newsmax/"Wake Up America")

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Friday, 21 October 2022 10:20 AM EDT

Former President Donald Trump was criticized for questioning Jewish Americans on their support for Israel, but he comments were "absolutely true," Rabbi Yaakov Menken, the managing director for the Coalition for Jewish Values, told Newsmax on Friday.

"Everything he said there was completely reasonable and above board," Menken told Friday's "Wake Up America." "Israeli Jews back him. Evangelicals back him and sadly, U.S. Jews are turning against Israel to an increasing degree while Israel is in danger."

Earlier this week, Trump came under fire after he called for American Jews to "get their act together" and to show more appreciation for Israel before "it is too late."

"No president has done more for Israel than I have," Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding the United States' "wonderful Evangelicals are far more appreciative of this than the people of the Jewish faith, especially those living in the U.S."

One of Trump's critics this week was Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who said Trump's comments invoked tropes on Jewish loyalty at a time when antisemitism is on the rise worldwide, but Menken ridiculed using her as a source on the topic.

"Having Ilhan Omar on as an expert in antisemitism is appropriate in that she uses antisemitic tropes every day and twice on Shabbas," Menken said. "This is one of the leading antisemites in America. It is a terrible thing that she remains on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. As far as having her on television to discuss antisemitism, next week, they should have Son of Sam on to discuss violence against women."

Menken said he also agrees with Trump's comments stating he is the leading figure when it comes to Israel and that people there think he has done more for their country than any other U.S. president.

"The Israelis all think so," Menken said. "The observant Jewish community all think so. There was a clear preference for Donald Trump in the observant Jewish community in 2020. It was overwhelming. It was simply off the charts. That and certain pockets where it was clear that they had supported Hillary Clinton in 2016, they were clearly sold on Trump by 2020."

The support for Trump comes, according to Menken, "for his policies, not because of his personal behavior or anything like that, or his unreasonable statements that he, you know, like anybody, makes."

But Trump's policies "have always been extremely friendly," he added. "Not only does he not surround himself with antisemites, but he also surrounds himself with Jews who take their Judaism a lot more seriously than his critics."

On the other hand, entertainer Kanye West's antisemitic comments on Twitter, after he shared several controversial posts, including he was going to go "death con 3" on Jewish people, must not be tolerated, Menken said.

"It is a sad symptom on both sides of the aisle of a willingness to tolerate and accept antisemitism in a way that with any other minority group, he would be toast," Menken said. "You would have no career as of now, and he would not be getting defended by his friends like Candace Owens, whose comments about his statement were completely unreasonable."

Menken said Owens commented "a reasonable person can't look at that statement and conclude it was antisemitic. Imagine somebody saying they're going to go death con three on Black people. Would Candace Owens ever conclude that that wasn't racist? Of course not. It was obviously racist."

But still, he said there is a "sad tolerance" that is being seen for West's posts, and the fact he is an entertainer who can "make such a statement and not get widespread condemnation is indeed very scary."

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Original Article

Rabbi Menken to Newsmax: Trump's Post on US Jews, Israel 'Absolutely True' (Newsmax/"Wake Up America")

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Friday, 21 October 2022 10:20 AM EDT

Former President Donald Trump was criticized for questioning Jewish Americans on their support for Israel, but he comments were "absolutely true," Rabbi Yaakov Menken, the managing director for the Coalition for Jewish Values, told Newsmax on Friday.

"Everything he said there was completely reasonable and above board," Menken told Friday's "Wake Up America." "Israeli Jews back him. Evangelicals back him and sadly, U.S. Jews are turning against Israel to an increasing degree while Israel is in danger."

Earlier this week, Trump came under fire after he called for American Jews to "get their act together" and to show more appreciation for Israel before "it is too late."

"No president has done more for Israel than I have," Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding the United States' "wonderful Evangelicals are far more appreciative of this than the people of the Jewish faith, especially those living in the U.S."

One of Trump's critics this week was Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who said Trump's comments invoked tropes on Jewish loyalty at a time when antisemitism is on the rise worldwide, but Menken ridiculed using her as a source on the topic.

"Having Ilhan Omar on as an expert in antisemitism is appropriate in that she uses antisemitic tropes every day and twice on Shabbas," Menken said. "This is one of the leading antisemites in America. It is a terrible thing that she remains on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. As far as having her on television to discuss antisemitism, next week, they should have Son of Sam on to discuss violence against women."

Menken said he also agrees with Trump's comments stating he is the leading figure when it comes to Israel and that people there think he has done more for their country than any other U.S. president.

"The Israelis all think so," Menken said. "The observant Jewish community all think so. There was a clear preference for Donald Trump in the observant Jewish community in 2020. It was overwhelming. It was simply off the charts. That and certain pockets where it was clear that they had supported Hillary Clinton in 2016, they were clearly sold on Trump by 2020."

The support for Trump comes, according to Menken, "for his policies, not because of his personal behavior or anything like that, or his unreasonable statements that he, you know, like anybody, makes."

But Trump's policies "have always been extremely friendly," he added. "Not only does he not surround himself with antisemites, but he also surrounds himself with Jews who take their Judaism a lot more seriously than his critics."

On the other hand, entertainer Kanye West's antisemitic comments on Twitter, after he shared several controversial posts, including he was going to go "death con 3" on Jewish people, must not be tolerated, Menken said.

"It is a sad symptom on both sides of the aisle of a willingness to tolerate and accept antisemitism in a way that with any other minority group, he would be toast," Menken said. "You would have no career as of now, and he would not be getting defended by his friends like Candace Owens, whose comments about his statement were completely unreasonable."

Menken said Owens commented "a reasonable person can't look at that statement and conclude it was antisemitic. Imagine somebody saying they're going to go death con three on Black people. Would Candace Owens ever conclude that that wasn't racist? Of course not. It was obviously racist."

But still, he said there is a "sad tolerance" that is being seen for West's posts, and the fact he is an entertainer who can "make such a statement and not get widespread condemnation is indeed very scary."

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Jill Biden Says Hunter Biden Is 'Innocent," Wrongly Pursued (Newsmax)

By Eric Mack | Friday, 21 October 2022 09:31 AM EDT

First lady Jill Biden believes Hunter Biden is wrongfully pursued and is "innocent."

"Everybody and their brother has investigated Hunter," Jill Biden told NBC in an exclusive interview Wednesday from her East Wing office. "They keep at it, and at it, and at it. I know that Hunter is innocent. I love my son, and I will keep looking forward."

Jill Biden's comments mirror what former President Donald Trump repeated says about investigations going after him, which he calls an endless "witch hunt."

Allegations against Hunter Biden include unethical overseas business dealings with Ukraine, Russia, and China – all through now embroiled in turmoil during the Biden administration. Also, Hunter Biden is an admitted crack and sex addict. And reports allege he lied on a gun application, responding no when asked if he was a habitual drug user.

Jill Biden, 71, who conducted an interview with Newsmax this past week on efforts to address cancer in America, says her husband of 45 years "understands government better than anybody else," suggesting President Joe Biden will run again in 2024, despite Republican vows of oversight investigations into the Biden family.

A 2024 Biden reelection campaign "is something both Dr. Biden and the family fully support," a senior adviser told NBC News this week.

NBC News reports the first lady has a large influence on her husband, the White House, and even policy and administration moves.

"I don't think he makes any decision of consequence without speaking to her and having her view," longtime Biden confidant Ted Kaufman, a former senator from Biden's home state of Delaware, told NBC News.

For now, Jill Biden is on the campaign trail even more than her husband is.

"I'm trying to elect Democrats," she told NBC News. "We've got to keep the majority. We've got to do it."

Jill Biden Says Hunter Biden Is 'Innocent," Wrongly Pursued (Newsmax)

By Eric Mack | Friday, 21 October 2022 09:45 AM EDT

First lady Jill Biden believes Hunter Biden is wrongfully pursued and is "innocent."

"Everybody and their brother has investigated Hunter," Jill Biden told NBC in an exclusive interview Wednesday from her East Wing office. "They keep at it, and at it, and at it. I know that Hunter is innocent. I love my son, and I will keep looking forward."

Jill Biden's comments mirror what former President Donald Trump repeated says about investigations going after him, which he calls an endless "witch hunt."

Allegations against Hunter Biden include unethical overseas business dealings with Ukraine, Russia, and China – all three now embroiled in turmoil during the Biden administration. Also, Hunter Biden is an admitted crack and sex addict. And reports allege he lied on a gun application, responding no when asked if he was a habitual drug user.

Jill Biden, 71, who conducted an interview with Newsmax this past week on efforts to address cancer in America, says her husband of 45 years "understands government better than anybody else," suggesting President Joe Biden will run again in 2024, despite Republican vows of oversight investigations into the Biden family.

A 2024 Biden reelection campaign "is something both Dr. Biden and the family fully support," a senior adviser told NBC News this week.

NBC News reports the first lady has a large influence on her husband, the White House, and even policy and administration moves.

"I don't think he makes any decision of consequence without speaking to her and having her view," longtime Biden confidant Ted Kaufman, a former senator from Biden's home state of Delaware, told NBC News.

For now, Jill Biden is on the campaign trail even more than her husband is.

"I'm trying to elect Democrats," she told NBC News. "We've got to keep the majority. We've got to do it."

Original Article

Trump Ally Steve Bannon Faces Sentencing for Contempt (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

LINDSAY WHITEHURST Friday, 21 October 2022 08:25 AM EDT

Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday after being convicted of defying a subpoena from the House panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol.

Bannon was convicted in July of two counts of contempt of Congress: one for refusing to sit for a deposition and the other for refusing to provide documents.

Prosecutors have asked the judge in his case to impose a hefty sentence of six months in jail, while Bannon’s lawyers have argued their client deserves a sentence of probation. The statutes for contempt of Congress each carry a minimum sentence of 30 days behind bars, but Bannon’s lawyers argue the judge could just sentence him to probation and not send him to jail.

The House committee had sought Bannon’s testimony over his involvement in Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Bannon has yet to testify or provide any documents to the committee, prosecutors wrote.

Prosecutors argued Bannon, 68, deserved the longer sentence because he had pursued a “bad faith strategy” and his public statements disparaging the committee itself made it clear he wanted to undermine their effort to get to the bottom of the attack and keep anything like it from happening again.

The defense, meanwhile, said he wasn’t acting in bad faith, but trying to avoid running afoul of executive privilege objections Trump had raised when Bannon was first served with a committee subpoena last year. The onetime presidential adviser said he wanted to a Trump lawyer in the room, but the committee wouldn’t allow it.

Many other former White House aides have testified with only their own counsel. Bannon had been fired from the White House in 2017 and was a private citizen when he was consulting with Trump before Jan. 6.

Bannon also pointed out that he had offered to testify after Trump waived executive privilege. But that was after the contempt charges were filed, and prosecutors say he would only agree to give the deposition if the case was dropped.

Prosecutors have pushed for the maximum fine, saying Bannon had refused to answer routine questions about his income and insisted he could pay whatever the judge imposed.

Original Article

JD Vance Calls for Showdown With Biden Over Border Wall (Newsmax)

By Jeffrey Rodack | Friday, 21 October 2022 08:45 AM EDT

Ohio GOP Senate-nominee J.D. Vance says if Republicans gain full control of Congress in the midterms, they should pull money to build the border wall from the Biden administration as a condition for funding parts of the government, according to Politico.

"Republicans, we need to have a fight over the border wall," he told supporters in Middletown. "And we need to be willing to say to Joe Biden: 'You don't get another dime for your priorities unless you do your job and enforce and secure the southern border.'"

Vance said funding for the wall is one of his top priorities, along with stopping inflation and increasing domestic energy production, if he defeats Rep. Tim Ryan in November, Politico reported.

He said he would push for $3 billion for the wall.

"We have to be willing to use the leverage that we will have with congressional majorities to actually force Joe Biden to do some of the core functions of the federal government," Vance said. "One of the things we have to be willing to do as Republicans is force the conversation on border security. It's killing way too many people."

But Izzi Levy, a spokesperson for Ryan, fired back, saying: "If J.D. Vance cares so much about immigration, why didn't he use his 'leverage' as an investor to stop the dozens of companies he invested in that tried to hire foreign workers?"

Vance has said he's never pushed for any of those companies to use H1-B visas.

Meanwhile, Kari Lake, the Republican nominee in the Arizona governor's race told Newsmax on Thursday that she would issue a "declaration of invasion" on the southern border if she wins and finish former President Donald Trump's wall at the southern border.

During an appearance on "The Chris Salcedo Show," Lake said she agreed with incumbent Gov. Doug Ducey's rejection of Biden administration calls to remove shipping containers placed along weak border spots.

"When I'm governor, we're going to work to finish the construction of President Trump's wall using the abandoned federal property that we, the people, paid for with our tax money. But in the meantime, any barrier is better than no barrier."

Original Article

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 4:59 PM PT – Thursday, October 20, 2022

Former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr says the court of public opinion has a different ruling on the origins of the Russia hoax.

On Wednesday, Barr said that while he was disappointed with the court’s decisions amid the Durham probe, the public currently knows about the collusion between the DNC, the FBI and the Hillary Clinton campaign.

This comes after the FBI Steele Dossier source, Igor Danchenko, was acquitted just months after Clinton-linked lawyer Michael Sussmann was fired for lying to the FBI about the Trump-Russia collusion.

Barr stressed that Durham’s case was hard to prove because of the limited access to evidence.

“The public interest here is being served by exposing the full extent of corruption that was involved in the Russia-gate and the abuse of by the FBI and that whole episode,” Barr said. “And I think that Durham is going to put out a report out that’s gonna lay out all the facts.”

Barr went on to say that with Durham’s expected to report on his findings, the Republicans on Capitol Hill will have a solid foundation to investigate further if they take over Congress after the midterm elections.

Original Article Oann

Clemency, Pardon Requests Among Docs Trump Wants to Keep Mar-a-Lago was raided by the FBI in August. (Lynne Sladky/AP)

By Eric Mack | Thursday, 20 October 2022 10:18 PM EDT

Former President Donald Trump is seeking to keep clemency and pardon requests as personal property, The New York Times reported.

Trump is arguing nine documents sought by the National Archives are his personal property, but the Justice Department is seeking to secure those documents, according to a letter to special master Raymond Dearie, who is overseeing a review of the materials.

Trump is claiming executive privilege over the documents and the Justice Department letter to Dearie on Thursday put that under dispute.

Among the documents were six packages seeking requests for clemency or pardons, two documents regarding immigration policy, and an email addressed to him from a person at a military academy, according to the Times report.

The DOJ cited the Presidential Records Act in denying those documents can be kept by Trump instead of being turned over to the National Archives.

"Those requests were received by plaintiff in his capacity as the official with authority to grant reprieves and pardons, not in his personal capacity," the DOJ letter claimed.

Original Article

Clemency, Pardon Requests Among Docs Trump Wants to Keep Mar-a-Lago was raided by the FBI in August. (Lynne Sladky/AP)

By Eric Mack | Thursday, 20 October 2022 10:18 PM EDT

Former President Donald Trump is seeking to keep clemency and pardon requests as personal property, The New York Times reported.

Trump is arguing nine documents sought by the National Archives are his personal property, but the Justice Department is seeking to secure those documents, according to a letter to special master Raymond Dearie, who is overseeing a review of the materials.

Trump is claiming executive privilege over the documents and the Justice Department letter to Dearie on Thursday put that under dispute.

Among the documents were six packages seeking requests for clemency or pardons, two documents regarding immigration policy, and an email addressed to him from a person at a military academy, according to the Times report.

The DOJ cited the Presidential Records Act in denying those documents can be kept by Trump instead of being turned over to the National Archives.

"Those requests were received by plaintiff in his capacity as the official with authority to grant reprieves and pardons, not in his personal capacity," the DOJ letter claimed.

Rep. Claudia Tenney to Newsmax: Far Left 'Doesn't Sell' in New York

(Newsmax/"Prime News")

By Eric Mack | Thursday, 20 October 2022 10:35 PM EDT

New Yorkers dealing with inflation, high gas prices, and rising crime are seeing the failure of "one-party rule," Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., told Newsmax.

"The Democrats have nowhere to go but the far left, and that just doesn't sell and people are starting to recognize they refused to actually come to the middle," Tenney told Thursday's "Prime News."

"The Republicans are in the middle and all this, 'they're extremists and the MAGA people are extremists': Not at all, and everybody knows that."

New Yorkers are tired of dangerous crime, Tenney told host Jenn Pellegrino.

"The Democrats don't want to talk about that: It's abortion 24/7 and smearing Republicans, calling anyone that cares about America First, make America great again, is somehow an extremist," Tenney said.

Tenney also praised former President Donald Trump's "populist ideas" for bringing Republicans to the middle.

"One of the interesting aspect of Trump's movement and make America great is he prioritized the American worker, a bastion that was once part of the Democrat platform," Tenney said.

"Trump moved in and said, 'no, let's re-empower our American workers; let's bring our supply chains back, let's bring back industry in places like New York state and upstate where I live, which is like a rust belt.

"Let's do that for American workers, the American people."

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. Claudia Tenney to Newsmax: Far Left 'Doesn't Sell' in New York

(Newsmax/"Prime News")

By Eric Mack | Thursday, 20 October 2022 10:35 PM EDT

New Yorkers dealing with inflation, high gas prices, and rising crime are seeing the failure of "one-party rule," Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., told Newsmax.

"The Democrats have nowhere to go but the far left, and that just doesn't sell and people are starting to recognize they refused to actually come to the middle," Tenney told Thursday's "Prime News."

"The Republicans are in the middle and all this, 'they're extremists and the MAGA people are extremists': Not at all, and everybody knows that."

New Yorkers are tired of dangerous crime, Tenney told host Jenn Pellegrino.

"The Democrats don't want to talk about that: It's abortion 24/7 and smearing Republicans, calling anyone that cares about America First, make America great again, is somehow an extremist," Tenney said.

Tenney also praised former President Donald Trump's "populist ideas" for bringing Republicans to the middle.

"One of the interesting aspect of Trump's movement and make America great is he prioritized the American worker, a bastion that was once part of the Democrat platform," Tenney said.

"Trump moved in and said, 'no, let's re-empower our American workers; let's bring our supply chains back, let's bring back industry in places like New York state and upstate where I live, which is like a rust belt.

"Let's do that for American workers, the American people."

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!

Report: Judge Nixes Sen. Graham's Bid to Avoid Grand Jury Testimony in Ga.

(Newsmax/"Rob Schmitt Tonight")

By Jay Clemons | Thursday, 20 October 2022 08:28 PM EDT

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., reportedly has been rejected by a federal appeals court in his effort to avoid testifying before a Georgia state grand jury, regarding the probe into whether former President Donald Trump and his supporters violated the law in their alleged efforts to reverse the 2020 election results.

As Newsmax chronicled in August, Graham previously requested that a Georgia-based federal district court expedite the hearing to block grand jury subpoena.

In a court filing at the time, Graham's attorneys argued that federal lawmakers were protected constitutionally from being forced to testify in state court.

"A federal court would be ordering a U.S. Senator from a coequal branch of government to appear before a grand jury," the filing stated.

"And enforcement would pose an even larger problem: It would create a precedent that would allow other county officials in locales across the nation to impose similar burdens on federal officials, of whatever party, to the detriment of our federal government and the federalism that protects it from state and local interference. And to what end? There is no need for Senator Graham's testimony, far less 'extraordinary circumstances' compelling it," the filing continued.

On Thursday, according to CNN, prosecutors in Georgia also secured grand jury testimony from two prominent witnesses: former Trump White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga.

Cipollone was the top White House lawyer at the end of the Trump administration, and he reportedly attended meetings regarding the disputed election results.

The former Trump counsel recently provided testimony to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 unrest at the Capitol, along with the Justice Department's criminal investigation.

At the time, Cipollone invoked Trump's executive-privilege claims when fielding questions.

The report of Loeffler's testimony comes on the heels of Jan. 6-related text messages involving the former senator surfacing. In January 2021, Loeffler was embroiled in a special Senate election with then-challenger Raphael Warnock, who's now a sitting senator representing Georgia.

When speaking on the Senate floor in on Jan. 6, 2021, Loeffler said, "When I arrived in Washington this morning, I fully intended to object to the certification of the electoral votes. However, the events that have transpired have forced me to reconsider, and I cannot now in good conscience object to the certification of these electors."

During the same speech, Loeffler reportedly condemned the Capitol rally as "abhorrent."

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Loeffler received several messages from Congresswoman-elect Marjorie Taylor Greene in the weeks prior to Jan. 6, 2021, including one text regarding a "plan we are developing on how to vote on the electoral college votes on Jan 6th," sent a month before that date.

Also, on Dec. 20, 2020, Greene reportedly invited Loeffler to a White House meeting with then-President Trump, along with other members of Congress, who were going to "challenge the Electoral College votes for [Joe] Biden in several key swing states on January 6."

Original Article