NationalWatch

Justice Dept. Asks Court to Deny Trump Plea Over FBI Search (Getty)

Tuesday, 11 October 2022 04:58 PM EDT

The Biden administration on Tuesday urged the Supreme Court to steer clear of a legal fight over classified documents seized during an FBI search of former President Donald Trump's Florida estate.

The high court is weighing an emergency appeal from Trump asking it to overturn a lower court ruling and permit an independent arbiter, or special master, to review the roughly 100 documents with classified markings that were taken in the Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago.

The Justice Department said in a 32-page filing that Trump's claim has no merit, noting the case involves “extraordinarily sensitive government records.”

A three-judge panel from the Atlanta-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit last month limited the special master’s review to the much larger tranche of non-classified documents. The judges, including two Trump appointees, sided with the Justice Department, which had argued there was no legal basis for the special master to conduct his own review of the classified records.

But Trump’s lawyers said in their application to the Supreme Court that it was essential for the special master to have access to the classified records to “determine whether documents bearing classification markings are in fact classified, and regardless of classification, whether those records are personal records or Presidential records.”

Original Article

FBI Offered Up to $1 Million for Allegations on Trump Russian lawyer Igor Danchenko (AP)

MATTHEW BARAKAT Tuesday, 11 October 2022 10:33 PM EDT

A Russian analyst who played a major role in the creation of a flawed dossier about former President Donald Trump fabricated one of his own sources and concealed the identity of another when interviewed by the FBI, prosecutors said Tuesday.

The allegations were aired during opening statements in the trial of Igor Danchenko, who is indicted on five counts of making false statements to the FBI.

The FBI interviewed Danchenko on multiple occasions in 2017 as it tried to corroborate allegations in what became known as the "Steele dossier."

That dossier by British spy Christopher Steele — commissioned by Democrats during the 2016 presidential campaign — included allegations of contact between the Trump campaign and Russian government officials, as well as allegations that the Russians may have held compromising information over Trump in the form of videos showing him engaged in salacious sexual activity in a Moscow hotel.

Specifically, prosecutors say, Danchenko lied when he said he obtained some information in an anonymous phone call from a man he believed to be Sergei Millian, a former head of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce.

Prosecutor Michael Keilty told jurors in U.S. District Court in Alexandria that Danchenko never spoke with Millian and that phone records show he never received an anonymous phone call at the time Danchenko claimed it occurred.

Prosecutors also say Danchenko lied when he said he never "talked" with a man named Charles Dolan about the allegations contained in the dossier. But prosecutors say there is evidence that Danchenko "spoke with Mr. Dolan over email" about very specific items that showed up in the dossier.

The FBI needed to know that Dolan was an important source for Danchenko, Keilty said, because Dolan is a Democratic operative who has worked on the presidential campaign of every Democratic candidate since Jimmy Carter, and thus would have had motivation to fabricate or embellish allegations against Trump.

"Those lies mattered," Keilty said.

But Danchenko's attorney, Danny Onorato, told jurors that his client was completely truthful with the FBI.

He pointed out that Danchenko never said he was certain that Millian was the source of the anonymous call but that he had good reason to believe it. The government's case requires jurors to become "mind readers" to assess Danchenko's subjective belief about the source of the phone call, Onorato said.

And while phone records may not show a call, Onorato said, the government has no idea whether a call could have been placed with a mobile app rather than a traditional telephone provider. Indeed, Onorato said, it makes more sense that such a call would have occurred using an Internet app because so many of them conceal the source of the call, and the caller wanted to be anonymous.

As for the allegations about his discussions with Dolan, Onorato said, Danchenko answered the question truthfully because the two did not "talk" — but rather had a written exchange. If the FBI wanted to know about email exchanges, it should have asked a different question, Onorato said.

"The law doesn't let you rewrite the dictionary," Onorato said.

Keilty, in his opening, acknowledged to jurors that evidence would show the FBI made errors in conducting its investigations, but he said that shouldn't exonerate Danchenko.

"A bank robber doesn't get a pass just because the security guard was asleep," Keilty said.

The first prosecution witness was FBI analyst Brian Auten, who testified that information from the Steele dossier was used to support a surveillance warrant against a Trump campaign official, Carter Page.

Under questioning from Durham, Auten testified that the dossier was used to bolster the surveillance application even though the FBI couldn't corroborate its allegations.

Auten said the FBI checked with other government agencies to see if they had corroboration but nothing came back. Auten and other FBI agents even met with Steele in the United Kingdom in 2016 and offered him as much as $1 million if he could supply corroboration for the allegations in the dossier, but none was provided.

Danchenko is the third person to be prosecuted by special counsel John Durham, who was appointed to investigate the origins of "Crossfire Hurricane" — the designation given to the FBI's 2016 probe into former president Trump's Russia connections. It is also the first of Durham's cases that delves deeply into the origins of the dossier, which Trump derided as fake news and a political witch hunt.

Original Article

FBI Offered Up to $1 Million for Allegations on Trump Russian lawyer Igor Danchenko (AP)

MATTHEW BARAKAT Tuesday, 11 October 2022 10:33 PM EDT

A Russian analyst who played a major role in the creation of a flawed dossier about former President Donald Trump fabricated one of his own sources and concealed the identity of another when interviewed by the FBI, prosecutors said Tuesday.

The allegations were aired during opening statements in the trial of Igor Danchenko, who is indicted on five counts of making false statements to the FBI.

The FBI interviewed Danchenko on multiple occasions in 2017 as it tried to corroborate allegations in what became known as the "Steele dossier."

That dossier by British spy Christopher Steele — commissioned by Democrats during the 2016 presidential campaign — included allegations of contact between the Trump campaign and Russian government officials, as well as allegations that the Russians may have held compromising information over Trump in the form of videos showing him engaged in salacious sexual activity in a Moscow hotel.

Specifically, prosecutors say, Danchenko lied when he said he obtained some information in an anonymous phone call from a man he believed to be Sergei Millian, a former head of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce.

Prosecutor Michael Keilty told jurors in U.S. District Court in Alexandria that Danchenko never spoke with Millian and that phone records show he never received an anonymous phone call at the time Danchenko claimed it occurred.

Prosecutors also say Danchenko lied when he said he never "talked" with a man named Charles Dolan about the allegations contained in the dossier. But prosecutors say there is evidence that Danchenko "spoke with Mr. Dolan over email" about very specific items that showed up in the dossier.

The FBI needed to know that Dolan was an important source for Danchenko, Keilty said, because Dolan is a Democratic operative who has worked on the presidential campaign of every Democratic candidate since Jimmy Carter, and thus would have had motivation to fabricate or embellish allegations against Trump.

"Those lies mattered," Keilty said.

But Danchenko's attorney, Danny Onorato, told jurors that his client was completely truthful with the FBI.

He pointed out that Danchenko never said he was certain that Millian was the source of the anonymous call but that he had good reason to believe it. The government's case requires jurors to become "mind readers" to assess Danchenko's subjective belief about the source of the phone call, Onorato said.

And while phone records may not show a call, Onorato said, the government has no idea whether a call could have been placed with a mobile app rather than a traditional telephone provider. Indeed, Onorato said, it makes more sense that such a call would have occurred using an Internet app because so many of them conceal the source of the call, and the caller wanted to be anonymous.

As for the allegations about his discussions with Dolan, Onorato said, Danchenko answered the question truthfully because the two did not "talk" — but rather had a written exchange. If the FBI wanted to know about email exchanges, it should have asked a different question, Onorato said.

"The law doesn't let you rewrite the dictionary," Onorato said.

Keilty, in his opening, acknowledged to jurors that evidence would show the FBI made errors in conducting its investigations, but he said that shouldn't exonerate Danchenko.

"A bank robber doesn't get a pass just because the security guard was asleep," Keilty said.

The first prosecution witness was FBI analyst Brian Auten, who testified that information from the Steele dossier was used to support a surveillance warrant against a Trump campaign official, Carter Page.

Under questioning from Durham, Auten testified that the dossier was used to bolster the surveillance application even though the FBI couldn't corroborate its allegations.

Auten said the FBI checked with other government agencies to see if they had corroboration but nothing came back. Auten and other FBI agents even met with Steele in the United Kingdom in 2016 and offered him as much as $1 million if he could supply corroboration for the allegations in the dossier, but none was provided.

Danchenko is the third person to be prosecuted by special counsel John Durham, who was appointed to investigate the origins of "Crossfire Hurricane" — the designation given to the FBI's 2016 probe into former president Trump's Russia connections. It is also the first of Durham's cases that delves deeply into the origins of the dossier, which Trump derided as fake news and a political witch hunt.

Todd Carney to Newsmax: Mayor Suarez Is No Conservative Miami Mayor Francis Suarez (Getty Images)

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Tuesday, 11 October 2022 03:19 PM EDT

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is starting to get "glowing reviews" and there is some buzz that he could take his career to the state or even national level, but his actions in recent years show that he's not a true conservative, attorney Todd Carney, a contributor for RealClear Politics, said on Newsmax on Tuesday.

"I followed his career for quite a while, but over the last few months, I have seen a lot of conservative media outlets start to give him glowing reviews, so I thought it was important to speak out," Carney told Newsmax's "John Bachman Now," adding that the mayor didn't vote for former President Donald Trump or Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and that his policy decisions have been questionable.

"He was masking police, while he [went about and] ate maskless," said Carney, comparing him to Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom. "Now he's sided with far-left politicians like [New York City] Mayor Eric Adams, while we fight these culture wars."

Suarez recently was on CBS's "Face the Nation," where he talked about his relationship with DeSantis and said that he and the governor "have different perspectives, different personalities, and different philosophies," Newsmax host Bachman told Carney, pointing out that Suarez voted for former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, the Democrat who ran and lost to DeSantis in 2018.

Gillum not only wanted to raise taxes, but wanted to abolish ICE and was "backed by Bernie Sanders and George Soros, said Carney, and "I never heard Mayor Suarez atone for that."

Now, Suarez is appearing on conservative programs and writing pieces for conservative publications, acting like he's always leaned right, said Carney.

Suarez is also talking about what he's done for Miami, Carney said, when the credit should go to DeSantis, former Gov. Rick Scott, who is now a senator, and former Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Meanwhile, Carney, who also outlined his concerns about Suarez in a column for RealClear Florida, said he thinks the mayor is "done with Miami" and has higher goals of potentially seeking office statewide or beyond.

"What seems to most be talked about is him running for president, and I think a lot of people asking him are the ones who either want to go back to the Bush-McCain-Romney days or even go to the left of that," Carney said.

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Original Article

Miami Mayor Suarez 'No Conservative,' Columnist Says (Newsmax/"John Bachman Now")

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Tuesday, 11 October 2022 10:38 PM EDT

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is starting to get "glowing reviews" and there is some buzz that he could take his career to the state or even national level, but his actions in recent years show that he's not a true conservative, attorney Todd Carney, a contributor for RealClear Politics, said on Newsmax on Tuesday.

"I followed his career for quite a while, but over the last few months, I have seen a lot of conservative media outlets start to give him glowing reviews, so I thought it was important to speak out," Carney told Newsmax's "John Bachman Now," adding that the mayor didn't vote for former President Donald Trump or Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and that his policy decisions have been questionable.

"He was masking police, while he [went about and] ate maskless," said Carney, comparing him to Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom. "Now he's sided with far-left politicians like [New York City] Mayor Eric Adams, while we fight these culture wars."

Suarez recently was on CBS' "Face the Nation," where he talked about his relationship with DeSantis and said that he and the governor "have different perspectives, different personalities, and different philosophies," Newsmax host Bachman told Carney, pointing out that Suarez voted for former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, the Democrat who ran and lost to DeSantis in 2018.

Gillum not only wanted to raise taxes, but wanted to abolish ICE and was "backed by Bernie Sanders and George Soros, said Carney, and "I never heard Mayor Suarez atone for that."

Now, Suarez is appearing on conservative programs and writing pieces for conservative publications, acting like he's always leaned right, said Carney.

Suarez is also talking about what he's done for Miami, Carney said, when the credit should go to DeSantis, former Gov. Rick Scott, who is now a senator, and former Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Meanwhile, Carney, who also outlined his concerns about Suarez in a column for RealClear Florida, said he thinks the mayor is "done with Miami" and has higher goals of potentially seeking office statewide or beyond.

"What seems to most be talked about is him running for president, and I think a lot of people asking him are the ones who either want to go back to the Bush-McCain-Romney days or even go to the left of that," Carney said.

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Original Article

Rep. Greg Murphy to Newsmax: GOP Majority Will Likely Continue Ukraine Funding (Newsmax/"John Bachman Now")

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Tuesday, 11 October 2022 02:45 PM EDT

Funding for Ukraine's fight against Russia will likely continue if Republicans regain control of Congress, as Russian President Vladimir Putin's actions are "criminal" and must not be allowed to continue, Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., told Newsmax.

"He is a criminal. He's done things against humanity. Do we allow that to happen?" Murphy told Tuesday's "John Bachman Now," pointing out that the United States, even though it had not yet entered World War II, funded Britain's war effort against Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler.

Still, Murphy pointed out there must be a better understanding of where the United States money to Ukraine is going, and the Group of 7 nations must assist monetarily as well as militarily.

"We don't need to be the only one funding and helping Ukraine," said Murphy, warning that without accountability, Americans' "appetite for keeping Ukraine funded will be less and less and less every day."

Meanwhile, Putin is acting as a "caged animal" at this point, and he will "try to fight his way out" and use "whatever resources that he has," to push back the border and go into Ukraine, according to Murphy.

The congressman also Tuesday slammed President Joe Biden for wanting to re-enter the Iran nuclear deal, as "the Iranian government cannot be trusted."

"President [Donald] Trump knew this, and that's why we withdrew," Murphy said. "Why Biden is trying to sell our soul out to them is beyond me."

But Biden is a "weak president" who has made "American policy weak," he said.

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Original Article

Democrats Spending Millions on Abortion Ads (Newsmax)

By Theodore Bunker | Tuesday, 11 October 2022 11:49 AM EDT

Democrats have spent millions on social media ads talking about reproductive rights ahead of the upcoming midterm elections, in contrast to Republicans, whose ads are focused primarily on the economy, according to Axios.

After analyzing data from Bully Pulpit Interactive, Axios found that Democrat-aligned groups such as the Democratic National Committee, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, are spending millions on Facebook ads, with a significant portion of those ads being centered around reproductive rights.

Republican groups, including the Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, and the National Republican Congressional Committee, have spent less on their ads, which are more focused on the economy, voter mobilization, and former President Donald Trump.

A Politico analysis of AdImpact data found that Democrat groups and candidates have spent almost $18 million on over 100 ads concerning abortion in battleground states as of the end of September.

"It's a serious subject and it's really important to people," outgoing Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo., told Politico. "So I don't think you can overplay that."

Abby Curran Horrell, the executive director of the Democrat-supporting House Majority PAC, said that "Americans don't like rights being taken away. It crosses demographics, it crosses geographies. It's an issue that resonates with voters across the political spectrum."

She added, "We feel very confident in the strategic messaging decisions that we're making to win races."

Original Article

TV Ad Shows Sen. Warnock in Alleged Domestic Dispute (Newsmax)

By Charlie McCarthy | Tuesday, 11 October 2022 10:23 AM EDT

A new TV ad includes police bodycam footage showing Raphael Warnock's then-wife after an alleged violent domestic altercation with the Democrat Georgia senator.

PAC 34N22, supporting Republican Herschel Walker's Senate campaign, is spending $1.5 million to air the spot in the Atlanta media market over a two-week period before the midterms, the Washington Examiner reported.

"Warnock ran over his wife with his car, refused to pay child support, and neglected the terms of his divorce — all while refusing to take any responsibility whatsoever," 34N22 spokesman Stephen Lawson said in a statement shared with the Examiner.

"He continues to throw stones at glass houses, and his blatant hypocrisy will now be on full display for Georgia voters."

The 30-second spot, entitled "Good Actor," includes publicly available police bodycam footage showing Warnock's ex-wife, Oulèye Ndoye, in tears and visibly shaken. She accused the then-senate candidate of attempting to run her over with his car.

Warnock denies the allegations.

The incident was reported during Warnock's senate campaign but did not have a great impact.

The ad comes after a week in which Walker was attacked with reports that he allegedly paid for an ex-girlfriend to have an abortion, which goes against his position on abortion restrictions.

President Donald Trump, who has endorsed Walker, his longtime friend, gave the Republican candidate $750,000 through is new MAGA Inc. PAC.

Walker has denied the accusations and claimed not to know the woman, prompting new revelations that she apparently is the mother of one of his four children.

Appearing on "The Hugh Hewitt Show" on Thursday, Walker was asked about the allegations from an anonymous woman.

"I know this is untrue," Walker told Hewitt. "I know it's untrue, and they keep telling me things like that, and it's totally, totally untrue. And I'm not sure why that would be told.

"I know nothing about any woman having an abortion. And they can keep coming at me like that, and they're doing it because they want to distract people."

Original Article

Trump's Call for Russia-Ukraine Talks Differs From Most Republicans (Newsmax)

By Charlie McCarthy | Tuesday, 11 October 2022 10:13 AM EDT

Former President Donald Trump's call for a cease-fire in the Russia-Ukraine war and negotiations toward a truce has differed from the stance of some of his supporters and many Republicans.

Most GOP members have strongly supported Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin began his country's unprovoked attack in February.

Trump has criticized the Biden administration's handling of the conflict.

"With potentially hundreds of thousands of people dying, we must demand the immediate negotiation of the peaceful end to the war in Ukraine, or we will end up in World War III and there will be nothing left of our planet all because stupid people didn't have a clue," Trump told supporters Saturday at a rally in Arizona.

"They really don't understand … what they're dealing with. The power of nuclear. They have no idea what they're doing."

The Hill reported that one GOP strategist said Trump's views won't be a major factor in the midterms, when domestic issues will dominate. However, if Republicans retake majorities in both chambers of Congress – they are favored to win the House, with the Senate widely considered to be a toss-up – Trump's Ukraine rhetoric could put pressure on lawmakers to adopt some of his ideas.

For now, some prominent Republicans have focused on recent Biden missteps and reinforcing the need to support Ukraine.

"The destruction today in Kyiv is horrific — allies and partners must get Ukraine the missile defenses and long-range weapons it has asked for," GOP members of the House Armed Services Committee tweeted Monday. "Arbitrary red lines by the Biden admin that hinder lethal aid shipments will only prolong this conflict."

Hostilities between Russia and Ukraine has ratcheted up in recent days as an explosion blew up a key bridge in Crimea, and Putin responded by firing cruise missiles at cities across Ukraine.

Although the Biden administration has insisted it will not push for negotiations that Ukraine does not support, Trump even has suggested that he could be involved in talks between the sides.

Trump continues to remind people that Putin did not invade Ukraine while he was in office.

"You would never in a million years — they wouldn't be there. So sad," Trump said last week at an event in Miami. "When I see all these people being killed, it's got to stop. They've got to negotiate a deal."

Trump last month urged world leaders not to escalate the situation after leaks appeared in the Nord Stream pipelines, which carry natural gas from Russia to parts of Europe.

"Be strategic, be smart (brilliant!), get a negotiated deal done NOW," Trump posted Sept. 28 on Truth Social. "Both sides need and want it. The entire World is at stake. I will head up group???"

Original Article

McLaughlin to Newsmax: Issues, Not Biden's Flubs, Will Decide Fall Vote President Joe Biden (Getty)

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Tuesday, 11 October 2022 09:11 AM EDT

The nation's midterm election results will depend on issues such as rising gas prices and the economy, not on President Joe Biden's gaffes, even though more than half of people polled think he has a cognitive problem, Jim McLaughlin, the president of McLaughlin & Associates, told Newsmax Tuesday.

"The more Republicans are able to talk about issues, the better off that they're going to be in these campaigns," McLaughlin, the pollster for former President Donald Trump's 2020 campaign, said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "In focus groups, when we ask voters what Joe Biden's biggest accomplishment is, they laugh at you. These are a lot of voters who voted for Joe Biden."

Gas prices have gone up an average of 25 cents a gallon nationally since September and that will play a "huge" role in how people vote, said McLaughlin.

"It cuts into that narrative that we were getting from Joe Biden and the Democrats over the summer that things were getting better," said McLaughlin. "I've seen it over the last couple of weeks in our polling for various campaigns across the country. You're seeing the Republican candidates surging right now."

Meanwhile, a new Issues & Insights/TIPP Survey shows that more Democrats are beginning to have concerns about President Joe Biden's mental acuity, with the numbers jumping about his mental state from 59% to 64% in two months.

"A lot of people will tell you that they're amazed that it's only 64% because it's only really the hard-core Democrat base telling you that they're not concerned," said McLaughlin. "We've been seeing that throughout the election with more than half the voters and we've been testing this in our national polls, that more than half the voters think Joe Biden has a cognitive problem, and they want him to be tested."

Further, the polls show that "most Americans don't think Biden is capable and competent for the job, and that's one of his biggest negatives right now," said McLaughlin. "Not only do they think he's gotten way too far to the left, but they think he's also incompetent. "

Biden, meanwhile, has "significant disapproval ratings," and that could turn Democrats against their party, he added.

"I've always felt that once we got past Labor Day, and I've been involved in a lot of these wave elections, whether it was 1994 or 2010 or even the elections where Republicans didn't do well, like in 2018, what happened was they tend to happen late," said McLaughlin. "What I've been saying the whole time is in a lot of these Senate races where you have, for instance, somebody like a Raphael Warnock in Georgia who can't get over that 50% threshold, the vast majority of those undecided voters are going to break against the Democrats. Why? Because they think the country is overwhelmingly off on the wrong track, and Joe Biden has significant disapproval ratings."

Inflation, open borders, and growing crime, meanwhile, are jeopardizing Biden's reelection chances in 2024, said McLaughlin.

"Voters have been telling us since August of last year, a majority are telling us that we're in a recession because it's not just gas prices. It's groceries. It's coffee. It's everything you do in life has gotten more expensive," said McLaughlin. "Any one of those three issues could end the presidency and he's got to deal with all those."

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Original Article

McLaughlin to Newsmax: Issues, Not Biden's Flubs, Will Decide Fall Vote President Joe Biden (Getty Images)

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Tuesday, 11 October 2022 09:55 AM EDT

The nation's midterm election results will depend on issues such as rising gas prices and the economy, not on President Joe Biden's gaffes, even though more than half of people polled think he has a cognitive problem, Jim McLaughlin, the president of McLaughlin & Associates, told Newsmax on Tuesday.

"The more Republicans are able to talk about issues, the better off that they're going to be in these campaigns," McLaughlin, the pollster for former President Donald Trump's 2020 campaign, said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "In focus groups, when we ask voters what Joe Biden's biggest accomplishment is, they laugh at you. These are a lot of voters who voted for Joe Biden."

Gas prices have gone up an average of 25 cents a gallon nationally since September and that will play a "huge" role in how people vote, said McLaughlin.

"It cuts into that narrative that we were getting from Joe Biden and the Democrats over the summer that things were getting better," said McLaughlin. "I've seen it over the last couple of weeks in our polling for various campaigns across the country. You're seeing the Republican candidates surging right now."

Meanwhile, a new Issues & Insights/TIPP Survey shows that more Democrats are beginning to have concerns about President Joe Biden's mental acuity, with the numbers jumping about his mental state from 59% to 64% in two months.

"A lot of people will tell you that they're amazed that it's only 64% because it's only really the hard-core Democrat base telling you that they're not concerned," said McLaughlin. "We've been seeing that throughout the election with more than half the voters, and we've been testing this in our national polls, that more than half the voters think Joe Biden has a cognitive problem, and they want him to be tested."

Further, the polls show that "most Americans don't think Biden is capable and competent for the job, and that's one of his biggest negatives right now," said McLaughlin. "Not only do they think he's gotten way too far to the left, but they think he's also incompetent."

Biden, meanwhile, has "significant disapproval ratings," and that could turn Democrats against their party, he added.

"I've always felt that once we got past Labor Day, and I've been involved in a lot of these wave elections, whether it was 1994 or 2010 or even the elections where Republicans didn't do well, like in 2018, what happened was they tend to happen late," said McLaughlin. "What I've been saying the whole time is in a lot of these Senate races where you have, for instance, somebody like a Raphael Warnock in Georgia who can't get over that 50% threshold, the vast majority of those undecided voters are going to break against the Democrats. Why? Because they think the country is overwhelmingly off on the wrong track, and Joe Biden has significant disapproval ratings."

Inflation, open borders, and growing crime, meanwhile, are jeopardizing Biden's reelection chances in 2024, said McLaughlin.

"Voters have been telling us since August of last year, a majority are telling us that we're in a recession because it's not just gas prices. It's groceries. It's coffee. It's everything you do in life has gotten more expensive," said McLaughlin. "Any one of those three issues could end the presidency, and he's got to deal with all those."

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Original Article

Feisty Trumpette Battles Obama Democrat in NC-1 Sandy Smith (Getty Images)

By John Gizzi Tuesday, 11 October 2022 09:00 AM EDT Current | Bio | Archive

With barely three weeks to go before the voting, few, if any, pundits in North Carolina are willing to say whether Trump Republican Sandy Smith or centrist Democrat and State Sen. Donald Davis is the frontrunner in the state's 1st District.

But one conclusion on which there is near-universal agreement is that the Smith-Davis contest is easily the hardest-fought of any of the races in North Carolina's 13 U.S. House districts.

The reason is the controversy that seems to have been a constant companion to Smith, whose Twitter account characterizes her as a "Proud USMC [U.S. Marine Corps] Mom & Business Owner," who is "#ProTrump, #ProVets, #ProWall, #Pro2nd, #ProLife, #MAGA."

Two years ago, Smith drew a surprisingly strong 45% against Democratic Rep. G.K. Butterfield. With Butterfield announcing his retirement this year, 1st District Democrats handily gave their nomination to his fellow centrist Davis. Butterfield and Davis, both black, are considered centrist Democrats in the mold of former President Barack Obama.

U.S. Air Force Academy graduate and educator Davis, 51, has emphasized his record of working with Republicans on the Senate Agriculture and Appropriations Committees and previously as mayor of Snow Hill, North Carolina.

In overcoming seven Republican primary opponents this year, Smith ran as an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump — who, surprisingly, did not endorse her until after she became their party's nominee.

Last month, Smith was hit with charges of domestic violence from two former husbands as well as her daughter. A TV spot paid for by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee pointed out that in 2012, Smith's daughter filed a domestic protection petition against her mother charging that she "pushed and shoved me, she slapped me, pulled my hair, pulled me to the ground and sat on me" after she had refused Smith's suggestion she enlist in the military.

After a week, however, the then-teenaged daughter withdrew the petition. Smith says the y have reconciled and denounced the attacks as "fake news" by the "[House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi-run DCCC."

The charges of abuse by her former husbands were initially brought up before the May primary in TV spots by her former Republican nomination opponent. These include accusations that she had tried to run over one of them with her car and had tried to hit one with a frying pan. Smith has denied all the charges and said she and her children were victims of domestic violence.

"She also promised to take a frying pan to Congress," reported WRAL Radio News.

John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.

Original Article

Trump Republican Battles Obama Democrat in NC-1 Sandy Smith (Getty Images)

By John Gizzi Tuesday, 11 October 2022 09:37 AM EDT Current | Bio | Archive

With barely three weeks to go before the voting, few, if any, pundits in North Carolina are willing to say whether Trump Republican Sandy Smith or centrist Democrat and State Sen. Donald Davis is the frontrunner in the state's 1st District.

But one conclusion on which there is near-universal agreement is that the Smith-Davis contest is easily the hardest-fought of any of the races in North Carolina's 13 U.S. House districts.

The reason is the controversy that seems to have been a constant companion to Smith, whose Twitter account characterizes her as a "Proud USMC [U.S. Marine Corps] Mom & Business Owner," who is "#ProTrump, #ProVets, #ProWall, #Pro2nd, #ProLife, #MAGA."

Two years ago, Smith drew a surprisingly strong 45% against Democrat Rep. G.K. Butterfield. With Butterfield announcing his retirement this year, 1st District Democrats handily gave their nomination to his fellow centrist Davis. Butterfield and Davis, both Black, are considered centrist Democrats in the mold of former President Barack Obama.

U.S. Air Force Academy graduate and educator Davis, 51, has emphasized his record of working with Republicans on the Senate Agriculture and Appropriations Committees and previously as mayor of Snow Hill, North Carolina.

In overcoming seven Republican primary opponents this year, Smith ran as an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump — who, surprisingly, did not endorse her until after she became their party's nominee.

Last month, Smith was hit with charges of domestic violence from two former husbands as well as her daughter. A TV spot paid for by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) pointed out that in 2012, Smith's daughter filed a domestic protection petition against her mother charging that she "pushed and shoved me, she slapped me, pulled my hair, pulled me to the ground, and sat on me" after she had refused Smith's suggestion she enlist in the military.

After a week, however, the then-teenaged daughter withdrew the petition. Smith says they have reconciled and denounced the attacks as "fake news" by the "[House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi-run DCCC."

The charges of abuse by her former husbands were initially brought up before the May primary in TV spots by her former Republican nomination opponent. These include accusations that she had tried to run over one of them with her car and had tried to hit one with a frying pan. Smith has denied all the charges and said she and her children were victims of domestic violence.

"She also promised to take a frying pan to Congress," reported WRAL Radio News.

John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.

Original Article

FBI Agent Who Probed Oath Keepers' Role in Jan. 6 Capitol Breach to Testify in Trial (Newsmax)

Sarah N. Lynch Tuesday, 11 October 2022 08:51 AM EDT

An FBI agent will testify on Tuesday in the trial of the founder of the anti-government Oath Keepers group and four others accused of plotting to use force on Jan. 6, 2021, to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's election victory.

FBI Special Agent Byron Cody will resume testifying about evidence the government gathered for the case, including a series of inflammatory texts, speeches and online posts by Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes.

In those messages, Rhodes spoke about the potential for a "bloody" war and told followers that they needed to take matters into their own hands if former President Donald Trump failed to invoke the Insurrection Act, a 19th century U.S. law that empowers presidents to deploy troops to quell civil unrest.

Rhodes and his four co-defendants – Thomas Caldwell, Kenneth Harrelson, Kelly Meggs and Jessica Watkins – are accused of conspiring to try to keep Republican Trump in power after he had lost the 2020 election. A group of protesters breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 but failed to prevent lawmakers from certifying Biden's victory.

Seditious conspiracy is a rarely prosecuted crime under a statute dating to the Civil War era and is defined as attempting "to overthrow, put down or to destroy by force the government of the United States." It carries a possible prison sentence of 20 years.

Prosecutors have said some of the Oath Keepers were among the Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol building after he gave a speech repeating claims that the election had been stolen from him through widespread voting fraud. Five people died during and shortly after the breach and about 140 police officers were injured.

In addition, prosecutors have said the Oath Keepers organized a "quick reaction force" of armed members who were kept on standby across the Potomac River in Virginia in case they were called upon to bring firearms into Washington.

Prosecutors this week are expected to call two more FBI agents to testify in the trial, as well as Ernest Hancock, an Arizona-based podcaster.

According to court filings, Hancock interviewed Edward Vallejo, an Oath Keeper and alleged co-conspirator who goes on trial in November and who is accused of helping coordinate the quick reaction force that was staged in Virginia.

In the interview, Vallejo told Hancock that if Congress certified Biden's election, then "that’s going to be the declaration of a guerilla war.”

Attorneys for the defendants have said the evidence will show they did nothing illegal and that the Oath Keepers are a peacekeeping group that has done security work at events around the country to protect speakers at political rallies.

Rhodes is expected to take the stand in his own defense later in the trial.

Original Article

Group Run by Former Trump Officials Calls for War on Cartels Former Trump DHS official Ken Cuccinelli (Joshua Roberts-Pool/Getty)

By Jeffrey Rodack | Tuesday, 11 October 2022 07:56 AM EDT

The Center for Renewing America, a group led by former officials of the Trump administration, is calling for the U.S. to declare war on Mexican cartels, Axios is reporting.

The group also wants Congress to consider approving a trigger mechanism to shut down legal ports of entry based on estimates of undocumented border crossing.

The leadership of the group includes Ken Cuccinelli, who held the second-highest post at the Department of Homeland Security when Donald Trump was president; Russ Vought, who served as director of the Office of Management and Budget under Trump; and Kash Patel, a former Pentagon official, Axios noted.

The proposals from the group came in a policy report as Republicans attempt to steer voters’ attention to immigration and crime as the midterms draw closer.

President Joe Biden and Democrats are seen as politically vulnerable to problems at the border with Mexico given the large numbers of migrants and asylum seekers crossing every day, according to Axios.

The group’s policy paper seeks a formal declaration of war and calls for coordination between with the U.S. military and the Mexican government.

The group is calling on Congress to look at a trigger mechanism to close legal ports of entry at the southern border based on estimates of the number of people crossing illegally.

The policy paper wants the Navy to interdict drug smuggling ships and the Treasury Department to issue sanctions on cartel leaders.

"The chaos playing out along the U.S. southern border is almost exclusively driven by the cartels and their sophisticated trafficking of drugs, people, and criminals," Cuccinelli said in the policy paper.

But Roberta Jacobson, former ambassador to Mexico from May 2016 to May 2018, who also had served as Biden's border czar told Axios, "It’s a dumb idea. Not least because the U.S. has been sanctioning cartel leaders, money launderers etc. under the Kingpin act for decades. And declaring war how? By mobilizing US military to act in Mexico? Never gonna happen,”

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

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

Original Article

Group Run by Former Trump Officials Calls for War on Cartels Former Trump DHS official Ken Cuccinelli (Joshua Roberts-Pool/Getty)

By Jeffrey Rodack | Tuesday, 11 October 2022 07:56 AM EDT

The Center for Renewing America, a group led by former officials of the Trump administration, is calling for the U.S. to declare war on Mexican cartels, Axios is reporting.

The group also wants Congress to consider approving a trigger mechanism to shut down legal ports of entry based on estimates of undocumented border crossing.

The leadership of the group includes Ken Cuccinelli, who held the second-highest post at the Department of Homeland Security when Donald Trump was president; Russ Vought, who served as director of the Office of Management and Budget under Trump; and Kash Patel, a former Pentagon official, Axios noted.

The proposals from the group came in a policy report as Republicans attempt to steer voters’ attention to immigration and crime as the midterms draw closer.

President Joe Biden and Democrats are seen as politically vulnerable to problems at the border with Mexico given the large numbers of migrants and asylum seekers crossing every day, according to Axios.

The group’s policy paper seeks a formal declaration of war and calls for coordination between with the U.S. military and the Mexican government.

The group is calling on Congress to look at a trigger mechanism to close legal ports of entry at the southern border based on estimates of the number of people crossing illegally.

The policy paper wants the Navy to interdict drug smuggling ships and the Treasury Department to issue sanctions on cartel leaders.

"The chaos playing out along the U.S. southern border is almost exclusively driven by the cartels and their sophisticated trafficking of drugs, people, and criminals," Cuccinelli said in the policy paper.

But Roberta Jacobson, former ambassador to Mexico from May 2016 to May 2018, who also had served as Biden's border czar told Axios, "It’s a dumb idea. Not least because the U.S. has been sanctioning cartel leaders, money launderers etc. under the Kingpin act for decades. And declaring war how? By mobilizing US military to act in Mexico? Never gonna happen,”

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

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

Group Run by Former Trump Officials Calls for War on Cartels Former Trump DHS official Ken Cuccinelli (Joshua Roberts/Getty Images)

By Jeffrey Rodack | Tuesday, 11 October 2022 09:04 AM EDT

The Center for Renewing America, a group led by former officials of the Trump administration, is calling for the U.S. to declare war on Mexican cartels, Axios is reporting.

The group also wants Congress to consider approving a trigger mechanism to shut down legal ports of entry based on estimates of undocumented border crossing.

The leadership of the group includes Ken Cuccinelli, who held the second-highest post at the Department of Homeland Security when Donald Trump was president; Russ Vought, who served as director of the Office of Management and Budget under Trump; and Kash Patel, a former Pentagon official, Axios noted.

The proposals from the group came in a policy report as Republicans attempt to steer voters' attention to immigration and crime as the midterms draw closer.

President Joe Biden and Democrats are seen as politically vulnerable to problems at the border with Mexico given the large numbers of migrants and asylum seekers crossing every day, according to Axios.

The group's policy paper seeks a formal declaration of war and calls for coordination between with the U.S. military and the Mexican government.

The group is calling on Congress to look at a trigger mechanism to close legal ports of entry at the southern border based on estimates of the number of people crossing illegally.

The policy paper wants the Navy to interdict drug smuggling ships and the Treasury Department to issue sanctions on cartel leaders.

"The chaos playing out along the U.S. southern border is almost exclusively driven by the cartels and their sophisticated trafficking of drugs, people, and criminals," Cuccinelli said in the policy paper.

But Roberta Jacobson, former ambassador to Mexico from May 2016 to May 2018, who also had served as Biden's border czar told Axios, "It's a dumb idea. Not least because the U.S. has been sanctioning cartel leaders, money launderers, etc., under the Kingpin act for decades. And declaring war how? By mobilizing U.S. military to act in Mexico? Never gonna happen."

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

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

Original Article

Group Run by Former Trump Officials Calls for War on Cartels Former Trump DHS official Ken Cuccinelli (Joshua Roberts/Getty Images)

By Jeffrey Rodack | Tuesday, 11 October 2022 09:04 AM EDT

The Center for Renewing America, a group led by former officials of the Trump administration, is calling for the U.S. to declare war on Mexican cartels, Axios is reporting.

The group also wants Congress to consider approving a trigger mechanism to shut down legal ports of entry based on estimates of undocumented border crossing.

The leadership of the group includes Ken Cuccinelli, who held the second-highest post at the Department of Homeland Security when Donald Trump was president; Russ Vought, who served as director of the Office of Management and Budget under Trump; and Kash Patel, a former Pentagon official, Axios noted.

The proposals from the group came in a policy report as Republicans attempt to steer voters' attention to immigration and crime as the midterms draw closer.

President Joe Biden and Democrats are seen as politically vulnerable to problems at the border with Mexico given the large numbers of migrants and asylum seekers crossing every day, according to Axios.

The group's policy paper seeks a formal declaration of war and calls for coordination between with the U.S. military and the Mexican government.

The group is calling on Congress to look at a trigger mechanism to close legal ports of entry at the southern border based on estimates of the number of people crossing illegally.

The policy paper wants the Navy to interdict drug smuggling ships and the Treasury Department to issue sanctions on cartel leaders.

"The chaos playing out along the U.S. southern border is almost exclusively driven by the cartels and their sophisticated trafficking of drugs, people, and criminals," Cuccinelli said in the policy paper.

But Roberta Jacobson, former ambassador to Mexico from May 2016 to May 2018, who also had served as Biden's border czar told Axios, "It's a dumb idea. Not least because the U.S. has been sanctioning cartel leaders, money launderers, etc., under the Kingpin act for decades. And declaring war how? By mobilizing U.S. military to act in Mexico? Never gonna happen."

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

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

Trump Slams McConnell for Reportedly Pulling Funds From Arizona Senate Race (Newsmax)

By Jay Clemons | Monday, 10 October 2022 09:25 PM EDT

Former President Donald Trump took a public shot at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. on Monday, criticizing the Kentucky Republican for bolstering the reelection campaign of Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, by reportedly diverting funds away from Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters.

“The Old Broken Crow, Mitchell McConnell, is authorizing $9 Million Dollars to be spent in order to beat a great Republican, Kelly [Tshibaka], instead of $9 Million Dollars that could be used for Blake Masters, and other Republicans, that with this money would beat their Democrat opponent," wrote Trump in a statement, posted on Truth Social.

In a nutshell, Trump presumably doesn't think it's wise to pull campaign funds from Masters' battle with incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz. — a typical Republican vs. Democrat competition for the Nov. 8 midterm elections. After all, in Alaska, the top two candidates for the Senate seat are both Republicans — the incumbent Murkowski, and the Trump-backed challenger Tshibaka.

Masters and Tshibaka have already garnered Trump endorsements; and Murkowski voted to convict in Trump's second impeachment trial, which covered from the Jan. 6, 2021 unrest at the Capitol.

According to the Anchorage Daily News, the Senate Leadership Fund, a Republican PAC with ties to McConnell, funded radio, TV, and Web ads in Alaska, knocking Tshibaka's credibility as a candidate over Murkowski.

McConnell has been a target of criticism from within the Republican ranks in recent months.

As Newsmax chronicled in August, McConnell seemingly dismissed the "candidate quality" of certain GOP Senate contenders, while hinting that Republicans could fall short of taking back the Senate in the midterms.

It might have also been a subtle jab at Trump, whose stable of endorsement Senate challengers includes Masters (Arizona), Tshibaka (Alaska), JD Vance (Ohio), state Attorney General Eric Schmitt (Missouri), Katie Britt (Alabama), Dr. Mehmet Oz (Pennsylvania), and Herschel Walker (Georgia).

"I think there's probably a greater likelihood the House flips [to Republicans] than the Senate," McConnell said during the summer. "Senate races are just different. They're statewide. Candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome."

That comment sparked outrage from Republican voters and leaders, including Trump, who called for McConnell to be replaced in the Senate leadership, in favor of someone who would project confidence for the upcoming election cycles.

The current Senate comprises of 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats, which means the Masters-Kelly battle in Arizona could tip the scales of party control.

Original Article

Vance Calls Out Rep. Ryan for Disingenuous Call for Biden Not to Run (Newsmax)

By Eric Mack | Monday, 10 October 2022 09:00 PM EDT

Ohio GOP Sen.-nominee J.D. Vance called out Rep. Tim Ryan's disingenuous call for a change of leadership, including President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in the Ohio Senate debate Monday night.

Ryan said, "No," he does not want Biden to run again, but Vance noted numerous times Ryan does not stand for what he says to get elected, having voted "100%" with Pelosi and Biden.

"I've been very clear: I'd like to see a generational change," Ryan said in the Senate debate moderated by Fox-8 in Cleveland, attempting to break from Democrats and Biden amid a sinking economy, rising crime, and potential war, in a state that twice voted for former President Donald Trump in the past two presidential elections. "We need a new generation of leadership.

"We need leaders who have courage to stand up to their own party."

But Vance shot back at the record of the 20-year, 10-term Democrat who serves the Youngstown, Ohio, area to what he considers deleterious results.

"It's so funny, we're getting close to Halloween, and Tim Ryan has put on a costume, where he pretends to be a reasonable moderate, but in fact – he said he stands up to his own party – the last two congresses, Tim, you voted with Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden 100%," Vance said.

"You consistently toe the party line on every single issue. I wish you were the reasonable moderate you said you were, because then Youngstown would not have lost 50,000 manufacturing jobs during your 20 years."

Vance accused Ryan, who has sought to draw in moderate voters in the battleground state of Ohio, of campaigning on a platform that does not comport with his voting record as a Democrat in the House.

"Let's at least be honest with voters about what our actual views are," Vance said, responding to Ryan's attack on Vance for not supporting the Equality Act, which he warned would unwind religious liberty in America.

"This is a guy who voted for the 'Equality Act' that would literally remove federal funding for free and reduced lunch programming for schools that don't let biological males participate in biological females sports," Vance said. "The extremist here, Tim, is you."

Vance also challenged Ryan's evolving positions on immigration and abortion, referencing the case of a 10-year-old girl who sought an abortion out of the state of Ohio after being raped by an illegal immigrant.

"Let's talk about that case, because why was a 10-year-old girl raped in our community, raped in our state in the first place?" Vance said, noting he believes the girl and her family do have a right to an abortion if they "choose," at some point sooner than later in the pregnancy. "The thing the media and Congressman Ryan – they talk about this all the time – the thing they never mention was that poor girl was raped by an illegal alien. Somebody that should have never been in this state in the first place.

"You voted so many times against border wall funding, so many times for amnesty," Vance continued on Ryan's voting record. "If you had done your job, she would have never been raped in the first place.

"Do your job on border security, don't lecture me about opinions I don't actually have."

Vance's debate remark drew a rave review from Donald Trump Jr. on Twitter.

"Holy sh**, @JDVance1 just KO'd Tim Ryan!!!" Trump Jr. tweeted.

Ultimately, Ohio voters have valid concerns about the economy, crime, illegal immigration that Ryan has failed to address in the state during his 10-term stay in the House, Vance said in his closing remarks.

"I believe we've gone in a fundamentally bad direction over the last couple of years," Vance said earlier in the debate, challenging Ryan's position on saying it is time for new leadership. "I believe people deserve to go to the grocery store without breaking the bank."

Vance also accused Ryan of buying into dangerous rhetoric and divisive politics in siding with and not calling out violent 2020 rioters, but seeking to target conservatives concerned about election integrity or parental rights in education.

"[Biden] says he wants to kill the MAGA movement – that's not the rhetoric of a unifier," Vance said.

Democrats view the Nov. 8 race as among their best chances nationally to flip a Senate seat. Ryan has significantly outraised Vance in an increasingly Republican-leaning state that twice voted for Donald Trump for president.

Ryan ended the last fundraising period that ended June 30 with $3.6 million in the bank, compared to Vance's $630,000. Last week, the Ryan campaign reported raising $17.2 million between July 1 and the end of September. Vance, who received help in the primary from billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel, has not reported his latest totals.

Trump's endorsement helped carry Vance to a primary victory in May amid the crowded field, which included a former state Republican Party chair and a former state treasurer.

Original Article