NationalWatch

McCarthy Continues Drive to Defeat GOP Detractors Before Speaker Bid House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Getty Images)

By Brian Freeman | Monday, 12 September 2022 10:38 AM EDT

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's allies have helped defeat his potential detractors in Republican primaries nationwide, with the New Hampshire GOP vote Tuesday offering the final chance to wipe out dissenters who might derail his speakership bid next year, Politico reported on Monday.

Conservative rivals of McCarthy are furious over what they allege is a leadership-backed campaign to help the California Republican obtain the House's top role next year after a possible GOP takeover.

Outside spending in New Hampshire's Republican House primaries on behalf of Matt Mowers and Keene Mayor George Hansel has angered the other GOP contenders.

"This is coming from McCarthy," said Bob Burns, who is challenging Hansel in the Republican primary to take on Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster.

"He's dead to me at this point. I'm not going to support him," Burns said, adding that "quite frankly, if it boils down to it, I may run against him."

The race in New Hampshire to take on Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas became particularly heated after the McCarthy-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund backed Mowers over his top competitor, Karoline Leavitt, a Generation Z former Donald Trump communications official, according to Politico.

Leavitt, when asked if she would vote for McCarthy, said: "I am the only candidate in this race that the establishment is viciously attacking. They're spending millions and millions of dollars to slow down my momentum. I'm not beholden to anyone in D.C."

Several groups in the past few months have spent millions to defeat some of McCarthy's biggest detractors in primaries from Virginia to Texas to Florida, and he has moved to win over some skeptical candidates who won Republican nominations.

This means that only a handful of Republican nominees have said they will oppose a McCarthy run for speaker, making it easier for him to take on the role if the GOP wins control of the House.

Perhaps the best example of McCarthy successfully winning over detractors to his side was Ohio's J.R. Majewski, a Trump supporter.

Majewski said in late April that he believed McCarthy "did, in fact, conspire" with Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the anti-Trump congresswoman, declaring that "he and his minions can no longer be trusted," according to Politico.

Majewski vowed to do everything in his power to stop "the establishment" and "the insiders" from gaining the speakership, saying he would instead back "constitutional warriors" like Rep. Paul Gosar.

But just a few months later, McCarthy joined Majewski in Ohio to aid his campaign against Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, and Majewski praised McCarthy as "a great leader and partner in my race."

Majewski told Politico that "McCarthy came to Ohio to campaign with me and I am grateful for it. He is working hard to win the majority and put a check on the reckless Biden/Kaptur agenda. That is exactly what our party needs."

Original Article

Border Patrol Probes Retweets of Anti-Biden Posts A stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border in West Texas (Getty Images)

By Charlie McCarthy | Monday, 12 September 2022 10:32 AM EDT

Retweets of posts from a former Trump administration official by West Texas Border Patrol are "totally unacceptable" and will be investigated, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) commissioner said.

CBP West Texas shared posts — related to crime and also critical of President Joe Biden and the media — on Saturday made by Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to then-President Donald Trump.

"Violent criminals lay waste to our communities undisturbed while the immense power of the state is arrayed against those whose only crime is dissent," Miller tweeted and West Texas CBP shared. "The law has been turned from a shield to protect the innocent into a sword to conquer them."

"The media's greatest power is its ability to frame what is a dire national crisis (eg 'cops are racist' summer '20) and what is not. Biden's eradication of our border means we are no longer a Republic — he's ended nearly 250 years of constitutional government. The media is silent," said another Miller tweet shared by West Texas CBP.

The retweets later were deleted from the CBP West Texas Twitter account, which the agency said would be deactivated. The account remained active on Monday morning,

"Totally unacceptable and disappointing that any CBP Twitter account was used to R/T offensive, unauthorized content. … This must not happen again," tweeted Magnus, who added that the Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility will investigate the incident.

Miller, who helped drive Trump's immigration policy, blasted the Biden administration's decision to investigate the matter.

"Joe Biden's soulless open border crusade is killing thousands of innocents. Death and destruction everywhere. But instead of going after the murderous cartels, they are going after agents for RTs of pro-border messages. The Biden Administration hates the law and law enforcement," Miller tweeted Sunday night.

A Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) report last month revealed that 4.9 million migrants — including 900,000-plus "got-aways" who eluded apprehension from border officials — have unlawfully crossed the U.S.-Mexico border since Biden took office in January 2021.

CBP statistics showed that 199,976 encounters with migrants occurred in July — the first month in five that the total was below 207,000.

Original Article

Rep. Tenney to Newsmax: 'Criminalization of Civil Behavior' Creeping Into US Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y. (Getty Images)

By Cathy Burke | Monday, 12 September 2022 10:00 AM EDT

Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., on Monday decried the "criminalization of civil behavior" in the United States.

In an interview on Newsmax TV's "Wake Up America," Tenney, fresh from a trip overseas that included a visit to Taiwan, said the behavior is not just evident in authoritarian countries overseas.

"Everyone is obsessed right now with this criminalization of civil behavior that's something authoritarian regimes like China do," she said, adding, "we see this creating the relentless assault on [former] President [Donald] Trump and everything Trump and any Trump supporter. I find it really disturbing."

Tenney noted that "even flying into Taiwan — just the lockdowns and the kind of the lack of freedom that you feel sometimes especially dealing with COVID.

"Everything was masked in China and flying back in the United States, you still get that sense of freedom, even though Taiwan compared to the People's Republic of China, and the mainland is a democracy, you feel that oppression. … It really concerns me, this authoritarianism. The criminalization of civil behavior by Merrick Garland or FBI … really concerns me."

Tenney dismissed the speculation bubbling up over Trump's hush-hush visit to Washington, D.C, on Sunday, saying "I think the president likes the mystery."

"I'm wondering if maybe he's heading to London to go participate in with the Queen's funeral and that type of situation. I really don't know," she said.

"There's been a lot of speculation about this. Here we are five weeks removed from the raid on Mar-a-Lago — is he meeting with attorneys about the special master? I read a report that said that he's going to Walter Reed [hospital] to get a COVID booster because he's afraid of being poisoned or something like that," she said referring to speculation reviewed in a Raw Story report.

"But he's only been back in D.C. once since leaving office and the speculation is rampant. Nobody seems to know why the 45th president is in our nation's capital right now. Curious."

Tenney had high praise for Taiwan's independence and vigor — and bashed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) visit there as "all about" herself.

"Although they called themselves the Republic of China, they really do have a unique democracy in the midst of China's aggression all around that region of the world, which is why we also visited South Korea," Tenney said of the tour.

"And we visited Mongolia, of all the places, the country sandwiched between authoritarian Russia and authoritarian China.

"It was great to be back again to see just what a great example of Taiwan is. And how under siege they are by the People's Republic. I'm glad that some Republican members from the House are finally visiting. I wish that Nancy Pelosi made her visit five weeks ago more bipartisan. I think that would have had an even bigger effect. But she made it about herself."

Tenney also justified military support for Taiwan given current tensions.

"We have the Taiwan Relations Act, which actually authorizes the United States to provide defensive strength and defensive weapons to Taiwan in the event that China continues to show aggression towards Taiwan there," she said.

"They've been doing military exercises in the strait and near in that region. They've been projecting a lot of hostility towards members of Congress

"But this is a really important part of the world where we see vibrancy and democracy which we need to protect and to … flourish in a part of the country and part of the world where you're seeing authoritarianism.

"Taiwan is a fascinating place. Very modern. The people really appreciate the fact that they are able to elect their leaders."

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Original Article

Rep. Tenney to Newsmax: 'Criminalization of Civil Behavior' Creeping Into US Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y. (Getty Images)

By Fran Beyer | Monday, 12 September 2022 10:48 AM EDT

Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., on Monday decried the "criminalization of civil behavior" in the United States.

In an interview on Newsmax TV's "Wake Up America," Tenney, fresh from a trip overseas that included a visit to Taiwan, said the behavior is not just evident in authoritarian countries overseas.

"Everyone is obsessed right now with this criminalization of civil behavior that's something authoritarian regimes like China do," she said, adding, "we see this creating the relentless assault on [former] President [Donald] Trump and everything Trump and any Trump supporter. I find it really disturbing."

Tenney noted that "even flying into Taiwan — just the lockdowns and the kind of the lack of freedom that you feel sometimes especially dealing with COVID.

"Everything was masked in China and flying back in the United States, you still get that sense of freedom, even though Taiwan compared to the People's Republic of China, and the mainland is a democracy, you feel that oppression. … It really concerns me, this authoritarianism. The criminalization of civil behavior by Merrick Garland or FBI … really concerns me."

Tenney dismissed the speculation bubbling up over Trump's hush-hush visit to Washington, D.C, on Sunday, saying, "I think the president likes the mystery."

"I'm wondering if maybe he's heading to London to go participate in with the Queen's funeral and that type of situation. I really don't know," she said.

"There's been a lot of speculation about this. Here we are five weeks removed from the raid on Mar-a-Lago — is he meeting with attorneys about the special master? I read a report that said that he's going to Walter Reed [hospital] to get a COVID booster because he's afraid of being poisoned or something like that," she said referring to speculation reviewed in a Raw Story report.

"But he's only been back in D.C. once since leaving office and the speculation is rampant. Nobody seems to know why the 45th president is in our nation's capital right now. Curious."

Tenney had high praise for Taiwan's independence and vigor — and bashed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) visit there as "all about" herself.

"Although they called themselves the Republic of China, they really do have a unique democracy in the midst of China's aggression all around that region of the world, which is why we also visited South Korea," Tenney said of the tour.

"And we visited Mongolia, of all the places, the country sandwiched between authoritarian Russia and authoritarian China.

"It was great to be back again to see just what a great example of Taiwan is. And how under siege they are by the People's Republic. I'm glad that some Republican members from the House are finally visiting. I wish that Nancy Pelosi made her visit five weeks ago more bipartisan. I think that would have had an even bigger effect. But she made it about herself."

Tenney also justified military support for Taiwan given current tensions.

"We have the Taiwan Relations Act, which actually authorizes the United States to provide defensive strength and defensive weapons to Taiwan in the event that China continues to show aggression towards Taiwan there," she said.

"They've been doing military exercises in the strait and near in that region. They've been projecting a lot of hostility towards members of Congress.

"But this is a really important part of the world where we see vibrancy and democracy which we need to protect and to … flourish in a part of the country and part of the world where you're seeing authoritarianism.

"Taiwan is a fascinating place. Very modern. The people really appreciate the fact that they are able to elect their leaders."

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Original Article

Ron DeSantis Moving PAC Money to Help State Republicans Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (Getty Images)

By Charlie McCarthy | Monday, 12 September 2022 10:28 AM EDT

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is using his large campaign coffer to help fellow state Republicans.

DeSantis moved $2.5 million from his political committee to the Florida Republican Senatorial Committee, Politico reported Monday.

The amount is the single largest contribution to the committee – which is controlled by incoming Senate President Kathleen Passidomo – since its creation in 2014.

DeSantis' contribution surpassed the $2 million given by Senate President Wilton Simpson from his political committee back in July. Simpson is running for agriculture commissioner.

Republicans, seeking to build a supermajority from their current 23-16 majority, are targeting Democrat incumbents such as Sens. Janet Cruz and Loranne Ausley, Politico reported.

Florida Senate Democrats, who spent money to help defend Minority Leader Lauren Book against a primary challenge, had less than $600,000 in their main campaign account, Politico said.

"I expect ours [account] to grow nicely over the next few weeks, and not from donors who live among aliens," said State Sen. Jason Pizzo, a Democrat, taking a dig at entrepreneur Robert Bigelow, who donated $10 million to DeSantis' PAC and who said aliens are "right under people's noses."

Politico reported that DeSantis apparently wants to help Senate Republicans across the board to grow support for his legislative agenda, assuming he wins another term.

DeSantis' PAC reported during a one-week period that it shifted $6.5 million to the Republican Party of Florida, Politico reported.

Open Secrets reported that DeSantis' political operation, as of Aug. 19, raised $172 million, more than 11 times the $15.3 million Democrat gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist's political operation reported raising.

Politico said DeSantis has more than $122.5 million unspent — which doesn't reflect any future planned expenditures — while Crist has more than $4.1 million.

DeSantis raised more than $2.83 million from Aug. 27 to Sept. 2, while Crist raised nearly $1.39 million, Politico reported.

Billionaire investor and Trump megadonor Peter Thiel, speaking at the National Conservatism Conference on Sunday, praised DeSantis "probably the best of the governors in terms of offering a real alternative to California," Business Insider reported.

Original Article

Mark Morgan to Newsmax: Biden Admin Lying About Border Statistics Mark Morgan (Getty Images)

By Cathy Burke | Monday, 12 September 2022 09:15 AM EDT

The Biden administration isn't being honest — and Vice President Kamala Harris is outright lying — about the rising number of illegal entries at the nation's southern border, former Trump administration acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Mark Morgan said Monday on Newsmax.

In an interview on "Wake Up America," Morgan lamented the number of illegal entries is "above 200,000 again, shattering every lifetime record."

"What I'm hearing right now … actually in August [the numbers are] going to be higher than they were in July," he said.

"This administration also will not be honest with the American people about when this happens, when you open your borders and [there are] increases, especially during this time," he said.

Morgan said another increased number is even more horrifying.

"What's also increased, what's another record — they shattered the number of dead migrants piling up on our border," he asserted, saying "over 1,000 migrants have been found deceased on our Southwest border because of this administration's open border policy. They have blood on their hands yet you will never hear a word mentioned about this from this administration."

According to Morgan, migrants are taking advantage of lax U.S. border policies.

"We know that there have been fake families, that kids are actually being bought and sold and rented to … fake family to also be released," he said.

"We know that individuals are … taking advantage of the vulnerabilities," he said, noting "last year we heard about someone" claiming to be 70 when it turned out he was 24."

Morgan also lamented the 2021 case of a stabbing death of a man by an illegal immigrant who claimed to be a teenager at the border but turned out to be 24.

"That's the reality of what's happening," he charged.

Morgan slammed Harris for asserting during an NBC News interview Sunday that the "border is secure."

"It's a blatant lie," Morgan said. "The only time she has come near the Southwest border she didn't leave the confines of an air conditioned hanger, and she was miles away from the epicenter with respect to the catastrophic crisis.

"Under this administration, there have been over one million 'got-aways' because 90% of [our] resources are pulled off the frontline.

"This administration has literally had an operational control over the cartels, they push drugs across at an alarming rate, more than we've ever seen killing Americans," Morgan added. "We know there are criminal aliens, including murder, rapists, pedophiles, aggravated felons and gang members."

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Original Article

NY Times: Polls May Give Dems False Hope A voter sits alone at a poll kiosk to cast his vote at a Mississippi Second Congressional District Primary election precinct, in Jackson, Mississippi, on June 7. (Rogelio V. Solis/AP)

By Charlie McCarthy | Monday, 12 September 2022 08:29 AM EDT

The left-leaning New York Times expressed skepticism over Democrats' improved showing in recent polls for November's midterms.

Although recent surveys indicate Democrats are expected to retain control of the Senate and lose control of the House – both narrowly – the Times suggested that polling might not give a true picture of the current landscape.

The newspaper based its concern on the 2020 election final polls, which overstated President Joe Biden’s strength, especially in places such as North Carolina, Wisconsin and Ohio – states with key Senate races this year.

"One factor seems to be that Republican voters are more skeptical of mainstream institutions and are less willing to respond to a survey," Times senior writer David Leonhardt said Monday. "If that's true, polls will often understate Republican support, until pollsters figure out how to fix the problem."

The outlet said there's also uncertainty about how polls are affected by former President Donald Trump not being on the ballot, as he was in 2016 and 2020. YouGov’s chief scientist Douglas Rivers told the Times that "there is something particular about Trump that complicates polling."

The Times, noting pollsters' challenge to find likely voters willing to respond to surveys, said "there are still some big mysteries about the polls’ recent tendency to underestimate Republican support."

Times' chief political analyst Nate Cohn even suggested this year's surveys could be off due to pollsters "understating Democratic support this year by searching too hard for Republican voters in an effort to avoid repeating recent mistakes."

One issue in trying to assure survey accuracy nationwide is that not all states have produced questionable polling results.

For example, polls in states such as Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania have been fairly accurate in recent years.

The Times said the 2020 election "does have two dynamics" that might help Democrats – the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and Trump's continued influence on Republican supporters.

"As a result, this year's election may feel less like a referendum on the current president and more like a choice between two parties," the Times said.

Still, midterms usually hurt the party — especially in the House — of the sitting president.

Emphasizing that every election cycle is unique, the Times said, "there’s always a way to spin up a rationale for why old rules won't apply."

"In the end, history usually prevails," Leonhardt said. "That’s a good thing to keep in mind right now as Democrats show strength that seems entirely at odds with the long history of the struggles of the president’s party in midterm elections.

"But this cycle, there really is something different — or at the very least, there is something different about the reasons this cycle might be different."

Original Article

Trump's Quiet Trip to D.C. Sparks Flurry of Speculation Former President Donald Trump (Getty Images)

By Fran Beyer | Monday, 12 September 2022 08:11 AM EDT

Former President Donald Trump's flight to Washington, D.C., on Sunday set off a wave of new speculation — both serious and silly — about his future political plans.

Photos of his flight from a New Jersey airport Sunday evening, and a flight plan filed for Dulles airport in Virginia — one often used by those headed to the nation's capital — were widely posted on Twitter.

The former president's landing at Dulles was also photographed, as was the ride in a blacked-out SUV from the airport.

Trump made no remarks about the trip to Washington, or about what he was doing, but others theorized it may have been a fundraising trip to meet with donors, or possibly a meeting with GOP leaders amid the controversy over the FBI's raid of Trump's Florida Mar-a-Lago home, where they took away classified documents kept there.

A special master will now review records seized by the FBI during its August raid that Trump has labeled a "political witch hunt."

Last week, former Attorney General Bill Barr defended the raid, saying Trump was getting dangerously close to being indicted.

News outlet Raw noted some Twitter posters had more ludicrous theories about the journey — including that Trump was moving more documents, this time to his Virginia golf course.

But weighing on many posters' minds was whether an indictment may be at hand. Lawyer George Conway, an ardent Trump critic, tweeted the weather has been "arraigning — I mean, raining."

Meanwhile, Mary Trump, the former president's niece who is also a constant critic, told MSNBC on Sunday the Department of Justice doesn't typically base its decisions on political risks, Raw reported.

"So, the real question here is will it be too dangerous not to prosecute Donald if, indeed, he is potentially guilty of committing serious crimes against this country," she said.

"It seems pretty clear to me that either way we are going to be in a lot of trouble. We already are," she asserted about her famous uncle's influence.

"We would be much worse off, even if it created a dangerous situation if we refused to do anything and allowed this kind of criminality to stand," she added.

Other speculation swirled around whether Trump's visit was a Walter Reed trip for some kind of medical treatment — though he wouldn't have to go to Walter Reed for medical care, Raw pointed out.

However, Walter Reed is subject to any Freedom of Information Act requests while other medical clinics would not be, the news outlet reported.

Original Article

Will Trump Go to Queen's Funeral? Former President Donald Trump (Brandon Bell/Getty)

By Nick Koutsobinas | Monday, 12 September 2022 07:12 AM EDT

President Joe Biden has been permitted to bring other presidents as guests to Queen Elizabeth II's funeral.

On Friday, CNN host Jake Tapper sent Twitter into a tailspin after suggesting Biden ask former President Donald Trump to attend the funeral with him.

"In the spirit of giving and forgiving … I think that the clever move is to invite him and see if he goes," Tapper said.

Tapper's deference toward Trump sent Twitter user's writing in, according to The List, a series of vehement comments.

"Trump stole classified documents and kept them at his home! He demanded a new election! He's a threat to national security! He deserves NOTHING!" one user wrote.

"Trump didn't even have the dignity & class to attend Biden's inauguration. Why should he be invited to the queen's funeral?" another commented.

Original Article

Will Trump Go to Queen's Funeral? Former President Donald Trump (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

By Nick Koutsobinas | Monday, 12 September 2022 07:52 AM EDT

President Joe Biden has been permitted to bring other presidents as guests to Queen Elizabeth II's funeral.

On Friday, CNN host Jake Tapper sent Twitter into a tailspin after suggesting Biden ask former President Donald Trump to attend the funeral with him.

"In the spirit of giving and forgiving … I think that the clever move is to invite him and see if he goes," Tapper said.

Tapper's deference toward Trump sent Twitter user's writing in, according to The List, a series of vehement comments.

"Trump stole classified documents and kept them at his home! He demanded a new election! He's a threat to national security! He deserves NOTHING!" one user wrote.

"Trump didn't even have the dignity & class to attend Biden's inauguration. Why should he be invited to the queen's funeral?" another commented.

Original Article

Kevin McCarthy: Biden 'Has Divided Us Further'

House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

By Nick Koutsobinas | Sunday, 11 September 2022 07:00 PM EDT

Responding to President Joe Biden's speech in which he labeled the rhetoric of "MAGA Republicans" as that of a "clear and present danger," which holds definite legal implications, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy questioned Biden's ability to unite the country.

On Sunday on Fox News, host Maria Bartiromo prompted McCarthy with a video of Biden's Sept. 1 speech in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

"I thought he was going to unite us," McCarthy responded. "He has divided us further. We're more divided today than we were on his Inauguration Day. But listen to why. Why does 75% of America believe we're headed in the wrong direction? Because everything costs more based upon the Democrat policies.

"I think," McCarthy continued, "we need somebody that will not attack you based upon your political beliefs but actually respect a difference of policy and unite us based on we are all Americans. That's something we should remember today [on 9/11] more than ever."

During his Sept. 1 speech, Biden said that "MAGA Republicans" presented a "clear and present danger to our democracy."

"They look," Biden said, "at the mob that stormed the United States Capitol on Jan. 6 — brutally attacking law enforcement — not as insurrectionists who placed a dagger to the throat of our democracy, but they look at them as patriots … That's why respected conservatives, like Federal Circuit Court Judge Michael Luttig, has called Trump and the extreme MAGA Republicans, quote, a 'clear and present danger' to our democracy."

While the invocation of the phrase "clear and present danger," which was introduced by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, may sound like a linguistic flourish, it holds implications for striking civil rights such as the First Amendment in the face of a national emergency.

But while no such precedent for the Biden administration has been set by a judge, on the same day as Biden's "Unity," speech, a litigious civil organization, the New Civil Liberties Alliance, issued a press release detailing that the Biden administration has pressured social media companies to squash narratives pertaining to COVID-19 and the suppression of free speech.

"The New Civil Liberties Alliance, the attorney general of Missouri and the attorney general of Louisiana have filed a lawsuit that blows the lid off a sprawling federal censorship regime that will shock the conscience of Americans. The joint statement on discovery disputes in the lawsuit, State of Missouri ex rel. Schmitt, et al. v. Joseph R. Biden, Jr., et al., reveals scores of federal officials across at least 11 federal agencies have secretly communicated with social media platforms to censor and suppress private speech federal officials disfavor. This unlawful enterprise has been wildly successful."

Original Article

Senate Hopeful Fetterman Seeks to Calm Health Worries at Rally

Senate candidate John Fetterman prepares to throw a T-shirt to supporters during a rally Sunday in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. (Mark Makela/Getty Images)

Jarrett Renshaw Sunday, 11 September 2022 05:17 PM EDT

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman on Sunday sought to allay concerns about his health after suffering a near-fatal stroke earlier this year, at a campaign rally focused on abortion rights in suburban Philadelphia.

Speaking at times in a halting and clipped fashion, Fetterman took aim at his Republican opponent in Pennsylvania's Senate race, celebrity physician Mehmet Oz, for questioning his fitness to serve. "Unfortunately," he said, "I have a doctor in my life doing that."

He spoke for about 10 minutes before moving slowly off the stage. He walked into the crowd, shaking hands, greeting people and smiling for selfies as AC-DC's "Back in Black" played.

Fetterman, Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor, has largely kept off the campaign trail since a stroke in May that he said almost killed him. Oz has seized on the issue, suggesting Fetterman's health would prevent him from carrying out his duties if elected.

Polls show Fetterman leading Oz in a race that will help determine whether President Joe Biden's Democrats hold onto their razor-thin margin in the U.S. Senate. The race for the seat held by retiring Republican Pat Toomey is important enough that both Biden and former President Donald Trump have traveled to the state in recent weeks to promote their parties' candidates.

Speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss their concerns, five state Democratic Party officials interviewed in the past two weeks expressed worries about Fetterman's health and whether Republican attacks were swaying voters.

"It's important for people to see John Fetterman out on the campaign trail and to see for themselves that he's all right. In a state where one [percentage] point can decide an election, it matters," said Joe Foster, a state Democratic committeeman from the Philadelphia suburbs.

Fetterman held his first public event after his stroke in August, and has made a handful of campaign appearances since, including at a Labor Day parade in Pittsburgh. His campaign confirmed he relies on closed captions to conduct interviews due to hearing damage. He has said the symptoms are temporary.

Fetterman campaign spokesman Joe Cavello said he is up to the job.

"John marched for over two hours in the rain in Pittsburgh's Labor Day parade, and spoke at two other events afterwards," Cavello told Reuters on Friday. "Anyone who's seen John speak knows that while he's still recovering, he's more capable of fighting for PA than Dr. Oz will ever be.

Fetterman rallied with abortion-rights advocacy group Planned Parenthood in Philadelphia's largest suburban county as he seeks to fire up women voters concerned about the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in June to end the nationwide right to abortion.

"Women are the reason we can win," Fetterman said.

The stakes are high in Pennsylvania, where the governor's race will decide whether women will maintain their access to abortions. Fetterman has vowed to help protect that access, while Oz says he's "100% pro-life" but supports exceptions in cases of rape or incest or if the life of the mother is at risk.

Christopher Borick, a political science professor at Pennsylvania's Muhlenberg University, said bread-and-butter campaign events like Sunday's take on added meaning following the stroke.

"He doesn't have to be pre-stroke John Fetterman, but people need to see that he's capable," Borick said.

Oz used an initial refusal by Fetterman to debate to argue that his rival was either afraid of him or concealing the scope of the damage done by the stroke.

"John Fetterman is either healthy and he's dodging the debate because he does not want to answer for his radical left positions, or he's too sick to participate," Oz told reporters last week, according to media accounts.

Fetterman has now agreed to debate in October, but his campaign is looking at the possibility of using a closed captioning monitor for the event so that he does not miss any words as he continues to recover from his stroke.

"Let's be clear, this has never really been about debates for Dr. Oz," Fetterman said in a statement. "This whole thing has been about Dr. Oz and his team mocking me for having a stroke because they've got nothing else."

Original Article

Sen. Tim Scott on GOP Midterm Candidates: Issues, Momentum on Our Side en. Tim Scott, R-S.C., heads for the Senate chamber to vote.(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

By Eric Mack | Sunday, 11 September 2022 12:22 PM EDT

The Republican Party is going to dance with the ones they have brought to the floor in the midterm elections, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said Sunday, pointing to the issues and momentum in the GOP's favor.

"Well, the players are on the field," Scott told "Fox News Sunday." "We are eight weeks away, which is kind of like saying we're in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter. So the truth is, who we have on the field is who we're going to play."

Scott, who released his new book "America, a Redemption Story: Choosing Hope, Creating Unity" last month, told host Shannon Bream the GOP midterm candidates are set up to bring the Republican Party back into the congressional majorities.

"I'm excited about the candidates that we have overall, because I do believe it gives us the chance to win back the majority and return to sanity in Washington, which will reverberate around the country," Scott added, responding to recent remarks of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who suggested "candidate quality" might be in question for some midterm GOP hopefuls.

Regardless of the left vs. right political battles, Scott said Americans care most about "economy, inflation, and gas prices," the top three issues that Republicans can win on versus Democrats.

"If we were to have the tough issues and the tough conversations about the future of America, and not the future of Republicans or Democrats, we would actually earn the respect of the American people and let the voters make their own decisions," Scott told Bream.

"I actually think the momentum is heading in our direction," he concluded, pointing to polling surges for Ohio's J.D. Vance and Georgia's Herschel Walker, a pair of Senate GOP candidates endorsed by former President Donald Trump.

Original Article

Biden to Attend Hispanic Awards Gala

President Joe Biden (Getty)

By Solange Reyner | Saturday, 10 September 2022 06:33 PM EDT

President Joe Biden will attend the Annual Awards Gala held by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute in Washington, D.C., next week, reported The Hill.

The event, in its 45th year, is billed as the largest celebration of Latino excellence in the nation. Biden's attendance will be the first by a president since former President Barack Obama delivered an address in 2016.

"It's an example of the commitment of our nation's highest-ranking leaders to our community and desire to engage with us directly — to speak to us, to hear from us, to learn about our needs and desires," said Marco Davis, the CEO of CHCI.

CHCI in 2017 didn’t invite former President Donald Trump to the gala after he pardoned Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio and said he would end the Obama-era program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

CHCI offers civic engagement and leadership programs, including paid congressional internships and fellowships in D.C.

It was founded in 1978 by three Hispanic members of Congress "committed to creating [a] nonprofit, nonpartisan leadership institute to ensure a diverse and inclusive work force that included talented Latino Americans."

Currently, 25 Hispanic members of Congress guide the institute's mission.

Biden previously participated in the event virtually as the Democratic presidential nominee in 2020 and as president for the 2021 gala.

"When we were virtual, it was definitely a very different experience. I will say that the president did send a video message that we were able to air when we were virtual last fall, so technically he participated … but him being [there] in person is a very different thing," said Davis.

Original Article

Proud Boys Hawaii Leader, Friend Plead Guilty in Jan. 6 Riot (Jose Luis Magana/AP)

ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Saturday, 10 September 2022 05:18 PM EDT

The founder of the Hawaii Proud Boys chapter and a Texas man who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and posed for a picture in front a door on which one of them had written "Murder the Media" each pleaded guilty Friday in federal court to a felony charge in connection with the riot.

Nicholas Ochs, founder of the far-right extremist group's Hawaii chapter and a onetime Republican state House candidate, and Nicholas DeCarlo, of Fort Worth, Texas, admitted to obstructing the congressional certification of President Joe Biden's Electoral College victory.

They shared a social media channel called "Murder the Media" and initially claimed to be working as journalists Jan. 6, according to the government.

Federal guidelines for Ochs, 36, and DeCarlo, 32, call for sentences between about 3½ years and four years behind bars, although the judge can decide to go above or below that. In exchange for pleading guilty, prosecutors agreed to dismiss several other charges against them. They are to be sentenced in December.

Edward MacMahon, a lawyer for Ochs, noted after the hearing his client did not injure anyone at the Capitol and said he hopes Ochs is sentenced consistent with others who did not participate in any violence. A lawyer for DeCarlo did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment.

Ochs and DeCarlo attended the "Stop the Steal" rally near the White House in support of then-President Donald Trump on the morning of Jan. 6 and then marched together to the Capitol. The men admitted to throwing smoke bombs at a line of police trying to keep the mob from the stage set up for Biden's inauguration.

DeCarlo admitted to writing "Murder The Media" in permanent marker on a door in the Capitol building, prosecutors said. The men then posed in front of the door with a thumbs-up sign. DeCarlo also rummaged through a Capitol police officer's bag and stole a pair of plastic handcuffs, prosecutors said.

Ochs posted on Twitter a picture of the men smoking cigarettes inside the Capitol, and the caption said: "Hello from the Capital lol," according to court papers.

After leaving the building, they filmed a video together in which Ochs said they came to "stop the steal" and DeCarlo declared: "We did it," the government said. "Sorry we couldn’t go live when we stormed the f**kin' U.S. Capitol and made Congress flee," Ochs said in a video with the Capitol visible in the background.

Ochs told CNN he was working as a "professional journalist" and he did not have to break into the Capitol, but just "walked in and filmed." Before his arrest, DeCarlo also told the Los Angeles Times they were journalists.

"What I did was journalism: Follow the events and show people what happened," DeCarlo told the newspaper.

Ochs was the Republican Party's candidate to represent Waikiki in the Hawaii House in the November 2020 election. Ochs lost to Democrat Adrian Tam.

Ochs and DeCarlo are among dozens of members and associates of the Proud Boys who have been charged in the Capitol riot. The group's former chairman, Enrique Tarrio, and other leaders have been charged with seditious conspiracy — the most serious charges brought so far in the insurrection.

The leader and members of another far-right extremist group, the Oath Keepers, are heading to trial later this month on the charge of seditious conspiracy. The Oath Keepers are the first Jan. 6 defendants facing the rare and difficult-to-prove charge to go to trial.

Also on Friday, a lawyer for the Oath Keepers, Kellye SoRelle, pleaded not guilty to a charge of conspiracy to obstruct the certification of the Electoral College vote. SoRelle, a close associate of Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, was arrested this month in Texas.

More than 870 people have been charged so far in the Capitol riot. Nearly 400 have pleaded guilty to charges ranging from low-level misdemeanors for illegally entering the building to felony seditious conspiracy.

Report: GOP Leaders Urging Trump to Spend More on Senate Races

Former President Donald Trump (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

By Charles Kim | Saturday, 10 September 2022 02:41 PM EDT

Republican leaders in Congress want former President Donald Trump to spend more of his Save America PAC’s around $99 million in cash on GOP Senate races, Politico reported Friday.

According to the report, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is privately urging the former president to spend some of the reported $99 million in donations his PAC has taken in to bolster Republican Senate candidates who are underfunded in key states.

"A lot of Trump candidates need help, like Blake Masters," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told Politico. "My argument would be: 'If the people you endorsed do well, you do well.'"

Trump insiders told the news outlet that he has no obligation to fund the Senate races even as Democrats are raising more money than the GOP is.

"It's not Trump's job to elect a Senate majority," one Trump adviser told Politico.

While Trump may not be spending heavily on these races, including for candidates he endorsed, he is appearing at rallies for them and putting his clout behind the contests.

"President Trump has been completely invested in seeing his endorsed candidates win, which has already fueled his 98% win record so far this cycle," Trump spokesperson Taylor Budowich said. "Through the power of his endorsement and his massive MAGA rallies, President Trump is able to infuse campaigns with media attention, volunteers and donors in a way that has never been seen before in American politics."

According to OpenSecrets.org, the Trump PAC had $99,127,576 on hand in cash as of July 31.

"He's a penny pincher. He's not going to spend money on people when he can spend money on himself. In lieu of spending money, he can do events for you," a GOP strategist working on House and Senate races told the news outlet. "Everyone thought that, by Labor Day, he would be loosening up the purse strings a bit and money would be flowing in."

The PAC has sent the maximum $5,000 checks to several Republican leaders in Congress, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California and Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Jim Banks of Indiana, as well as several Trump-endorsed Senate candidates including Dr. Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania and Hershel Walker in Georgia, according to Politico.

"I don't buy this spin that he has some moral obligation to spend millions on candidates. Now with that said, I do think it would be a politically smart move for him to spend big. But he doesn't owe it to these people," the Trump insider said. "There is a blame game happening between Rick Scott and McConnell … a game of 'cover your a**,' because no one wants the blame if Republicans do indeed underperform."

Original Article

Dick Morris to Newsmax: Raid Not About Trump Evading FBI, But 'FBI Evading Him' (Newsmax/"Saturday Report")

By Eric Mack | Saturday, 10 September 2022 01:56 PM EDT

The raid of former President Donald Trump's private residence at Mar-a-Lago might not be able securing an indictment as much as covering for the FBI's pursuit of Trump, according to presidential adviser Dick Morris on Newsmax.

"We need to go from defense to offense on this," Morris, who has advised former President Bill Clinton and former President Donald Trump, told "Saturday Report." "I think that one of the big reasons – if not the major reason – that the FBI seized those documents is that they incriminate not Trump, but the FBI in the Russia collusion scandal, in the scandal of spying on Trump's campaign, and in the scandal of fabricating evidence to the FISA court to lead to wiretaps on key Trump officials."

Note: Get Dick Morris' new book "The Return" on Trump's secret plan for 2024. See It Here!

Morris, who speaks with Trump regularly as a presidential campaign adviser, had only one good explanation for Trump storing the documents at Mar-a-Lago, which the Justice Department claims was not declassified by the former president.

"Why would Donald Trump take documents with him to Mar-a-Lago that could impact could be bad for him and not declassify them so that they were innocuous," Morris told host Rita Cosby. "Why would he do that? He wasn't writing a book or anything like that. I think the only reason that he took them with him – well, the major reason – was for him to review them to find evidence implicating the FBI.

"That's why they raided Mar-a-Lago to get a hold of that stuff before Trump did. And I think that what we're looking here is not about Donald Trump evading the FBI, but the FBI evading Donald Trump."

Both Trump and the FBI wanted the documents that might have revealed an abuse of power on behalf of the Justice Department, according to Morris.

"He doesn't look like he was getting them to review them for his memoirs or anything – he's not writing them – but in order to go through the evidence himself and see what it implicated the FBI and its conduct against him," Morris said.

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Morris is also now convinced the raid will not lead to an indictment of Trump.

"It sets up, in effect, what they call a Chinese wall between the evidence being between the evaluation of evidence for intelligence purposes and evaluation for the purposes of criminal prosecution," Morris said. "That means they can't use one in the case of the other. So, effectively, until the special master reviews the documents, they can't use any documents for criminal investigation.

"And I think that eventually they will not have the basis for an indictment of Trump. I used to think he might be indicted, but I've now come to the view after Judge [Aileen] Cannon's order, that he will not be."

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Dick Morris to Newsmax: Raid Not About Trump Evading FBI, But 'FBI Evading Him' (Newsmax/"Saturday Report")

By Eric Mack | Saturday, 10 September 2022 01:56 PM EDT

The raid of former President Donald Trump's private residence at Mar-a-Lago might not be able securing an indictment as much as covering for the FBI's pursuit of Trump, according to presidential adviser Dick Morris on Newsmax.

"We need to go from defense to offense on this," Morris, who has advised former President Bill Clinton and former President Donald Trump, told "Saturday Report." "I think that one of the big reasons – if not the major reason – that the FBI seized those documents is that they incriminate not Trump, but the FBI in the Russia collusion scandal, in the scandal of spying on Trump's campaign, and in the scandal of fabricating evidence to the FISA court to lead to wiretaps on key Trump officials."

Note: Get Dick Morris' new book "The Return" on Trump's secret plan for 2024. See It Here!

Morris, who speaks with Trump regularly as a presidential campaign adviser, had only one good explanation for Trump storing the documents at Mar-a-Lago, which the Justice Department claims was not declassified by the former president.

"Why would Donald Trump take documents with him to Mar-a-Lago that could impact could be bad for him and not declassify them so that they were innocuous," Morris told host Rita Cosby. "Why would he do that? He wasn't writing a book or anything like that. I think the only reason that he took them with him – well, the major reason – was for him to review them to find evidence implicating the FBI.

"That's why they raided Mar-a-Lago to get a hold of that stuff before Trump did. And I think that what we're looking here is not about Donald Trump evading the FBI, but the FBI evading Donald Trump."

Both Trump and the FBI wanted the documents that might have revealed an abuse of power on behalf of the Justice Department, according to Morris.

"He doesn't look like he was getting them to review them for his memoirs or anything – he's not writing them – but in order to go through the evidence himself and see what it implicated the FBI and its conduct against him," Morris said.

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Morris is also now convinced the raid will not lead to an indictment of Trump.

"It sets up, in effect, what they call a Chinese wall between the evidence being between the evaluation of evidence for intelligence purposes and evaluation for the purposes of criminal prosecution," Morris said. "That means they can't use one in the case of the other. So, effectively, until the special master reviews the documents, they can't use any documents for criminal investigation.

"And I think that eventually they will not have the basis for an indictment of Trump. I used to think he might be indicted, but I've now come to the view after Judge [Aileen] Cannon's order, that he will not be."

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Original Article

Alan Dershowitz to Newsmax: DOJ Special Master Picks 'Eminently Fair'

By Eric Mack | Saturday, 10 September 2022 12:06 PM EDT

While the Justice Department's special master recommendations are "eminently fair" compared to those of former President Donald Trump's lawyers, legal expert Alan Dershowitz told Newsmax he hopes the ongoing battle does not move to weaken executive privilege.

"The department of justice didn't seem to be appealing everything," Dershowitz told Saturday's "America Right Now." "They were focusing on two things. Number one: The timing – that they didn't want to delay their investigation, and I think they may very well win on that one. And second: They focused more on executive privilege, than they did on lawyer client privilege.

"I hope they lose on the executive privilege because it would really destroy executive privilege to conclude that the current president can weigh the executive privilege of a previous president."

Biden has rejected Trump's executive privilege claims, a battle that reaches beyond just the FBI raid of Trump's private residence at Mar-a-Lago.

The Trump lawyers' call for a special master has been granted by Judge Aileen Cannon, and the DOJ has done a focused job of challenging it, including nominating more acceptable special masters, according to Dershowitz.

"I think she was smart and giving each side an opportunity to do so, and I think the Justice Department was smarter than the Trump team on this," Dershowitz told host Tom Basile. "They named people who seemed more suitable, including a judge, woman judge who had previously been the special master in the [former Trump attorney Michael] Cohen case."

Dershowitz noted the Trump lawyers might have left Judge Cannon with little choice than to side with one of the DOJ's special master selections.

"I think, in the end, if she's smart, she'll pick the Justice Department's recommendation, and that will give her cover against claims of partisanship," Dershowitz concluded. "That would be the smart thing to do, and both of the Justice Department recommendations seem eminently fair."

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Original Article

Alan Dershowitz to Newsmax: DOJ Special Master Picks 'Eminently Fair'

By Eric Mack | Saturday, 10 September 2022 12:06 PM EDT

While the Justice Department's special master recommendations are "eminently fair" compared to those of former President Donald Trump's lawyers, legal expert Alan Dershowitz told Newsmax he hopes the ongoing battle does not move to weaken executive privilege.

"The department of justice didn't seem to be appealing everything," Dershowitz told Saturday's "America Right Now." "They were focusing on two things. Number one: The timing – that they didn't want to delay their investigation, and I think they may very well win on that one. And second: They focused more on executive privilege, than they did on lawyer client privilege.

"I hope they lose on the executive privilege because it would really destroy executive privilege to conclude that the current president can weigh the executive privilege of a previous president."

Biden has rejected Trump's executive privilege claims, a battle that reaches beyond just the FBI raid of Trump's private residence at Mar-a-Lago.

The Trump lawyers' call for a special master has been granted by Judge Aileen Cannon, and the DOJ has done a focused job of challenging it, including nominating more acceptable special masters, according to Dershowitz.

"I think she was smart and giving each side an opportunity to do so, and I think the Justice Department was smarter than the Trump team on this," Dershowitz told host Tom Basile. "They named people who seemed more suitable, including a judge, woman judge who had previously been the special master in the [former Trump attorney Michael] Cohen case."

Dershowitz noted the Trump lawyers might have left Judge Cannon with little choice than to side with one of the DOJ's special master selections.

"I think, in the end, if she's smart, she'll pick the Justice Department's recommendation, and that will give her cover against claims of partisanship," Dershowitz concluded. "That would be the smart thing to do, and both of the Justice Department recommendations seem eminently fair."

About NEWSMAX TV:

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

• Find NEWSMAX in over 100 million U.S. homes via cable/streaming – More Info Here
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