NationalWatch

Pence Defends Trump, Warns About AG Garland, Partisan DOJ (Newsmax)

By Eric Mack | Sunday, 20 November 2022 12:18 PM EST

After years of breaking from former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence offered a limited defense of Trump, questioning whether Trump broke any laws, while denouncing Attorney General Merrick Garland and a politicized Justice Department.

"I don't know if it is criminal to listen to bad advice from lawyers," Pence told NBC News' "Meet the Press" on Sunday about the continued pursuit of Trump for the Jan. 6 Capitol protest, calling efforts to investigate, if not jail, the former president as projecting the image of a "third-world country."

Additionally, Pence rebuked the Justice Department which circumvented normal procedures to secure presidential records for the National Archives. Both the records and Jan. 6 led Garland to appoint another DOJ special counsel to look for criminality of Trump.

"I've not hesitated to criticize the president when I think he was wrong – and clearly, possessing classified documents in an unprotected area is not proper," Pence told NBC host Chuck Todd. "But I have to tell you, I was on the Judiciary Committee for 10 years in the House of Representatives. I know how the Justice Department works. And there had to be many other ways to resolve those issues and collect those classified documents.

"They didn't try everything. And I have to tell you, going to the last resort of executing a search warrant against a former president of the United States I think sent the wrong message. It was a divisive message in this country."

Pence said he once considered the U.S. the "gold standard" of justice in the world, but seeking to find wrongdoing against Trump, including raiding his private residence at Mar-a-Lago in August is something a "third-world" nation does.

"I put the blame for the decision to execute a search warrant at the personal residence of the former president of the United States on the leadership of the Justice Department," Pence said. "It's inconceivable to me that that wasn't a decision that was made at the very highest levels, and approved at the highest levels.

"It was a divisive message in this country. But I think worse still, it was the wrong message to the wider world that looks to America as the gold standard.

"I want to see the credibility of the Justice Department restored after years of politicization during the Trump-Pence administration.

Pence added, "America should never be associated with that image at all," and while he admits "no one is above the law," Pence said assigning yet another special counsel to look for crimes has him skeptical of Garland.

"I have great difficulty with the decision that he made," Pence said. "I have great concerns about his judgment and his leadership at the Justice Department."

"But I would hope the Justice Department would give careful consideration before they take any additional steps in this matter," he concluded.

In another interview with CBS's "Face the Nation," Pence blasted the partisan nature of the House Jan. 6 Select Committee to host Margaret Brennan.

"I served for 12 years in the Congress: It's inconceivable to me that one party would appoint every member of a committee in Congress," Pence said. "That's antithetical to the whole idea of the committee system. That being said, I never stood in the way of senior members of my team cooperating with the committee and testifying. But Congress has no right to my testimony. We have a separation of powers under the Constitution of the United States.

"And I believe it would establish a terrible precedent for the Congress to summon a vice president of the United States to speak about deliberations that took place at the White House.

"I am closing the door on that."

That same argument is used by Trump in his claims of executive privilege, which was quashed by the Justice Department and President Joe Biden in their continued pursuit of their chief political rival.

Original Article

Sen.-elect Mullin to Newsmax: Title 42 Keeps Dangerous Migrants Out of U.S. (Newsmax/"Wake Up America Weekend")

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Sunday, 20 November 2022 11:52 AM EST

The use of Title 42 restrictions put in place at the border during the Trump administration has kept dangerous migrants from entering the United States and should remain in place, Rep. Markwayne Mullin, who was elected this month to the U.S. Senate, said on Newsmax Sunday.

"A lot of people don't even understand what Title 42 did," the Oklahoma Republican told Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "It allows us to ship people back either to Mexico or back to the country that they came from because of COVID if they were a single male traveling alone."

Last month, immigration officials caught nine men traveling alone and determined they were on the terrorist watch list, Mullin pointed out.

"We were up 334% on crosses just last month alone since Trump was in office, but you just think about the dangers that we have," he said. "Because of Title 42, we were able to apprehend and hold onto those nine people for three days until we could figure out where they came from, and that's when they got a hit."

But without Title 42, the men would have been released within 24 hours, meaning that there would have been a "huge national security issue," said Mullin.

"You have the administration trying to tell us that the border is secure," he added. "What a joke. What are they trying to do here to the American people, mislead us? Well, that's what they've been doing since they've been in office."

Meanwhile, there are calls to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and while Mullin is leaving the House for the Senate, he warned that it is a "high threshold" to reach when considering impeachment.

"I do not want Republicans to misuse it," he said. "It's got to be treason or a high crime or misdemeanor committed. The question is, is President [Joe] Biden actually the one calling the shots here, or is it somebody else? I think all of us believe that Biden is a puppet president, to begin with and that somebody else is calling the shots. Unless it's directly related to him, then it's not impeachable. He would have to get the direct order for that to take place."

However, Mullin said he does think there are many people "downstream" who should be removed from office, and Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the incoming speaker, has said there will be investigations.

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Original Article

Mark Morgan to Newsmax: Mayorkas 'Most Dangerous' in Administration (Newsmax/"Wake Up America")

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Sunday, 20 November 2022 10:37 AM EST

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is the "most dangerous man" in the Biden administration and "he's got to go" Mark Morgan, the acting Customs and Border Patrol Commissioner under former President Donald Trump, said on Newsmax Sunday.

"I hope that the Republican party shows the strength and courage and the political will to do the right thing," Morgan said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America" Sunday while referring to calls to impeach Mayorkas. "We have to hold people accountable and what's going on on our southwest border is killing people every single day…he's got to and the American people need to see it live and in color."

Mayorkas, he added, is responsible for the nation's homeland security but he is the "chief architect for open borders. That's impacting every aspect of our nation's public health, public safety, and necessary security, but he's lying to the people about it."

Morgan said he thinks the reason the border issues did not become a "kitchen table" issue in the election was that the Biden administration was "lying to them, telling them that there's nothing to see here. That's important."

Meanwhile, a federal judge last week gave the administration until Dec. 21 to wind down its use of Title 42 to expel migrants. Morgan said that when the regulation, set in place under the Trump administration in March 2020 to control migrants' entries under U.S. and international law on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19 expires, it will have a "domino effect" on the border.

"First of all, this is going to be used by the cartels," said Morgan. "This provides another message to the entire world that now is the time to come, to continue to break into our country illegally because this government has just now made it easier for them to do so."

Secondly, the incentive to remove migrants will be gone, after millions were removed under Title 42, said Morgan.

"The majority of those now are going to be allowed to illegally enter, and then they will be released into the interior United States," said Morgan.

Also on Sunday, Morgan rejected arguments from Ken Cuccinelli, a Department of Homeland Security acting deputy secretary under Trump, who said last week that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's declaration that the situation at the border is lip service without deportations.

"Gov. Abbott has done more than any other governor in the state of our country to try to fill the void left by this administration and the catastrophic crisis they created with their open border policies, said Morgan.

Abbott's "Operation Lone Star" has also been effective in not just stopping illegal migrants, but tens of thousands of pounds of drugs, including fentanyl, from coming into the country, he said.

"The one thing, though, is he can't enforce immigration law, but that's the one thing that he needs to do," said Morgan. "He needs to be able to detain and remove illegal aliens for this crisis to start to have some relief. That's the one thing he's not doing so under the limitation clause."

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Original Article

With a Smile, Musk Roils Twitter Hate From Critics for Reinstating Trump's Account (Newsmax)

By Eric Mack | Sunday, 20 November 2022 10:26 AM EST

Elon Musk's restoring former President Donald Trump's Twitter account was hailed as a "middle finger" to the woke leftists and roiled up talk of mass protests and boycotts.

Among the loudest voices opposing restoring the former president's right to free speech on Twitter were CBS immediately boycotting the social media site, the N.A.A.C.P. president calling for a boycott and divestment protest, and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) "defaming" Musk for doing it.

"I'm disgusted," Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, tweeted in response to chief Democrat rival getting his constitutional right to free speech back.

ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt suggested Musk was feeding hate, while hating on Musk's move to reinstate the former president's account – which has yet to even be used and Trump has vowed to never return to using.

"For @elonmusk to allow Donald Trump back on Twitter, ostensibly after a brief poll, shows he is not remotely serious about safeguarding the platform from hate, harassment and misinformation," Greenblatt tweeted.

Greenblatt added a call for Twitter to be silenced, sharing disdain for Musk's new leadership after the billionaire spent $44 billion to buy the platform.

".@elonmusk's decisions over the last month have been erratic and alarming, but this decision is dangerous and a threat to American democracy. We need to ask — is it time for Twitter to go?" Greenblatt tweeted.

Musk merely responded by trolling the troll.

"Hey stop defaming me!" Musk tweeted.

Another anti-hate group hated on Musk and Twitter, calling for a BDS-like boycott.

"Any advertiser still funding Twitter should immediately pause all advertising," N.A.A.C.P. President Derrick Johnson tweeted.

An EndWokeness Twitter user noted the irony of Trump having far greater reach than his primary political rivals:

"Follower count as of this tweet:

@realDonaldTrump: 83 million

@POTUS: 27.5 million

@VP: 13.8 million

@WhiteHouse: 8.1 million"

Another conservative tweeter hailed Musk's bold move in the face of vitriolic cancel culture.

"Elon Musk reinstating Donald Trump's Twitter account is a middle finger to all of mainstream media, woke leftists & Big Tech," Steven Crowder tweeted. "If you claim to support free speech, this should have you smiling from ear to ear."

But perhaps the most eyebrow-raising response was that of a liberal news organization, CBS News, which vowed to halt its official Twitter activity only to restore it anyway.

"In light of the uncertainty around Twitter and out of an abundance of caution, CBS News is pausing its activity on the social media site as it continues to monitor the platform," CBS correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti said in a segment Friday.

"CBS News is leaving Twitter because they hate free speech," Brigitte Gabriel tweeted.

"CBS News is officially leaving Twitter. @elonmusk already cleaning up the misinformation," Hodgetwins, an account for Black conservatives, tweeted.

But, with the busy Sunday morning coming to promote its political content, CBS News restored its ability to reach its followers.

"After pausing for much of the weekend to assess the security concerns, CBS News and Stations is resuming its activity on Twitter as we continue to monitor the situation," the CBS News press account tweeted.

CBS News and related accounts then continued to promote their content on Twitter.

Original Article

Rep. Van Drew to Newsmax: 'Good Riddance' to Pelosi

(Newsmax/"Saturday Agenda")

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Saturday, 19 November 2022 06:20 PM EST

The United States is facing its "most difficult time" since the Civil War when it comes to losing the nation's integrity, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is stepping back from a party leadership role after Republicans took control of the chamber in the midterm elections, is "responsible for that," Rep. Jeff Van Drew said on Newsmax Saturday.

"Good riddance," the New Jersey Republican said on Newsmax's "Saturday Agenda." "I'm sorry that she's even staying in the House of Representatives. I have never supported her. I would not support her."

Pelosi is "a wheeler and dealer and she's done well for herself," Van Drew continued, but "she has not done well for the United States of America. We are in the worst position in many ways that we have ever been in, and we are on the precipice of losing our country, and so much of that is due to her and her leadership."

And even if Pelosi won't be leading the House Democrats officially, "she's going to come up with some crazy ideas of her own," and her replacement as party leader "may even be worse and more radical," said Van Drew. "I'd love to see some moderate, normal Democrats come in."

Under Pelosi's leadership, he added, "all the Democrats did was investigate Donald Trump over and over and over again, and now they're doing it again."

The Russian collusion allegations about Trump were shown to be untrue, he added, and the papers he had been keeping at his Mar-a-Lago estate will prove to be no "big deal."

Further, Pelosi was a "part and parcel" in changing the vision of America, including how children are educated in ways that "are just totally inappropriate and wrong, and some of it is kind of sick," said Van Drew.

Pelosi also did not push against President Joe Biden, but she "pushed further for more radical left-wing issues," the congressman said.

"She used to support a [border] wall," he continued. "We need to have more border police. We need to have borders that are intact. We need to control our spending more. She's a very much part of that. Instead, we spend trillions upon trillions upon trillions of dollars."

Meanwhile, Van Drew dismissed reports that his party is divided, pointing out that "you're never going to have 100% people happy 100% of the time."

However, he said that the party will come together and be united.

"We have to be strong," he said. "The Democrats want us fragmented. The Democrats want us to fail. Democrats don't want us to pull forward and move forward, and we can't let that happen."

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Original Article

Herschel Walker, Gov. Kemp Campaign in Georgia Together for First Time (Newsmax)

BILL BARROW Saturday, 19 November 2022 05:53 PM EST

Fresh off his commanding reelection, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Saturday played the role of dutiful Republican soldier as he campaigned for the first time alongside Senate hopeful Herschel Walker after spending months steering clear of his ticket-mate.

The joint appearance reflects how important Kemp's broad coalition will be in determining whether Walker can unseat Sen. Raphael Warnock in a Dec. 6 runoff. The fact it occurred only now underscores the challenges that Walker, a celebrity athlete turned politician, has had appealing to many independents and moderate Republicans amid an intense focus on his rocky past.

"We cannot rest on our laurels, everyone," Kemp told a few hundred supporters standing in the parking lot of a gun store in suburban Atlanta, urging them to cast one more ballot in a midterm election year that was underwhelming for Republicans nationally.

Kemp was the top vote-getter in Georgia's general election, drawing 200,000 more votes in his matchup with Democrat challenger Stacey Abrams than Walker did in his challenge to Warnock. The result: Kemp defeated Abrams by 7.5 percentage points, while Walker trailed Warnock by about 36,000 votes or almost 1 percentage point. Warnock fell just shy of a majority, however, triggering the four-week runoff blitz.

The governor campaigned throughout the fall mostly for his own reelection, though he made appearances with several of GOP nominees for lower statewide offices. All of them won without runoffs. The notable absence was always Walker, with Kemp sometimes avoiding even saying his name when reporters asked about the distance between the two campaigns. Kemp would often say only he backed the "entire ticket."

Since securing a second term, Kemp has become more explicit in his support, even if still calculated. He's signed over his voter turnout operation to a Republican political action committee aligned with Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell and endorsed Walker anew in recent interviews. On Saturday, he pitched Walker as a fiscal and cultural conservative who would back tax cuts and support law enforcement and the military, and he repeated Republicans' principal attack on Warnock: That he votes with President Joe Biden "96% of the time."

"I know that Herschel Walker will fight for us," Kemp said. "He will go and fight for those values that we believe in here in our state."

Yet Kemp also used his brief time on stage as a personal victory lap, nodding to his coming second term and mentioning Abrams before he said anything about Walker or Warnock. "I've never been more optimistic about the future of our state, and we're going to keep our state moving in the right direction because we stopped Stacey and saved Georgia," he said.

Republicans see Kemp as a critical validator for Walker, especially since the Georgia runoff is now more locally focused because Democrats already have secured 50 seats and hold Vice President Kamala Harris's tie-breaking vote.

For much of the year, Walker and Republicans tried to nationalize the race because it was among the battlegrounds that would determine Senate control, as Georgia did two years ago with concurrent Senate runoffs won by Democrats Warnock and Sen. Jon Ossoff.

The strategy was partly about tying Warnock to Biden because of the president's lagging approval ratings and generationally high inflation. But it was also seen as a necessity because of some of Walker's liabilities.

Walker has on multiple occasions exaggerated his academic achievements, business success and philanthropic activities. He's faced accusations of violence against his first wife. During the campaign, he acknowledged multiple children he'd not previously talked about publicly, doing so only after media reports on their existence. In October, two women Walker once dated alleged that he encouraged and paid for their abortions despite his stance as a candidate for a national abortion ban with no exceptions.

Walker denies he ever paid for an abortion and has answered with a withering assault on Warnock, focusing in recent weeks on the poor living conditions at an Atlanta apartment building owned by a foundation of the Ebenezer Baptist Church where Warnock serves as senior pastor. Walker has used apparent eviction notices issued to some tenants and complaints by its residents to cast Warnock as a "hypocrite" and "wolf in sheep's clothing."

Still, the cumulative effect has fed Warnock's efforts to tag Walker as "not ready" and "not fit" for the Senate, and it's made Walker much less popular than Kemp, especially among independents and moderate Republicans. That's more concerning in an environment where the GOP can't use Senate control as the incentive for wary GOP-leaning voters to back Walker.

Walker's electoral shortcomings were especially acute in suburban Atlanta. While Walker ran about 5 points behind Kemp statewide, that gap was almost 7 points in Cobb County, where Saturday's rally was held, with similar gaps in several other metro area counties that are critical to Republicans' statewide coalition.

Indeed, an AP VoteCast survey of the general electorate found that 7 in 10 voters who backed Kemp said they did so enthusiastically, but only about half of Walker's voters said the same. Among Walker supporters, about 4 in 10 said they backed him with reservations and about 1 in 10 said they were opposing the other candidates.

Further, Kemp seems to have reaped benefits from having resisted former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia and nationally. Only 29% of Georgia's voters said Kemp supports former President Trump too much, according to AP VoteCast, while 43% said that of Walker, who is a friend of Trump and is running with his endorsement.

"Brian Kemp is clearly the most popular Republican in Georgia, and he clearly has the most significant organization," said Josh Holmes, an influential Republican strategist in Washington and former chief of staff to McConnell.

Even Democrats concede the point, holding a press conference earlier Saturday featuring voters who said they voted for Kemp and Warnock.

Original Article

Herschel Walker, Gov. Kemp Campaign in Georgia Together for First Time (Newsmax)

BILL BARROW Saturday, 19 November 2022 05:53 PM EST

Fresh off his commanding reelection, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Saturday played the role of dutiful Republican soldier as he campaigned for the first time alongside Senate hopeful Herschel Walker after spending months steering clear of his ticket-mate.

The joint appearance reflects how important Kemp's broad coalition will be in determining whether Walker can unseat Sen. Raphael Warnock in a Dec. 6 runoff. The fact it occurred only now underscores the challenges that Walker, a celebrity athlete turned politician, has had appealing to many independents and moderate Republicans amid an intense focus on his rocky past.

"We cannot rest on our laurels, everyone," Kemp told a few hundred supporters standing in the parking lot of a gun store in suburban Atlanta, urging them to cast one more ballot in a midterm election year that was underwhelming for Republicans nationally.

Kemp was the top vote-getter in Georgia's general election, drawing 200,000 more votes in his matchup with Democrat challenger Stacey Abrams than Walker did in his challenge to Warnock. The result: Kemp defeated Abrams by 7.5 percentage points, while Walker trailed Warnock by about 36,000 votes or almost 1 percentage point. Warnock fell just shy of a majority, however, triggering the four-week runoff blitz.

The governor campaigned throughout the fall mostly for his own reelection, though he made appearances with several of GOP nominees for lower statewide offices. All of them won without runoffs. The notable absence was always Walker, with Kemp sometimes avoiding even saying his name when reporters asked about the distance between the two campaigns. Kemp would often say only he backed the "entire ticket."

Since securing a second term, Kemp has become more explicit in his support, even if still calculated. He's signed over his voter turnout operation to a Republican political action committee aligned with Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell and endorsed Walker anew in recent interviews. On Saturday, he pitched Walker as a fiscal and cultural conservative who would back tax cuts and support law enforcement and the military, and he repeated Republicans' principal attack on Warnock: That he votes with President Joe Biden "96% of the time."

"I know that Herschel Walker will fight for us," Kemp said. "He will go and fight for those values that we believe in here in our state."

Yet Kemp also used his brief time on stage as a personal victory lap, nodding to his coming second term and mentioning Abrams before he said anything about Walker or Warnock. "I've never been more optimistic about the future of our state, and we're going to keep our state moving in the right direction because we stopped Stacey and saved Georgia," he said.

Republicans see Kemp as a critical validator for Walker, especially since the Georgia runoff is now more locally focused because Democrats already have secured 50 seats and hold Vice President Kamala Harris's tie-breaking vote.

For much of the year, Walker and Republicans tried to nationalize the race because it was among the battlegrounds that would determine Senate control, as Georgia did two years ago with concurrent Senate runoffs won by Democrats Warnock and Sen. Jon Ossoff.

The strategy was partly about tying Warnock to Biden because of the president's lagging approval ratings and generationally high inflation. But it was also seen as a necessity because of some of Walker's liabilities.

Walker has on multiple occasions exaggerated his academic achievements, business success and philanthropic activities. He's faced accusations of violence against his first wife. During the campaign, he acknowledged multiple children he'd not previously talked about publicly, doing so only after media reports on their existence. In October, two women Walker once dated alleged that he encouraged and paid for their abortions despite his stance as a candidate for a national abortion ban with no exceptions.

Walker denies he ever paid for an abortion and has answered with a withering assault on Warnock, focusing in recent weeks on the poor living conditions at an Atlanta apartment building owned by a foundation of the Ebenezer Baptist Church where Warnock serves as senior pastor. Walker has used apparent eviction notices issued to some tenants and complaints by its residents to cast Warnock as a "hypocrite" and "wolf in sheep's clothing."

Still, the cumulative effect has fed Warnock's efforts to tag Walker as "not ready" and "not fit" for the Senate, and it's made Walker much less popular than Kemp, especially among independents and moderate Republicans. That's more concerning in an environment where the GOP can't use Senate control as the incentive for wary GOP-leaning voters to back Walker.

Walker's electoral shortcomings were especially acute in suburban Atlanta. While Walker ran about 5 points behind Kemp statewide, that gap was almost 7 points in Cobb County, where Saturday's rally was held, with similar gaps in several other metro area counties that are critical to Republicans' statewide coalition.

Indeed, an AP VoteCast survey of the general electorate found that 7 in 10 voters who backed Kemp said they did so enthusiastically, but only about half of Walker's voters said the same. Among Walker supporters, about 4 in 10 said they backed him with reservations and about 1 in 10 said they were opposing the other candidates.

Further, Kemp seems to have reaped benefits from having resisted former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia and nationally. Only 29% of Georgia's voters said Kemp supports former President Trump too much, according to AP VoteCast, while 43% said that of Walker, who is a friend of Trump and is running with his endorsement.

"Brian Kemp is clearly the most popular Republican in Georgia, and he clearly has the most significant organization," said Josh Holmes, an influential Republican strategist in Washington and former chief of staff to McConnell.

Even Democrats concede the point, holding a press conference earlier Saturday featuring voters who said they voted for Kemp and Warnock.

Rep. Sessions to Newsmax: Not Endorsing Trump Yet

Rep. Pete Sessions (Getty)

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Saturday, 19 November 2022 03:15 PM EST

Former President Donald Trump's time in office was a "huge advantage" both nationally and globally, and he'll be "well prepared" to take on President Joe Biden in 2024; but it's not a "done deal" that he'll be the only person seeking the Republican nomination, Rep. Pete Sessions said on Newsmax Saturday.

"I think it's always good to have several people on a state going around the country discussing these issues, so it's certainly not a done deal that President Trump would be that only person," the Texas Republican said on Newsmax's "Saturday Agenda," after he was asked if he endorses Trump at this time. "I think it would be better if we see others who come and add to that debate."

Trump does see where America "not only economically but morally is degraded themselves down to the point where he believes that he can run on not just what he did, but also what needs to be done," Sessions added.

However, he said Trump has not yet asked him for his endorsement. And while it remains to be seen who else will share the stage with him, Sessions noted that American people want to know more about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

"I served with Ron in Congress for a number of years and know [him]," said Sessions. "He has distinguished himself in the current issues of the time and the current issues of being an executive in office and leading Florida through what seemingly have been difficult times."

Sessions also commented on Attorney General Merrick Garland's move to appoint a special counsel to investigate Trump in connection with the Jan. 6 incidents at the Capitol, the presence of documents at the Mar-a-Lago estate and efforts to undo the 2020 election, saying that the Department of Justice under Biden is "highly political."

"The House committee on Jan. 6 has been at this thing for almost two years," said Sessions. "This is once again a continuation and an excuse to spend money to try and whip the ideas against the former president. To hold not just him, but also our party accountable for the events that happened that day is wholly inappropriate. I think [Trump's] exactly right. It is a misuse of power."

It's also sad that after two years of Democrats dealing with Jan. 6 through the House, "they could not come up with any other answer except to pass it down to the Department of Justice," said the congressman. "The American people had enough of this kind of politicization of these efforts."

He added that he's less worried about the investigation will affect taxpayers than he is about how the Department of Justice has been politicized and what Biden has done concerning inflation and the border.

"He is a president who is well out of touch, and he is making a strong run at Jimmy Carter in the history of this country," Sessions said.

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Original Article

Giuliani to Newsmax: NY Prosecutors Showed 'Guts'

(Newsmax/"Saturday Report")

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Saturday, 19 November 2022 12:51 PM EST

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani Saturday told Newsmax that he has a "great deal of respect" for prosecutors in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for their announcement that there are no charges planned against him in connection with a probe into his interactions with Ukrainian figures.

"Given the political climate we live in and the entirely corrupt attorney general that we have, the pressure on them to do something is enormous," Giuliani, who was also an attorney for former President Donald Trump, told Newsmax's "Saturday Report." "They could just have let it float."

Many times, the conclusion of a grand jury investigation isn't announced, he added, "so it took guts to do that, but it went against the grain of what the Justice Department is doing right now: to persecute anybody connected with Donald Trump."

Giuliani, who at one time headed the U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District, said he knew the officials finished their investigation three months ago, but said the New York office "is not like some of the other prosecutors' offices."

"They may have kind of gotten overzealous in one of one or two circumstances back during the Trump impeachment and stuff like that, but it's still maybe the only thing we have left," said Giuliani. "It's still a sound prosecutor's office."

The decision against filing charges on Giuliani came after a review of evidence from raids on his home and law office in April 2021 in part of an investigation into whether his dealings with Ukrainian figures in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election required him to be registered as a foreign agent.

"I know I'm innocent and I know that the pursuit of me was unshared, but they didn't know that until they looked at the evidence," said Giuliani.

He also noted that he and Donald Trump Jr. were dropped from the Jan. 6 investigation by an Obama-appointed judge "who has written some very scathing language" about the events of that day but was able to "look at the evidence like a warrior" and say there was no evidence showing he or the president's son did anything to incite violence.

Giuliani also on Saturday spoke out about Attorney General Merrick Garland's appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate Trump, calling accusations against him "make-believe crimes."

"This is a dispute over records in which already they've taken it down from the hysterical exaggeration that originally existed: that there were nuclear secrets," he said. "There's nothing nuclear about them."

There is an argument also about whether Trump had the right to send presidential records to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Giuliani said, but he pointed out that former President Barack Obama "still has all kinds of records" that have not yet been digitized.

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Original Article

Newsmax Has Yet to Call GOP Rep. Valadao's Reelection (Newsmax)

By Eric Mack | Saturday, 19 November 2022 11:44 AM EST

While some have projected the reelection of Rep. David Valadao, R-Calif., Newsmax has yet to call the 22nd Congressional District race Saturday.

Valadao leads Democrat Rudy Salas by 4,547 votes (44,862-40,315) with 85,177 votes counted, more than a 5-point margin (52.67%-47.33%).

The difficulty to call the race comes due to California's mass mail-in balloting and legalized ballot harvesting laws.

It is one of just five races remaining to be called as Republican hold a 219-211 majority in the House thus far, as just 218 seats clinch the majority.

Among the five remaining race, Republicans lead three of them, including Valadao, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., in headed for a state-mandated recount, and John Duarte holding a razor-thin lead in California's newly redrawn 15th Congressional District.

If all three of the GOP leads hold, the GOP will hold a 222-213 majority come January.

Valadao was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump in early 2021 after Trump left office. He was targeted in the GOP primary but remains one of only two of those 10 impeachment GOP seats still in Congress, if he wins.

Just one other remains in the House after these midterms: Rep. Dan Newhouse, D-Wash.

Original Article

Retired Gen. Tata to Newsmax: Accountability Needed on Ukraine Spending U.S. President Joe Biden takes questions from reporters, after he delivered remarks in the State Dining Room, at the White House on November 09, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Samuel Corum/Getty)

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Saturday, 19 November 2022 11:37 AM EST

Congressional Republicans are correct to demand accountability concerning Ukraine aid, particularly considering the Biden family's connection with Ukraine's government, retired U.S. Army Brigadier Gen. Anthony Tata, the author of "Chasing the Lion," said on Newsmax Saturday.

"What these audits do after the fact is show that billions and trillions were wasted on things that were never intended," Tata said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America."

"Whenever you throw significant money at a problem like this, maybe there's fraud, there's corruption. We know from this president's dealings in Ukraine that it's a corrupt government and they are part of that corruption. This is that's one of the stories that if the if it were a Republican administration, and certainly the media would be running with the corruption."

Biden and his family "has all kinds of tentacles" with Ukraine corruption, including Hunter Biden's employment by the oil company Burisma, Tata said.

"Nobody knows" where the billions of dollars are going, including to defense contractors, lobbyists, and corrupt officials in Ukraine, he added.

Tata also discussed last week's missile strike on Poland, telling Newsmax that the "tendency to overreact and quickly overreact" could have led to a major international conflict had a careful investigation not taken place.

"I actually credit the administration and the president for stepping back, rising above the situation, and letting the facts determine what actually happened," Tata said. "Our satellite capability and other assets give us the ability to note trajectories, the exact point of origin of launch, and an exact impact of launch."

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy initially blamed the missile strike on Russia, but Tata said he believes that the investigation will show that Ukraine was firing at a Russian missile, and the explosion carried it into Poland and "unfortunately killed two people as collateral damage."

"Whenever you have combat like this, there are casualties that occur like this," said Tata. "You know you don't color within the lines 100% even though you intend to."

Tata noted that the United States has a significant military presence in the war region, with the 101st Airborne in Romania and other units in Poland, Lithuania, and the Baltics.

"I've been pretty consistent in saying that after some significant fumbles early on, this administration has incrementally begun to understand how to handle this," said Tata. "I think the optics were important here to get it right from a public opinion and shaping that peace."

However, there is the issue with the left and the corporate media, who are "eager to go to war" because they see Zelenskyy as the "anti-Putin" and believe that by pushing back against Russian President Vladimir Putin they are making a stand against former President Donald Trump, said Tata.

"There is a wrong conflation between the two," he said.

"Thank God it wasn't intentional and that we do have a significant military presence over there," said Tata. "I think we're signaling right."

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Original Article

California-13 GOP Candidate Duarte Leads Back-and-Forth Race (Newsmax)

By Eric Mack | Saturday, 19 November 2022 10:47 AM EST

A wild race in California's newly drawn 13th Congressional District has seen a seesaw battle between Republican John Duarte and Democrat Adam Gray.

Duarte and Gray have been swapping leads in recent days after the Nov. 8 elections closed. Duarte now leads by 865 votes (63,539-62,674) with 126,213 votes counted, according to Newsmax's latest tally.

Gray led on election night before Duarte took a lead for about a week, then Gray led briefly, and now Duarte has held a slight edge.

Republicans hold a 219-211 majority thus far, needing just 218 to hold the House gavels in the next Congress. Republicans have been projected to win two more seats by some analysis, which includes Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., who leads in a race headed for a state-law mandated recount and the pending reelection of Rep. David Valadao, R-Calif., who was one of 10 House Republicans that voted to impeach Trump after he left office in 2021.

Duarte, Boebert, and Valadao lead three of the five remaining races to be called, potentially giving the GOP a 222-213 majority come January.

Original Article

Bill Barr Speculates: DOJ Will Find 'Basis for Legitimately Indicting' Trump (Newsmax/"Prime News")

By Eric Mack | Saturday, 19 November 2022 09:49 AM EST

Once a potential ally, former Attorney General William Barr says the Justice Department might "have the evidence" to indict former President Donald Trump.

"I personally think that they probably have the basis for legitimately indicting the president," Barr told PBS's "Firing Line" on Friday, before admitting, "I don't know, I'm speculating. But, given what's gone on, I think they probably have the evidence that would check the box."

Barr's opinion comes amid the National Archives' pursuit of Trump for documents from his presidency.

Trump has argued the documents in his possession are privileged and declassified by him, but Barr supported the notion President Joe Biden's Justice Department can search for documents and pressure the former president into a potential process crime.

"If the Department of Justice can show that these were indeed very sensitive documents, which I think they probably were, and also show that the president consciously was involved in misleading the department, deceiving the government, and playing games after he had received the subpoena for the documents, those are serious charges," Barr told PBS.

Barr resigned as Trump's attorney general around the time of the deadline to certify the 2020 presidential election – the election Trump sought to challenge through Jan. 6 – but Barr ultimately wants Trump to do what Trump says all the investigations are intended to force him to do: Step away from politics.

"He failed," Barr told PBS. "He didn't do what the whole country hoped – that he would rise to the occasion and rise to the office, and he didn't do that.

"So, he's had his chance. He obviously doesn't have the qualities necessary to unite the party, which is the first step on the road back, and he should stand aside."

Urgent: Dick Morris predicted a DOJ attack on Trump after he announced. Now his bestselling "The Return" warns of more troubles, Get this book with FREE Offer and Save $28! See Offer Here Now

Original Article

Bill Barr Speculates: DOJ Will Find 'Basis for Legitimately Indicting' Trump (Newsmax/"Prime News")

By Eric Mack | Saturday, 19 November 2022 09:49 AM EST

Once a potential ally, former Attorney General William Barr says the Justice Department might "have the evidence" to indict former President Donald Trump.

"I personally think that they probably have the basis for legitimately indicting the president," Barr told PBS's "Firing Line" on Friday, before admitting, "I don't know, I'm speculating. But, given what's gone on, I think they probably have the evidence that would check the box."

Barr's opinion comes amid the National Archives' pursuit of Trump for documents from his presidency.

Trump has argued the documents in his possession are privileged and declassified by him, but Barr supported the notion President Joe Biden's Justice Department can search for documents and pressure the former president into a potential process crime.

"If the Department of Justice can show that these were indeed very sensitive documents, which I think they probably were, and also show that the president consciously was involved in misleading the department, deceiving the government, and playing games after he had received the subpoena for the documents, those are serious charges," Barr told PBS.

Barr resigned as Trump's attorney general around the time of the deadline to certify the 2020 presidential election – the election Trump sought to challenge through Jan. 6 – but Barr ultimately wants Trump to do what Trump says all the investigations are intended to force him to do: Step away from politics.

"He failed," Barr told PBS. "He didn't do what the whole country hoped – that he would rise to the occasion and rise to the office, and he didn't do that.

"So, he's had his chance. He obviously doesn't have the qualities necessary to unite the party, which is the first step on the road back, and he should stand aside."

Urgent: Dick Morris predicted a DOJ attack on Trump after he announced. Now his bestselling "The Return" warns of more troubles, Get this book with FREE Offer and Save $28! See Offer Here Now

Elon Musk: Poll on Bringing Trump Back to Twitter Getting Around 1M Votes Per Hour (Getty for Twitter)

Hyunjoo Jin and Sheila Dang Saturday, 19 November 2022 09:14 AM EST

Elon Musk started a Twitter poll late on Friday asking followers to vote on whether to reinstate former U.S. President Donald Trump's account on the platform, with early Saturday results showing roughly 52% voting yes with 9 hours left to vote.

"Vox Populi, Vox Dei," Musk tweeted, a Latin phrase that roughly means meaning "the voice of the people is the voice of God." He later tweeted that about 1 million people were voting per hour.

Musk, Twitter's new owner, said in May he would reverse Twitter's ban on Trump, whose account was suspended after last year's attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Musk said earlier in the day that a decision to bring back Trump's account was yet to be made, and that Twitter had reinstated some controversial accounts that had been banned or suspended, including satirical website Babylon Bee and comedian Kathy Griffin.

Musk's decision to ask Twitter users for guidance on who should be on the platform is part of a huge restructuring of the company, including massive layoffs.

In a memo on Friday to remaining employees that was seen by Reuters, Musk asked those who write software code to report to the 10th floor of the Twitter's headquarters in San Francisco by early afternoon.

The billionaire said in a follow-up email: "If possible, I would appreciate it if you could fly to SF to be present in person," adding he would be at the office until midnight and would return Saturday morning.

He asked employees to email him a summary of what their software code has "achieved" in the past six months, "along with up to 10 screenshots of the most salient lines of code."

"There will be short, technical interviews that allow me to better understand the Twitter tech stack," Musk wrote in one of the emails, and asked engineers to report at 2 p.m. on Friday.

The emails came a day after hundreds of Twitter employees were estimated to have decided to leave the beleaguered social media company following a Thursday deadline from Musk that staffers sign up for "long hours at high intensity."

The exodus adds to the change and chaos that have marked Musk's first three weeks as Twitter's owner. He has fired top management including former CEO Parag Agarwal and senior officials in charge of security and privacy, drawing scrutiny from a regulator.

A White House official also weighed in, saying Twitter should tell Americans how the company was protecting their data.

Tech website Platformer reported on Friday that Robin Wheeler, the company's top ad sales executive, had been fired.

Wheeler, who told employees in a memo last week that she was staying, tweeted on Friday: "To the team and my clients…you were always my first and only priority," with a salute emoji that has been adopted as a send off for departing employees.

Twitter told employees on Thursday that it would close its offices and cut badge access until Monday, according to two sources. Reuters could not immediately confirm whether the headquarters reopened.

On Friday afternoon, the company had started cutting off access to company systems for some of the employees who had declined to accept Musk's offer, three people told Reuters.

Another source said the company was planning to shut down one of Twitter's three main U.S. data centers, at the SMF1 facility near Sacramento, to save costs.

In his first email to Twitter employees this month, Musk warned that Twitter may not be able to "survive the upcoming economic downturn." He also said, "We are also changing Twitter policy such that remote work is no longer allowed, unless you have a specific exception."

Amid the changes, Moody's withdrew its B1 credit rating for Twitter, saying it had insufficient information to maintain the rating.

Original Article

Elon Musk: Poll on Bringing Trump Back to Twitter Getting Around 1M Votes Per Hour (Getty for Twitter)

Hyunjoo Jin and Sheila Dang Saturday, 19 November 2022 09:14 AM EST

Elon Musk started a Twitter poll late on Friday asking followers to vote on whether to reinstate former U.S. President Donald Trump's account on the platform, with early Saturday results showing roughly 52% voting yes with 9 hours left to vote.

"Vox Populi, Vox Dei," Musk tweeted, a Latin phrase that roughly means meaning "the voice of the people is the voice of God." He later tweeted that about 1 million people were voting per hour.

Musk, Twitter's new owner, said in May he would reverse Twitter's ban on Trump, whose account was suspended after last year's attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Musk said earlier in the day that a decision to bring back Trump's account was yet to be made, and that Twitter had reinstated some controversial accounts that had been banned or suspended, including satirical website Babylon Bee and comedian Kathy Griffin.

Musk's decision to ask Twitter users for guidance on who should be on the platform is part of a huge restructuring of the company, including massive layoffs.

In a memo on Friday to remaining employees that was seen by Reuters, Musk asked those who write software code to report to the 10th floor of the Twitter's headquarters in San Francisco by early afternoon.

The billionaire said in a follow-up email: "If possible, I would appreciate it if you could fly to SF to be present in person," adding he would be at the office until midnight and would return Saturday morning.

He asked employees to email him a summary of what their software code has "achieved" in the past six months, "along with up to 10 screenshots of the most salient lines of code."

"There will be short, technical interviews that allow me to better understand the Twitter tech stack," Musk wrote in one of the emails, and asked engineers to report at 2 p.m. on Friday.

The emails came a day after hundreds of Twitter employees were estimated to have decided to leave the beleaguered social media company following a Thursday deadline from Musk that staffers sign up for "long hours at high intensity."

The exodus adds to the change and chaos that have marked Musk's first three weeks as Twitter's owner. He has fired top management including former CEO Parag Agarwal and senior officials in charge of security and privacy, drawing scrutiny from a regulator.

A White House official also weighed in, saying Twitter should tell Americans how the company was protecting their data.

Tech website Platformer reported on Friday that Robin Wheeler, the company's top ad sales executive, had been fired.

Wheeler, who told employees in a memo last week that she was staying, tweeted on Friday: "To the team and my clients…you were always my first and only priority," with a salute emoji that has been adopted as a send off for departing employees.

Twitter told employees on Thursday that it would close its offices and cut badge access until Monday, according to two sources. Reuters could not immediately confirm whether the headquarters reopened.

On Friday afternoon, the company had started cutting off access to company systems for some of the employees who had declined to accept Musk's offer, three people told Reuters.

Another source said the company was planning to shut down one of Twitter's three main U.S. data centers, at the SMF1 facility near Sacramento, to save costs.

In his first email to Twitter employees this month, Musk warned that Twitter may not be able to "survive the upcoming economic downturn." He also said, "We are also changing Twitter policy such that remote work is no longer allowed, unless you have a specific exception."

Amid the changes, Moody's withdrew its B1 credit rating for Twitter, saying it had insufficient information to maintain the rating.

Musk: 'People Have Spoken; Trump Will Be Reinstated; Vox Populi, Vox Dei' (Newsmax)

By Eric Mack | Saturday, 19 November 2022 08:21 PM EST

Elon Musk tweeted Saturday night that "the people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated."

The news came after a Musk poll on Twitter poll found a 51.8% majority supporting bring Trump back on Twitter. Former President Donald Trump, who has vowed never to return after he was banned after Jan. 6, has yet to make a statement.

"The people have spoken," Musk tweeted moments after the poll closed before 8 p.m. Saturday night. "Trump will be reinstated. Vox Populi, Vox Dei."

The @RealDonaldTrump account was viewable against shortly after 8 p.m. ET. Notably, the last viewable tweets are from Jan. 4, 2021, so the tweets about the election and from Jan. 6, 2021 have been removed from public view.

Trump's account on Truth Social, his own social media platform, has yet to post a response.

Musk started a Twitter poll late Friday, asking followers to vote on whether to reinstate Trump's account on the platform, with Saturday night final results showing 51.8% voting "Yes" among 15,085,458 votes.

"Vox Populi, Vox Dei" is a Latin phrase that roughly means "the voice of the people, the voice of God." He later tweeted about 1 million people were voting per hour.

It is not clear whether Trump would actually return to Twitter. An irrepressible tweeter before he was banned, Trump has said in the past that he would not rejoin Twitter even if his account was reinstated. He has been relying on his own, much smaller social media site, Truth Social, which he launched after being blocked from Twitter.

And earlier Saturday, during a video speech to a Republican Jewish group meeting in Las Vegas, Trump said he was aware of Musk's poll but he saw "a lot of problems at Twitter," according to Bloomberg.

"I hear we're getting a big vote to also go back on Twitter. I don't see it because I don't see any reason for it," Trump said, Bloomberg reported. "It may make it, it may not make it," he added, apparently referring to Twitter's recent internal upheavals.

The prospect of restoring Trump's presence to the site follows Musk's purchase last month of Twitter — an acquisition that has fanned widespread concern that the billionaire owner will allow purveyors of lies and misinformation to flourish on the site. Musk has frequently expressed his belief that Twitter had become too restrictive of freewheeling speech.

The billionaire's efforts to reshape the site have been both swift and chaotic. Musk has fired many of the company's 7,500 full-time workers and an untold number of contractors who are responsible for content moderation and other crucial responsibilities. His demand that remaining employees pledge to "extremely hardcore" work triggered a wave of resignations, including hundreds of software engineers.

Users have reported seeing increased spam and scams on their feeds and in their direct messages, among other glitches, in the aftermath of the mass layoffs and worker exodus. Some programmers who were fired or resigned this week warned that Twitter may soon fray so badly it could actually crash.

Trump lost his access to Twitter two days after his supporters stormed the Capitol, soon after the former president had exhorted them to "peacefully and patriotically" to protest. Twitter dropped his account after Trump wrote a pair of tweets that the company said cast further doubts on the legitimacy of the presidential election and raised risks for the Joe Biden presidential inauguration.

After the Jan. 6 protest, Trump was also kicked off Facebook and Instagram, which are owned by Meta Platforms, and Snapchat. His ability to post videos to his YouTube channel was also suspended. Facebook is set to reconsider Trump's account suspension in January.

In a speech at an auto conference in May, Musk asserted Twitter's ban of Trump was a "morally bad decision" and "foolish in the extreme."

Earlier this month, Musk, who completed the $44 billion takeover of Twitter in late October, declared the company would not let anyone who had been kicked off the site return until Twitter had established procedures on how to do so, including forming a "content moderation council."

Musk tweeted Friday that the suspended Twitter accounts for the comedian Kathy Griffin, the Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson, and the conservative Christian news satire website Babylon Bee had been reinstated. He added a decision on Trump had not yet been made. He also responded "no" when someone on Twitter asked him to reinstate the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' account.

In a tweet Friday, the Tesla CEO described the company's new content policy as "freedom of speech, but not freedom of reach."

He explained a tweet deemed to be "negative" or to include "hate" would be allowed on the site but would be visible only to users who specifically searched for it. Such tweets also would be "demonetized, so no ads or other revenue to Twitter," Musk said.

Information from Reuters was used in this report.

Original Article

Musk: 'People Have Spoken; Trump Will Be Reinstated; Vox Populi, Vox Dei' (Newsmax)

By Eric Mack | Saturday, 19 November 2022 08:19 PM EST

Elon Musk tweeted Saturday night that "the people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated."

The news came after a Musk poll on Twitter poll found a 51.8% majority supporting bring Trump back on Twitter. Former President Donald Trump, who has vowed never to return after he was banned after Jan. 6, has yet to make a statement.

"The people have spoken," Musk tweeted moments after the poll closed before 8 p.m. Saturday night. "Trump will be reinstated. Vox Populi, Vox Dei."

The move was not instantaneous, as the @RealDonaldTrump account remained suspended after 8 p.m. ET.

Trump's account on Truth Social, his own social media platform, has yet to post a response.

Musk started a Twitter poll late Friday, asking followers to vote on whether to reinstate Trump's account on the platform, with Saturday night final results showing 51.8% voting "Yes" among 15,085,458 votes.

"Vox Populi, Vox Dei" is a Latin phrase that roughly means "the voice of the people, the voice of God." He later tweeted about 1 million people were voting per hour.

It is not clear whether Trump would actually return to Twitter. An irrepressible tweeter before he was banned, Trump has said in the past that he would not rejoin Twitter even if his account was reinstated. He has been relying on his own, much smaller social media site, Truth Social, which he launched after being blocked from Twitter.

And earlier Saturday, during a video speech to a Republican Jewish group meeting in Las Vegas, Trump said he was aware of Musk's poll but he saw "a lot of problems at Twitter," according to Bloomberg.

"I hear we're getting a big vote to also go back on Twitter. I don't see it because I don't see any reason for it," Trump said, Bloomberg reported. "It may make it, it may not make it," he added, apparently referring to Twitter's recent internal upheavals.

The prospect of restoring Trump's presence to the site follows Musk's purchase last month of Twitter — an acquisition that has fanned widespread concern that the billionaire owner will allow purveyors of lies and misinformation to flourish on the site. Musk has frequently expressed his belief that Twitter had become too restrictive of freewheeling speech.

The billionaire's efforts to reshape the site have been both swift and chaotic. Musk has fired many of the company's 7,500 full-time workers and an untold number of contractors who are responsible for content moderation and other crucial responsibilities. His demand that remaining employees pledge to "extremely hardcore" work triggered a wave of resignations, including hundreds of software engineers.

Users have reported seeing increased spam and scams on their feeds and in their direct messages, among other glitches, in the aftermath of the mass layoffs and worker exodus. Some programmers who were fired or resigned this week warned that Twitter may soon fray so badly it could actually crash.

Trump lost his access to Twitter two days after his supporters stormed the Capitol, soon after the former president had exhorted them to "peacefully and patriotically" to protest. Twitter dropped his account after Trump wrote a pair of tweets that the company said cast further doubts on the legitimacy of the presidential election and raised risks for the Joe Biden presidential inauguration.

After the Jan. 6 protest, Trump was also kicked off Facebook and Instagram, which are owned by Meta Platforms, and Snapchat. His ability to post videos to his YouTube channel was also suspended. Facebook is set to reconsider Trump's account suspension in January.

In a speech at an auto conference in May, Musk asserted Twitter's ban of Trump was a "morally bad decision" and "foolish in the extreme."

Earlier this month, Musk, who completed the $44 billion takeover of Twitter in late October, declared the company would not let anyone who had been kicked off the site return until Twitter had established procedures on how to do so, including forming a "content moderation council."

Musk tweeted Friday that the suspended Twitter accounts for the comedian Kathy Griffin, the Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson, and the conservative Christian news satire website Babylon Bee had been reinstated. He added a decision on Trump had not yet been made. He also responded "no" when someone on Twitter asked him to reinstate the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' account.

In a tweet Friday, the Tesla CEO described the company's new content policy as "freedom of speech, but not freedom of reach."

He explained a tweet deemed to be "negative" or to include "hate" would be allowed on the site but would be visible only to users who specifically searched for it. Such tweets also would be "demonetized, so no ads or other revenue to Twitter," Musk said.

Information from Reuters was used in this report.

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 5:35 PM PT – Friday, November 18, 2022

Attorney General Merrick Garland has named a special counsel to see if former President Donald J. Trump should face charges stemming from ongoing Department of Justice investigations.

On Friday, Garland appointed Jack Smith to oversee the probes into Trump. That includes those related to the documents taken from the raid on Mar-a-Lago and the January 6th protest in Washington D.C.

Jack Smith began his prosecutorial career in 1994. He was an assistant District Attorney with the New York County District Attorney’s office.

Since 2018, he has served as the chief prosecutor for the special court in the Hague charged with investigating and adjudicating war crimes in Kosovo.

Garland also said Smith will be returning to the United States right away. This information comes as Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to the investigations.

Original Article Oann

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 5:11 PM PT – Friday, November 18, 2022

Vice President Kamala Harris highlighted the United States lasting commitment to the Into-Pacific as she addressed regional leaders at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit.

“Our message is clear,” Harris said. “The United States has an enduring economic commitment to the Indo-Pacific. And there is no better economic partner for this region than the United States of America.”

On Friday, during remarks at the event in Thailand, Harris told attendees that there is no better economic partner for the region than the U.S., as it is a “proud Pacific power” and has a “vital interest in promoting a region that is open, interconnected, prosperous, secure and resilient.”

After former President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, the centerpiece of former President Barack Obama’s “pivot” to Asia, several Asian nations started to doubt the American commitment to the region.

She affirmed the U.S. will continue to bolster its commitment to the region and touted the Biden administration’s work to strengthen ties with several nations. The vice president mentioned that private sector collaboration is of utmost priority.

“Under our administration, the United States is more engaged with the Indo-Pacific than we have ever been,” Harris said. “We have infused new energy and leadership into our unrivaled network of global alliances and partnerships.”

As China’s presence in the Indo-Pacific continues to grow, during her trip, Harris will also travel to Padawan to demonstrate America’s commitment to upholding law in the South China Sea.

She maintains that the U.S’s approach is “based on collaboration, sustainability, transparency and fairness.”

Original Article Oann