NationalWatch

Midterm Primaries Wrap Up With Fresh Test of GOP's Future New Hampshire GOP Senate primary candidate Don Bolduc (Newsmax)

WILL WEISSERT and HOLLY RAMER Tuesday, 13 September 2022 07:18 PM EDT

A staunchly conservative retired Army general is vying for the chance to take on Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., in a contest many Republicans hoped would be among their best chances to flip a Senate seat this year.

But the prospect of Don Bolduc winning Tuesday's GOP Senate primary has dampened those ambitions. In a state that President Joe Biden carried by more than 7 percentage points, Bolduc has campaigned on a platform that includes lies that Donald Trump won the 2020 election and conspiracy theories about vaccines.

That underscores the sense of disappointment among some national Republicans that Gov. Chris Sununu, a relatively popular moderate who likely could have posed more of a threat to Hassan, chose instead to run for reelection. The GOP is grappling with the possibility of again nominating a candidate who is popular with the party's base but struggles to broaden support ahead of the November general election.

Republican primary voters have similarly chosen conservative candidates this year in moderate or Democratic-leaning states including Massachusetts and Maryland, potentially putting competitive races out of the party's reach.

Neil Levesque, director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, said Bolduc is a type of candidate who would have struggled to succeed in GOP politics before Trump's rise. He has never held elected office and had just $75,000 in cash on hand last week. Still, Bolduc has been able to make inroads by positioning himself as an ally of Trump and his election falsehoods.

"That is because the theme of his campaign and messaging is very similar to former President Trump," Levesque said. "If it mirrors the former president, it's been effective."

Federal and state officials and Trump's own attorney general have said there is no credible evidence the election was tainted. The former president's allegations of fraud were also roundly rejected by courts, including by judges Trump appointed.

Known for kicking off the primary season during presidential campaigns, New Hampshire is instead marking the conclusion of the nominating process for this year's midterms. There are also contests on Tuesday in Delaware and Rhode Island.

But the U.S. Senate race in New Hampshire is perhaps most revealing about the direction of the GOP. Bolduc is competing in a crowded field that includes Chuck Morse, the more moderate president of the New Hampshire state Senate, who has been endorsed by Sununu. The governor called Morse "the candidate to beat Sen. Hassan this November and the candidate Sen. Hassan is most afraid to face."

Sununu feels differently about Bolduc, whom he's called a conspiracy theorist while warning that Bolduc could have a harder time winning the general election.

Bolduc doesn't seem bothered by Sununu's criticism. He's called the governor "a Chinese communist sympathizer." Bolduc hasn't been formally endorsed by Trump, who propelled many primary candidates to victory in key races throughout the summer. But the former president has called Bolduc a "strong guy."

The final primary contests are unfolding at a dramatic moment in the midterm campaign. Republicans have spent much of the year building their election-year message around Biden and his management of the economy, particularly soaring prices. But Democrats are now entering the final stretch with a sense of cautious optimism as approval of Biden steadies and inflation shows signs of easing.

The Supreme Court's decision overturning a woman's constitutional right to an abortion may provide Democrats with the energy they need to turn back the defeats that historically accompany a new president's first midterms.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell acknowledged the challenge last month, saying his party may be more likely to end Democrats' narrow control of the House than the Senate. He bemoaned "candidate quality" as a factor that could sway some outcomes in his chamber.

Some Democratic groups, meanwhile, have sponsored primary ads promoting Bolduc, predicting he'll make an easier November opponent for Hassan. That's consistent with Democratic-aligned organizations backing pro-Trump candidates in key races around the country — a strategy some have criticized, arguing that it could backfire if those candidates go on to win their general elections.

Republicans in New Hampshire and around the country scoff at the notion that being a Trump loyalist — or not — could be a deciding general election factor, noting that the still unpopular Biden will be a drag on his party regardless.

The New Hampshire Republican Party has tweeted that Hassan "votes with Joe Biden 96.4% of the time."

Many of the same dynamics swirling around the former president are at work in New Hampshire's 2nd Congressional District, where pro-Trump candidate Bob Burns is among several Republicans vying for the party's nomination to face five-term incumbent Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster.

In New Hampshire's other congressional district, which encompasses Manchester and the southeastern part of the state, several Republicans are vying to challenge Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, who could also face a potentially close general election reelection contest — once he learns who his opponent will be.

The GOP field includes former TV broadcaster Gail Huff Brown, wife of Scott Brown, a former U.S. senator from Massachusetts and ambassador to New Zealand during the Trump administration. Also running is Matt Mowers, who won the district's congressional 2020 Republican nomination and was a Trump administration State Department adviser.

But the candidate closest to Trump might be Karoline Leavitt, who worked in his White House's press office and has also campaigned with Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

"Her compass always points to Trump," said Dante Scala, a University of New Hampshire political science professor. He added, in reference to the former president's "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan, "She, in a very kind of crisp, sharp, confident way, will say the most MAGA thing that can be said in any situation."

Original Article

Midterm Primaries Wrap Up With Fresh Test of GOP's Future New Hampshire GOP Senate primary candidate Don Bolduc (Newsmax)

WILL WEISSERT and HOLLY RAMER Tuesday, 13 September 2022 07:18 PM EDT

A staunchly conservative retired Army general is vying for the chance to take on Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., in a contest many Republicans hoped would be among their best chances to flip a Senate seat this year.

But the prospect of Don Bolduc winning Tuesday's GOP Senate primary has dampened those ambitions. In a state that President Joe Biden carried by more than 7 percentage points, Bolduc has campaigned on a platform that includes lies that Donald Trump won the 2020 election and conspiracy theories about vaccines.

That underscores the sense of disappointment among some national Republicans that Gov. Chris Sununu, a relatively popular moderate who likely could have posed more of a threat to Hassan, chose instead to run for reelection. The GOP is grappling with the possibility of again nominating a candidate who is popular with the party's base but struggles to broaden support ahead of the November general election.

Republican primary voters have similarly chosen conservative candidates this year in moderate or Democratic-leaning states including Massachusetts and Maryland, potentially putting competitive races out of the party's reach.

Neil Levesque, director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, said Bolduc is a type of candidate who would have struggled to succeed in GOP politics before Trump's rise. He has never held elected office and had just $75,000 in cash on hand last week. Still, Bolduc has been able to make inroads by positioning himself as an ally of Trump and his election falsehoods.

"That is because the theme of his campaign and messaging is very similar to former President Trump," Levesque said. "If it mirrors the former president, it's been effective."

Federal and state officials and Trump's own attorney general have said there is no credible evidence the election was tainted. The former president's allegations of fraud were also roundly rejected by courts, including by judges Trump appointed.

Known for kicking off the primary season during presidential campaigns, New Hampshire is instead marking the conclusion of the nominating process for this year's midterms. There are also contests on Tuesday in Delaware and Rhode Island.

But the U.S. Senate race in New Hampshire is perhaps most revealing about the direction of the GOP. Bolduc is competing in a crowded field that includes Chuck Morse, the more moderate president of the New Hampshire state Senate, who has been endorsed by Sununu. The governor called Morse "the candidate to beat Sen. Hassan this November and the candidate Sen. Hassan is most afraid to face."

Sununu feels differently about Bolduc, whom he's called a conspiracy theorist while warning that Bolduc could have a harder time winning the general election.

Bolduc doesn't seem bothered by Sununu's criticism. He's called the governor "a Chinese communist sympathizer." Bolduc hasn't been formally endorsed by Trump, who propelled many primary candidates to victory in key races throughout the summer. But the former president has called Bolduc a "strong guy."

The final primary contests are unfolding at a dramatic moment in the midterm campaign. Republicans have spent much of the year building their election-year message around Biden and his management of the economy, particularly soaring prices. But Democrats are now entering the final stretch with a sense of cautious optimism as approval of Biden steadies and inflation shows signs of easing.

The Supreme Court's decision overturning a woman's constitutional right to an abortion may provide Democrats with the energy they need to turn back the defeats that historically accompany a new president's first midterms.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell acknowledged the challenge last month, saying his party may be more likely to end Democrats' narrow control of the House than the Senate. He bemoaned "candidate quality" as a factor that could sway some outcomes in his chamber.

Some Democratic groups, meanwhile, have sponsored primary ads promoting Bolduc, predicting he'll make an easier November opponent for Hassan. That's consistent with Democratic-aligned organizations backing pro-Trump candidates in key races around the country — a strategy some have criticized, arguing that it could backfire if those candidates go on to win their general elections.

Republicans in New Hampshire and around the country scoff at the notion that being a Trump loyalist — or not — could be a deciding general election factor, noting that the still unpopular Biden will be a drag on his party regardless.

The New Hampshire Republican Party has tweeted that Hassan "votes with Joe Biden 96.4% of the time."

Many of the same dynamics swirling around the former president are at work in New Hampshire's 2nd Congressional District, where pro-Trump candidate Bob Burns is among several Republicans vying for the party's nomination to face five-term incumbent Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster.

In New Hampshire's other congressional district, which encompasses Manchester and the southeastern part of the state, several Republicans are vying to challenge Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, who could also face a potentially close general election reelection contest — once he learns who his opponent will be.

The GOP field includes former TV broadcaster Gail Huff Brown, wife of Scott Brown, a former U.S. senator from Massachusetts and ambassador to New Zealand during the Trump administration. Also running is Matt Mowers, who won the district's congressional 2020 Republican nomination and was a Trump administration State Department adviser.

But the candidate closest to Trump might be Karoline Leavitt, who worked in his White House's press office and has also campaigned with Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

"Her compass always points to Trump," said Dante Scala, a University of New Hampshire political science professor. He added, in reference to the former president's "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan, "She, in a very kind of crisp, sharp, confident way, will say the most MAGA thing that can be said in any situation."

Stephen Moore to Newsmax: Rising Cost of Necessities 'Killing American Families' (Newsmax/"American Agenda")

By Jay Clemons | Tuesday, 13 September 2022 07:07 PM EDT

Economist Stephen Moore, a former senior economic adviser with the Trump White House and founding president of the Club For Growth, believes the Biden administration picked an odd time to tout the formal passing of the Inflation Reduction Act Tuesday — the same day in which the consumer-driven inflation rate for August surged 8.3%, from a year-over-year perspective.

"Can you imagine a worse time to have a celebration on a bill that massively increases spending and taxes?" Moore rhetorically asked Newsmax Tuesday afternoon, while appearing on "American Agenda" with hosts Bob Sellers and Katrina Szish.

Prior to Tuesday's announcement, Moore's rough calculations had the inflation rate in a range below 8%. However, those figures didn't account enough for human necessities — such as food, water, electricity, shelter, etc. — rising twice or thrice in price, compared to this time last year.

"I didn't think it'd be this bad," admits Moore of the August inflation rate, while adding, "This is killing American families."

By Moore's estimates, the average American family has lost nearly $4,000 in purchasing power since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021.

"This didn't just happen by accident," says Moore, while referencing a number of sluggish Biden economic policies.

Messaging has also been a problem for the Biden White House, says Moore, author of the book, "Trumponomics."

For example, the White House naming a bill the Inflation Reduction Act, "when it just adds kerosene to the fire, is almost laughable," says Moore.

Factoring in the string of consecutive months with high inflation, along with negative GDP growth in back-to-back quarters, Moore asserts the Federal Reserve will likely be compelled to raise interest rates again — perhaps multiple times — over the next few months.

"The Fed's in a tough place right now," says Moore. "And this [economic downturn] was so avoidable. All we had to do was stop spending money."

Instead, Moore says the Democrats' out-of-control spending has put this nation into a deeper hole.

"It's just a killer" to Americans trying to get ahead, Moore says.

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Original Article

Judge Unseals Additional Portions of Mar-a-Lago Affidavit Former President Donald Trump plays golf at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va., Tuesday. (AP)

ERIC TUCKER Tuesday, 13 September 2022 06:51 PM EDT

A federal judge Tuesday unsealed additional portions of an FBI affidavit laying out the basis for a search of former President Donald Trump's Florida home, showing that agents earlier obtained a hard drive after issuing a subpoena for surveillance footage recorded inside Mar-a-Lago.

A heavily redacted version of the affidavit was made public last month, but the Justice Department requested permission to show more of it after lawyers for Trump revealed the existence of a June grand jury subpoena that sought video footage from cameras in the vicinity of the Mar-a-Lago storage room.

“Because those aspects of the grand jury’s investigation have now been publicly revealed, there is no longer any reason to keep them sealed (i.e. redacted) in the filings in this matter,” department lawyers wrote.

The newly visible portions of the FBI agent’s affidavit show that the FBI on June 24 subpoenaed for the records in June after a visit weeks earlier to Mar-a-Lago in which agents observed between 50 to 55 boxes of records in the storage room at the property. The Trump Organization provided a hard drive on July 6 in response to the subpoena, the affidavit says.

The footage could be an important piece of the investigation, including whether anyone has sought to obstruct the probe. The Justice Department has said in a separate filing that it has “developed evidence that government records were likely concealed and removed from the Storage Room and that efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government’s investigation.”

The Justice Department has been investigating the holding of top-secret information and other classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after Trump left the White House. FBI agents during their Aug. 8 search of the home and club said they recovered more than 11,000 documents, including over 100 with classification markings.

Separately Tuesday, the Justice Department again urged U.S. District Aileen Cannon to lift her hold on core aspects of the investigation. Cannon last week granted the Trump team's request for an independent arbiter to review the seized documents and weed out from the investigation any records that may be covered by claims of executive or attorney-client privilege.

She also ordered the department to halt its review of the records pending any further court order or the completion of a report by the yet-to-be-named special master. The department urged Cannon last week to put her order on hold and told the judge Tuesday that its investigation would be harmed by a continued delay of its ability to scrutinize the classified documents.

“The government and the public unquestionably have an interest in the timely enforcement of criminal laws, particularly those involving the protection of highly sensitive information, and especially where, as here, there may have been efforts to obstruct its investigation,” the lawyers wrote.

The Trump team on Monday urged the judge to leave her order in place. His lawyers raised questions about the documents' current classification status and noted that a president has absolute authority to declassify information, though it pointedly did not say that Trump had actually declassified anything.

Original Article

Migrants, who boarded a bus in Texas, listen to volunteers offering assistance after being dropped off within view of the US Capitol building in Washington, DC, on August 11, 2022. (Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 11:08 AM PT – Tuesday, September 13, 2022

The mayor of a small Illinois town is reeling after dozens of migrants are bussed to his town without notice. Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson said he recently received a call from Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s office, informing him ”a bus” full of migrants would be arriving in the city that evening.

When he asked for more information such as how many migrants and which hotel they were headed to, Johnson said the office claimed “no details were available.” The small town mayor then questioned whether these migrants had been subjected to any health screenings or background checks, but given no answer. Johnson said he would provide food and water for the migrants, but not allow them off the bus.

“We started doing some homework. The State of Texas has no clue where Elk Grove Village is. They were not going to Elk Grove Village. They were going to the city of Chicago. She wants to probably say politically: ‘I’m a sanctuary city. I welcome you with open arms.’ But when reality checks, if five bus loads shows up in her city, she can’t handle it. So let’s give them to Elk Grove Village. That’s wrong…We’re not against migrants. We’re not against helping them, but we should work together. Our frustration is, no well-advance knowledge, no involvement in communication discussing how we can handle it.”

–Mayor Craig Johnson – Elk Grove Village, Illinois

This comes as Illinois Democrat leadership, including Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot have attempted to play off the influx of migrants from Texas as ”racism” by Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

MORE NEWS: Trump: We Won Big In 2020 But Dead People Voted

Original Article Oann

Book of Limbaugh Radio Commentary to Be Published Oct. 25 Limbaugh and Trump, 2019. (AP)

Tuesday, 13 September 2022 03:44 PM EDT

A compilation of radio commentary by the late Rush Limbaugh, from his early years on the air to his decades as a bombastic and influential voice in conservative politics, will be published Oct. 25.

Threshold Editions, a conservative imprint of Simon & Schuster, announced Wednesday that “Radio's Greatest of All Time" will include contributions from former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. The book was curated in part by Limbaugh's widow, Kathryn Adams Limbaugh, and his brother, David Limbaugh.

“This book is written in appreciation of the millions of listeners who Rush considered to be his extended family and ‘the greatest audience in the world,'" Threshold's announcement reads in part.

Limbaugh died of lung cancer in 2021 at age 70. In his lifetime, he published the bestsellers “The Way Things Ought to Be” and “See, I Told You So.”

Original Article

Corey Lewandowski to Newsmax: 'Politicization' of DOJ Being Ignored Corey Lewandowski (Getty Images)

By Jay Clemons | Tuesday, 13 September 2022 03:01 PM EDT

Corey Lewandowski, a former senior adviser for Trump 2020, believes the American public and White House would be "up in arms" if word broke of a third-world country dictator using the federal police to "intimidate" and "harass" their main political opponent, along with that candidate's senior aides and junior staffers.

And yet, Lewandowski says the left-leaning media and Democrats have largely chosen to ignore the Biden administration's influence with the FBI's Aug. 8 raid on former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, or recent news accounts of Trump staffers being harangued by federal officials, amid threats of "weapons, badges, and subpoenas."

"This the politicization of the Justice Department," Lewandowski told Newsmax on Tuesday while appearing on "John Bachman Now." "[The feds] showing up at people's homes, knocking on doors" and try to frighten workers connected to Trump.

Lewandowski added that "as opposed to just calling" these staffers, federal officials are looking to execute home searches, which serve the dual purpose of getting media attention, and also intimidating and embarrassing those who don't have the financial means to afford high-priced legal representation.

"[The feds] want to bankrupt you," says Lewandowski.

From Lewandowski's perspective, the best way to combat political intimidation involves voting for Republican changes at the ballot box; and in New Hampshire, particularly the U.S. Senate battle, Lewandowski believes the GOP "can clearly win this race, if they nominate the right person."

Entering tonight's primaries in New Hampshire, Real Clear Politics has Senate candidate Donald C. Bolduc, a retired Army brigadier general, leading the Republican primary challengers by double-digit points.

"Here is a real opportunity for Republicans to take [over] a competitive U.S. Senate seat," says Lewandowski, while forecasting that incumbent Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H. would be "absolutely vulnerable" in a general-election setting.

Republicans and Democrats are deadlocked in a 50-all tie for Senate seats heading into the Nov. 8 midterm elections.

According to Lewandowski, Hassan's vulnerability has a connection to the failed policies of President Joe Biden.

Lewandowski says Biden's New Hampshire poll numbers are "atrocious."

Lewandowski also hearkened back to the 2020 Democratic presidential primary in this state, when "the people of New Hampshire remember that [Biden] left halfway through the [campaign] day to go down to South Carolina."

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Civics Poll: 1 in 4 Cannot Name a Single Branch of US Government (Dreamstime)

By Nicole Wells | Tuesday, 13 September 2022 01:46 PM EDT

Americans' basic knowledge of their government has taken a downturn, with a new poll finding that less than half could name all three branches of government.

The percentage of Americans who could name the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government fell by 9 percentage points from last year, according to the Annenberg Public Policy Center's annual Constitution Day Civics Survey.

A quarter of those surveyed could not name a single branch of the U.S. government.

The number of respondents who could name any of the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment also dropped across the board.

Freedom of the press was named by 20%, down 30 percentage points from 2021, and freedom of religion plunged 32 percentage points, from last year's survey, to 24%.

The right to assembly was named by 16%, a decline of 14 percentage points, and the right to petition the government fell to just 6%, a drop of 14 percentage points from 2021.

One in four individuals said they could not name any First Amendment freedoms.

Just over half of those surveyed incorrectly think the First Amendment's protection of freedom of speech means Facebook must allow all Americans to express themselves freely on Facebook pages.

While the First Amendment protects citizens from censorship by the government, social media companies such as Facebook are private businesses and courts have ruled that such protections do not apply to them.

Among self-described conservatives, 63% think Facebook posts are covered by the First Amendment. Half of self-described moderates and 41% of self-described liberals think the same.

The percentage of Americans who incorrectly said the right to bear arms is a First Amendment freedom tripled to 9%. The Second Amendment protects the right of Americans to keep and bear arms.

"When it comes to civics, knowledge is power," Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, said in a press release.

"It's troubling that so few know what rights we're guaranteed by the First Amendment," she continued. "We are unlikely to cherish, protect, and exercise rights if we don't know that we have them."

There were some bright spots in the survey's findings, however.

The poll found 78% know protection from "unreasonable searches and seizures" is guaranteed in the Bill of Rights and 76% know that Congress cannot establish an official religion.

More than 80% knew the Supreme Court upheld that a citizen has a constitutional right to own a gun.

SSRS conducted the Civics Knowledge Survey on behalf of The Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) from Aug. 2-13 among 1,113 adults. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

Civics Poll: 1 in 4 Cannot Name a Single Branch of US Government (Dreamstime)

By Nicole Wells | Tuesday, 13 September 2022 01:46 PM EDT

Americans' basic knowledge of their government has taken a downturn, with a new poll finding that less than half could name all three branches of government.

The percentage of Americans who could name the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government fell by 9 percentage points from last year, according to the Annenberg Public Policy Center's annual Constitution Day Civics Survey.

A quarter of those surveyed could not name a single branch of the U.S. government.

The number of respondents who could name any of the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment also dropped across the board.

Freedom of the press was named by 20%, down 30 percentage points from 2021, and freedom of religion plunged 32 percentage points, from last year's survey, to 24%.

The right to assembly was named by 16%, a decline of 14 percentage points, and the right to petition the government fell to just 6%, a drop of 14 percentage points from 2021.

One in four individuals said they could not name any First Amendment freedoms.

Just over half of those surveyed incorrectly think the First Amendment's protection of freedom of speech means Facebook must allow all Americans to express themselves freely on Facebook pages.

While the First Amendment protects citizens from censorship by the government, social media companies such as Facebook are private businesses and courts have ruled that such protections do not apply to them.

Among self-described conservatives, 63% think Facebook posts are covered by the First Amendment. Half of self-described moderates and 41% of self-described liberals think the same.

The percentage of Americans who incorrectly said the right to bear arms is a First Amendment freedom tripled to 9%. The Second Amendment protects the right of Americans to keep and bear arms.

"When it comes to civics, knowledge is power," Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, said in a press release.

"It's troubling that so few know what rights we're guaranteed by the First Amendment," she continued. "We are unlikely to cherish, protect, and exercise rights if we don't know that we have them."

There were some bright spots in the survey's findings, however.

The poll found 78% know protection from "unreasonable searches and seizures" is guaranteed in the Bill of Rights and 76% know that Congress cannot establish an official religion.

More than 80% knew the Supreme Court upheld that a citizen has a constitutional right to own a gun.

SSRS conducted the Civics Knowledge Survey on behalf of The Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) from Aug. 2-13 among 1,113 adults. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

Original Article

Rep. Tenney to Newsmax: Stronger Congress, White House Will Deter China Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y. (Getty Images)

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Tuesday, 13 September 2022 12:23 PM EDT

China can still be deterred from invading Taiwan, but it will take the United States projecting strength through a GOP-controlled Congress and a stronger presidential administration taking office in 2025, Rep. Claudia Tenney, who visited Taiwan last week as part of a bipartisan congressional delegation, said on Newsmax on Tuesday.

"The Chinese are looking at the weakness and the inability to act, and the inability to project strength from the Biden administration," the New York Republican said on Newsmax's "National Report."

"They're going to take advantage of that. If we can take back the House, take back the Senate, and show some strength in the waning days of the end of the Biden administration, I think seeing a stronger administration coming in and 2024 into 2025 could potentially deter China."

Tenney, who is facing a reelection challenge from Democrat Steve Holden for the N.Y.-24 seat, added that it's "important that we take back the House and project the strength and the strength that we had under the Trump administration."

Tenney's comments came after former national security Robert O'Brien said in a recent interview that the timeline for Chinese aggression against Taiwan has been shortened and that there is a "narrow two-year window" in which the Chinese could forcibly coerce Taiwan into rejoining the mainland.

The Communist party Congress will conclude during the first or second week of October, when Chinese leader Xi Jinping will get his third five-year term, effectively making him dictator for life, and as that coincides with Biden's final years in office, that could lead to danger for Taiwan, O'Brien said.

Tenney said she last visited Taiwan in 2018, but the tensions were not as high.

"The United States under Joe Biden is projecting weakness, which is provocative to enemies like China, so the Taiwanese feel even more threatened by China's potential invasion," she said.

But when meeting with the government of Taiwan, the delegation learned they are looking for support and help from the United States as allies, "and that's something we pledged to do," Tenney said.

"They were also looking for a free trade agreement, something that we thought would be a great idea," she said. "They're willing to invest billions of dollars in the United States with their very high-level semiconductors."

It's also important to realign the imbalance of trade, as the United States is importing more than it's exporting, said Tenney.

"It was a very positive meeting and they are looking for our support and our help," she said. "They're willing to pay for our help as they see China threatening."

China is also looking as if it's "teaming up with Russia, which is something that we haven't seen in a long time," said Tenney.

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Harvard-Harris Poll: Trump Trouncing DeSantis, Leads Biden by 3 Former President Donald Trump. (Getty Images)

By Eric Mack | Tuesday, 13 September 2022 12:20 PM EDT

Former President Donald Trump is not only trouncing Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis in a prospective 2024 GOP primary, but he is leading President Joe Biden by 3 points in the latest Harvard-Harris Poll released Tuesday.

Trump leads DeSantis and a large GOP field by a wide 42-point margin, securing 59% support despite a range of candidates put up against him:

• Trump 59%.
• DeSantis 17%.
• Mike Pence 9%.
• Nikki Haley 2%.
• Sen. Ted Cruz, 1%.
• Mike Pompeo 1%.
• Sen. Tim Scott 1%.
• Sen. Marco Rubio 1%.
• Someone else 2%.
• Don't know/unsure 5%.

Biden has a much smaller lead among Democrat 2024 candidates, getting just 37% support. Vice President Kamala Harris is 24 points back at 13%, while Hillary Clinton 7%, Pete Buttigieg 6%, Stacey Abrams 4% lag along with a slew of candidates at 3% or less. There are also a higher percentage of Democrats unsure or don't know (11%) than Republicans.

In hypothetical races between Trump and Biden or Trump and Harris, Trump comes out on top by 3 points (45%-42%) and 7% (47%-40%), respectively.

A large majority of registered voters say they believe Biden should not run again (67%) for the following reasons:

• "He's a bad president" – 48%.
• "He's too old" – 30%.
• "It's time for a change" – 22%.

Also, a large majority of registered voters (59%) believe Biden's Sept. 1 speech denouncing "MAGA Republicans" is designed "to avoid talking about inflation, immigration, crime, and other issues."

And voters are more concerned about the "socialist left" (55%) than "MAGA Republicans" (45%).

Harvard's Center for American Political Studies conducted this Sept. 7-8 poll of 1,885 registered voters with The Harris Poll and the HarrisX. No margin of error was given in the release.

Original Article

New York Times Censors Dick Morris Book on Trump Dick Morris. (Newmax)

By Charlie McCarthy | Tuesday, 13 September 2022 11:55 AM EDT

The left-leaning New York Times' bestsellers list appears to be censoring Newsmax host Dick Morris and his new bestseller, "The Return: Trump's Big 2024 Comeback."

"The Return" is topping several bestseller lists, including Amazon, Publisher's Weekly and others, but is nowhere to be found on the Times' non-fiction list.

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

Based on retail sales compiled by Bookscan for the week of August 28th, "The Return" should be number four on the Times' list.

But Morris' book is nowhere to be found with more than 4,000 book sales for the week. But a book co-authored by Oprah Winfrey had less than 3,000 book sales and made the list at number nine.

And the number ten Times' bestseller, "An Immense World" by Ed Yong, a book about animal perceptions, drew less than half of Morris' actual book sales.

Bookscan showed "The Return" with actual sales greater than 11 other books on the Times' non-fiction list for that week. Morris' latest book predicts that former President Donald Trump not only will run for president again in 2024, but also that he'll overcome big odds to win.

"The New York Times would not be caught dead promoting a book praising Donald Trump and calling for his reelection on its bestseller list, but any book criticizing Trump is guaranteed top billing," Morris told Newsmax Tuesday.

Conservatives have long criticized the Times bestseller list as having a liberal bias and de-ranking right-leaning titles.

In 2017, conservative publisher Regnery Publishing said it no longer would recognize the Times' bestseller lists in their promotion, because actual book sales showed continuous bias and favoritism toward liberal authors and a lack of transparency on how the list is compiled, Newsweek reported.

In "The Return," Morris said Trump would face legal troubles because the Biden administration is so fearful of the 45th president returning to the White House.

Trump has praised "The Return" and recently went on his Trump Social platform calling the book "a fantastic political analysis."

"Dick Morris is a #1 New York Times Bestselling Author, who is also a true political pro," Trump wrote, adding, "Great book, get it now!!"

Morris, who was a consultant to Trump in the 2016 and 2020 campaigns, hosts "Dick Morris Democracy" on Newsmax.

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

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Wisconsin Judge Doesn't Suspend His Absentee Ballot Ruling (Getty Images)

SCOTT BAUER Tuesday, 13 September 2022 11:46 AM EDT

A Wisconsin judge on Tuesday sided with Republicans and declined to suspend his ruling from last week that state law does not allow election clerks to fill in missing information on witness certification envelopes that contain absentee ballots.

The ruling was expected to be quickly appealed by Democrats, who raised the concern that voters will face “whiplash” with potentially changing rules after absentee ballots are sent next week. The case is expected to ultimately end up before the conservative-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court, but it's unclear whether there could be a ruling before the midterm election that's just eight weeks away.

The lawsuit is the latest move by Republicans to tighten restrictions on absentee voting in the swing state where Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Republican Sen. Ron Johnson are on the ballot in November.

Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Aprahamian on Sept. 7 granted GOP motions and ordered that the state's bipartisan elections commission to revoke its guidance to clerks telling them they can fill in missing information on the witness certificate.

He declined on Tuesday to put that ruling on hold, as requested by the Wisconsin Elections Commission, the Waukesha County Democratic Party and the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin.

The judge said in denying the stay request that the Republican Party of Waukesha County that brought the lawsuit, as well as the Legislature, have a much stronger likelihood of success than do Democrats.

Jeffrey Mandell, attorney for the Waukesha County Democratic Party, argued that the stay should be issued to avoid creating “voter whiplash” with changing guidelines for accepting absentee ballots so close to the election. He noted that the guidance has been in effect for the past 12 statewide elections.

But the judge rejected that argument, saying the guidance in question only affects what clerks and local election officials can do with a ballot, not instructions to voters on what information needs to be on the ballot certificate.

“I don’t think that whiplash argument holds any sway," Aprahamian said.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission published guidance in 2016 telling clerks they could fill in missing address information, known as ballot curing. The practice was unchallenged until after Donald Trump's narrow loss in 2020 when nearly 1.4 million voters cast absentee ballots and COVID-19 vaccines weren’t available yet.

The judge ruled that Wisconsin's 1,800-plus local elections officials do not have the authority under the law to modify absentee ballot certificates, nor does the state elections commission have the right to order that they take that action. The elections commission scheduled a meeting for Wednesday afternoon to react to the ruling.

Clerks were rushing to interpret what the decision meant for which ballots they could accept.

Steven Kilpatrick, attorney for the elections commission, said the court’s action prevents the commission from telling clerks what constitutes an address that can be accepted on an absentee ballot witness certificate.

“Now there is nothing for the clerks to be guided by,” Kilpatrick said. “That results in uncertainty as to what a complete address is and increases the risk that some ballots will not be counted, without the fault of the elector.”

The judge on Tuesday said he made no decision on what constitutes an address and no one has asked him to rule on what happens to ballots with an incomplete address. The only issue before him was whether the guidance directing clerks to add missing information was legal, the judge said.

Clerks only address problems on the witness certificate, which doubles as an envelope, and not the ballot itself.

Original Article

Rep. Maloney Asks If Any 'Unaccounted For' Trump Records Exist

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (Getty Images)

By Charles Kim | Tuesday, 13 September 2022 11:43 AM EDT

House Committee on Oversight and Reform Chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., asked the National Archives and Records Administration in a letter Tuesday if there are still "unaccounted for" documents that may be in the possession of former President Donald Trump.

"In light of the serious risk that Mr. Trump may still be retaining sensitive government records at Mar-a-Lago or his other properties, I urge NARA to seek a personal certification from Donald Trump that he has surrendered all presidential records that he illegally removed from the White House after leaving office," wrote Maloney, a Democrat.

"I also ask that the agency conduct an urgent review of presidential records recovered from the Trump White House to assess whether presidential records remain unaccounted for and potentially in the possession of the former president."

The letter comes after 30 FBI armed agents swarmed Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on Aug. 8 looking for documents the National Archives claim Trump took after leaving the White House in January 2021.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said he "personally" signed off on an application for the federal search warrant executed by the FBI, which yielded "more than 11,000 government records" still in Trump's possession at the resort, according to a press release from the committee Tuesday.

"The Committee is concerned that, given this pattern of conduct, Mr. Trump may continue to retain presidential records at non-secure locations, including classified material that could endanger our nation's security and other important records documenting Mr. Trump's activities at the White House," the Chairwoman wrote. "NARA's staff recently informed the Committee that the agency is not certain whether all presidential records are in its custody."

U.S. District Court Judge Aileen M. Cannon approved Trump's request for a special master to review the seized materials, and the Department of Justice is signaling that it agrees with Trump's candidate, former New York federal court judge Raymond J. Dearie, to take on the job, the Washington Post reported Monday.

If approved for the role by Cannon, Dearie will be tasked with going through the materials taken by the FBI and determine what they could use in a potential prosecution of the former president, and which would be considered personal or privileged, such as documents relating to attorney-client discussions.

Currently, Cannon barred the Justice Department from using any of the materials in a potential prosecution until the special master could review them and make a determination, according to the report.

Original Article

Bernie Kerik to Newsmax: Will Comply With Federal Subpoena Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Tuesday, 13 September 2022 10:54 AM EDT

Former New York City Police Department Commissioner Bernie Kerik tells Newsmax he was stunned to be included in the approximately 40 subpoenas issued to people close to former president Donald Trump and that the matter was leaked to the media, but he will comply with the demand for information.

"It stunned me that the DOJ or the FBI leaked it to The New York Times, No. 1," Kerik commented to Newsmax's "Wake Up America" Tuesday. "It also stunned me that the prosecutors out of D.C., from the Capital siege unit, sent FBI agents to my house knowing that I was represented by counsel."

The Times reported that Kerik and his friend, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, had promoted claims of voter fraud, but the former commissioner said that isn't true, as he had "evidence of voter fraud."

"I testified for 8.5 hours before the Jan. 6 committee," said Kerik. "I gave them evidence. If there's anything they should be investigating, it should be election fraud, because we have overwhelming evidence."

Kerik's attorney, Timothy Parlatore, told the Times that his client had offered to grant an interview voluntarily, and Kerik told Newsmax that he'll cooperate with the terms of the subpoena.

Kerik on Tuesday said that when the agents came to serve him with the subpoena, he told them personally that he has no problems with the FBI's agents, as he has "great admiration" for them, but that he has "no trust, confidence, or anything with regard to the DOJ and the FBI leadership."

The agents, he said, showed up at his house when he was out of state, and they "scared the hell out of my daughter and said they were looking for me. They wanted to speak to me."

He added that an agent called him on his cellphone, and he told him he'd meet them the next day at his house.

"I'll repeat this again," said Kerik. "The agents were courteous. There were professionals. He said 'I would like to speak to you about your time investigating, and working for the president.' I told straight up, 'Listen, I have an admiration for you guys. I have no trust in faith and confidence in your leadership, which I think is off the charts. I think it's political. And I will not be speaking to you.'"

He continued that the agent then handed him the subpoena "and the thing that shocked me about this subpoena is there are probably more than 120 people mentioned in that subpoena who I don't know. Probably 90% of them."

He was shocked to recognize most of the names including "every single one of Donald Trump's attorneys, every single one of them, that was on the legal team. Every one of them."

Kerik on Tuesday also insisted that FBI Director Christopher Wray, a Trump appointee, is not the right person to be running the FBI.

"The people at the top of the FBI and the Justice Department, based on what I'm seeing based on that subpoena, based on the targeting of every single person around President Trump, including most importantly, his lawyers, that's insane," Kerik said.

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