Donald Trump Poll News

Republican-Led House Would Probe Biden's Woke Military (Dreamstime)

By Charlie McCarthy | Wednesday, 05 October 2022 09:03 AM EDT

A Republican-controlled Congress would investigate the Biden administration's wokeness in the military, conservative House members said.

Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., said the administration's woke defense policies will be a focus if the GOP regains control of the House in the midterms.

"I think it's one of our very top priorities to clean up the mess the administration has made with the excessive and dangerous COVID mandates on our troops at a time where we have historically low recruitment," said Banks, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, Military.com reported.

Banks was asked whether the GOP would block diversity and equity initiatives, such as critical race theory.

"Those are issues that we've been very passionate about in the minority, and I guarantee we'll be just as passionate about them when we get the majority," Banks told Military.com.

House Armed Services Committee ranking member Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., in line to be chairman of the committee if Republicans regain the majority, told the website: "All this wokeness in the military, we are going to be aggressively trying to root that stuff out."

Republican efforts to roll back a vaccine mandate or other administration initiatives probably would be futile because President Joe Biden likely wouldn't sign GOP-sponsored bills.

Also, Democrats could maintain control of the Senate – something that could prevent such bills from even reaching Biden's desk.

However, Republicans controlling the House could result in messaging bills, as well as hearings and investigations concerning vaccine mandate, diversity initiatives, and anti-extremism efforts, Military.com reported.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., announced the party's "Commitment to America" agenda last month, though it was vague on the party's plans for defense policies.

Regarding defense, the GOP plan promises to:

• Support our troops.
• Invest in an efficient, effective military.
• Establish a Select Committee on China.
• Exercise peace through strength with our allies to counter increasing global threats.

"When it comes to the posture hearings and the legislative process of the NDAA [National Defense Authorization Act], I think you can expect more of the same from what you've seen the last couple of years," said Banks, an Armed Services Committee member, Military.com reported.

NBC News reported last month that lawmakers who are allies of former President Donald Trump plan to question the Joint Chiefs of Staff chair, Gen. Mark Milley, if Republicans regain control of Congress.

Milley, a critic of the former president, would face grilling about several issues, including the chaotic U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, the military becoming too "woke," and military readiness, sources told NBC News.

Original Article

Biden to Focus on Hurricane Victims in Florida, Not Politics (Newsmax)

JOSH BOAK Wednesday, 05 October 2022 07:47 AM EDT

President Joe Biden will visit hurricane-ravaged Florida with a pledge that federal, state and local governments will work as one to help rebuild homes, businesses and lives — putting politics on mute for now to focus on those in need.

Hurricane Ian has resulted in at least 84 people confirmed dead, including 75 in Florida, as hundreds of thousands of people wait for power to be restored. Ian’s 150 mph winds and punishing storm surge last week took out power for 2.6 million in Florida. Many people are unable to access food and water.

Biden planned to meet Wednesday with residents and small business owners in Fort Myers, Florida, and to thank government officials providing emergency aid and removing debris.

With the midterm elections just a month away, the crisis had the potential to bring together political rivals in common cause at least for a time.

Joining Biden in Florida will be two of his most prominent Republican critics: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Rick Scott, according to the White House and Scott's spokesman. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre suggested Tuesday that it would be inappropriate for them to focus on political differences.

“There will be plenty of time, plenty of time, to discuss differences between the president and the governor — but now is not the time,” Jean-Pierre told reporters at a White House briefing. “When it comes to delivering and making sure that the people of Florida have what they need, especially after Hurricane Ian, we are one. We are working as one.”

Biden typically waits to visit the scene of a natural disaster, to ensure his presence and the fleet of vehicles that accompany him will not hinder the rescue efforts.

Before the storm hit, the president had intended to visit the Florida cities of Orlando and Fort Lauderdale last week, where he planned to stress his efforts to strengthen Social Security and Medicaid. Biden has accused Scott of wanting to end both programs by proposing that federal laws should expire every five years, although the Florida senator has said he wants to preserve the programs.

Biden and DeSantis have had a multitude of differences in recent years over how to fight COVID-19, immigration policy and more. In recent weeks, they tussled over the governor's decision to put migrants on planes or buses to Democratic strongholds, a practice that Biden has called “reckless.”

The hurricane changed the purpose and tone of Biden's first trip to Florida this year.

DeSantis confirmed Tuesday he'd be meeting with Biden in the hurricane zone and he praised the administration's Federal Emergency Management Agency for declaring an emergency before Ian made landfall.

“That was huge because everyone was full steam ahead. They knew they had the ability to do it," DeSantis said. "We appreciate it. I think FEMA’s worked very well with the state and local.”

The White House message of bipartisan unity marks a difference from Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, who at times threatened to withhold aid to Democrat officials who criticized him, including Govs. Gavin Newsom of California and Andrew Cuomo of New York.

Trump threatened to withhold federal money from California after wildfires, saying its state officials were to blame for the deadly conflagrations, tweeting in 2018: “Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!”

Politicians’ responses to natural disasters have the power to make or break political careers.

As Florida's governor for eight years, Jeb Bush maintained a steady response to a parade of hurricanes and was rewarded with sky-high approval ratings. President George W. Bush and Louisiana lawmakers’ more troubled response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 still hangs over their legacies.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the Republican who welcomed President Barack Obama to his state to survey Hurricane Sandy damage just days before the 2012 general election, said that during natural disasters “the best political strategy is to have no political strategy, to do your job.”

Christie ended up the target of some in his own party who believed that his warm welcome for Obama helped cement the Democrat’s reelection, but he has no regrets.

“At core this is what government is there for, it’s to protect the safety and the welfare of the people,” Christie said in an interview Tuesday. “The only thing that should be on the president’s mind, on Gov. DeSantis’s mind, on (Sen.) Marco Rubio’s mind is the turmoil and the tragedy that’s happened to people’s lives and how we can make it better.”

Christie noted that the comparisons to Sandy aren’t exact — Biden is two years away from being a candidate himself, and DeSantis is weeks, not days, from facing voters in his reelection bid. But Christie said any attempts to score political points would be admonished at the polls.

“Playing games is not what this is about,” Christie said. “This is a pretty transparent time and people will get it — that’s not what they want, and they’ll punish you for it.”

Original Article

Tudor Dixon to Newsmax: Michigan's 'Quiet Republicans' Can Bring Victory (Newsmax/"Prime News")

By Eric Mack | Tuesday, 04 October 2022 10:04 PM EDT

Noting a discrepancy among polling results in the Michigan gubernatorial race, GOP nominee Tudor Dixon tells Newsmax there are "quiet Republicans out there" who know another term for Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer would be "devastating."

"If we have another four years of Gretchen Whitmer, it will be devastating," Dixon told Tuesday's "Prime News" with Jenn Pellegrino, pointing to The Trafalgar Group poll Sept. 30 that had Dixon trailing by mere points outside the margin of error.

"We trust what they do over at the Trafalgar polling group. We understand that they know how to find those quiet Republicans, and we know those quiet Republicans are out there."

Dixon touted her positions on crime, the economy, parental rights in education, and damage done during Whitmer's COVID-19 shutdowns on business, including holding children outside of schools and Whitmer advocating for teaching inappropriate sex and gender indoctrination.

"It should be the basics reading, writing and math, get the sex and gender talk out of our schools," Dixon, emphatically endorsed by former President Donald Trump, said. "We want to protect our kids. It's got to be first and foremost, but we know Gretchen Whitmer won't."

As far as making up the ground in the final weeks before the Tuesday, Nov. 8 midterm, Dixon said the silent minority is ready and willing to rise up against Democrats in the key battleground state of Michigan.

"I have had so many people come and whisper in my ear: 'I'm voting for you,'" Dixon told Pellegrino. "I've been telling that story around the state and now I have people coming up to me after we have rallies, and we have events, saying, 'I'm not going to whisper anymore: I'm voting for you.'

"So as long as we all stick together and we are strong together, I believe we will be a mighty force in November."

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Original Article

Trump Asks SCOTUS to Intervene in Special Master, Mar-a-Lago Case (Newsmax)

By Nick Koutsobinas | Tuesday, 04 October 2022 06:43 PM EDT

On Tuesday, former President Donald Trump's legal team requested the Supreme Court intervene in the legal battle concerning the review documents seized from his Mar-a-Lago home.

Trump's lawyers, in their argument, request the Supreme Court vacate the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling that said the Justice Department could continue using classified documents seized from the president's home for their investigation.

"This unwarranted stay should be vacated as it impairs substantially the ongoing, time-sensitive work of the Special Master," Trump's lawyers wrote in their filing on Tuesday. "Moreover, any limit on the comprehensive and transparent review of materials seized in the extraordinary raid of a President's home erodes public confidence in our system of justice."

Trump's lawyers continued to argue that last month's unanimous ruling by the three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit compromised "the integrity of the well-established policy against piecemeal appellate review" and ignored "the District Court's broad discretion without justification," NBC News reported.

But in the 11th Circuit's ruling, they stated that the Justice Department could access the classified records. Their decision also included a reversal from a Florida district judge's decision who sided with Trump to grant the former president's request for a special master to review all records seized at Mar-a-Lago — including intelligence records.

​​"Plaintiff has not even attempted to show that he has a need to know the information contained in the classified documents. Nor has he established that the current [Biden] administration has waived that requirement for these documents," the appeals court judges wrote, according to The Hill.

Additionally, the 11th Circuit cast doubt on whether Florida District Judge Aileen Cannon could grant the appointment of a special master.

The request from Trump's team comes on the heels of the Justice Department's move to expedite its appeal in challenging the appointment of a special master.

Original Article

Dick Morris to Newsmax: No Downside in Trump Suing CNN for Reporting 'Lies' (Newsmax/"The Chris Salcedo Show")

By Jay Clemons | Tuesday, 04 October 2022 06:23 PM EDT

Political strategist, best-selling author, and TV host Dick Morris sees no downside to former President Donald Trump's $475 million defamation lawsuit against CNN.

"Oh yeah. It's about time. How much is the guy going to take? So many of the misstatements and lies about Trump have been broadcast on CNN," Morris told Newsmax Tuesday afternoon, while appearing on "The Chris Salcedo Show."

Morris added that Trump has routinely "excoriated [CNN] in public. He's [also] cost them half their viewership," a reference to the network's declining TV ratings, shortly after Trump left office in January 2021.

"And now, [Trump] wants to cost them a final $500 million," says Morris, a former adviser to Presidents Trump and Bill Clinton, and the host of "Dick Morris Democracy" on Newsmax.

As part of his defamation suit, Trump claims that CNN wants to thwart a possible run for the White House two years from now.

However, the way Morris sees it, President Joe Biden won't be Trump's opponent in the 2024 presidential election.

"You're beating a dead horse" with Biden-impeachment talk in 2023, says Morris. "Biden's not going to run. He'll hang on as a lame duck."

For his best-selling book, "The Return: Trump's Big 2024 Comeback," Morris outlines the potential of an "October Surprise" or two, involving Biden and/or Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a nutshell, Morris believes Biden and Putin have their proverbial backs to the wall, politically. And one "wagging the dog" hypothetical involves Putin amping up his threats of using nuclear weapons "to distract attention away from his defeats in Ukraine" … and Biden then ratcheting up the anti-nuke rhetoric against Putin, knowing the Russian president has no plans to initiate nuclear warfare across the globe.

"They both need to change the subject" of failing as leaders, Morris says of Putin and Biden.

From Morris's perspective, the Democrats will then use Biden's tough talk against Putin, as a means of rallying the country "in a time of national crisis" — just in time for the midterm elections (Nov. 8).

That layered scenario aside, Morris predicts the Republicans will take over the House chamber in November.

The Senate Republicans may even claim its majority, says Morris, which would drastically limit Biden's powers as a "lame-duck" president for the final two years in office.

"The Democrats are cornered, and they'll do anything" to win the midterms, says Morris.

And if that plan should fail, Morris opines the Democrats can always fall back on propping up Hillary Clinton for a 2024 presidential run — as a "centrist" candidate.

"Hillary will say, '[Biden] went too far to the left. I'll move ya back to the center,'" reasons Morris.

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

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Original Article

Dick Morris to Newsmax: No Downside in Trump Suing CNN for Reporting 'Lies' (Newsmax/"The Chris Salcedo Show")

By Jay Clemons | Tuesday, 04 October 2022 06:23 PM EDT

Political strategist, best-selling author, and TV host Dick Morris sees no downside to former President Donald Trump's $475 million defamation lawsuit against CNN.

"Oh yeah. It's about time. How much is the guy going to take? So many of the misstatements and lies about Trump have been broadcast on CNN," Morris told Newsmax on Tuesday afternoon, while appearing on "The Chris Salcedo Show."

Morris added that Trump has routinely "excoriated [CNN] in public. He's [also] cost them half their viewership," a reference to the network's declining TV ratings, shortly after Trump left office in January 2021.

"And now, [Trump] wants to cost them a final $500 million," says Morris, a former adviser to Presidents Trump and Bill Clinton, and the host of "Dick Morris Democracy" on Newsmax.

As part of his defamation suit, Trump claims that CNN wants to thwart a possible run for the White House two years from now.

However, the way Morris sees it, President Joe Biden won't be Trump's opponent in the 2024 presidential election.

"You're beating a dead horse" with Biden impeachment talk in 2023, says Morris. "Biden's not going to run. He'll hang on as a lame duck."

For his best-selling book, "The Return: Trump's Big 2024 Comeback," Morris outlines the potential of an "October Surprise" or two, involving Biden and/or Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a nutshell, Morris believes Biden and Putin have their proverbial backs to the wall, politically. And one "wagging the dog" hypothetical involves Putin amping up his threats of using nuclear weapons "to distract attention away from his defeats in Ukraine" … and Biden then ratcheting up the anti-nuke rhetoric against Putin, knowing the Russian president has no plans to initiate nuclear warfare across the globe.

"They both need to change the subject" of failing as leaders, Morris says of Putin and Biden.

From Morris's perspective, the Democrats will then use Biden's tough talk against Putin, as a means of rallying the country "in a time of national crisis" — just in time for the midterm elections (Nov. 8).

That layered scenario aside, Morris predicts the Republicans will take over the House chamber in November.

The Senate Republicans may even claim its majority, says Morris, which would drastically limit Biden's powers as a "lame-duck" president for the final two years in office.

"The Democrats are cornered, and they'll do anything" to win the midterms, says Morris.

And if that plan should fail, Morris opines the Democrats can always fall back on propping up Hillary Clinton for a 2024 presidential run — as a "centrist" candidate.

"Hillary will say, '[Biden] went too far to the left. I'll move ya back to the center,'" reasons Morris.

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

About NEWSMAX TV:

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Original Article

Congress Members, Ex-White House Officials Back Iranian Protests

By Luca Cacciatore | Tuesday, 04 October 2022 06:10 PM EDT

A group of Congress members, former U.S. officials, and prominent activists pledged their support to the ongoing anti-government protests in Iran, a video released on Tuesday highlighted.

Iranian American For Liberty, an organization that opposes the current Mullah regime, featured GOP Reps. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Claudia Tenney of New York, and Mary Miller of Illinois in their compilation of endorsements for the protestor cause.

"As protests intensify across Iran, I am honored to continue standing with the brave Iranian people as they demand freedom and justice," Tenney wrote on Twitter. "Their courage in the face of the Islamic Republic's terror and brutality is nothing short of heroic."

David M. Friedman, former President Donald Trump's U.S. Ambassador to Israel; State Department official Len Khodorkovsky; and Trump-era national security adviser Victoria Coates also lent their support.

Ellie Cohanim, who was born in Tehran and served as the U.S. Deputy Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism under Trump, delivered a special message in Iran's native language Farsi towards those seeking freedom.

"I'm recording this message to say I proudly support you, the Iranian people," a translation of Cohanim's statement read. "I urge you to not give up until freedom from [the] Islamic Republic is achieved."

IAL Executive Director Bryan E. Leib told Newsmax that the video was put together in opposition to Ayatollah Khamenei, whose government has received criticism for corruption allegations, enforcing strict Sharia law, and murdering dissidents.

"We organized this video message from congressional leaders and former senior Trump administration officials to send a clear and strong message to the Iranian people who are fighting for freedom from the Khamenei regime – We hear you. We see you. We support you." Leib said.

Renewed calls developed after the Guidance Patrol, known as Iran's "morality police," allegedly beat 22-year-old Mahsa Amini to death after claiming she was wearing her hijab improperly, The Guardian noted.

The government has consistently denied any wrongdoing in her death and has claimed Amini suffered from underlying health conditions that caused her brain to swell.

Original Article

Lawyers: Arizona GOP Chair Pleaded Fifth to Jan. 6 Panel (AP)

BOB CHRISTIE Tuesday, 04 October 2022 05:44 PM EDT

Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward refused to answer questions during a deposition of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 breach at the Capitol, an attorney for the panel revealed Tuesday during a court hearing in Phoenix.

Attorney Eric Columbus told a federal judge that Ward asserted her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when she complied with a subpoena from the House committee.

The detail about Ward's deposition came at a hearing where lawyers urged a federal judge to block the committee from getting her phone records while she appeals. U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa ruled on Sept. 23 that Ward's arguments that her phone call records should be secret did not pass legal muster.

Ward attorney Laurin Mills cast the phone records fight as one with major implications for democracy, on par if not bigger than the violence that unfolded at the Capitol.

“This is the first time in American history that a select committee of the United State Congress controlled by one party has subpoenaed the records of the state chair of the rival party,” Mills said.

He said the outcome will set important precedent, not just for the current case but for others that will come when Republicans ultimately control Congress.

The House Committee investigating the attack on the Capitol is seeking phone records from just before the November 2020 election to Jan. 31, 2021. That would include a period where Ward was pushing for former President Donald Trump's election defeat to be overturned and while Congress was set to certify the results.

Kelli Ward and her husband Michael Ward were presidential electors who would have voted for Trump in the Electoral College had he won Arizona. Both signed a document falsely claiming they were Arizona's true electors, despite Democrat Joe Biden's victory in the state.

Columbus said that investigators get telephone records all the time, and noted that congressional investigators can't arrest or charge anyone with a crime. And he noted Congress does not know all that is involved with Ward's action to overturn President Joe Biden's 2020 win.

"Dr. Ward was deposed by the select committee and she declined to answer on every substantive question under her rights under the Fifth Amendment," he said. “There are other aspects of her involvement that are not at this point fully understood.”

Ward is hardly the first witness to refuse the committee’s questions. Others who have asserted their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination include Trump allies Michael Flynn, Roger Stone and lawyer John Eastman.

Original Article

Lawyers: Arizona GOP Chair Pleaded Fifth to Jan. 6 Panel (AP)

BOB CHRISTIE Tuesday, 04 October 2022 05:44 PM EDT

Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward refused to answer questions during a deposition of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 breach at the Capitol, an attorney for the panel revealed Tuesday during a court hearing in Phoenix.

Attorney Eric Columbus told a federal judge that Ward asserted her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when she complied with a subpoena from the House committee.

The detail about Ward's deposition came at a hearing where lawyers urged a federal judge to block the committee from getting her phone records while she appeals. U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa ruled on Sept. 23 that Ward's arguments that her phone call records should be secret did not pass legal muster.

Ward attorney Laurin Mills cast the phone records fight as one with major implications for democracy, on par if not bigger than the violence that unfolded at the Capitol.

"This is the first time in American history that a select committee of the United States Congress controlled by one party has subpoenaed the records of the state chair of the rival party," Mills said.

He said the outcome will set important precedent, not just for the current case but for others that will come when Republicans ultimately control Congress.

The House Committee investigating the attack on the Capitol is seeking phone records from just before the November 2020 election to Jan. 31, 2021. That would include a period where Ward was pushing for former President Donald Trump's election defeat to be overturned and while Congress was set to certify the results.

Kelli Ward and her husband Michael Ward were presidential electors who would have voted for Trump in the Electoral College had he won Arizona. Both signed a document falsely claiming they were Arizona's true electors, despite Democrat Joe Biden's victory in the state.

Columbus said that investigators get telephone records all the time, and noted that congressional investigators can't arrest or charge anyone with a crime. And he noted Congress does not know all that is involved with Ward's action to overturn President Joe Biden's 2020 win.

"Dr. Ward was deposed by the select committee and she declined to answer on every substantive question under her rights under the Fifth Amendment," he said. "There are other aspects of her involvement that are not at this point fully understood."

Ward is hardly the first witness to refuse the committee's questions. Others who have asserted their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination include Trump allies Michael Flynn, Roger Stone, and lawyer John Eastman.

Original Article

Conservative Group Sues FBI Over Alleged Big Tech Collusion (Newsmax)

By Luca Cacciatore | Tuesday, 04 October 2022 04:48 PM EDT

America First Legal filed a lawsuit against the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday for allegedly failing to disclose communications between the agency and Big Tech companies, court filings showed.

The group, founded by ex-staffers under former President Trump, is specifically targeting the FBI's communications with platforms like Facebook, whose CEO previously admitted to censoring information surrounding the contents of Hunter Biden's laptop.

AFL partner Reed Rubinstein told Fox News: "The evidence is that during the 2020 Presidential election campaign, the FBI conspired and combined with large corporations, including Facebook, to censor and suppress the damning evidence of Biden family corruption and influence peddling found on Hunter Biden's laptop.

"This was done to help Joe Biden and the Democrats win the 2020 election. Now, arrogantly disregarding the law, the FBI is stonewalling AFL's efforts to expose the FBI's emails detailing the tradecraft behind this collusive attack on our elections and identifying the persons inside and outside of government who were responsible for it."

AFL's lawsuit comes less than two months after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed his site limited circulation of the Hunter Biden laptop story on the pretext it was part of a Russian disinformation campaign the FBI warned about.

"The background here is that the FBI came to us — some folks on our team — and was like, 'Hey, just so you know, you should be on high alert. We thought there was a lot of Russian propaganda in the 2016 election. We have it on notice that basically there's about to be some kind of dump that's similar to that,'" Zuckerberg told podcaster Joe Rogan.

Those comments led Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin to call on Facebook to hand over its communications between members of the organization and government agencies – a request still outstanding.

"The American people deserve to know whether the FBI used Facebook as part of their alleged plan to discredit information about Hunter Biden," the senators wrote to Zuckerberg.

Bannon Declares to Media: 'We're Going to Destroy the Democrat Party' Former adviser to former President Donald Trump, Steve Bannon leaves after a court appearance at New York State Supreme Court on Tuesday in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

By Jay Clemons | Tuesday, 04 October 2022 03:18 PM EDT

Steve Bannon had a simple message for Democrats Tuesday morning, shortly before being informed he would stand trial on fraud charges sometime next year.

"We're going to destroy the Democrat Party as a national political institution," said Bannon, while briefly talking to reporters at New York State Supreme Court Manhattan.

Bannon didn't go into greater detail on his proclamation, or whether this public pledge involves former President Donald Trump pursuing the White House again in 2024 — something for which Trump has yet to make official, even though he's the presumptive favorite to secure the Republican Party's nomination two years from now.

In the meantime, Bannon — a former Trump senior adviser — has a number of legal issues to sort through in the coming months.

His Tuesday appearance in Manhattan court revolved around charges of money laundering (two counts), attempt to commit conspiracy (three counts), and one count of scheming to defraud, allegedly related to the inner workings of his "We Build The Wall" nonprofit organization.

And back in July, Bannon was convicted on a contempt of Congress charge, after failing to comply with a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, unrest at the Capitol.

Bannon is slated for sentencing on the above conviction later this month.

During Tuesday's hearing, Acting Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan nixed Bannon's request for the trial being delayed until 2024.

Instead, that trial will likely begin in November 2023.

Judge Merchan also gave Bannon's legal team until February to peruse the evidence in the fraud case.

As Newsmax chronicled last week, prosecutors allege that Bannon duped donors who contributed to the "We Build The Wall" initiative, regarding construction of the wall at the United States-Mexico border.

Bannon allegedly promised private donors that all monies submitted would go to completing the southern border wall, which stretches from Texas to California.

Prosecutors have also accused Bannon of funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars to two other people — believed to be Brian Kolfage and Andrew Badolato, who pleaded guilty to federal charges in April.

The state-level charges in New York are separate from the federal charges Bannon once faced two years ago, before being pardoned by then-President Trump, prior to his leaving the White House in January 2021.

Bannon lawyer David Schoen reportedly said his client has become the target of political retribution from federal officials and plans to fight all charges to the end.

"[Bannon] is not guilty of anything that he's charged with, or of any crime," says Schoen.

Original Article

Rep. Bishop to Newsmax: Biden's Puerto Rico Trip Had 'Political Overtones' (Newsmax/"John Bachman Now")

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Tuesday, 04 October 2022 02:59 PM EDT

President Joe Biden's decision to visit Puerto Rico first rather than hurricane-slammed Florida had "political overtones" and his approach to emergency matters is "regrettable," Rep. Dan Bishop said on Newsmax Tuesday.

"Biden's approach to things like this is so regrettable, even the decision to go to Puerto Rico first has political overtones," said the North Carolina Republican on Newsmax's "John Bachman Now." "His comments there reinforce his unfortunate image as a purely political animal, and it's kind of pathetic, too, but most of all that divides Americans, one against the other at the worst time."

Biden's comments in Puerto Rico have come under fire from critics after he told an audience that he was "raised in the Puerto Rican community at home, politically," and Bishop called such comments "pathetic."

"Florida is the focal point in the minds of all Americans for the damage," said Bishop. "We, of course, are concerned about Puerto Rico as well but I certainly think the best thing the president can do is go to Florida."

North Carolina, which also suffered damages from Hurricane Ian, is still recovering from localized flooding, and thousands remain without power from the storm, which killed five people in the state, Bishop said.

"It was a multistate affair," the North Carolina Republican told Newsmax's "John Bachman Now." "Florida, I think, is where everyone's focus is and the damage was worse there. In North Carolina, we had some localized flooding, but we emerged relatively unscathed. We did have those five deaths and we regret every one of them. It was a doozy of a storm, and there's a lot of work to be done."

Bishop also on Tuesday commented on the Supreme Court's upcoming hearings on the Case of Moore v. North Carolina, after The New York Times reported that case challenges the independent state legislature rule which holds that legislatures, not courts or secretaries of state, hold the final say over the rules of federal elections.

The rule came into play in arguments by former President Donald Trump's campaign, which held that changes such as ballot boxes and voting times enacted by state officials, were not legal because they didn't come from state legislatures.

"It is an extremely important case, but The New York Times and The Washington Post are not giving you the straight scoop," Bishop said. "Even the phrase they use, that it's testing the independent state legislature theory, that's sort of a subtle smear. What it does is, it goes to this issue that the United States Constitution says that the time-placing management manner for regulating elections will be determined in the states, 'by the legislatures thereof.'"

What the case stands for, Bishop said, is that in North Carolina, "we have a sharply partisan majority on the court."

"The four Democrats struck the legislature's plans down entirely, and they didn't do it based on some discreet language in our state constitution, they just did it on their policy preference grounds," said Bishop. "They had no such language, and so what, three of the justices said in a preliminary step here was the question is the extent of a court of power to strike down legislatures decisions about districting. It is fundamental to our democracy that the Constitution be honored as it's written that legislatures make those decisions."

The court in North Carolina could not strip the legislature of its authority and then allow the courts to draw elections maps, he added.

"It is the legislators who are more directly answerable to their constituents and why these things have got to be decided in a state legislature regardless of whether they are Democrat or Republican," said Bishop. "It is the responsibility of the states and the legislatures."

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Original Article

Trump: Herschel Walker 'Slandered, Maligned' by Media, Democrats (Newsmax/"Spicer & Co.")

By Charlie McCarthy | Tuesday, 04 October 2022 02:45 PM EDT

Former President Donald Trump defended Georgia U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker and commended the former football star for fighting back after being "slandered and maligned" by the media and Democrats.

A report Monday accused Walker of paying for a woman's abortion after the two conceived a child while they were dating in 2009.

"Herschel Walker is being slandered and maligned by the Fake News Media and obviously, the Democrats," Trump wrote via his Save America PAC and posted on Truth Social. "Interestingly, I've heard many horrible things about his opponent, [Democrat Sen.] Raphael Warnock, things that nobody should be talking about, so we don't.

"Herschel has properly denied the charges against him, and I have no doubt he is correct."

Trump further accused Democrats and progressives of playing dirty politics five weeks before the midterms.

"They are trying to destroy a man who has true greatness in his future, just as he had athletic greatness in his past," Trump continued. "It's very important for our country and the great state of Georgia that Herschel Walker wins this Election.

"With all that Herschel has accomplished, when you come from Georgia, and you see the name Herschel Walker when voting, it will be very hard to resist. Don't!"

Recent polls have shown a virtual toss-up race between Walker and Warnock.

Walker took to Twitter on Monday night to blast The Daily Beast, which initially reported the abortion story, and claimed the woman had a $575 receipt from a clinic and a bank deposit receipt that showed an image of a signed personal check for $700 from Walker.

"This is a flat-out lie – and I deny this in the strongest possible terms," Walker tweeted.

"This is another repugnant hatchet job from a Democrat activist disguised as a reporter who has obsessively attacked my family and tried to tear me down since this race started. He's harassed friends of mine, asking if I fathered their children. He's called my children 'secret' because I didn't want to use them as campaign props in a political campaign. Now, they're using an anonymous source to further slander me. They will do anything to hold onto power. It's disgusting, gutter politics.

"I'm not taking this anymore. I planning to sue The Daily Beast for this defamatory lie. It will be filed tomorrow morning."

Newsmax reached out to the Walker campaign to find out if a suit had been filed, and was awaiting a response.

Original Article

Trump: Herschel Walker 'Slandered, Maligned' by Media, Democrats (Newsmax/"Spicer & Co.")

By Charlie McCarthy | Tuesday, 04 October 2022 02:45 PM EDT

Former President Donald Trump defended Georgia U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker and commended the former football star for fighting back after being "slandered and maligned" by the media and Democrats.

A report Monday accused Walker of paying for a woman's abortion after the two conceived a child while they were dating in 2009.

"Herschel Walker is being slandered and maligned by the Fake News Media and obviously, the Democrats," Trump wrote via his Save America PAC and posted on Truth Social. "Interestingly, I've heard many horrible things about his opponent, [Democrat Sen.] Raphael Warnock, things that nobody should be talking about, so we don't.

"Herschel has properly denied the charges against him, and I have no doubt he is correct."

Trump further accused Democrats and progressives of playing dirty politics five weeks before the midterms.

"They are trying to destroy a man who has true greatness in his future, just as he had athletic greatness in his past," Trump continued. "It's very important for our country and the great state of Georgia that Herschel Walker wins this Election.

"With all that Herschel has accomplished, when you come from Georgia, and you see the name Herschel Walker when voting, it will be very hard to resist. Don't!"

Recent polls have shown a virtual toss-up race between Walker and Warnock.

Walker took to Twitter on Monday night to blast The Daily Beast, which initially reported the abortion story, and claimed the woman had a $575 receipt from a clinic and a bank deposit receipt that showed an image of a signed personal check for $700 from Walker.

"This is a flat-out lie – and I deny this in the strongest possible terms," Walker tweeted.

"This is another repugnant hatchet job from a Democrat activist disguised as a reporter who has obsessively attacked my family and tried to tear me down since this race started. He's harassed friends of mine, asking if I fathered their children. He's called my children 'secret' because I didn't want to use them as campaign props in a political campaign. Now, they're using an anonymous source to further slander me. They will do anything to hold onto power. It's disgusting, gutter politics.

"I'm not taking this anymore. I'm planning to sue The Daily Beast for this defamatory lie. It will be filed tomorrow morning."

Newsmax reached out to the Walker campaign to find out if a suit had been filed, and was awaiting a response.

Revival Sought for Pastor's Lawsuit Over COVID-19 Restrictions Louisiana pastor Tony Spelld to follow Gov. John Bel Edwards' coronavirus restrictions, speaks at a public meeting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 2021. (Melinda Deslatte/AP)

KEVIN McGILL Tuesday, 04 October 2022 01:59 PM EDT

Christian conservative lawyer Roy Moore has asked a federal appeals court to revive a Louisiana pastor’s damage claims against state officials over long-expired COVID-19 restrictions.

A federal judge this year dismissed minister Tony Spell’s lawsuit against Gov. John Bel Edwards and others over enforcement of the ban. Spell drew national attendance for his flouting of the restrictions early in the pandemic at his church in Central, near Baton Rouge.

Moore, the former Alabama Supreme Court justice and Senate candidate who is one of Spell's lawyers, insisted in arguments this week before a panel of judges from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the state had no authority whatsoever to restrict church gatherings.

Panel members appeared skeptical of that claim in arguments recorded as they were held Monday in Fort Worth, Texas. But they raised the question of whether Spell’s church was unfairly restricted, compared with other public gathering places, such as shopping mall food courts.

“They have treated us differently,” Moore said. “But the basis of our argument is there is no jurisdiction to limit a church attendance.”

Spell has had some legal victories in his fight with the state. Louisiana's Supreme Court, in May, threw out state charges against him, ruling 5-2 that Edwards' restrictions in place at the time violated Spell's freedom of religion.

But his lawsuit that includes claims for damages over the gathering restrictions was thrown out by U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson in Baton Rouge. Jackson ruled in January that the lawsuit was moot because the restrictions expired long ago.

And Jackson rejected Spell’s request for damages from state and local officials, ruling that "there is not now, and never has been, a ‘clearly established’ right to unrestricted religious assembly, and at all relevant times Defendants reasonably believed that they were acting within the constitutional limits set by the Supreme Court and the Fifth Circuit.”

The appellate judges on Monday closely questioned Josh Force, an attorney arguing for the Edwards administration, on whether church assemblies were treated unfairly when compared with other public gatherings, including crowds at shopping malls and Black Lives Matter protests.

“Isn't the food court at the mall at least as dangerous as the worship center?” Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod asked.

Force argued that Edwards was acting under the best advice of public health officials at the time as to what types of gatherings were safe.

Hearing the case were Elrod and 5th Circuit Chief Judge Priscilla Richman, both nominated to the circuit by President George W. Bush; and Judge Andrew Oldham, nominated by President Donald Trump.

Rep. Tenney to Newsmax: Send Funding for IRS Agents to Border Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y.

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Tuesday, 04 October 2022 09:43 AM EDT

Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., has introduced legislation to redirect $80 billion to the border rather than spending it to hire new IRS agents, and told Newsmax on Tuesday the money, allocated through the Inflation Reduction Act, would be "wasted" otherwise.

But she told Newsmax's "Wake Up America" that her legislation won't pass while Democrats continue to hold the House, even while her office and "all the offices in Congress have been dealing with taxpayer advocacy issues."

"People are still not up to date on their taxes because of the IRS' inadequacies," said Tenney, noting the delays are not only because of the COVID-19 pandemic but because the IRS is focused on the wrong things, particularly dealing with middle-and-lower-income taxpayers.

The Inflation Reduction Act allows the $80 billion to hire 87,000 new IRS agents — who Tenney slammed as being "Gestapo-like people" — for tax enforcement the Biden administration says will target only higher-income people.

But Tenney, like other critics, said the auditors will target lower-income taxpayers.

"Our country was founded on the concept of you are innocent until proven guilty, but we know under the IRS, we've empowered them, and now you're guilty until proven innocent," she said. "This is only going to affect the lower and middle-income taxpayers because they can't afford lawyers and accountants for compliance."

Further, the inflation legislation is the "biggest climate bill, the biggest Green New Deal bill we've ever signed in American history," said Tenney.

"They weren't talking about inflation because spending causes inflation," she said. "The cartels are running the border. They're making hundreds of millions of dollars with human trafficking and drug trafficking … why are we focused on going after the most beleaguered citizens in the nation?"

Tenney acknowledged her legislation won't be approved while Democrats hold the House majority, but if the Republicans retake the House, which she thinks they will, the bill will have a chance.

She also said the border crisis has caused the fentanyl overdose epidemic, but said the Biden administration does not want to address it.

"This has been going on for years with opioids," she said. "We did a lot under the Trump administration to combat opiates in our communities through community block grants and other ways to help us in these small communities. This affects everyone. It is killing 300 people a day and a lot of those are in the 18 to 25 age group. It's a tragedy."

But the progressives' border policy is "so radical, it's almost like they know what to do, but they're paralyzed by what could be done and [they] refuse to do it."

"We're hoping that we can take back the House and make sure that we hold them accountable and do something about protecting the American citizens," she added.

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Original Article

Pelosi Tells Colbert Dems Will Take House, Throws Shade at Trump (Newsmax)

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Tuesday, 04 October 2022 07:41 AM EDT

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is predicting that Democrats will hold the House majority after the upcoming midterm elections, telling talk show host Stephen Colbert that her party will win more seats and reminding him, while cracking a joke, that former President Donald Trump is "not on the ballot now."

"I believe that we will win the – hold the House, and we will hold the House – by winning more seats," the California Democrat, appearing on CBS's "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" Monday night, commented. "We won the forty seats, then we lost some when Trump was on the ballot. We lost some of the Trump districts, but we held enough seats to hold the House with him on the ballot."

Then, she said, "He's not on the ballot now. Oh, did I say his name? I didn't mean to."

Colbert told her that "we'll have the videotapes fumigated," and she responded that "perhaps you could bleep that out."

Colbert noted that the "prognosticators" predicted a "crazy red wave," and it still appears that Republicans will take the House, but Pelosi disagreed.

"When we won in 2020, and again, fewer seats, but still holding the House, we started right away to prepare for the next election in terms of organization," Pelosi said. "When you mobilize, you must own the ground to take out the vote. You have to do that with inspiration and how we put together our messaging – and that's the second 'M,' and the third is money. So we're getting ready for the election. That was in December of 2020."

However, then Jan. 6 happened, said Pelosi, resulting in the "greatest influx of candidates" coming forward."

"Young people, people of color, people of different generations, different backgrounds, and the rest – the beautiful diversity of America came forward," said Pelosi. "They didn't pay attention to those pundits who said 'You can't win.' They went in with courage and confidence that they could win."

The Supreme Court's ruling overturning Roe v. Wade also created a "different attitude" about whether the Democrats could win, Pelosi added.

"We always believed that we could win, because we knew we had to because our democracy was on the ballot," she said. "Our planet was on the ballot. A woman's – everything was on the ballot in this election, more than in regular majorities come and go."

She also told Colbert, who told her that the polls aren't reflecting what she was saying, that she doesn't believe in the polls and that the candidates are "doing very well in their districts."

Pelosi compared the election to a horse race, noting that she's originally from Maryland, a "horse racing state."

"In Maryland, when you're in the lead – which we believe we are, we're in the lead. You're in the stretch, we made the turn," she said. "Five weeks from tomorrow is the election and voting starts even sooner than that. When you're in the lead, and you're in the stretch, you whip the lead. And that's what we are doing: we're whipping the lead to ensure a Democratic victory."

Original Article

Peter Navarro to Newsmax: 'Hubris Defined by the Democratic Party' (Newsmax/ "Eric Bolling: The Balance")

By Charles Kim | Tuesday, 04 October 2022 06:38 AM EDT

Adviser to former President Donald Trump, Peter Navarro, told Newsmax Monday that recent comments by Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., show that “hubris is defined by the Democratic Party.”

“It's like your head just wants to explode with how stupid and arrogant these people are,” Navarro said during “Eric Bolling: The Balance” Monday. “Hubris is defined right now by the Democrat Party and the only one you can't hold responsible is [President] Joe Biden because he doesn't know who he is, where he is.”

Navarro was reacting to comments made recently by both Harris and Pelosi on two separate issues that appeared to be racist in nature.

During a Democratic National Committee event, Harris seemed to imply that communities of color in Florida would get federal disaster aid before others after Hurricane Ian devastated much of the state last week.

“We have to address this in a way that is about giving resources based on equity, understanding that we fight for equality, but we also need to fight for equity,” the New York Post reported Harris saying during the event. “If we want people to be in an equal place sometimes, we need to take into account those disparities and do that work.”

Her comment immediately drew a backlash from Florida’s Rapid Response Director Christina Pushaw.

“This is false. [Harris’] rhetoric is causing undue panic and must be clarified,” Pushaw said in a post on Twitter. “FEMA Individual Assistance is already available to all Floridians impacted by Hurricane Ian, regardless of race or background.”

Then at a press briefing Friday by Pelosi, the speaker said that instead of sending illegal migrants to northern Democratic-run cities and states, they should remain in the southern border states to “pick crops.”

“We have a shortage of workers in our country,” the Daily Mail reported Pelosi saying during the press conference. “You see even in Florida, some of the farmers and the growers saying 'why are you shipping these immigrants up North? We need them to pick the crops down here.’ But that doesn't mean that we don't recognize our moral responsibility as well.”

Navarro said this is why Republicans have to stay “focused” on the midterm elections which are coming up in about a month.

“We have to stay focused on this November election,” he said. “If we don't take back the House of Representatives and the Senate for Trump Republicanism, [Harris] is going to still be there as Senate President, breaking ties like she's been doing, and spending us into the poor house. Pelosi is going to be doing the same thing on immigration, and weaponizing investigatory powers of Congress, even as she ‘insider trades.’”

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Original Article

Peter Navarro to Newsmax: 'Hubris Defined by the Democratic Party' (Newsmax/"Eric Bolling The Balance")

By Charles Kim | Tuesday, 04 October 2022 08:35 AM EDT

Adviser to former President Donald Trump, Peter Navarro, told Newsmax on Monday that recent comments by Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., show that "hubris is defined by the Democratic Party."

"It's like your head just wants to explode with how stupid and arrogant these people are," Navarro said during "Eric Bolling The Balance" on Monday. "Hubris is defined right now by the Democrat Party and the only one you can't hold responsible is [President] Joe Biden because he doesn't know who he is, where he is."

Navarro was reacting to comments made recently by both Harris and Pelosi on two separate issues that appeared to be racist in nature.

During a Democratic National Committee event, Harris seemed to imply that communities of color in Florida would get federal disaster aid before others after Hurricane Ian devastated much of the state last week.

"We have to address this in a way that is about giving resources based on equity, understanding that we fight for equality, but we also need to fight for equity," the New York Post reported Harris saying during the event. "If we want people to be in an equal place sometimes, we need to take into account those disparities and do that work."

Her comment immediately drew a backlash from Florida's Rapid Response Director Christina Pushaw.

"This is false. [Harris'] rhetoric is causing undue panic and must be clarified," Pushaw said in a post on Twitter. "FEMA Individual Assistance is already available to all Floridians impacted by Hurricane Ian, regardless of race or background."

Then at a press briefing Friday by Pelosi, the speaker said that instead of sending illegal migrants to northern Democratic-run cities and states, they should remain in the southern border states to "pick crops."

"We have a shortage of workers in our country," the Daily Mail reported Pelosi saying during the press conference. "You see even in Florida, some of the farmers and the growers saying 'why are you shipping these immigrants up North? We need them to pick the crops down here.' But that doesn't mean that we don't recognize our moral responsibility as well."

Navarro said this is why Republicans have to stay "focused" on the midterm elections which are coming up in about a month.

"We have to stay focused on this November election," he said. "If we don't take back the House of Representatives and the Senate for Trump Republicanism, [Harris] is going to still be there as Senate President, breaking ties like she's been doing, and spending us into the poor house. Pelosi is going to be doing the same thing on immigration, and weaponizing investigatory powers of Congress, even as she 'insider trades.'"

About NEWSMAX TV:

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

• Find NEWSMAX in over 100 million U.S. homes via cable/streaming – More Info Here
• Watch NEWSMAX TV online – See It Here
• Download the FREE NEWSMAX App on Your Smartphone to Watch Now!

Original Article

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 6:04 PM PT – Monday, October 3, 2022

According to Emerson College and The Hill, Trump endorsed Senate hopeful Doctor Mehmet Oz (R-PA.) is catching up to Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman (D-PA.) in the polls.

The survey showed Fetterman with 45 percent of the support and Oz with 43 percent. Those numbers are well within the margin of error.

Questions were raised about Fetterman’s health after he suffered a stroke in May. It is a top concern for many voters.

Oz’s campaigning across the state combined with him picking up key endorsements from some police associations have tightened the race.

Original Article Oann