Student Loan Debt Forgiveness Portal Launches Beta, Taking Applications

Student Loan Debt Forgiveness Portal Launches Beta, Taking Applications (Newsmax)

By Eric Mack | Saturday, 15 October 2022 11:15 AM EDT

Despite legal challenges to the Biden administration's student loan debt forgiveness plan, the administration has begun a beta testing period and is taking applications to cancel up to $20,000 in student loan debt.

The website released a "beta launch" Friday night.

"We're accepting applications to help us refine our processes ahead of the official form launch," the website disclaimer read. "If you submit an application, it will be processed, and you won't need to resubmit."

The official unveiling is later this month, after President Joe Biden announced a plan to cancel up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt.

Once processing officially begins, borrowers who qualify will begin receiving debt relief within weeks, CNN reported.

The program is tailored to forgiving federal student loan debt once the COVID-19 pandemic freeze on repayments expires in January, according to the report.

The Job Creators Network Foundation filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to block the program, which joins similar lawsuits from Republican states.

Elaine Parker, president of Job Creators Network Foundation, slammed the program as executive overreach and complained that it does nothing to address the root cause of rising debt: the "outrageous increase in college tuition that outpaces inflation every single year.”

"This bailout is going to affect everyone in this country because of the mass size of the program," she said. "And everyone should have the opportunity to provide their views to the government."

"These universities need to be held accountable for this student debt crisis."

Six Republican-led states filed suit late last month, accusing the Biden administration of overstepping its executive powers, as did the Pacific Legal Foundation, a Sacramento, California, legal advocacy group. Their lawsuit, filed in federal court in Indiana, calls the plan an illegal overreach that would increase state tax burdens for some Americans who get their debt forgiven.

The latest lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas against the U.S. Education Department and its secretary, Miguel Cardona, takes issue with how the plan was developed. It alleges the Biden administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act's notice-and-comment procedures. It also challenges the administration's legal justification for the program.

The suit includes two plaintiffs: one who does not qualify for debt forgiveness because the plan excludes commercially held loans that are not in default, and one who did not receive a Pell grant and is therefore entitled to less debt forgiveness under the plan.

"Behind closed doors, the department promulgated a new Debt Forgiveness Program that will affect tens of millions of Americans and cost hundreds of billions of dollars," the lawsuit reads. "Instead of providing notice and seeking comment from the public, the Department hammered out the critical details of the Program in secret and with an eye toward securing debt forgiveness in time for the November election."

It also alleges the department "made numerous arbitrary decisions about the Program, including which individuals will receive debt forgiveness, how much of their debt will be forgiven, and which types of debt will qualify for the Program."

"The result of this arbitrariness is predictable: some will benefit handsomely, some will be shortchanged, and others will be left out entirely," it reads.

The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor, who most notably ruled in 2018 that the Affordable Care Act was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court reversed that decision last year. O'Connor, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, also has ruled against other policies pursued by Democrat administrations. Last month, he ruled that an ACA provision that required coverage of an HIV prevention drug violates a Texas employer's religious beliefs.

Civil lawsuits filed in the federal court in Fort Worth have a 90% chance of going either to O'Connor or Judge Mark Pittman, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, according to a 2020 order of the court.

The Biden debt forgiveness program will cancel $10,000 in student loan debt for individuals making less than $125,000 a year or households making less than $250,000. Pell grant recipients, who typically demonstrate more financial need, will be eligible for an additional $10,000.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the program will cost taxpayers $400 billion over the next three decades.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Giuliani Outlines 17 Witnesses for Law Suspension Appeal in D.C.

Giuliani Outlines 17 Witnesses for Law Suspension Appeal in D.C.

(Newsmax/"Greg Kelly Reports")

By Eric Mack | Saturday, 15 October 2022 10:13 AM EDT

Rudy Giuliani, facing a legal ethics case in Washington, D.C., submitted his witness list of people offering evidence the 2020 presidential election was rigged.

The 17-witness list includes prominent lawyers and conservatives who backed former President Donald Trump's challenge to the past presidential election, particularly in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania.

Giuliani's case with the D.C. Court of Appeals addresses his temporary suspension as a member of the D.C. legal bar.

The court filing stated what Giuliani believes witness testimony will be in a bullet format:

  1. "Giuliani will testify that he had a reasonable basis to make the arguments that he made on behalf of his client then President Trump in the Pennsylvania litigation."
  2. Lawyer Christina Bobb, who was a media reporter at the time, will testify "she
    spoke to people who witnessed voting irregularities and allegations of fraud."
  3. Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi will testify she "witnessed in Philadelphia the exclusion of Republican inspectors and poll watchers including herself from inspecting any ballots."
  4. Lawyer Katherine Friess, a GOP poll inspector, will testify GOP inspectors and poll watchers were blocked in Pittsburgh and "watchers and conveyed to Respondent numerous allegations of fraud."
  5. Lawyer Julie Levin, who assembled the legal team, will testify the pressures on prospective lawyers for the team not to assist in the legal challenges of the election.
  6. Col. Phil Waldron will testify on the methods used to investigate voting irregularities and illegalities.
  7. Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai will testify on statistical analysis of voting results.
  8. Corey Lewandowski, former Trump campaign manager, will testify "he witnessed the exclusion of Republican
    inspectors and poll watchers including himself from inspecting any ballots" in Philadelphia.
  9. Peter Navarro, former White House trade adviser, will testify on analysis of voting irregularities and illegalities.
  10. Russell Ramsland will testify on statistical analyses of voting records.
  11. Pennsylvania GOP gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano, then a GOP state senator, will testify on "evidence of voting irregularities and alleged illegalities," having arranged and presided over a hearing in Gettysburg.
  12. Michael Roman, the chief investigator in Pennsylvania, will testify he instructed Giuliani on "incidents of voter irregularities and allegations of fraud."
  13. Joann Miller will testify that she assisted Navarro in his analysis and reporting findings to Giuliani.
  14. John Droz, Jr. will testify about his reports of "irregularities and improprieties in the Pennsylvania election" as briefed to Giuliani before Pennsylvania litigation.
  15. Lawyer Jenna Ellis will testify on being the No. 2 lawyer on the Pennsylvania litigation team.
  16. Lawyer Jeremy Mercer will testify he "was in charge of numerous Republican inspectors and poll watchers who were excluded from inspecting ballots."
  17. Former NYPD Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik will testify he was one of the chief investigators into voting irregularities and fraud allegations in Pennsylvania.

Giuliani has argued on Newsmax that the move to suspend his license to practice law is a politically motivated attack. Also, he has contrasted his treatment for seeking court remedies amid the election challenge with the lack of an ethics inquiry into New York Attorney General Letitia James, who campaigned on getting Trump and vowing to sue him if she reached office. She did, and she has, as promised.

Original Article

Dick Morris to Newsmax: ‘Looking Very Good’ For GOP in Midterms

Dick Morris to Newsmax: 'Looking Very Good' For GOP in Midterms

By Charles Kim | Friday, 14 October 2022 10:43 PM EDT

Political commentator and author Dick Morris told Newsmax Friday that he thinks things "look very good" for Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections.

"You can't make these final predictions, but I would say it's looking very good [for Republicans] right now," Morris, a former adviser to former presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, said during "Prime News" Friday. "I'm very happy."

Saying there are "teasing indications" Republicans will do very well during next month's midterm elections, Morris cautioned that public polling still giving Democrats a slight edge in some key races does not consider a potential four- to five-percentage-point bias for the left.

"There are teasing indications of a massive Republican sweep," Morris said. "On the other hand, when you look at the published polls in those four key [Senate] races — J.D. Vance [in Ohio], Blake Masters [in Arizona], Dr. [Mehmet] Oz [in Pennsylvania] and Herschel Walker [in Georgia] — you see tight races, sometimes a Democratic edge. But those are the published polls, and the I believe that it's very possible that those polls are basically wrong."

Morris said that many of the polls today are conducted through computers, which are used more by younger and mostly left-leaning individuals, compared to landline telephone surveys, which reach more conservatives.

"The Public Nationalist Association of Survey Research Professionals — I talked about in my book — study of the 2020 election found the average poll had a five-point Democratic bias, and that's not necessarily because they're liberal," said Morris, author of "The Return: Trump's Big 2024 Comeback." "It's because they conduct the polls online, and the people who are online most of the time and really live on the computer tend to be younger and more liberal and more Democrat."

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

Morris also said that it was interesting that President Joe Biden visited Oregon to campaign for the Democratic gubernatorial candidate there.

According to Ballotpedia, Democrat Tina Kotek is facing leading competitors Republican Christine Drazan and Independent Betsy Johnson in the race to replace Democratic incumbent Gov. Kate Brown, who cannot run again because of term limits in that state.

The unusual nature of a trio running brings about the possibility that the winner may have less that 41% of the vote, according to Ballotpedia.

"I think that that's very significant that the Democrats feel the Oregon race is close enough to send the president out there," he said. "There's also a congressional race in Rhode Island with the Republican likely to win in probably the single most Democratic state in the country."

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Walker, Warnock Trade Blows in Debate

Walker, Warnock Trade Blows in Debate Walker, Warnock Trade Blows in Debate Walker (Getty)

David Morgan Friday, 14 October 2022 09:08 PM EDT

Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Republican challenger Herschel Walker sparred over a range of issues from abortion and policing to personal integrity on Friday as a key contest that could help determine control of the Senate came to a head in a contentious televised debate.

Walker, a onetime football star and political novice backed by former President Donald Trump, sought to brand the incumbent as a rubber stamp for Democratic President Joe Biden's agenda, which Republicans have painted as responsible for inflation, crime and other social ills.

"This race ain't about me. It about what Raphael Warnock and Joe Biden have done to you and your family," Walker said. "I'm here to fix it."

Warnock, pastor at a historic Atlanta church who has served less than two years in the Senate, presented himself as a committed public servant who has worked to cap the price of insulin, control gun violence and protect rights.

Their showdown is one of the most closely watched contests in the Nov. 8 congressional elections. During the hourlong debate in Savannah, Walker accused Warnock of attacking the police, empowering criminals and allowing the powerful painkiller fentanyl into Georgia by not protecting U.S. borders.

"We will see time and time again tonight, as we have already seen, that my opponent has a problem with the truth. And just because he says something doesn't mean it's true," Warnock responded to applause from the audience.

The race had already been rocked by media reports that Walker, who has voiced opposition to abortion without exceptions, paid for an abortion in 2009 to terminate the pregnancy of a woman he was dating and who later gave birth to one of his children. Walker has called the allegation a "flat-out lie." Reuters has not independently confirmed the claim.

During the debate, Walker repeated his statement that the reports are false and reiterated his position on abortion: "I'm a Christian. I believe in life."

Democrats hold slim majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives. Senate control could be decided by the outcome of races in Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Original Article

Pelosi: I’m going to punch Pres. Trump out; I’m going to go to jail & I’m going to be happy

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks during a roundtable conversation at Queens Community House's Forest Hills Older Adult Center, Wednesday, Oct 12, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks during a roundtable conversation at Queens Community House’s Forest Hills Older Adult Center, Wednesday, Oct 12, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 1:11 PM PT – Friday, October 14, 2022

In footage shown on CNN, on Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) threatened physical violence against then former U.S. President Donald J. Trump during the January 6th protest.

The footage was filmed by Pelosi’s daughter, who is a documentary filmmaker. In a clip, Pelosi said she would “punch out” President Trump if he stepped foot on the Capitol.

“I hope he comes,” Pelosi said. “I want to punch him out. This is my moment. I’ve been waiting for this. For trespassing on the Capitol grounds. I want to punch him out, and I’m going to go to jail, and I’m going to be happy.”

Trump was mulling a visit to the Capitol grounds as lawmakers were expected to certify the election results of the 2020 presidential election. Democrats along and the mainstream media have claimed that the 45th President promoted violence during the 2016 campaign trail and beyond.
On Thursday, the January 6th Committee subpoenaed Trump while no federal charges have been thrown at Pelosi.

Original Article Oann

Senate Rivals Herschel Walker and Raphael Warnock Debate in Georgia

Senate Rivals Herschel Walker and Raphael Warnock Debate in Georgia Senate Rivals Herschel Walker and Raphael Warnock Debate in Georgia (Dreamstime)

David Morgan Friday, 14 October 2022 07:28 PM EDT

Republican Herschel Walker's bid to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia came to a head on Friday when the two rivals met for their sole televised debate in a contentious race that could help determine which party controls the Senate.

The battle between Walker, a onetime football star and political novice backed by former President Donald Trump, and Warnock, pastor at a historic Atlanta church who has served less than two years in the Senate, is one of the most closely watched contests in the Nov. 8 congressional elections.

The race has been rocked by media claims that Walker, who has voiced opposition to abortion without exceptions, paid for an abortion in 2009 to terminate the pregnancy of a woman he was dating and who later gave birth to one of his children. Walker has called the allegation a "flat-out lie." Reuters has not independently confirmed the claim.

But it was not clear what role the issue would play as Walker and Warnock took to their respective podiums in Savannah. Opinion polls show the race as a toss-up.

Republicans have sought to steer voter attention toward a broader issue: the need to gain control of the Senate, focusing upon concerns including inflation, crime and border security.

President Joe Biden's fellow Democrats hold slim majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives. Senate control could be decided by the outcome of races in Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Georgia was a reliably Republican state, with two Republican senators, until Biden beat Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Warnock and fellow Democrat Jon Ossoff then claimed the state's two Senate seats in January 2021 run-off elections.

Two prominent Senate Republicans – Rick Scott and Tom Cotton – campaigned with Walker this week, delivering a message that Republicans need to secure a majority in the chamber to stop Biden's legislative agenda.

Scott also joined Walker in Savannah on Friday for a debate that could prove pivotal in the campaign.

"There aren't that many people who are undecided in the race," Republican strategist Charlie Black added. "But those who are undecided are looking for something to reassure them that he's capable. If Herschel does well, then that's going to help him."

Walker has been known to make confusing statements on policy issues such as climate change. He tried to lower expectations in an interview with the Savannah Morning News last month, saying: "I'm a country boy. I'm not that smart. He's a preacher."

Warnock is an eloquent speaker who is senior pastor at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church, where slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King once preached.

The Democrat is expected to stress his independence from Biden. Ahead of the debate, his campaign issued a memo that emphasized his willingness to work with conservative Senate Republicans including Ted Cruz and his readiness to stand up to the Biden administration to protect jobs at a Georgia combat training center.

If neither candidate gets more than 50% of the vote on Nov. 8, the race would be decided in a Dec. 6 run-off election.

An opinion poll conducted by the University of Georgia showed Warnock leading Walker 46% to 43% among likely voters. Other polls show a considerably tighter, more competitive race.

Original Article

Campaign Finance Record Broken in Pennsylvania Governor Race

Campaign Finance Record Broken in Pennsylvania Governor Race Campaign Finance Record Broken in Pennsylvania Governor Race Pennsylvania Attorney General and Democratic Nominee for Governor Josh Shapiro reacts while speaking with supporters during a Northampton County Meet & Greet event at United Steelworkers on September 22, 2022 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. (Mark Makela/Getty)

Associated Press Friday, 14 October 2022 07:09 PM EDT

Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania's Democratic nominee for governor, has smashed the state’s 2-decade-old campaign spending record as he competes against Republican Doug Mastriano, who was on track to spend less than a tenth as much.

The race between Shapiro and Mastriano may test how powerful that campaign spending is in one of the nation’s highest-profile races for governor. One candidate has spent more money than any other gubernatorial nominee ever in Pennsylvania, and the other has spent less than any other major party nominee in at least the past two decades.

The money raised by Shapiro has enabled him to run TV ads every day dating to April, helping him lead in polling since the race began. In recent days, Mastriano began running his first TV ad since he won the GOP primary in May, even as he complains that the national party isn't coming to his help.

Mastriano still predicts victory and touts his campaign as an unrivaled grassroots operation, but he also acknowledges that he is being hammered in the race for donations.

“There’s a lot of well-meaning people out there that have never run for office or a statewide campaign that have all this great advice: ‘You need run more TV ads,’" Mastriano told a conservative radio show host on Friday. “OK, that’s a great idea, how about if you donate and help us do that?”

All told, Shapiro has outspent Mastriano by 16 to 1 in the 2021-22 campaign cycle, according to campaign finance filings through the state's latest reporting deadline of Sept. 19.

Shapiro has reported $44 million in spending, including in-kind contributions, eclipsing the 2001-02 campaign spending record set by Democrat Ed Rendell of just under $42 million. He still has weeks left to add to that total.

Mastriano, in turn, has reported spending of less than $3 million. Shapiro reported having $11 million still in the bank; Mastriano reported $2.6 million.

The spending imbalance is at least in part explained by Shapiro’s fundraising prowess and deep connections to party donors.

But also, it is explained by Mastriano, a political novice who has turned off bedrock GOP donors by campaigning with far-right figures, backing a complete ban on abortion with no exceptions, and peddling conspiracy theories, including former President Donald Trump's lies of a stolen election in 2020.

Mastriano also was outside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection and was photographed watching demonstrators attacking police before he supposedly walked away.

“It’s pretty clear, he’s an extremist candidate,” said Jim Schultz, a Republican campaign fundraiser, strategist and lawyer who supports Shapiro. “It doesn’t surprise me that, one, Republican donors are supporting Josh Shapiro and two, that they’re not giving to Mastriano in any meaningful way.”

Labor unions also have consolidated support around Shapiro, giving him more than $8 million to take on Mastriano, whom they view as an existential threat because of his support for right-to-work laws.

With just three weeks until Election Day, prospects for national GOP support for Mastriano are fading.

Shapiro has reported receiving millions of dollars — more than $5.5 million so far — from the party's national organization that supports candidates for governor, the Democratic Governors Association.

Mastriano said Friday that he has not seen a dime of aid from the GOP's counterpart organization, a frequent gripe of his.

His biggest donor is the Midwest shipping supply magnate Dick Uihlein and his wife, who are large contributors to conservative causes and gave Mastriano $1 million.

Original Article

Devin Nunes to Newsmax: Jan. 6 Capitol Riot Was ‘All Pelosi’s Fault’

Devin Nunes to Newsmax: Jan. 6 Capitol Riot Was 'All Pelosi's Fault'

(Newsmax/"The Chris Salcedo Show")

By Charles Kim | Friday, 14 October 2022 05:57 PM EDT

Former Congressman Devin Nunes, who is now CEO of Trump Media, told Newsmax Friday that the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 was "all [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi's fault."

"People have the right to go protest; and the fact that there were no National Guard, no fencing — all Pelosi's fault," Nunes said during "The Chris Salcedo Show" Friday. "Even I knew this was a security risk."

Nunes said that he was in Congress for 20 years and Pelosi was there for 35 years, and that she should have known the risks associated with big protests.

"She knows damn well that it was going to be a big protest, and fencing and the proper security should have been called up," he said, referring to recently released video from Jan. 6 in which Pelosi threatened to "punch out" former President Donald Trump if he showed up at the Capitol. "That was a special camera crew that came in to film what I guess was a documentary. It's almost as if they wanted this to happen, and they wanted to get her on tape."

In the video, published on the TMZ website, Pelosi said she "was waiting for this," hoping Trump would go to the Capitol following his speech so she could assault him for "trespassing" on the Capitol property.

"I'm going to punch him out, and I'm going to go to jail and I'm going to be happy," she said in the video.

Nunes went on to say that Democrats on Capitol Hill seemed pleased later in the day when they returned to complete the joint session of Congress to validate the 2020 presidential election.

"I can tell you that the Democrats late at night, they were laughing," Nunes said. "They weren't sad. They weren't crying. They weren't scared. They were laughing and saying, 'We're going to get there. This is going to be political.' I even saw some in the dark of night, down in the tunnels beneath the Capitol, giving each other high-fives."

He said they are doing all of this because they are still scared of Trump some two years after he left office.

"I mean, it's amazing. Here we are," he said. "He's been out of office for nearly two years now, and they spend every waking moment attacking the former president, whether it's raiding Mar-a-Lago or whether it's attacking Truth Social, we're being attacked every single day by the screwballs."

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Justice Dept. Seeks End to Arbiter’s Review of Trump Docs

Justice Dept. Seeks End to Arbiter's Review of Trump Docs Justice Dept. Seeks End to Arbiter's Review of Trump Docs (AP)

ERIC TUCKER Friday, 14 October 2022 05:15 PM EDT

The Justice Department asked a federal appeals court on Friday to overturn a judge's appointment of an independent arbiter to review documents seized during an FBI search of former President Donald Trump's Florida estate.

The appeal is the latest salvo in weeks of litigation over the scope of duties of the arbiter, also known as a special master. He was assigned last month by a judge to inspect the thousands of records taken in the Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago and weed out from the investigation any that may be protected by claims of legal privilege.

The special master process has caused some delays to the Justice Department’s investigation into the storage of top-secret documents at the home. But a major hurdle was cleared last month when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit lifted a temporary bar on the department’s ability to use the seized classified documents as part of its criminal probe.

The move permitted a core aspect of the probe to resume, greatly reducing the chances that the special master process could have a significant impact on the investigation. But department lawyers returned to the court Friday to ask for the entire special master review to be shut down, saying the judge who made the appointment had no basis for doing so and Trump was not entitled to an independent review of the seized records or to claim privilege over them.

“Plaintiff has no plausible claim of executive privilege as to any of the seized materials and no plausible claim of personal attorney-client privilege as to the seized government records — including all records bearing classification markings,” according to the department's brief.

“Accordingly," they added, ”the special-master review process is unwarranted."

Original Article

Judge: DACA Can Continue for Now, With Limits

Judge: DACA Can Continue for Now, With Limits Judge: DACA Can Continue for Now, With Limits People rally outside the Capitol in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), during a demonstration on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 6. (AP)

JUAN A. LOZANO Friday, 14 October 2022 04:29 PM EDT

A federal judge ruled Friday that the current version of a federal policy that prevents the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. as children can continue, at least temporarily.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen — who last year declared the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program illegal — said that the policy, which is set to proceed under new regulations at the end of the month, can continue with limitations that he previously set. Those limitations say there can be no new applicants for DACA and that those who are already in the program can continue to be in it and renew their applications.

During a court hearing Friday, Hanen ordered attorneys for the federal government to provide more information on the new rule and said he expects additional legal arguments related to it, but there was no timetable set for future hearings. It’s also unclear when Hanen will give his final decision on the case, which is expected to end up at the U.S. Supreme Court.

“The legality of the new DACA regulation … is now the task before this court,” said Nina Perales, an attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, or MALDEF, who is representing DACA recipients, said after attending Friday’s hearing.

Karina Ruiz De Diaz, one of the DACA recipients being represented by MALDEF, said she was relieved Hanen kept the program in place but upset the judge declined to open it up to thousands of new applicants who need its protections.

Ruiz was part of a group of more than 50 community activists and DACA recipients who gathered before and after the hearing in support of the program at a park next to the federal courthouse. They held up signs that said, “Judge Hanen Do the Right Thing Protect DACA” and “Immigrants Are Welcomed.”

“It was important to show up to the hearing. We don’t want the judge to think that this is just an abstract concept. I want him to see our faces, to see that it’s impacting real people,” said Ruiz, 38, who traveled from her home in Phoenix to attend the hearing.

The current version of DACA, which the Biden administration created to improve its chances of surviving legal scrutiny, is set to take effect Oct. 31.

The case went back to Hanen after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans said last week he should take another look at DACA following revisions adopted by the Biden administration.

Hanen last year declared DACA illegal after Texas and eight other Republican-leaning states filed a lawsuit claiming they are harmed financially, incurring hundreds of millions of dollars in health care, education and other costs, when immigrants are allowed to remain in the country illegally. They also argued that the White House overstepped its authority by granting immigration benefits that are for Congress to decide.

“Only Congress has the ability to write our nation’s immigration laws," Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Thursday in a statement.

Hanen found DACA had not been subjected to public notice and comment periods required under the federal Administrative Procedures Act. But he left the Obama-era program intact for those already benefiting from it, pending the appeal. There were 611,270 people enrolled in DACA at the end of March.

A three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based appeals court upheld Hanen’s initial finding but sent the case back to Hanen so he could review the impact of the federal government’s new DACA regulation.

The new rule’s 453 pages are largely technical and represent little substantive change from the 2012 memo that created DACA, but it was subject to public comments as part of a formal rule-making process.

During Friday’s hearing, Hanen seemed hesitant about tackling the constitutionality of the DACA program with any ruling he would make and said he wanted all parties involved to initially focus on issues related to the federal Administrative Procedures Act in reviewing the new regulation.

Perales said the uncertainty about DACA’s ultimate fate in the courts should be another signal to Congress that it needs to act to provide permanent protections.

After last week’s appeals court ruling, President Joe Biden and advocacy groups renewed their calls for Congress to pass permanent protections for “Dreamers," which is what people protected by DACA are commonly called. Congress has failed multiple times to pass proposals called the DREAM Act to protect DACA recipients.

Whatever Hanen decides, DACA is expected to go to the Supreme Court for a third time. In 2016, the Supreme Court deadlocked 4-4 over an expanded DACA and a version of the program for parents of DACA recipients. In 2020, the high court ruled 5-4 that the Trump administration improperly ended DACA, allowing it to stay in place.

Original Article

Judge Dismisses 1 Count Against Trump Dossier Source; 4 Counts to Go to Jury

Judge Dismisses 1 Count Against Trump Dossier Source; 4 Counts to Go to Jury Judge Dismisses 1 Count Against Trump Dossier Source; 4 Counts to Go to Jury (AP)

MATTHEW BARAKAT Friday, 14 October 2022 03:51 PM EDT

A judge on Friday tossed out one of of five counts against a think-tank analyst charged with lying to the FBI about his role in the creation of a flawed dossier about former President Donald Trump.

The remaining four counts against Igor Danchenko will go to a jury Monday after prosecutors and the defense rested their cases Friday. But Judge Anthony Trenga reserved the right to toss out the other four counts regardless of what the jury decides.

In the count that was tossed out, prosecutors alleged that Danchenko lied to the FBI when he told an agent that he never talked with a Democratic operative named Charles Dolan about the information in the dossier.

As it turns out, there was evidence that Dolan and Danchenko had discussed the information over email. Defense attorneys argued that Danchenko's response was literally true because they did not talk orally, and the question the FBI agent asked specifically referenced talking.

Trenga agreed, and he said that accepting the prosecution's argument that the question had a broader context than mere talking would result in “divorcing words from their common meaning.”

In the remaining counts that will go forward, prosecutors argue that Danchenko fabricated interactions with a supposed source named Sergei Millian, who was a former president of the Russian-American Chamber of commerce.

Defense lawyers say Danchenko received an anonymous call from a person he believed to be Millian, and that Danchenko was forthright from the beginning that while he suspected the call came from Millian he was not certain.

Danchenko is being prosecuted by Special Counsel John Durham, who was appointed by then-Attorney General William Barr to investigate any misconduct in the FBI’s investigation of the Trump campaign and its alleged ties to Russia.

Danchenko is the third person to be prosecuted by Durham. It is the first of Durham’s cases that delves deeply into the origins of the “Steele dossier," which alleged connections between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and the Kremlin. and which Trump derided as fake news and a political witch hunt.

Durham’s other two cases resulted in an acquittal and a guilty plea with a sentence of probation.

Testimony this week at trial has highlighted Durham's difficulty in proving his allegations. Two key FBI witnesses for the prosecution ended up providing testimony that was highly favorable to Danchenko, resulting in the unusual spectacle of Durham seeking to eviscerate the credibility of his own witnesses on re-direct.

Original Article

Grover Norquist to Newsmax: Voters Not Buying Biden’s Inflation Blame Game

Grover Norquist to Newsmax: Voters Not Buying Biden's Inflation Blame Game (Newsmax/"American Agenda")

By Jay Clemons | Friday, 14 October 2022 03:32 PM EDT

Grover Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform, doesn't understand what prompted President Joe Biden to call attention to the Democrats posting or flirting with 40-year inflation highs earlier this week.

Norquist also cannot wrap his head around Biden's public claim that inflation "would get worse" in 2023, if Republicans carried the House and Senate majorities during the Nov. 8 midterm elections.

"Imagine you're talking to a 7-year-old about where babies come from. This is the level of conversation we're getting from the president, when it comes to inflation," Norquist told Newsmax Friday afternoon, while appearing on "American Agenda" with hosts Katrina Szish and Tom Basile.

From Biden's way of looking at the world, "high inflation [just] happens, the stork drops it," quipped Norquist, alluding to the old children's tale of storks delivering babies.

From Norquist's perspective, Democrats are hoping American voters have forgotten about inflation being at 1.4% near the end of President Donald Trump's tenure (January 2021), or how gas prices were routinely around $2.40 per gallon back then.

Instead, present-day Americans are grappling with inflation cycles that have averaged 8.5% over the last few months; and gas prices are on the rise again.

"You'd think [Biden and the Democrats] would have figured it out earlier: When you print more money, when you spend more money, and when you expand the money supply faster than the economy's growing, the value of the dollar goes down. You cheapen the dollar when you do this," lamented Norquist, while adding the Romans learned this hard economic lesson during their dynastic days from centuries ago.

Bottom line: Norquist says that as long as Democrats remain in power, and control this country's purse strings, the economy isn't set up to flourish.

"Inflation's not going anywhere" with the Democrats in power, says Norquist. "Your dollar's getting worse and worse and worse."

This especially rings true for America's seniors. Even with the 8.7% boost in Social Security payments (starting in 2023), Norquist says the increased payments still aren't matching the country's true inflation rates — particularly when purchasing crucial items at grocery stores or pharmacies.

Senior citizens "are not getting an interest in the value of their payments. … Each dollar [taken in] is worth less, thanks to Biden's policies," says Norquist.

"It's a serious challenge here" in America, especially when every Democrat "voted for this budget, to spend money we don't have," added Norquist.

One possible solution: Norquist says the American people traditionally have long memories, especially when seeing local gas prices every day; and that need for change could be reflected on Election Night.

"Biden thinks that by talking about Jan. 6 (2021), or announcing that 'inflation is over,' that Americans will [be distracted]," said Norquist. "But it's not fooling anyone that looks around to see the world" with higher prices.

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Arizona Candidate Kari Lake to Newsmax: Katie Hobbs ‘Afraid’ to Debate

Arizona Candidate Kari Lake to Newsmax: Katie Hobbs 'Afraid' to Debate (Newsmax/"John Bachman Now")

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Friday, 14 October 2022 02:56 PM EDT

Kari Lake, the Republican candidate for governor in Arizona, Friday on Newsmax slammed her Democrat challenger, Katie Hobbs, for refusing to debate her, accusing Hobbs of being afraid to go on a debate stage because "she can't articulate her ideas very well."

Lake told host John Bachman, on "John Bachman Now," that Hobbs has been a disgrace politically.

"We saw that when she went on a forum debate stage last week," said Lake, whose campaign is backed by former President Donald Trump. "They gave her softball questions, and she fumbled her way through all of them, including one which was, 'Name one good thing about the Latino community.' She spent a minute and a half and couldn't come up with one good attribute from the Latino community. It was horrifying."

Hobbs also was on CBS' "Face the Nation" and said that she is refusing a debate with Lake because she has "no desire to be a part of the spectacle that she's [Lake's] looking to create because that doesn't do any service to the voters of Arizona to hear from us where we would stand on the issues and how we would govern."

Instead of debating, Lake said that Hobbs has "negotiated a deal with PBS to have her own half-an-hour interview," but the network has not offered Lake a similar opportunity.

"What she's doing is trying to destroy the entire debate system that we've had for two decades here in Arizona, and I will not take part in her destruction of that," Lake said. "They will either put us together on a debate stage or they're not going to get any of me."

Lake also commented on an article in The Atlantic this past week that labeled her as having emerged as Trump's "most talented emulator," based on her first career as a television news host from Phoenix and her embrace of Trump's MAGA strategy.

"MAGA means 'Make America Great Again,' and it means you love this country, and I love this country so much," Lake said. "That's why I'm in it. I love Arizona so much, and if that makes me the MAGA queen. I'll take the honor of that title."

The movement is about putting the needs of Americans and the United States first, said Lake.

"We have for too long put the needs of Americans on the back burner," said Lake. "We've started foreign wars and we've gotten involved. We've sold out our companies to foreign countries. We need to start caring for America and taking care of this great country, or we won't have a country for our children to live in, a free country. That's why I'm in it."

Voters, she added, "see that authenticity" and like it.

"They see that I can't be bought," said Lake. " I can't be bribed. I'm in it because I love America and I love Arizona."

But she said that she'll have to "win by a mile" because of voting issues in Arizona.

"We have to win by a mile to eke out a one-inch win, but we will win by a mile," Lake said. "People are ready to vote. People are ready to take their country back, and then we will restore honesty to our elections."

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Report: Trump Says 2024 Announcement Coming Soon

Report: Trump Says 2024 Announcement Coming Soon Former President Donald Trump (AP)

By Charlie McCarthy | Friday, 14 October 2022 02:19 PM EDT

Former President Donald Trump says an announcement about his 2024 plans will be coming "very soon," Politico reported.

Trump reportedly attended a fundraiser at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Thursday, the same day the House Jan. 6 select committee held what was expected to be its final public hearing.

"Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser last night that a '24 announcement was coming 'very soon' and that people would be 'very happy,' per two attendees," Politico reporter Alex Isenstadt tweeted Friday afternoon.

Yahoo reported Thursday that Trump emailed out a fundraising ask just minutes after Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Jan. 6 committee — comprised of Democrats and two anti-Trump Republicans — voted unanimously to subpoena the former president to appear for a formal deposition.

"Our MAGA movement is, by far, the greatest political movement in the history of our Country, because I am fighting for YOU, YOUR home, YOUR heritage, and YOUR freedom," Trump wrote in the fundraising email, Yahoo said.

Trump responded to the Jan. 6 committee's final hearing by issuing a scathing letter to Jan. 6 select committee Chair Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., in response to the panel's vote to subpoena him — but never said whether he would testify.

Titled "PEACEFULLY AND PATRIOTICALLY," Trump's letter slammed the panel for its "Show Trial" that continued "a two-tier system of Justice," failed to probe alleged voter fraud in the 2020 election, and chose to omit key facts surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, events in Washington.

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Trump Attorney Binnall to Newsmax: Jan. 6 Panel’s Subpoena ‘Theatrics’

Trump Attorney Binnall to Newsmax: Jan. 6 Panel's Subpoena 'Theatrics' Jesse Binnall (Getty Images)

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Friday, 14 October 2022 01:21 PM EDT

The Jan. 6 committee, including its subpoena for testimony from former President Donald Trump, is engaging in "theatrics" and has not made an effort to "get to the bottom of anything," Jesse Binnall, one of Trump's attorneys, argued on Newsmax on Friday.

"The important thing to remember here is these aren't real hearings," Binnall said on Newsmax's "National Report." "These are just theatrics. There's no cross-examination. They've made no effort to get to the bottom of anything. If they wanted to get to the bottom of something they would look into, for instance, why Nancy Pelosi refused President Trump's offer of 10,000 National Guard [troops]."

Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., who presented the motion for the subpoena, is in her final days in Congress, Binnall added, and is "obviously lashing back at the man who caused her historic defeat."

"This is not an actual effort to get to the truth of anything," Binnall said. "They didn't even try to do this until the very end of the last hearing they were going to have on this entire issue."

Trump earlier this year implied that he would testify, and Binnall said he believes when the former president makes a statement, "it's always very serious."

"He has been from the first moment trying to get the truth out about this, and he's been the only one in this process that's been truthful," said Binnall.

Binnall further discussed the continuing case involving the seizure of documents in August from Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, saying the process is "an attempt by the Department of Justice" to do President Joe Biden's "bidding rather than trying to take part in any legitimate law enforcement purpose."

"They're going after Donald Trump again because he's Donald Trump," Binnall said. "He has every right as president of the United States to keep those records … the bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., are lashing out at him just simply because they hate him and they want to stop him because they're scared of him."

Binnall also said he thinks Trump has the right to get the seized documents back.

"The government has no right to those documents," Binnall said. "What everyone needs to remember is that bureaucrats cannot change the Constitution with their bureaucracy. Article two, section one of the Constitution lays out the exact way in which the president can act, and the fact is that the president gets to decide how the declassification process works, not the Washington, D.C., bureaucracy."

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Video Shows Pelosi Threatening to ‘Punch Out’ Trump on Jan. 6

Video Shows Pelosi Threatening to 'Punch Out' Trump on Jan. 6 (Newsmax)

By Charlie McCarthy | Friday, 14 October 2022 10:39 AM EDT

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., threatened to punch then-President Donald Trump if he appeared at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and added she'd happily "go to jail" for it.

Never-before-seen video, obtained exclusively by CNN from Pelosi's daughter, aired Thursday following what was expected to be the House Jan. 6 select committee's final hearing.

The partisan panel, comprised of Democrats and two anti-Trump Republicans, voted unanimously to subpoena Trump to appear for a formal deposition.

The video clip from Jan. 6 opens with Pelosi, in her office, watching Trump deliver a speech during his "Save America" rally.

Pelosi, knowing that Trump and his supporters blamed the outcome of the 2020 presidential election on alleged voter fraud in several key swing states remarked, "it's very dangerous what he's doing."

She then kiddingly tells aides to relay to Trump "if he comes here, we're going to the White House" – a comment that drew laughter.

After Pelosi looked out the window and saw a large crowd marching toward the Capitol, her chief of staff, Terry McCullough, informed her that the Secret Service had discouraged Trump from joining demonstrators because they did not have the resources to protect him there.

"That could change," says Pelosi, who then adds: "If he comes, I'm gonna punch him out. I've been waiting for this, for trespassing on the Capitol grounds. I'm gonna punch him out, and I'm gonna go to jail, and I'm gonna be happy."

During Thursday’s hearing, the select committee aired footage of Pelosi and other congressional leaders pleading for help during the Capitol attack.

Pelosi can be seen on a call with then-Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam. She's speaking as she shelters with Senate Democrat leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and others.

"They're breaking the law in many different ways," Pelosi says. "And quite frankly, much of it at the instigation of the president of the United States."

In another clip, Pelosi talks about the urgent need to continue the Electoral College certification process.

"We have got to finish the proceedings, or else they will have a complete victory," says Pelosi, who with Schumer and others was evacuated that day to Fort McNair.

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Trump Promises Friday Morning Response to Jan. 6 Panel’s Subpoena Vote

Trump Promises Friday Morning Response to Jan. 6 Panel's Subpoena Vote (Newsmax)

By Charlie McCarthy | Friday, 14 October 2022 07:29 AM EDT

Former President Donald Trump said he will respond Friday morning to the partisan House Jan. 6 select committee's unanimous vote to subpoena him.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Jan. 6 panel, comprised of Democrats and two anti-Trump Republicans, held what was expected to be its final public hearing on Thursday. The committee members voted unanimously to subpoena him to appear for a formal deposition.

"I will be putting out my response to the Unselect Committee of political Hacks & Thugs tomorrow morning at 8:00. Thank you!," Trump posted late Thursday on Truth Social.

Pelosi formed the select committee to investigate events surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

House Republicans blasted the committee's unanimous vote to subpoena Trump as a "political ploy" less than four weeks before the midterms.

"Today's subpoena of President Donald J. Trump less than one month from the midterm elections is a desperate political ploy by Democrats and their mainstream media stenographer allies," House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., wrote in a statement, The Hill reported.

"The American people are smart and the Democrats' abuse of power will only energize the American people to fire Nancy Pelosi once and for all and deliver a red tsunami that will elect a historic Republican majority to hold Joe Biden accountable."

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Trump Blasts Jan. 6 Panel ‘Witch Hunt’ in Scathing Letter

Trump Blasts Jan. 6 Panel 'Witch Hunt' in Scathing Letter (Newsmax)

By Charlie McCarthy | Friday, 14 October 2022 09:50 AM EDT

Former President Donald Trump on Friday morning issued a scathing letter to Jan. 6 select committee Chair Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., in response to the partisan House panel's unanimous vote to subpoena him.

Titled "PEACEFULLY AND PATRIOTICALLY," Trump's letter slammed the panel for its "Show Trial" that continued "a two-tier system of Justice," failed to probe alleged voter fraud in the 2020 election, and chose to omit key facts surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021 events in Washington.

Committee members on Thursday, in what was expected to be the panel's final public hearing, voted unanimously to subpoena Trump to appear for a formal deposition.

"The same group of Radical Left Democrats who utilized their Majority position in Congress to create the fiction of Russia, Russia, Russia, Impeachment Hoax #1, Impeachment Hoax #2, the $48 Million Mueller Report (which ended in No Collusion!), Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, the atrocious and illegal Spying on my Campaign, and so much more, are the people who created this Committee of highly partisan political Hacks and Thugs whose sole function is to destroy the lives of many hard-working American Patriots, whose records in life have been unblemished until this point of attempted ruination," Trump wrote in the letter.

"This memo is being written to express our anger, disappointment, and complaint that with all of the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on what many consider to be a Charade and Witch Hunt, and despite strong and powerful requests, you have not spent even a short moment on examining the massive Election Fraud that took place during the 2020 Presidential Election, and have targeted only those who were, as concerned American Citizens, protesting the Fraud itself."

Trump blasted congressional Democrat leaders for employing "a two-tier system of Justice" in the U.S. and ripped the Jan. 6 panel for not asking "one question" about how "Since 1888, no incumbent has gained votes and lost reelection."

Trump also admonished the select committee for ignoring key facts surrounding the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and blamed Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for not supplying adequate security that day.

"I recommended and authorized thousands of troops to be deployed to ensure that there was peace, safety, and security at the Capitol and throughout Washington, D.C., on January 6th because I knew, just based on instinct and what I was hearing, that the crowd coming to listen to my speech, and various others, would be a very big one, far bigger than anyone thought possible," he said.

The former president ended his letter by saying "the Unselect Committee has perpetuated a Show Trial the likes of which this Country has never seen before" and demanded "answers on the Crime of the Century."

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Trump slams J6 cmte following subpoena vote

Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas on Aug. 6. (Brandon Bell / Getty Images)
Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas on Aug. 6. (Brandon Bell / Getty Images)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 5:58 PM PT – Thursday, October 13, 2022

45th President Donald J. Trump has denounced the January 6 committee’s vote to subpoena him.

On Tuesday, Trump took to the Truth Social platform after the committee’s unanimous vote. There, he referred to the committee as a total bust. He claimed that they have only divided the country even more.

He questioned why the panel did not ask him to testify months ago.

“Why didn’t the Unselect Committee ask me to testify months ago?” Trump asked. “Why did they wait until the very end, the final moments of their last meeting? Because the Committee is a total “BUST” that has only served to further divide our Country which, by the way, is doing very badly – A laughing stock all over the World?”

Finally, he accused House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) of failing the American people on January 6th for not heeding his recommendation for troops in the Capital ahead of the day.

“Why didn’t Crazy Nancy Pelosi call out the “troops” before January 6th, which I strongly recommended that she do. It was her responsibility, but she “didn’t like the look.” Crazy Nancy failed the American People!”

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