Attorneys Blast Left’s Newest Plot to Remove Pres. Trump From Ballot – One America News Network


PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 15: Former U.S. President Donald Trump leaves the stage after speaking during an event at his Mar-a-Lago home on November 15, 2022 in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump announced that he was seeking another term in office and officially launched his 2024 presidential campaign. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Former U.S. President Donald Trump leaves the stage after speaking during an event at his Mar-a-Lago home on November 15, 2022 in Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

OAN’s Daniel Baldwin
8:00 AM – Friday, September 1, 2023

As 45th President Donald Trump continues to dominate the Republican primary, liberal groups have explored invoking a section of the 14th Amendment to possibly bar Trump from running for office in certain states.

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“It’s an absolutely insane theory,” said constitutional attorney Jesse Binnall.

They claim Section 3 of the 14th Amendment reads: “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.”

“On January 6th, 2021, Donald Trump encouraged people to peacefully and patriotically make their voices heard,” Binnall told One America News. “That is not an insurrection. That is not giving aid or comfort to the enemy. You know what is giving aid and comfort to the enemy? Engaging in business with either our enemies or other corrupt countries such as Ukraine — what the Bidens have done.”

“So under this theory, Secretary of States shouldn’t remove Donald Trump from the ballot,” Binnall continued. “They should remove Joe Biden from the ballot, but nobody’s saying that.”

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes addressed this possible issue in an interview with local outlets.

“Now, the Arizona Supreme Court said that because there’s no statutory process in federal law to enforce Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, you can’t enforce it,” Fontes said on “The Gaggle” podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com.

Binnall emphasized that even talking about this possibility is a slippery slope for both sides.

“It’s absolute insanity to start taking people off the ballot unilaterally,” Binnall said. “Just having bureaucrats pull people off the ballot, which is what these extreme left-wing people want to have happen.”

He claimed that under no reading of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment would support removing Trump from the ballot in any state. He specifically highlighted the use of the word “officer” in the text to support Trump.

“If you want to be technical about it, a plain reading of the text of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, the president is not an officer of the United States,” Binnall explained. “The officers of the United States are people who are appointed by the president, not the president himself. They specifically provided four members of Congress, and they therefore excluded the president.”

Some left wing groups are likely to bring lawsuits regarding this part of the Constitution as election season nears. It could trigger legal chaos that goes as high as the U.S. Supreme Court.

“They don’t want the people to choose the next president,” Binnall said.”

“We must, at the end of this, make sure that this never happens again,” Binnall continued. “And the way that we do that is accountability, criminal accountability, for the people that are doing this to our country.”

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YouTube Demonetizes, Censors Video Of Democrats Questioning ‘Rigged Elections’ – One America News Network


FILES-FRANCE-CRIME-INTERNET
(FILES) In this file photo taken on June 28, 2013 a webcam is positioned in front of YouTube's logo in Paris. - Millions of children regularly use YouTube to watch video game tutorials, television shows and even to watch random people unbox new toys. But consumer and child protection groups are worried that the Google-owned video service is collecting data on young users at the same time, and failing to shield them from inappropriate content.These organizations argue that Google needs to make big changes, including putting all child-directed videos in its separate YouTube Kids app to comply with laws in the United States and elsewhere. (Photo by LIONEL BONAVENTURE / AFP) (Photo credit should read LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images)
(Photo by LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN’s Abril Elfi
4:55 PM – Thursday, August 31, 2023

YouTube demonetized a video called “’Rigged’ Election Claims, Trump 2020 vs. Clinton 2016,” where democrat officials are seen doubting the legitimacy of the 2016 election.

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The video was produced and posted by Matt Orfalea, a journalist and videographer who works with podcaster Matt Taibbi, and it intersperses clips of former President Trump doubting election results alongside Democrat officials making similar comments back-and-forth.

Despite the video being supported with factual evidence, it was cited under YouTube’s “Elections Misinformation” policy. 

Orfalea’s whole account ended up being taken down after the video platform claimed that the content “violates their violent criminal organization policy.”

Orfalea learned this week that the video had been reclassified as problematic by a new “human reviewer,” who ruled it in violation for “harmful or dangerous acts” that “may endanger participants.” 

The reviewer identified potential issues such as “glorification, recruitment, or graphic portrayal of dangerous organizations.”

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Pres. Trump Files To Sever GA Case From Co-Defendants Seeking Speedy Trial – One America News Network


ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 29: Former U.S. President Donald Trump enters Erie Insurance Arena for a political rally while campaigning for the GOP nomination in the 2024 election on July 29, 2023 in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
Former U.S. President Donald Trump enters Erie Insurance Arena for a political rally while campaigning for the GOP nomination in the 2024 election on July 29, 2023 in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

OAN’s Daniel Baldwin
12:06 PM –Thursday, August 31, 2023

Former President Donald Trump has formally moved to sever his Georgia legal case from co-defendants seeking a speedy trial, arguing it would violate his right to a fair trial.

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“It is perfectly reasonable for some defendants to want a speedy trial,” Jesse Binnall, a constitutional attorney, told One America News. “There’s statutory and constitutional rights that protect that. But it is also very, very reasonable in a case like this where you’re looking at the possibility of millions and millions of documents that have to be reviewed to not want to be railroaded.”

Steve Sadow, Trump’s attorney in the case, argued that an Oct. 23, 2023 trial date scheduled for co-defendant Kenneth Chesebro, who has invoked his right to a speedy trial, would be unfair to the 45th president.

“Undersigned lead counsel will not have sufficient time to prepare President Trump’s case for trial by the October 23, 2023 scheduled trial date of co-defendant Chesebro, who has demanded a speedy trial,” Sadow wrote in a court filing.

“[Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis] knows that Donald Trump wins any fair trial that’s put before any court,” Binnall said. “And so a fair trial is her enemy. It is what she does not want. She wants a railroad job.” 

“And so that’s why she would love the opportunity to try to get this case tried in October, because, at that point, there’s no way to review the millions and millions of pages of documents that are likely to be at issue in this case,” Binnall continued.

Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges in the Georgia case and will now avoid having to appear at a scheduled arraignment hearing on Sept. 6.

Trump’s latest court filing continues to amplify pre-trial legal battles that will likely continue to dominate and highlight the difficulty of trying 19 co-defendants at once.

“I think these cases will probably be severed,” Binnall told OAN. “And on top of that, truth be told, I think it’s very, very likely that these cases are gonna be removed to the federal court.”

If Trump succeeds in severing his case, Binnall explained it will have the desired effect of slowing down proceedings for the 45th president.

“If he severed from the defendants that want the speedy trial, then that’s not going to speed things up,” Binnall said. “I think that is something that is going to make this case proceed at the reasonable pace that you would expect of a case that involves millions and millions of documents and extraordinarily important constitutional issues that are going to have to be litigated before trial.”

Binnall says any reasonable judge would do everything he/she could to ensure that both sides have ample amount of time to prepare before going to trial.

“Something that the judges always ask parties in a criminal trial before they’re ready to start is, ‘Is the prosecution ready to proceed and is the defendant ready to proceed,’” Binnall explained. “And if you try to railroad someone, then I expect a defense attorney would stand up and say, ‘No, your Honor, we have told the court that we need more time. We have not been able to review documents to find out if there’s evidence that’s been presented to the court or that presented to us in discovery that exonerates our client, something that we call Brady evidence. We haven’t been able to fully be able to synthesize the information that’s given to us to properly put together our case. We’re not ready to proceed.’ And that’s an important Sixth Amendment issue to the United States Constitution.”

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Mitch McConnell Cleared To Continue Working After ‘Freeze’, Doctor Says – One America News Network


WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 10: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks to reporters following the Senate Republican policy luncheon which both President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence attended on March 10, 2020 in Washington, DC. Lawmakers focused on the spread of the coronavirus and the state of the economy as markets react to the virus during the luncheon. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks to reporters following the Senate Republican policy luncheon which both President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence attended on March 10, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

OAN’s James Meyers
1:38 PM – Thursday, August 31, 2023

Despite freezing up on two separate occasions at the podium over the past two months, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has been cleared to continue work as normal.

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Brian Monahan, MD, the attending physician for the U.S. Capitol, released a statement on McConnell’s (R-KY) health and expressed that he had “consulted” with him as well as conferred with his neurology team, claiming he is “medically cleared to continue with his schedule as planned.”

“Occasional lightheadedness is not uncommon in concussion recovery and can also be expected as a result of dehydration,” Dr. Monahan said in a statement released by McConnell’s office. 

The doctor’s clearance and statement was revealed almost a full day later, after McConnell had suffered another strange episode in his home state during a press conference while answering questions on whether he will run for future re-election in 2026. 

During the press conference, McConnell answered, “what are my thoughts about what?”

“Running for re-election in 2026,” a reporter asked, repeating himself.

“Oh,” McConnell remarked, before his eyes rolled up towards his forehead and stared up into space. 

“Did you hear the question, Senator? Running for re-election in 2026?” said an aide standing next to McConnell.

It took close to 30 seconds before the Kentucky senator was speaking normally again. He then took on two additional questions.

This also comes after NBC News reported on July 14th that McConnell had fallen while getting off a plane at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. 

While addressing Hurricane Idalia at FEMA headquarters, President Joe Biden said on Thursday that he spoke to McConnell, whom he referred to as a “friend.”

“He was his old self on the telephone,” said Biden, who survived two brain aneurysms in 1988. “And having a little understanding of dealing with neurosurgeons and people… It’s not at all unusual to have the response that sometimes happens to Mitch when you’ve had a severe concussion.”

“It’s part of, it is part of the recovery. And so I’m confident he’s going to be back to his old self,” Biden said. 

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Former Proud Boys Leader Joe Biggs Sentenced To 17 Yrs In Prison For Jan. 6 Involvement – One America News Network


WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 12: Members of the Proud Boys march towards Freedom Plaza during a protest on December 12, 2020 in Washington, DC. Thousands of protesters who refuse to accept that President-elect Joe Biden won the election are rallying ahead of the electoral college vote to make Trump's 306-to-232 loss official. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
Members of the Proud Boys march towards Freedom Plaza during a protest on December 12, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

OAN’s James Meyers
12:10 PM – Thursday, August 31, 2023

A former Proud Boys leader who was convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role in the January 6th protest was sentenced to 17 years in prison on Thursday. 

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Joseph Biggs, an Army veteran, received one of the longest sentences in all of the demonstration cases.

The January 6th committee was originally seeking 33 years for Biggs.

In the past, Biggs was injured in combat in Iraq during his years of service and he had later served as a correspondent on Alex Jones’ InfoWars website. 

The committee argued that he was a “vocal leader and influential proponent of the group’s shift toward political violence” and used his “outsized public profile” and his military experience as he “led a revolt against the government in an effort to stop the peaceful transfer of power.”

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, who handed down Biggs’ sentence, argued that his alleged tearing down of a fence that stood between police and rioters put him in the category of a terrorism sentencing enhancement sought by the January 6th committee. 

The sentencing dates back to May when Biggs was convicted of seditious conspiracy, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to use force, intimidation or threats to prevent officers of the U.S. from discharging their duties, interference with law enforcement during civil disorder and destruction of government property.

The Army veteran went on trial along with five other Proud Boy members, including Enrique Tarrio, Ethan Nordean, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola.

The other members will be sentenced in the coming days with Rehl on Thursday, Nordean and Pezzola on Friday, and Tarrio on Tuesday. 

Before he received his sentence, Biggs apologized for his role in the January 6th protest.

“I apologize for my rhetoric,” Biggs said, he used it as a way to cope with finding out his daughter was molested by a member of his family. “I’m so sorry, I’m not a terrorist, I don’t have hate in my heart.”

“I’m done with it. I’m sick and tired of left versus right,” Biggs said.

However, Biggs’ lawyer, Norm Pattis, said crimes had been committed by his client but that they were “overstated.”

“To treat these men as terrorists would be, in my view, the functional equivalent as the destruction of Waco,” Pattis said. 

Judge Kelly ended the sentencing saying January 6th ruined the transfer of power from one President to another. 

“What happened on January 6th harmed an important American custom that helps support the rule of law and the constitution,” he said. “That day broke our tradition of peacefully transferring power which is among the most precious things that we had as Americans. Notice I said had. We don’t have it anymore.”

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Pres. Trump Pushes Georgia State Lawmakers to Back Push to Defund Fulton County DA – One America News Network


Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks in the Fulton County Government Center during a news conference, Monday, Aug. 14, 2023, in Atlanta. Donald Trump and several allies have been indicted in Georgia over efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks in the Fulton County Government Center during a news conference, Monday, Aug. 14, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

OAN’s Daniel Baldwin
8:06 AM –Thursday, August 31, 2023

Members of the Georgia state legislature are still pushing for an emergency session to defund Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. 

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“My constituents are super excited about the stand that I’m taking,” State Sen. Colton Moore (R-Ga.) told One America News. “They elected me to do my job as a state senator, and a state senator has a legislative duty to put a check and balance on rogue judicial and executive officers. And that’s what I’m doing by calling for this emergency special session.”

Former President Donald Trump praised Moore for being the first state legislator to make this stand. 

“Highly respected Georgia State Senator Colton Moore deserves thanks and congratulations of everyone for having the courage and conviction to fight the radical Left lunatics who are so badly hurting the great state of Georgia and, frankly, the USA itself,” Trump said in a statement.

In order to call for an emergency session, Moore needs to acquire signatures from more than ⅗ of both the state House and Senate. 

“Right now, I only have three other signatures,” Moore said. “There’s three signatures in total calling for this emergency special session.”

Moore blasted other state lawmakers for not backing his initiative.

“My constituents’ tax dollars are still funding Fani Willis,” Moore said. “And all it takes to defund Fani Willis of Georgia tax dollars is a simple majority. We have 33 Republican senators. We only need 29 to defund her. Why we have not taken action on that is mind-boggling to me.”

Trump appeared to have agreed, hammering Willis for not addressing Fulton County’s high crime rates.

“Failed DA Fani Willis, who has allowed Fulton County to become a record setting murder and violent crime Warzone with almost no retribution for those murders, shockingly indicted your favorite president, me, for a perfect phone call,” said Trump. “She is very bad for America. She is very bad for Georgia.”

Moore says he may even face repercussions for backing Trump in this fight.

“There’s a little talk in the news today that they may even vote me out of the caucus,” Moore told OAN. “I’m trying to take out Fani Willis and Republicans want to talk about voting me out of their Senate caucus.”

Moore reiterated that he will not back down from this fight. He says holding Willis accountable is a logical first step to restoring justice in the country. 

“This is so much bigger than Donald Trump,” said Moore. “It’s so much bigger than our fellow senators. It’s so much bigger than Brian Kemp, our governor. This is about American freedom. These individuals were questioning the integrity of an election, and now they’ve been taken political prisoner. The only evidence held in some cases is nothing more than a tweet. It’s time to take action.”

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Trump Pleads Not Guilty To Election Charges in Georgia – One America News Network


DALLAS, TEXAS - AUGUST 06: Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Hilton Anatole on August 06, 2022 in Dallas, Texas. CPAC began in 1974, and is a conference that brings together and hosts conservative organizations, activists, and world leaders in discussing current events and future political agendas. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
(Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

OAN’s Roy Francis
8:42 AM – Thursday, August 31, 2023

45th President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges in Georgia alleging that he had tried to steal the 2020 election.

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By entering the not guilty plea, Trump will now avoid having to appear at a scheduled arraignment hearing on September 6th.

The charges that the 45th president is facing in Georgia are racketeering, soliciting state officials to violate their oaths of office, making false statement, filing false statements and conspiracy dealing with fake electors in the state.

Trump, and his 18 co-defendants, were indicted on August 14th, on a combined 41 charges. Other co-defendants such as Ray Smith, Sidney Powell and Trevian Kutti have all already filed not guilty pleas.

After his arraignment, the 45th president was released on a $200,000 bond while he awaits trial.

This is a breaking story. Check back for more details.

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‘It’s A Rallying Cry’ – New Polls Show Pres. Trump Overtake Pres. Biden in 2024 Matchup Following Mugshot – One America News Network


ATLANTA, GEORGIA - AUGUST 24: Former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to depart at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport after being booked at the Fulton County jail on August 24, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Trump was booked on multiple charges related to an alleged plan to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

OAN’s Daniel Baldwin
6:20 AM –Thursday, August 31, 2023

New polls have shown former President Donald Trump overtaking President Joe Biden in a 2024 matchup following the release of Trump’s mugshot.

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“[The mugshot] is a political gift,” Luke Ball, CEO of Masonboro Strategies, told One America News. “This mugshot is a humongous in-kind contribution from Fanni Willis and Fulton County.”

Trump has leapfrogged Biden into the lead, according to the new YouGov/Economist poll. The poll shows the 45th president beating Biden by one percent following a four-point jump from the end of July to the end of August. It was conducted after the public release of the mugshot.

“It’s almost as if [the mugshot’s] a rallying cry,” Ball said. “There’s nothing stronger than an image in a political campaign. And the image of Joe Biden going after Donald Trump on the federal level, and these weaponized district attorneys across the United States on state levels going after Donald Trump is the image that they’re going to take into the voting booth.”

The mugshot has resulted in a fundraising frenzy for the Trump campaign. The campaign announced it has raised more than $9.4 million since the mugshot was released, selling 36,000 t-shirts. Further, the team revealed it has raised more than $20 million in the month of August. Ball says the events in Fulton County, Georgia will only draw more possible voters to Trump’s side.

“I really believe that some people who don’t even normally tune into politics, like some of the urban areas of Atlanta, you saw they reacted to [Trump] when he was driving through their towns and their cities on his way to get indicted and all the way back from it,” Ball said. “They’re starting to look at this and get involved in politics a little bit and have opinions about it.”

Trump emphasized this in a newly released video, saying Biden’s entire campaign hinged on the indictments.

“Joe Biden’s only campaign strategy is indicting me,” Trump said. “That’s all they can do. Keep indicting me on nonsense, going on extended vacations, and sleep, sleep, sleep. That’s what he wants to do. He wants to sleep, and he wants to go to the beach and sleep. He thinks he looks good in a bathing suit. He doesn’t.”

The indictments appear to be backfiring, as Trump also leads Biden by 2% in the new Emerson College poll. Ball asserted that independent voters are backing the 45th president.

“Independents are going to have to look at the two options, presumably Donald Trump and Joe Biden and say, ‘Who do I want to command for the next four years,” Ball explained. “Joe Biden can’t command a sentence. How is he going to command four more years of this administration?”

Trump has seen his support swell in the Republican primary. Morning Consult shows Trump leading Florida Governor Ron DeSantis by 44%. An internal poll commissioned by the Trump Team also revealed that 54% of likely Republican voters viewed Trump as “very favorable.”

“The only chance that any of the other candidates have at getting the Republican presidential nomination is if Donald Trump drops out or goes away,” Ball said. “And I don’t foresee that happening.”

According to RealClearPolitics polling average, Trump was leading the GOP primary by slightly less than 15% in 2015. In 2023, he’s leading the pack by more than 40%.

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Middle Schooler Kicked Out Of Class For ‘Don’t Tread On Me’ Patch – One America News Network


(Jon Cherry / Getty Images / File)
(Jon Cherry / Getty Images / File)

OAN’s Abril Elfi
5:18 PM – Wednesday, August 30, 2023

A middle school student in Colorado Springs, Colorado, was suspended for wearing a “don’t tread on me” flag patch on his backpack.

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A video which started circulating on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, showed a 12-year-old and his mother talking to an administrator from school who claimed that the flag needed to be removed since the patch was “disruptive to the classroom environment,” as she claimed it has “origins with slavery.”

“So the reason that they do not want the flag – the reason we do not want the flag displayed – is due to its origins with slavery, and the slave trade,” said the administrator.

The seventh grader was reportedly told that the patch was against district policy and that he couldn’t return to class until he removed it. 

His mother, on the other hand, was quick to defend her son, arguing that the flag originated during the American Revolution as a symbol of the 13 colonies’ fight against the British Crown and did not advocate slavery.

“It has nothing to do with slavery, that’s like the Revolutionary War patch that was displayed when they were fighting the British,” the mother said. 

The administrator then stated that she is there just to enforce the district’s policy and that the mother has the right not to agree with it but the backpack cannot return to the classroom with the patch on it.

The staff member said she would put Jaiden’s mother in touch with Jeff Yocum, the Vanguard School’s director of operations, as he is the one who banned the flag in the district.

Yocum quoted graphic design specialist Paul Bruski on the flags associations with racism.

“Because of its creator’s history and because it is commonly flown alongside ‘Trump 2020’ flags, the Confederate battle flag and other white-supremacist flags, some may now see the Gadsden flag as a symbol of intolerance and hate or even racism,” said Bruski.

Yocum also stated an article about a disagreement with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after a Postal Service employee wore a Gadsden Flag cap to work which amounted to racial discrimination.   

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Millions More Workers Would Be Entitled To Overtime Pay Under A Proposed Biden Admin. Rule – One America News Network


Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su testifies before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee during her confirmation hearing to be the next secretary of the Labor Department in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on April 20, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

OAN’s James Meyers
5:40 PM – Wednesday, August 30, 2023

The Biden administration proposed a new rule on Wednesday that would make 3.6 million more workers eligible for overtime pay.

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The new rule revealed by the Department of Labor, would require employers to pay overtime to salaried workers who make less than $55,000 a year that are in executive, administrative and professional roles.  

The new threshold is up from the current one of $35,568, which has been in place since 2019 under the Trump administration, who raised it from $23,660 under the Obama administration.

The new rule is subject to a public commentary period and wouldn’t take effect for several months. The new changes would have the largest impact on retail, hospitality, food, manufacturing and other industries where managerial employees meet the requirements of the threshold. 

“I’ve heard from workers again and again about working long hours, for no extra pay, all while earning low salaries that don’t come anywhere close to compensating them for their sacrifices,” acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su said in a statement. 

The new rule could face pushback from businesses who won a legal challenge against a similar regulation Joe Biden announced as Vice President with the Obama administration, where they advocated to raise the threshold up to $47,000. 

Currently under the Fair Labor Standards Act, almost all U.S. hourly workers are entitled to overtime pay after working over 40 hours a week, at no less than time-and-half their regular rates. 

However, salaried workers who perform executive, professional or administrative roles are exempt from that requirement unless they earn below a certain threshold. 

27% of salaried workers would be entitled to overtime pay under the new rule, because they make less than the threshold, according to the Labor Department. 

However, business leaders argue the new salary requirement would force small businesses to convert salaried workers to hourly ones to track working time. 

The National Association of Manufacturers warned last year that this would challenge any expansion of overtime coverage, saying the new changes would disrupt supply chain and labor supply issues. 

Additionally, 300,000 more manufacturing workers would be entitled to overtime pay. Along with another 180,000 hospitality and leisure workers, and 600,000 in the health care and social services sector, according to the Labor Department. 

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Giuliani Loses Defamation Lawsuit – One America News Network


US-JUSTICE-POLITICS-TRUMP
Former New York City Mayor and attorney of former US President Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, speaks to members of the media after being booked, outside the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 23, 2023. Giuliani, former US President Donald Trump, and 17 others were given until August 25, 2023 to surrender at the courthouse after being indicted on 41 counts related to their efforts to overturn the 2020 US Presidential election. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)
(Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN’s Abril Elfi
3:18 PM – Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Former politician and attorney Rudy Giuliani has lost a defamation lawsuit filed by two Georgia election staffers after he failed to produce material requested in subpoenas.

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A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that the former New York City mayor was liable in a defamation lawsuit filed by the election workers who claim that they were falsely accused of fraud, ruling that Giuliani only gave “lip service” to comply with his legal obligations while attempting to portray himself as the victim in the case.

Due to Giuliani’s alleged failure to perform his duty as a defendant by providing information sought by poll workers Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea’ ArShaye Moss, as part of the lawsuit, United States District Judge Beryl Howell issued the sentence.

“Perhaps he has made the calculation that his overall litigation risks are minimized by not complying with his discovery obligations in this case,” Howell wrote. “Whatever the reason, obligations are case specific and withholding required discovery in this case has consequences.”

Following the 2020 election, Giuliani testified to a Georgia Senate committee that election workers were counting “suitcases” of illegal ballots in the middle of the night at the State Farm Arena counting site, displaying footage that he claimed was the “smoking gun,” proving his claims of fraud.

“The video makes it clear,” Giuliani told the press. “They took ballots from under a table and counted them in the middle of the night. This is what they were doing all throughout the country. Luckily, there is now a tape of it.”

Giuliani continued to call out the mother and daughter, accusing them of “quite obviously surreptitiously passing around USB ports as if they were vials of heroin or cocaine,” as well as stating that their homes should have been searched for evidence of ballots and USB ports.

Moss and Freeman are seeking specific monetary damages after claiming that they have suffered emotional loss and reputational loss, as well as having their safety jeopardized as a result of Giuliani’s fraudulent claims of ballot manipulation in Georgia during the 2020 election.

Additionally, the two claimed that they had to move out of their home due to the former mayor’s assertion since “the FBI said it wasn’t safe,” after allegedly receiving a plethora of death threats. 

Giuliani has already been fined nearly $90,000 for Freeman and Moss’ legal bills in the case, and Howell believes the former New York mayor could face additional fines.

Howell later said that a trial regarding the amount of damages for which Giuliani will be held responsible has been scheduled for later this year, or early in 2024.

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Pennsylvania considering earlier 2024 primary date


  • Pennsylvania is considering bumping its April primary date back into March, partly to avoid voting taking place on the first day of Passover next year.
  • A proposal by Republican state Sen. David Argall would set the Keystone State’s 2024 primary date as either March 19 or March 26.
  • Argall acknowledged in an interview that the date still leaves Pennsylvania’s primary after those of several other large states, as well as after Super Tuesday.

Pennsylvania is considering changing the state’s 2024 presidential primary to an earlier day, although the proposed move may do little to give the state’s voters more say in deciding presidential nominees.

State lawmakers plan to vote on legislation Wednesday that would change Pennsylvania’s primary from late April to late March.

The state is a premier battleground in presidential elections, but it hasn’t hosted a competitive presidential primary since 2008, when Hillary Clinton pulled off a win to stay alive against Barack Obama, the leader in delegates and eventual winner of that year’s Democratic nomination.

KANSAS SETS MARCH 2024 PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY DATE

For now, President Joe Biden faces a couple of Democratic challengers, but is expected to secure his party’s nomination, while former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have dominated the early Republican race in a field that is about a dozen deep.

Under current law, Pennsylvania’s primary date is the fourth Tuesday in April, which lands on April 23.

Many states want to hold presidential primaries earlier, to give residents more influence in the trajectory of presidential campaigns. But Pennsylvania lawmakers have resisted a change because it would push the beginning of the state’s customary 13-week primary season into the winter holidays.

On Wednesday, a state Senate committee could advance a proposal to change the primary election to March 19 or March 26.

Voting booths

Voting booths are seen at a collection location in the North Park Ice Skating Rink Lodge area, McCandless, Pennsylvania, Friday, Oct. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)

The Senate bill’s sponsor has long pushed to hold Pennsylvania’s primary earlier, before presidential candidates have all but locked down the delegates they need to win the nomination.

In an interview, Sen. David Argall, R-Schuylkill, acknowledged that moving it to either of those dates still leaves many states with large numbers of delegates before Pennsylvania, including Super Tuesday primary states on March 5.

By March 19, a candidate could lock up the delegates necessary to win the nomination, or at least put the contest out of reach.

This year, more lawmakers are motivated to support a change because April 23 is the first day of Passover, a Jewish holiday when observant Jews typically avoid the same activities they avoid on the Sabbath, such as driving, working or using electricity.

Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish, has said he supports changing the date, as well.

WATCH THE FULL REPUBLICAN PRIMARY DEBATE

Argall’s bill would move the primary date to March 19, the same date as Ohio, Florida, Illinois, Kansas and Arizona. Still, that date comes after primaries in other major states, including California, Texas, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia, Massachusetts and Tennessee.

Many state lawmakers oppose moving Pennsylvania’s primary date to March 19, because that would force them and other candidates to start gathering signatures on their re-election petitions the week before Christmas, Argall said.

A forthcoming amendment to the bill would change the primary date to March 26. Under that scenario, Pennsylvania leaps over just Delaware, Rhode Island and Wisconsin, whose primaries are scheduled for April 2.

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Separately, a House bill expected to get consideration would move Pennsylvania’s primary date to April 2, the first Tuesday after Easter. That would allow lawmakers and other candidates to start gathering signatures on their re-election petitions the day after New Year’s Day, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-Philadelphia, said.



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Mitch McConnell Freezes Again – One America News Network


Senators Meet For Their Policy Luncheons On Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 7: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on March 7, 2023 in Washington, DC. McConnell spoke on a range of issues after a closed-door lunch meeting with Senate Republicans. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

OAN’s Abril Elfi
12:53 AM – Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell froze again during an exchange with reporters in Covington, Kentucky. 

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On Wednesday, the 81-year-old froze up after reporters asked him if he would be running for re-election in 2026.

The incident marks the second time in recent weeks that the Minority leader has abruptly stopped speaking out of nowhere during a conference.

The senator suddenly froze at the podium and did not speak another word for about 30 seconds, expressing a blank stare. A member of his staff then reportedly approached him and questioned if he had heard the reporter, but he did not appear to answer immediately.

“All right, I’m sorry, you all. We’re going to need a minute,” the aide said, apologizing. 

After staring off for almost a minute, McConnell finally said “Ok,” motioning that he was ready to answer another question.

Another reporter then asked what his opinion was regarding Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s gubernatorial race.

After McConnell’s aide repeated the question by whispering into his ear, the senator finally said, “I think the governor’s race is going to be very close.”

McConnell was also questioned about former President Donald Trump, which had to be repeated to him as well, but he shook his head and decided to wave off the question.

This most recent incident comes after McConnell stopped speaking mid-sentence for a minute during a press conference last month. 

At the time, McConnell refused to answer inquiries about whether the health crisis was related to a concussion he had suffered earlier this year when he fell at a campaign fundraiser.

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Third-party ‘spoiler’ candidate Cornel West says Democratic Party is ‘beyond redemption’


Green Party presidential candidate Cornel West came out swinging against the Democratic Party establishment and progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., for endorsing President Biden.

West – a high-profile racial activist and academic who Democrats worry may spoil Biden’s re-election bid in 2024 – remarked that the Democratic Party is “beyond redemption,” during an interview Tuesday with The Hill’s Rising. The Green Party candidate added that Sanders’ recent argument that Biden represents progressives’ best hope to stave off authoritarianism wasn’t persuasive.

“I think that Brother Bernie’s being consistent. He has said that all along, and I can understand the argument. I think it’s a plausible argument. I just don’t think it’s a persuasive one,” West said. “I think that the argument he’s making means that there’s never any possibility for breaking from the corporate duopoly, there’s never any possibility of trying to speak to the needs of poor working people.”

“I think deep down in his heart he knows that the Democratic Party has no fundamental intention of speaking to the needs of poor people and working people,” he continued. “They are dominated by their corporate wing, they’re dominated by the militarists when it comes to foreign policy. He and AOC and the others are going to be, in a certain sense, window dressing.”

CORNEL WEST CALLS OUT BIDEN’S PAST ‘CONNECTIONS’ TO SEGREGATIONISTS, SAYS TRUMP ALSO FLAWED ON RACIAL ISSUES

Cornel West, Bernie Sanders

Then-Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and political activist Cornel West on Feb. 10, 2020, in Durham, New Hampshire. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

West further argued that the Democratic Party cannot be saved from certain forces within and that voters should be given an alternative to established parties.

THIRD-PARTY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE CORNEL WEST RIPS ‘MEDIOCRE, MILQUETOAST’ BIDEN: ‘GET OFF THE CRACK PIPE’

“The Democratic Party is beyond redemption at this point when it comes to seriously speaking to the needs of poor and working people,” West stated. “The neofascism that’s escalating is predicated on the rottenness of a system in which the Democratic Party facilitates frustration and desperation because it can’t present an alternative. If America is not able to present an alternative to the Democratic Party, then we’re going fascism.”

“Now, Brother Bernie understands that, don’t get me wrong, he’s on my side in that sense. But at this particular historical moment, he’s on the side of the Democratic establishment rather than the critics of that establishment trying to generate an alternative.”

Joe Biden and Cornel West

“The Democratic Party is beyond redemption at this point when it comes to seriously speaking to the needs of poor and working people,” West said in the interview Tuesday. (Getty Images)

West’s comments come as national polling continues to show him taking a key share of the vote from Biden. 

According to a poll conducted last week by the Emerson College Polling Center, in a head-to-head matchup between former President Donald Trump and Biden, Trump would receive 44%, Biden would receive 39% and West would receive 4% of the vote. The margin is significantly smaller without West in the race, the survey showed.

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West first announced his candidacy in June, running originally for the People’s Party before switching to the Green Party.

Since then, as he has gained support, Democrats like Sanders and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Jim McGovern, D-Mass., have expressed concern about his ability to potentially hurt Biden’s re-election chances.



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CNN Hires Ex-New York Times Chief As New CEO – One America News Network


Brian Krzanich, CEO, Intel Corporation (R), discusses Luxottica partnership for the first time with Mark Thompson, President and CEO, The New York Times Company at the The New York Times International Luxury Conference at Mandarin Oriental on December 3, 2014 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for The New York Times International Luxury Conference)

OAN’s James Meyers
1:20 PM – Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Warner Bros. Discovery announced on Wednesday, Mark Thompson, the former Chief Executive of The New York Times and Director-General of the BBC, will be the new CEO of CNN Worldwide. 

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Thompson had been listed as one of the favorites for the position in multiple reports, suggesting Warner Bros. Discovery was close to announcing its new permanent news chief. 

“There isn’t a more experienced, respected or capable executive in the news business today than Mark, and we are thrilled to have him join our team and lead CNN Worldwide into the future,” David Zaslav, the Chief Executive of CNN parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, said in a statement. 

The hiring of Thompson comes almost three months after Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav fired Chris Licht from the position in June. 

Licht’s time at the job was filled with controversy, after certain decisions such as alienating top talent and damaging the network’s reputation. As a result, his decisions tanked the networks ratings. He took major criticism for hosting former President Donald Trump in a recent town hall event with moderator Kaitlan Collins.

Thompson’s official start date will be October 9th as Chief Executive and chairman. In a statement, he said he “couldn’t be more excited about the chance to join CNN after years of watching it and competing against it with a mixture of admiration and envy.

“The world needs accurate trustworthy news now more than ever and we’ve never had more ways of meeting that need at home and abroad,” he continued. “Where others see disruption, I see opportunity. I can’t wait to roll up my sleeves and get down to work with my new colleagues to build a successful future for CNN.”

Additionally, the news organization has let go of several top name anchors over the past several months including Chris Cuomo, Don Lemon and others.

After Licht was let go, CNN’s operations were run by four executives. David Zaslav, the Chief Executive of WarnerBros. Discovery said it will be a big help once Thompson takes over on October 9th

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Opponents of NE’s taxpayer-funded school voucher plan claim enough signatures to take issue to ballot box


Organizers of an effort to have Nebraska voters weigh in on whether to use taxpayer money to pay for private school tuition scholarships said Wednesday they have more than enough signatures to put that question on the November 2024 ballot.

The Support Our Schools effort turned in 117,000 signatures to the Nebraska Secretary of State, who must now verify them. That’s nearly double the roughly 60,000 valid signatures needed to make the ballot, and organizers are confident they have met that goal.

“This bill needs to be repealed,” Jenni Benson, a Support Our Schools Nebraska sponsor and president of the Nebraska State Education Association, said at a news conference Wednesday. “This wildly successful petition effort has shown that Nebraskans agree.”

NEBRASKA BILL ALLOWING TAX DONATIONS FOR SCHOOL VOUCHERS ADVANCES

The effort was launched even before Nebraska lawmakers passed a bill this spring to funnel millions in taxpayer money from public coffers to scholarships for private school tuition. Support Our Schools was funded mostly through public education unions and individual donations, while public school teachers and advocates volunteered their time to collect signatures at fairs, farmers markets and on street corners across the state.

The bill, sponsored by Omaha Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, does not appropriate taxpayer dollars directly toward private school vouchers. Instead, it allows businesses, individuals, estates and trusts to donate a portion of owed state income tax.

Businesses and individuals would be allowed to donate up to $100,000 per year while estates and trusts could offer up to $1 million a year. The bill would allocate $25 million a year over the first two years starting in 2024, and up to $100 million annually thereafter to cover such donations. That dollar-for-dollar tax credit is money that would otherwise go into the state’s general revenue fund.

Support our Schools Nebraska

Noah Snurr of the Nebraska State Education Association, left, and Molly Gross of the Nebraska Parent Teacher Association, center, deliver boxes of petition signatures to Nebraska’s Secretary of State, Lincoln, Nebraska, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. (Justin Wan/Lincoln Journal Star via AP)

The money would be overseen and allocated by nonprofit groups, which are subject to a cap of 10% of what they can take from donations for administrative costs. The measure also requires the groups to track and report on scholarship allocations. The plan includes a tier system for scholarships that prioritizes low-income students and those being bullied.

Public school advocates have blasted the measure as a “school voucher scheme” that will hurt the state’s K-12 public school system, arguing that diverting tax dollars to private schools from the state’s general fund is money that could go to struggling public schools. Some lawmakers objected to taxpayer dollars going to private schools that are allowed under religious tenets to discriminate against LGBTQ+ students.

One taxpayer spending watchdog group, OpenSky, has expressed concern that the plan could divert enough students to private schools that enrollment in public schools will drop — causing a drop in state funding tied to schools’ student populations.

NEBRASKA TEACHERS UNION TRYING TO KILL SCHOOL CHOICE LAW OUT OF FEAR, MOTHER SAYS

Supporters of the scholarship program deny that it will hurt funding to public schools, noting that lawmakers also passed a bill this year that will pump more than $1 billion — mostly from federal pandemic recovery dollars — into public education.

The plan has seen powerful public education unions square off with heavily funded efforts from school choice groups backed by conservatives trying to make their mark on school policies following COVID-19 lockdowns and amid battles over transgender policies.

The American Federation for Children — founded by Betsy DeVos, who was Secretary of Education in the Trump administration — poured more than $500,000 into a group set up to thwart the petition initiative. That group, Keep Kids First Nebraska, used the money to fund a blizzard of ads and a recent mass mailing to registered Nebraska voters that appeared as a letter from Republican Gov. Jim Pillen — though not on the governor’s officials letterhead — urging voters not to sign the petition. It even included an affidavit form one could fill out in an effort to have their signature removed from the petition if they’d already signed.

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Keep Kids First said in a written statement it would continue its campaign to sway Nebraska voters to support the private school scholarship measure and railed against the petition effort, adding the Support Our Schools effort is “obsessively attempting to rip opportunity away from the children and families that need it most.”



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Manchin, daughter pitch $100M project for ‘politically homeless’ as potential third-party run looms: report


Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and his daughter have reportedly been pitching to donors a $100 million centrist project targeting the “political homeless.”

The senator’s daughter, Heather Manchin, the former chief executive of EpiPen-maker Mylan, revealed to The Wall Street Journal in an interview published Wednesday how she registered the politically active nonprofit organization called Americans Together in late July and is planning to hire staff in the coming weeks.

The venture comes as it remains to be seen whether her father will run for re-election in the Senate in 2024 or launch a presidential campaign as an independent.

“What we both very much agree on is the system is very broken and actually in deep trouble,” 54-year-old Heather Manchin, who in rising to CEO at Mylan in 2012 became the first woman to run a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company, told the Journal. “We have been thinking about what can be done to bring people together.”

NEW AD FROM SENATE DEMOCRATS-LINKED PAC TOUTS VULNERABLE SEN. MANCHIN’S WORK WITH TRUMP

Manchin points and walks by Capitol

Sen. Joe Manchin waves to visitors on the Senate steps as he leaves the Capitol on May 4, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

She intends for Americans Together to give “the politically homeless a voice” at a time when she sees the two major parties “normalizing the extremes on the fringes.”

The memo circulated to donors advertises the project as creating a coalition that would “mobilize the middle” and advocate for a shift to the political center.

Joe Manchin at Capitol

Sen. Joe Manchin attends a joint meeting of Congress with Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the U.S. Capitol on July 19, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Last month, Sen. Manchin told West Virginia radio personality Hoppy Kercheval in an interview that he was seriously considering leaving the Democratic Party. 

DEMOCRATS GROW WORRIED ABOUT POTENTIAL MANCHIN THIRD PARTY 2024 PRESIDENTIAL BID

Though the senator has not made any formal decisions regarding his future, he reportedly is mulling a third-party presidential run on the No Labels ticket.

According to the Journal, Manchin’s daughter’s new project is not affiliated with No Labels.

Ken Langone, the billionaire co-founder of Home Depot and a major Republican donor, told the Journal that Manchin and his daughter have sought out his support on Americans Together, which, because of its 501(c)(4) status, will not be required to publicly disclose its donors and cannot spend a majority of its budget on electoral politics.

Joe Manchin

Sen. Joe Manchin has not formally decided on his political future. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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If he does choose to run for re-election, Manchin faces one of the toughest Senate fights of his career in deep-red West Virginia, as the state’s popular governor, Jim Justice, and Rep. Alex Mooney are both running in the GOP primary for the chance to face him.



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Black DeSantis supporters blast ‘unjust’ media, Biden narrative connecting him to Jacksonville hate crime


Supporters of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are pushing back after media outlets and the White House have pushed the suggestion that the governor’s policies are somehow linked to the recent hate crime shooting in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.

In the days following a mass shooting at a Jacksonville Dollar General carried out by an alleged White supremacist that left three Black individuals dead, headlines have been swirling from left-leaning media outlets attempting to link the Florida Department of Education’s updated standards for teaching African American studies to the hate crime.

Additionally, a White House spokesperson said, “I don’t think it’s a stretch” when asked by an NPR reporter about the “connection with the changes that the Florida governor has made in teaching about African American history to the kind of violence that we saw in Jacksonville.” 

Fox News Digital spoke with two supporters of DeSantis who blasted the notion that the governor’s policies had anything to do with the shooting. 

DESANTIS SIGNALS POSSIBLE CAMPAIGN TIMEOUT TO DEAL WITH IDALIA: ‘YOU DO WHAT YOU NEED TO DO’

DeSantis

From left to right, North Carolina Rep. Ken Fontenot, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Rep. Kiyan Michael. (Fox News, Getty Images)

It has nothing to do with the policy,” Florida State Rep. Kiyan Michael, an “Angel Mom,” a Navy veteran herself, and a member of the Black Voices for Trump Advisory Board in 2020, told Fox News Digital. 

“I don’t believe that for a minute.”

Michael, a DeSantis supporter and Jacksonville resident, explained that the United States is “not a racist nation” and said the Biden administration is attacking education standards in Florida that actually “help the African American community.”

“They’re pushing this thing because they’re trying to make us divided when we are trying to be united and trying to unite around these families. I just think it’s unfortunate that they are using this and spinning it when they know that is not true.

BIDEN, HARRIS ADVISERS IRKED BY NEWSOM’S PLAN TO DEBATE DESANTIS: ‘DISRESPECTFUL’

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks to members of the media

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to members of the media after an event on Thursday, July 27, 2023. (Sergio Flores for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

We just had a shooting two weeks ago here in Jacksonville and kids were shooting at one another, but because they were the same race, nobody’s talking about that,” Michael added. “But nevertheless, we have families who are grieving from that, and we still have to heal from that. You know why we aren’t talking about that? Because that is not their narrative. It’s not something for them to spin.”

North Carolina State Rep. Kenneth Fontenot, a Black Republican who represents an area of Wilson, North Carolina, that has two Democrats for every Republican, also spoke about a media double standard to Fox News Digital.

“You can have 100 African-American men, you can have dozens of children, women killed in a city like Chicago on Memorial Day weekend without hearing anything and then somehow Brandon Johnson or Lori Lightfoot don’t get any negative press over a city they can’t control,” Fontenot, originally from Chicago, said. 

“And yet you have somebody who, and it’s tragic, is in a conservative state and all of a sudden it’s the end of all the world. No, I call that bias. The reality is the only time the liberal media is really concerned with African-American murders is when it’s race related.”

Fontenot continued, “Can somebody please explain to me how we get all upset over a White supremacist who was killed in the process or whatever and then somehow when it comes to Black children being shot in the back seat of a car in the KFC line we don’t ever do any of this for that because it’s in a Democratic city like Atlanta.”

“That’s unjust.”

As for the vigil in Jacksonville, Florida, where DeSantis heard boos from the crowd, Michael expressed doubt they came from a genuine source. 

“I think that it was not organic,” Michael said. “I believe that it was done by a particular person or a person because I believe most of the people were glad that the governor was there.

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Jacksonville shooter points gun at Kia

A 21-year-old White man opened fire at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida, on Saturday, killing three people. (Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office)

“He didn’t have to come,” Michael said. “But he came himself because that’s the man he is.”

In a press release over the weekend, DeSantis announced an “immediate award of $1 million through the Volunteer Florida Foundation to bolster campus security at Edward Waters University”, an HBCU where the Jacksonville shooter is alleged to have first attempted to target, “in addition to an award of $100,000 to help the impacted families of this tragedy.”

“This shooting was a terrible tragedy, and it is reprehensible that The Associated Press has decided to collect and amplify false talking points as ‘reporting’ on this horrific event,” DeSantis press secretary Bryan Griffin told Fox News Digital. 

“Ron DeSantis has condemned these racially motivated murders repeatedly in the strongest language possible. He will not tolerate racial hatred or violence in Florida, and we reject [AP’s] politicization of this horrible event.”



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Push to block Trump from New Hampshire ballot received coldly by state GOP leaders


Despite being a vocal GOP critic of former President Donald Trump, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu – along with other state party officials – is staying away from a long-shot effort to keep Trump off the presidential ballot.

Bryant “Corky” Messner, an attorney and prominent Republican who won the 2020 Republican Senate nomination thanks in great part to Trump’s support, is mulling a lawsuit if Trump later this year files to put his name on the New Hampshire primary ballot

Messner is very publicly questioning the former president’s eligibility to run for the White House, and cites Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. That section disqualifies those who’ve taken an oath to support the Constitution from holding office again if they’ve “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the United States “or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”

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Sununu has repeatedly argued the former president – the current commanding front-runner for the Republican nomination – can’t win next year’s general election. The governor has teamed up with many of Trump’s rivals as they campaign in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP nominating calendar. Sununu has repeatedly said he’ll endorse a presidential candidate ahead of his state’s primary.

But he appears to be staying away from Messner’s efforts to boot Trump from the primary ballot.

SUNUNU ANNOUNCES DECISION ON 2024 GUBERNATORIAL RE-ELECTION

“The Governor first heard about this effort over the weekend. The Governor is not making any attempt or assisting any effort to keep anyone off the ballot. He has not spoken to and has nothing to do with Mr. Messner’s actions,” Sununu spokesman Ben Vihstadt told Fox News in a statement.

Vihstadt added that “providing he follows the same rules as all other candidates, the Governor doesn’t expect ballot access will be a problem for the former president.”

Chris Sununu says 'likeablity' is a key factor for the GOP presidential candidates at Wednesday's first debate

Republican Gov. Chris Sununu is interviewed by Fox News Digital, on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023, in Londonderry, New Hampshire. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

Ever since Trump launched his third straight White House bid last November, there’s been talk of invoking the 14th Amendment to keep him off the ballot. But with his recent indictments in federal court and in Georgia on charges he attempted to overturn the results of his 2020 election loss to President Biden, the push has gained momentum.

TRUMP’S POST-MUG SHOT FUNDRAISING HAUL

A legal advocacy group that had previously targeted Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and then-Rep. Madison Cawthorne of North Carolina over ballot qualifications this summer sent letters to elections officials in nine states asking them to keep Trump from the ballot.

Some legal scholars have advanced the argument. Among them are William Baude and Michael Stokes Paulsen of the conservative Federalist Society, who made their case in the Pennsylvania Law Review.

Former President Donald Trump

Former President Donald Trump delivers remarks at Windham High School in New Hampshire on Aug. 8, 2023. (Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

“This article presented a very, very, compelling analysis that in fact Donald Trump is disqualified from being on the ballot,” Messner told Fox News Digital.

He said the article motivated him to take action, adding “the Constitution needs an advocate in this situation so that’s why I decided to jump into the fray.”

“My position is that it’s in everybody’s interest – including Donald Trump’s interest – to get this thing into the court system as quickly as possible [to provide legal guidance] and hopefully in front of the Supreme Court on an expedited basis.”

Messner met last Friday with New Hampshire Secretary of State Dave Scanlan, who oversees elections in the Granite State.

Scanlan is seeking legal input from the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office.

“The Attorney General’s Office is now carefully reviewing the legal issues involved,” read a joint statement on Tuesday from state Attorney General John Formella and Scanlan.

The statement also spotlighted “misinformation asserting or implying that the Secretary of State’s Office has already taken a position on or is seeking to take certain action with respect to Donald Trump’s candidacy.”

NH presidential primary sign

New Hampshire has held the first-in-the-nation presidential primary for a century. A sign outside the state Capitol in Concord marks the state’s treasured primary status. (Fox News )

Scanlan and Formella issued their statement as the Secretary of State’s Office was flooded with calls after Charlie Kirk – a Trump ally and conservative talk show host who runs the right-wing nonprofit Turning Point USA – incorrectly told listeners that New Hampshire was trying to keep Trump off the ballot.

“Neither the Secretary of State’s Office nor the Attorney General’s Office has taken any position regarding the potential applicability of Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution to the upcoming presidential election cycle,” the statement said.

Messner’s move is getting pushback from the New Hampshire GOP.

State party Chairman Chris Ager told Fox News that “Corky is a friend and I respect his opinions and judgment, but I totally disagree with him on this issue.” 

“I have communicated with Secy. Scanlan and I’m confident that all the current people listed as presidential candidates – I’m very confident that all of them, should they apply – would be on our ballot,” Ager added.

Ager said that “we will stay in contact with the secretary and if there is a lawsuit, I would expect that the party would do whatever it had to do to intervene on the side of allowing candidates to be on the ballot and not denying anyone.”

Asked about the effort in New Hampshire and in other states to keep the former president off the ballot, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung argued in a statement that “the people who are pushing this political attack on President Trump are stretching the law beyond recognition much like the political prosecutors in New York, Georgia, and DC. There is no legal basis for this effort except in the minds of those who are pushing it.”

But some of Trump’s rivals for the nomination disagree.

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Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson spotlighted at last week’s first GOP presidential nomination debate that “over a year ago, I said that Donald Trump was morally disqualified from being president again as a result of what happened on Jan. 6. More people are understanding the importance of that, including conservative legal scholars,” 

“I’m not going to support somebody who’s been convicted of a serious felony, or who is disqualified under our Constitution,” Hutchinson added, as he received both boos and cheers from the audience at the debate, a Fox News-hosted showdown in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.



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Biden’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal haunts 2024 election as book claims ‘13 Americans never had to die’


President Biden’s chaotic military withdrawal from Afghanistan two years ago, which led to the death of 13 U.S. service members, marked a political turning point in the presidency that could haunt Biden’s re-election chances in 2024.

Wednesday marks two years since the U.S. military’s hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan as the Taliban took control the country in a matter of days.

Biden on Saturday honored the service members who were killed during the terrorist bombing at the Kabul airport on Aug. 26, 2021, saying they were killed “while performing a noble mission on behalf of our nation.” 

“We grieve with them, we honor them, and we will always continue to support them,” he said.

BIDEN’S TREATMENT OF GOLD STAR FAMILIES UNDER RENEWED SCRUTINY: ‘TOTAL DISREGARD’

Biden Afghanistan

President Biden rests his heads in his hands in a moment of frustration during a contentious back and forth with Fox News’ Peter Doocy during a press conference following a terrorist attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, that left 13 service members dead on Aug. 26, 2021. (Getty Images)

However, a new book titled, “Kabul: The Untold Story of Biden’s Fiasco and the American Warriors Who Fought to the End,” argues that the attack outside Abbey Gate at Hamid Karzai International Airport would have never occurred if the Taliban had been prevented from taking over Bagram Air Base, where the bomber, Abdul Rahman al-Logari, had been imprisoned.

“The Taliban freed Logari when it overran Bagram shortly after President Joe Biden abandoned the base despite vocal objections from military commanders,” the book’s authors, James Hasson and Jerry Dunleavy, wrote in an opinion piece for Fox News Digital on Saturday. “If Biden hadn’t rejected military leaders’ advice, Logari would still have been behind bars on August 26, instead of outside Abbey Gate.”

Meanwhile, the Gold Star families of those killed in the Kabul attack who have been fiercely critical of Biden convened again in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday for a roundtable discussion with the House Foreign Affairs Committee called, “Examining the Abbey Gate Terrorist Attack.”

The families attended a congressional forum with the House Foreign Affairs Committee earlier this month when they reported feeling misled and betrayed by their own government and called on Biden administration officials to resign.

“We’ve been lied to about what happened that day as well as to what happened to our children,” Greg Page, father of Marine Corps Corporal Daegan Page, said during Tuesday’s roundtable. “We’ve been lied to about our relationship with The Taliban, who, by the way, have done more to take out the leaders of this attack than our own leadership has.”

The Department of Defense released a statement Tuesday offering condolences to the families but pushed back on claims the attack could have been prevented.

“U.S. military commanders on the ground in Afghanistan made the best decisions and provided their best military advice based off what was known at the time and leaders took appropriate action in response to reported threat streams,” the statement read, in part. “From the investigation at the tactical level, the Abbey Gate attack was not preventable without degrading the mission to maximize the number of evacuees, and the leaders on the ground followed the proper measures and procedures.”

President Biden received coffins of Marines who died in Afghanistan suicide attack

President Biden, first lady Jill Biden, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken look on as a carry team moves a transfer case with the remain of Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, 22, of Logansport, Indiana, during a casualty return at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021, for the 13 service members killed in the suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 26. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The U.S. Department of State released a damning formal evaluation of the United States’ chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in June, claiming that both former President Trump and President Biden had “insufficient senior-level consideration” of what could go wrong during a withdrawal.

“The decisions of both President Trump and President Biden to end the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan had serious consequences for the viability of the Afghan government and its security,” the report stated. “Those decisions are beyond the scope of this review, but the AAR team found that during both administrations there was insufficient senior-level consideration of worst-case scenarios and how quickly those might follow.”

The White House downplayed the report ahead of its release, placing the blame on Trump, despite Biden telling Americans after Afghanistan’s fall that “the buck stops with me.”

Biden continued to defend himself after the report came out, telling a reporter, “I said al Qaeda would not be there. I said we’d get help from the Taliban. What’s happening now? What’s going on? Read your press. I was right.”

TWO YEARS AFTER AFGHANISTAN AIRPORT ATTACK, 13 AMERICANS NEVER HAD TO DIE

Biden’s decision to pull troops from Afghanistan faced widespread global backlash after Taliban insurgents retook the country in a matter of days on Aug. 15, 2021, essentially winning the war 20 years after their ouster by U.S.-led forces. Just a month earlier, Biden told Americans that the likelihood of a Taliban takeover was “highly unlikely.”

On Aug. 18, 2021, three days after the Taliban seized the capital of Kabul and forced the U.S. Embassy there to evacuate, Biden told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that intelligence did not indicate the Afghan government would quickly collapse — despite reports stating that is exactly what the intelligence predicted. The president also falsely claimed that “no one’s being killed” in Afghanistan despite reports at that time of at least seven deaths amid the chaos at Kabul’s airport.

Then, on Aug. 26, 2021, during the U.S. military’s mass evacuation at the Kabul airport, suicide bombers killed 183 people, including 13 U.S. service members. The U.S. retaliated by launching two drone strikes against suspected ISIS-K terrorists, one of which ended up killing 10 Afghan civilians, including seven children.

The military evacuation, which required thousands of additional U.S. troops on the ground and significant cooperation from the Taliban to complete, ended a day ahead of deadline on Aug. 30, 2021, leaving behind hundreds of U.S. citizens and tens of thousands of Afghan allies, despite Biden’s promise days earlier to “get them all out.” 

Biden checks watch

President Biden looks down alongside first lady Jill Biden as they attend the dignified transfer of the remains of a fallen service member at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, Aug. 29, 2021. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

After the evacuation, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee there were only 100 Americans citizens left in Afghanistan who wanted to leave, but the State Department confirmed nearly a year later that more than 800 American citizens and at least 600 legal permanent residents of the U.S. had been evacuated since the withdrawal.

Critics immediately demanded that heads roll for the Afghanistan debacle, with calls for the firings of Blinken, national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, but Biden has declined to fire a single official over the pullout.

“We were told lies, given incomplete reports, incorrect reports, total disrespect,” Kelly Barnett, mother of Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover, said during the July hearing. “I was told to my face he died on impact. That’s not true. The only reason that I know this is because witnesses told me the truth. I was lied to and basically told to shut up.” 

Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui’s father, Steve Nikoui, accused Biden of using his Marine son “as a pawn so we can meet his Sept. 11th deadline and get the optics he wanted.”

BIDEN ADMIN ROILED BY CRISES ON AFGHANISTAN, BORDER, INFLATION, COVID – BUT HEADS YET TO ROLL

Biden campaigned in 2020 on his decades of foreign policy experience with promises to repair the U.S. standing on the world stage after four years of the Trump administration. However, his decision to act unilaterally in the Afghanistan withdrawal without first consulting his NATO allies also sparked widespread backlash abroad, including from top officials in the U.K., Germany, Italy and France, among others who called it a betrayal.

A protester with a sign reading "Stop Forgetting Afghanistan"

A protester with a sign reading “Stop Forgetting Afghanistan” demonstrates outside the Foreign Ministry against the Taliban two years since the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan on Aug. 15, 2023 in Berlin. (Aref Karimi/Getty Images)

Biden’s critics have compared the withdrawal to the fall of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War and have said Biden’s foreign policy blunders have given the green light to authoritarian leaders to act aggressively across the globe.

For instance, just two months after the Afghanistan withdrawal, Russian President Vladimir Putin renewed a major buildup of troops near the Ukrainian border in October 2021. Russia invaded Ukraine months later on Feb. 24, 2022, in a bloody and economically devastating war that continues today.

Before what turned out to be a watershed moment in his presidency, Biden was enjoying high approval ratings on issues ranging from the economy to his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Gallup, Biden’s approval rating peaked in April 2021, shortly after he took office, but it saw a dramatic 6-point drop in the weeks following the Afghanistan withdrawal and has been on a virtual plateau ever since.

Biden’s foreign policy blunders, starting with Afghanistan, have caught up with him in the polls. A Gallup poll released last week shows Biden with a 38% approval rating on foreign policy, with 59% disapproving.

Biden’s withdrawal could play a significant role in the 2024 presidential campaign, as Afghanistan descends further into totalitarianism and poverty under Taliban rule.

Women stand in a queue outside the passport office in Herat

A Taliban security personnel gestures as women stand in a queue outside the passport office in Herat on Aug. 26, 2023. (Photo by MOHSEN KARIMI/AFP via Getty Images)

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is running for the 2024 GOP nomination, said last week that Biden has weakened the U.S. “at home and abroad.”

“That disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan has emboldened the enemies of freedom,” Pence reportedly told CNN. “We have war raging in Eastern Europe, China continues to menace in the Asia Pacific and here at home.”

Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor who is also running for president as a Republican, said Tuesday that the world is “less safe” than it was two years ago.

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“Two years after the fall of Kabul and Joe Biden’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, the world is less safe, our enemies are emboldened, and our allies are questioning America’s commitments,” a statement from Haley’s presidential campaign said.

“Two years ago, the world watched in horror as Joe Biden withdrew from Afghanistan in a way that betrayed our allies and emboldened our enemies,” added Haley. “Disaster followed. Thirteen American service members were killed, China grew increasingly aggressive toward Taiwan, Russia invaded Ukraine, and terrorists took over Afghanistan with the help of American equipment and supplies.”

The Biden campaign and White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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