Dunleavy, Murkowski, Peltola win races in Alaska

Alaskan Governor Mike Dunleavy joins other Alaskan Republicans at a Get Out The Vote event hosted by the Alaska Republican Party on November 06, 2022 in Anchorage, Alaska. The event, which was held at a local Baptist church, was also attended by candidates Nick Begich, Kelly Tshibaka and Sarah Palin. Early and absentee voting has begun in Alaska for the decisive midterm elections at churches, community centers, town halls and other locations until Election Day on November 8th. In one of the most closely watched contests in the state, Democrat Mary Peltola, the first Native Alaskan to be elected to the House of Representatives, is running against three candidates including Palin for Alaska's at large congressional district general election. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Alaskan Governor Mike Dunleavy joins other Alaskan Republicans at a Get Out The Vote event hosted by the Alaska Republican Party on November 06, 2022 in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 8:54 AM PT – Thursday, November 24, 2022

After more than two weeks, Alaska’s midterm election results are in.

The process of counting the ranked-choice ballots came to an end on Wednesday night.

Republican Mike Dunleavy became the first governor in the state to win re-election since 1998, winning more than 50% of the vote.

Lisa Murkowski was also able to hold on to her seat in the Senate. She won with just over 53%.

Democrat Mary Peltola raked in nearly 55% of the vote, becoming the first native to serve in Congress and the first woman to hold Alaska’s House seat.

“Partisanship is a challenge,” Peltola said. “One of the things I’ve noticed in the few committee hearings I’ve participated in, I go, and I expect to hear about the topic at hand, the legislation at hand, ah, people flying into D.C., and unfortunately, very often the conversation gets derailed and circled back to things like January 6th. And a lot of partisan bickering. And it’s tough to sit through that, but I think that is what the atmosphere as you see is like right now.”

While Dunleavy won his election outright, Peltola and Murkowski won after the second and third pick votes were counted.

Original Article Oann

Musk Granting ‘Amnesty’ to Suspended Twitter Accounts

Musk Granting 'Amnesty' to Suspended Twitter Accounts Musk Granting 'Amnesty' to Suspended Twitter Accounts (Dreamstime)

Thursday, 24 November 2022 03:32 PM EST

New Twitter owner Elon Musk said Thursday that he is granting "amnesty” for suspended accounts.

Online safety experts predict the move will spur a rise in harassment, hate speech and misinformation. Advocates have long argued that the account suspension was bad for free speech, and that it particularly targeted voices on the political right.

The billionaire's announcement came after he asked in a poll posted to his timeline to vote on reinstatements for accounts that have not “broken the law or engaged in egregious spam.” The yes vote was 72%.

“The people have spoken. Amnesty begins next week. Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” Musk tweeted using a Latin phrase meaning “the voice of the people, the voice of God.”

Musk used the same Latin phrase after posting a similar poll last last weekend before reinstating the account of former President Donald Trump, which Twitter had banned amid allegations he'd encouraged the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Trump has said he won’t return to Twitter but has not deleted his account.

Such online polls are anything but scientific and can easily be influenced by bots, critics note.

Original Article

Musk Granting ‘Amnesty’ to Suspended Twitter Accounts

Musk Granting 'Amnesty' to Suspended Twitter Accounts Twitter logo on a keyboard (Dreamstime)

Thursday, 24 November 2022 04:54 PM EST

Elon Musk said Thursday many previously suspended Twitter accounts would be allowed back on the platform after a landslide of users responding to an informal poll by the new owner voted in favor of the move.

The announcement comes as Musk battles critics' claims that his criteria for content moderation is subject to his personal whim, with reinstatements decided for certain accounts and not others.

"The people have spoken. Amnesty begins next week," Musk tweeted, responding to the poll.

"Vox Populi, Vox Dei," he added, repeating a Latin adage meaning "The voice of the people is the voice of God," that he has used when talking about other Twitter polls.

Of 3.16 million respondents to Musk's Wednesday poll question, 72.4 percent said Twitter should allow suspended accounts back on Twitter as long as they have not broken laws or engaged in "egregious spam," Musk posted.

It was the same type of "yes/no" informal poll of Twitter users that Musk devised to decide in favor of reinstating former President Donald Trump on the platform.

Trump's Twitter account was reinstated Saturday after a narrow majority of respondents supported the move.

Polls on Twitter are open to all users and are unscientific and potentially targeted by fake accounts and bots.

Moreover, while Musk has 118 million followers, many of Twitter's 450 million monthly active users might never have seen the poll question.

Potential for backlash?

A blanket amnesty for suspended accounts could potentially alarm government authorities that are keeping a close look at Musk's handling of hateful speech since he bought the influential platform for $44 billion.

Some Musk critics fear the unfreezing of suspended accounts will result in a surge in hate speech, bullying and other offensive conduct on the platform.

But it has also become an oft-spoken refrain among conservatives that Big Tech policing of content has fallen disproportionately on the political right, in effect silencing right-leaning and Republican voices more than any other.

Over the summer by the Media Research Center (MRC) Free Speech America concluded that Big Tech has actively and heavily censored conservatives and free thinkers.

In September, a U.S. appeals court upheld a Texas law that bars large social media companies from banning or censoring users based on "viewpoint," a setback for technology industry groups that say the measure would turn platforms into bastions of dangerous content.

And some Republicans have accused Democrat President Joe Biden and others in his administration of active collusion with major social media platforms to crack down on dissenting viewpoints.

Musk's move is likely to be watched closely by other tech titans, such as Apple and Google, which have the power to ban Twitter from their mobile app stores over content concerns.

Trump was banned from the platform early last year for his role in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of his supporters seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

'No mercy'

Musk's reinstatement of Trump followed that of other banned accounts including a conservative parody site and a psychologist who had violated Twitter's rules on language identifying transgender people.

The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX has said that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones will not be returning to Twitter and will remain banned from the platform.

Musk on Sunday said he had "no mercy for anyone who would use the deaths of children for gain, politics or fame" due to his own experience with the death of his first child.

Jones has been ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in damages for his lies about the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that killed 26 people, mostly children.

Musk, who closed his buyout of Twitter in late October, did not make clear whether the bans to be lifted by the poll were permanent suspensions or temporary ones.

The future of content moderation on Twitter has become an urgent concern, with major advertisers keeping away from the site after a failed relaunch earlier this month saw a proliferation of fake accounts, causing embarrassment.

Meanwhile the teams in charge of keeping nefarious activity off the site have been gutted, victims of Musk-led layoffs that saw half of total employees leave the company.

John Wihbey, a media professor at Northeastern University, speculated that all the chaos might be because Musk is seeking to "buy himself time."

"Regulators are certainly going to come after him, both in Europe and maybe the United States… and therefore a lot of what he's doing is trying to frame those fights," Wihbey said.

Newsmax contributed to this report.

Original Article

Next Act for Palin Unclear After Alaska House Losses

Next Act for Palin Unclear After Alaska House Losses Next Act for Palin Unclear After Alaska House Losses Former Governor of Alaska and Republican candidate for Congress, Sarah Palin, speaks to the media as she campaigns with supporters on November 08, 2022 in Anchorage, Alaska. (Spencer Platt/Getty)

Associated Press Thursday, 24 November 2022 02:12 PM EST

Republican Sarah Palin re-emerged in Alaska politics over a decade after resigning as governor with hopes of winning the state’s U.S. House seat. She had a lot going for her: unbeatable name recognition, the backing of former President Donald Trump in a state he carried twice, an unrivaled ability to attract national media attention.

But she struggled to catch fire with voters, some of whom were put off by her 2009 resignation, and ran what critics saw as a lackluster campaign against a Republican endorsed by state party leaders and a breakout Democrat who pitched herself as a regular Alaskan and ran on a platform of "fish, family and freedom."

Palin lost two elections for the House seat Republican Don Young held for 49 years before his death in March — an August special ballot to determine who would serve the remainder of his term and the Nov. 8 general election for a full two-year term. Results of the Nov. 8 election were announced Wednesday. Both ranked-choice votes were won by Democrat Mary Peltola, who is Yup’ik and with her win in the special election became the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress.

Peltola, a former state lawmaker, avoided the sniping between Palin and Republican Nick Begich, who cast the former governor as a quitter and self-promoter. Palin suggested that Begich, who entered the race last fall, months before Palin, and is from a family of prominent Democrats, was a “plant” siphoning votes from her. The two nonetheless encouraged a “rank the red” strategy ahead of this month’s election in hopes of recapturing the seat for the GOP. The general election also included a Libertarian who lagged far behind.

Jim Lottsfeldt, a political consultant affiliated with a super PAC that supported Peltola, said the elections to many looked like "easy layups" for Republicans.

Palin, the 2008 Republican vice-presidential nominee, could have "run away" with them but didn’t seem focused, he said. He cited as missteps Palin's trips outside Alaska, including one to New York days before the general election, and "goofy" events at home, including one put on by a political action committee that was sparsely attended and featured a James Brown tribute performer.

With the losses, Lottsfeldt said, the one-time conservative sensation becomes "sort of old news."

Republican strategist Brad Todd said Palin "had a lot of the characteristics that President Trump had before President Trump came along. And now there are plenty of imitators of President Trump." He said that poses a challenge for someone like Palin, who has "a lot more company in her lane than she had 12, 14 years ago."

"One challenge, and President Trump will have this challenge as well, is if you're going to be the sort of like mercenary sent to fight big battles, you need to win," Todd said.

But he said the "anti-elite vernacular" common in the Republican party comes naturally to Palin, and two election losses won't "stop her from being a very powerful surrogate for some people if she wants to."

Palin has pledged support since the election for an effort aimed at repealing a system approved by Alaska voters in 2020 that replaced party primaries with open primaries and instituted ranked-choice voting in general elections. This year's elections were the first held under the system, which Palin began railing against before the first votes were cast.

Art Mathias, a leader of the repeal effort, said Palin has a "huge audience" and will be "invaluable" in efforts to advance it.

Palin told reporters on Election Day she wasn’t sure what she would be doing in two years if she lost but said "my heart is in service to Alaskans." She also said she wanted to talk with members of Congress about what she could do, even outside elected office, "to help ensure that Americans can trust what’s going on in government."

The comments were similar to those she made in 2009 when she resigned as governor. Palin attributed her decision to step down to public records requests and ethics complaints that she said had become distractions.

Palin, a former mayor of her hometown Wasilla, made a splash in conservative politics after bursting onto the national stage in 2008 with her folksy demeanor and zingy one-liners. She wrote books, hit the speaking circuit, appeared on reality television programs, spent time as a Fox News contributor and formed a political action committee that has since disbanded.

While she largely stayed out of Alaska politics after leaving the governor’s office, Palin was an early supporter of Trump’s 2016 run and made headlines this year with an unsuccessful lawsuit against The New York Times.

In a June interview she bristled at critics suggestions she had left Alaska behind, saying she lives in the state, has raised her kids here and is “so Alaskan” she had recently hit a moose while driving.

Palin has been making videos through Cameo, a site where people can pay for personalized messages from celebrities. Hers are advertised at $199.

Palin revived her 2008 mantra, "Drill, baby, drill," during the House race in calling for more oil production, and while she and Peltola were friendly, Palin argued the ranked voting system had "produced the travesty of sending a Democrat to Congress to represent Alaska, one of the reddest states in the country."

Andrew Halcro, a former Republican state lawmaker who ran for governor against Palin and was among the 48 candidates in the House special primary in June, said he doesn’t think Palin “really understood and recognized the high percentage of voters who just don’t like her.” Palin didn’t take steps to win them over or to attract Begich supporters, he added.

Begich was the second candidate eliminated in the general election after the Libertarian. When Begich's 64,392 votes were transferred in the ranked choice voting tabulation process, just over 43,000 went to Palin but about 21,500 of his voters didn't pick a second choice or gave their vote to Peltola, who defeated Palin with 55% of the vote.

But Halcro said he doesn’t see Palin disappearing from the stage.

"My question is, when have people like Palin or Trump ever walked away after they’ve lost? … They’ve just ratcheted up their rhetoric," he said.

.

Original Article

Liz Cheney’s Focus on Trump Now Angering Jan. 6 Dems

Liz Cheney's Focus on Trump Now Angering Jan. 6 Dems (Newsmax)

By Charlie McCarthy | Thursday, 24 November 2022 11:06 AM EST

Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., angered many Republicans by sitting on the House Jan. 6 select committee, and now has rankled the panel's Democrat members, The Washington Post reported.

Cheney, vice chair of the committee, has upset Democrats by pushing to focus the panel’s final report primarily on former president Donald Trump, The Post reported Wednesday.

Members also see Cheney trying to use the committee as the vehicle for her political future.

"We all came from prestigious jobs, dropping what we were doing because we were told this would be an important fact-finding investigation that would inform the public," one former committee staffer told newspaper.

"But when [the committee] became a Cheney 2024 campaign, many of us became discouraged."

The Post report did not go unnoticed by Trump.

" 'January 6 committee staffers are angry at Rep. Liz Chaney for focusing too much on Trump in final report.' This is the headline in The Washington Post, and those that know Chaney are not surprised because she is a complete PSYCHO, has no regard for the truth as to what really happened, and is angry that the people of the Great State of Wyoming put her out to pasture in a record setting defeat," Trump posted on Truth Social early Wednesday evening.

"She blames me for this, but she only has herself to blame. Pelosi loved watching “Liz” go BONKERS!"

Pelosi formed the Jan. 6 select committee – comprised of Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans Cheney and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill. – to investigate events surrounding the attack on the Capitol.

The panel's final report is expected before the GOP takes over control of the House in January.

Fifteen former and current Jan. 6 committee staffers told The Post they were concerned that important findings unrelated to Trump will not become available to the public.

The newspaper said several committee staff members "were floored earlier this month" when they were told that a draft report would focus almost entirely on Trump.

Among the information potentially omitted is material gathered by investigators digging into the law enforcement and intelligence community’s failure to assess the threat and adequately prepare for the attack on the Capitol.

Cheney spokesman Jeremy Adler issued a statement to The Post in response to the criticisms.

"Donald Trump is the first president in American history to attempt to overturn an election and prevent the peaceful transfer of power," Adler said. "So, damn right Liz is ‘prioritizing’ understanding what he did and how he did it and ensuring it never happens again.

"Some staff have submitted subpar material for the report that reflects long-held liberal biases about federal law enforcement, Republicans, and sociological issues outside the scope of the Select Committee’s work. She won’t sign onto any ‘narrative’ that suggests Republicans are inherently racist or smears men and women in law enforcement, or suggests every American who believes God has blessed America is a white supremacist."

Original Article

Sen. Cotton: Americans Should Be Thankful for ‘Special Mission’

Sen. Cotton: Americans Should Be Thankful for 'Special Mission' (Newsmax)

By Charlie McCarthy | Thursday, 24 November 2022 09:38 AM EST

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said Americans "have much to be grateful for," including a "special mission" bestowed upon them by God.

Cotton issued a statement Thursday that remembered the plight of the Pilgrims, and extending a happy Thanksgiving to all Americans.

"More than four centuries ago, our Pilgrim fathers joined with the Wampanoag tribe for the first Thanksgiving," Cotton tweeted Thursday morning. "The Pilgrims suffered many hardships and trials in the wilderness of the New World, but they bowed their heads and thanked God for giving them a special mission here on Earth.

"Today, the nation they helped to build stretches thousands of miles from Plymouth Rock to the shimmering shores of the Pacific. We have much to be grateful for as a nation. But most of all, we should be grateful that our special mission continues. From the Cotton family to yours, we wish you and your loved ones a happy Thanksgiving."

Cotton, in his second term as senator, said earlier this month he will not run for president in 2024, making him the first prominent Republican to step aside for President Donald Trump.

Sen. Cotton: Americans Should Be Thankful for ‘Special Mission’

Sen. Cotton: Americans Should Be Thankful for 'Special Mission' (Newsmax)

By Charlie McCarthy | Thursday, 24 November 2022 09:57 AM EST

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said Americans "have much to be grateful for," including a "special mission" bestowed upon them by God.

Cotton issued a statement Thursday that remembered the plight of the Pilgrims, and extending a happy Thanksgiving to all Americans.

"More than four centuries ago, our Pilgrim fathers joined with the Wampanoag tribe for the first Thanksgiving," Cotton tweeted Thursday morning. "The Pilgrims suffered many hardships and trials in the wilderness of the New World, but they bowed their heads and thanked God for giving them a special mission here on Earth.

"Today, the nation they helped to build stretches thousands of miles from Plymouth Rock to the shimmering shores of the Pacific. We have much to be grateful for as a nation. But most of all, we should be grateful that our special mission continues. From the Cotton family to yours, we wish you and your loved ones a happy Thanksgiving."

Cotton, in his second term as senator, said earlier this month he will not run for president in 2024, making him the first prominent Republican to step aside for President Donald Trump.

Musk: Hunter Biden Laptop Full Disclosure ‘Necessary’ for Twitter

Musk: Hunter Biden Laptop Full Disclosure 'Necessary' for Twitter (Newsmax)

By Charlie McCarthy | Thursday, 24 November 2022 08:01 AM EST

Billionaire Elon Musk agreed that Twitter should release all internal discussions concerning the censoring of the New York Post's story that exposed information on Hunter Biden's laptop before the 2020 presidential election.

Musk, whose purchase of Twitter was finalized last month, commented on a post that asked followers to "raise your hand if you think @ElonMusk should make public all internal discussions" surrounding the censorship of the Post’s coverage.

"This is necessary to restore public trust," Musk tweeted late Wednesday night.

The Post in October 2020 reported that a laptop of then-presidential candidate Joe Biden's son showed possible shady business dealings with China and Ukraine involving the then-vice president.

When the Post tweeted a link to the story, Twitter suspended its account, saying the story violated its rules against "hacked" materials. Facebook also limited sharing of the story.

The day after Twitter blocked the Post's stories, then-CEO Jack Dorsey posted that "straight blocking of URLs was wrong, and we updated our policy and enforcement to fix."

Still, the Post's account remained locked for weeks, with Twitter demanding the Hunter Biden laptop tweets be deleted.

Most of the mainstream media either refused to acknowledge the laptop story, or claimed it was Russian disinformation, well into this year.

Technometrica Institute of Policy and Politics (TIPP) survey results in August showed that 78% of Americans say former President Donald Trump would have won the 2020 presidential election if voters had known the truth about Hunter Biden's laptop.

A Rasmussen Reports poll in September showed that 63% of likely voters said the story is "important," including 44% saying the story is "very important."

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, wrote to Musk late last month and asked that he provide all company documents related to the social media company's suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story.

"We believe open communication and access to information is a fundamental principle for any free people, and the American people deserve to know the reason Twitter suppressed or censored the Biden laptop story shortly before the 2020 election," Comer wrote to Musk. "Committee Republicans are concerned Twitter inappropriately censored the Hunter Biden laptop story to influence the 2020 Presidential Election."

The Washington Post and The New York Times earlier this year confirmed the existence of Hunter Biden’s laptop.

CBS News confirmed the existence of the laptop earlier this week – two years after the Post’s story.

Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion to privatize the company and make it a more free speech platform.

Original Article

Musk: Hunter Biden Laptop Full Disclosure ‘Necessary’ for Twitter

Musk: Hunter Biden Laptop Full Disclosure 'Necessary' for Twitter (Newsmax)

By Charlie McCarthy | Thursday, 24 November 2022 08:29 AM EST

Billionaire Elon Musk agreed that Twitter should release all internal discussions concerning the censoring of the New York Post's story that exposed information on Hunter Biden's laptop before the 2020 presidential election.

Musk, whose purchase of Twitter was finalized last month, commented on a post that asked followers to "raise your hand if you think @Elonmusk should make public all internal discussions" surrounding the censorship of the Post's coverage.

"This is necessary to restore public trust," Musk tweeted late Wednesday night.

The Post in October 2020 reported that a laptop of then-presidential candidate Joe Biden's son showed possible shady business dealings with China and Ukraine involving the then-vice president.

When the Post tweeted a link to the story, Twitter suspended its account, saying the story violated its rules against "hacked" materials. Facebook also limited sharing of the story.

The day after Twitter blocked the Post's stories, then-CEO Jack Dorsey posted that "straight blocking of URLs was wrong, and we updated our policy and enforcement to fix."

Still, the Post's account remained locked for weeks, with Twitter demanding the Hunter Biden laptop tweets be deleted.

Most of the mainstream media either refused to acknowledge the laptop story, or claimed it was Russian disinformation, well into this year.

Technometrica Institute of Policy and Politics (TIPP) survey results in August showed that 78% of Americans say former President Donald Trump would have won the 2020 presidential election if voters had known the truth about Hunter Biden's laptop.

A Rasmussen Reports poll in September showed that 63% of likely voters said the story is "important," including 44% saying the story is "very important."

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, wrote to Musk late last month and asked that he provide all company documents related to the social media company's suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story.

"We believe open communication and access to information is a fundamental principle for any free people, and the American people deserve to know the reason Twitter suppressed or censored the Biden laptop story shortly before the 2020 election," Comer wrote to Musk. "Committee Republicans are concerned Twitter inappropriately censored the Hunter Biden laptop story to influence the 2020 Presidential Election."

The Washington Post and The New York Times earlier this year confirmed the existence of Hunter Biden's laptop.

CBS News confirmed the existence of the laptop earlier this week – two years after the Post's story.

Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion to privatize the company and make it a more free speech platform.

Original Article

Alina Habba to Newsmax: Trump Special Prosecutor Smith ‘Not a Good Actor’

Alina Habba to Newsmax: Trump Special Prosecutor Smith 'Not a Good Actor' (Newsmax/ "Prime News")

By Charles Kim | Thursday, 24 November 2022 06:33 AM EST

Former President Donald Trump’s attorney Alina Habba told Newsmax Wednesday that Jack Smith, the special prosecutor appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Trump, is nothing more than a “partisan” and “not a good actor” who will politicize the inquiry.

“All I can tell you is this guy is not a good actor,” Habba said during “Prime News” Wednesday. “He is not impartial, and it is a complete and utter politicization as we've always seen of the legal system.”

Garland appointed Smith, a veteran ethics and war crimes prosecutor, to investigate Trump’s involvement in the breach at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as well as allegations he illegally took classified documents to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, after leaving the White House.

“Based on recent developments, including the former president's announcement that he is a candidate for president in the next election, and the sitting president's stated intention to be a candidate as well, I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint a special counsel,” Garland said Nov. 18.

"Such an appointment underscores the department's commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters," Garland continued. "It also allows prosecutors and agents to continue their work expeditiously, and to make decisions indisputably guided only by the facts and the law."

Habba said that Smith, who is being championed by people on the left as being fair and ethical, not only donated to President Joe Biden’s campaign, but his wife was also involved in making a documentary with former First Lady Michelle Obama.

“They pick these people that are partisan. They are not bipartisan,” she said. “They should be. And of course, you have to remember one thing, legally, we cannot remove the special counsel. The attorney general has to remove the special counsel. Smith is under their purview. So, if you think Merrick Garland, who did the Mar-a-Lago raid, who approved the subpoenas, is going to now remove this gentleman, I highly doubt it.”

She added that Americans are getting “sick and tired” of the left continuously going after Trump while having to foot the bill for all the Democratic “investigations.”

“I really hope that the taxpayers themselves realize it,” she said. “So, if you're paying taxes every year, I want you to look at your quarterly tax bill. I want you to look at the price of your turkey. I want you to look at the price of your gas, and I want you to say to yourself ‘is my life better than it was two years ago?’ And what is this? You know what this is. This is all gamesmanship that has no business in this country. We're paying for it, and it shouldn't be.”

About NEWSMAX TV:

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Original Article

Alina Habba to Newsmax: Trump Special Prosecutor Smith ‘Not a Good Actor’

Alina Habba to Newsmax: Trump Special Prosecutor Smith 'Not a Good Actor' (Newsmax/ "Prime News")

By Charles Kim | Thursday, 24 November 2022 08:48 AM EST

Former President Donald Trump's attorney Alina Habba told Newsmax on Wednesday that Jack Smith, the special prosecutor appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Trump, is nothing more than a "partisan" and "not a good actor" who will politicize the inquiry.

"All I can tell you is this guy is not a good actor," Habba said during "Prime News" Wednesday. "He is not impartial, and it is a complete and utter politicization as we've always seen of the legal system."

Garland appointed Smith, a veteran ethics and war crimes prosecutor, to investigate Trump's involvement in the breach at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as well as allegations he illegally took classified documents to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, after leaving the White House.

"Based on recent developments, including the former president's announcement that he is a candidate for president in the next election, and the sitting president's stated intention to be a candidate as well, I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint a special counsel," Garland said Nov. 18.

"Such an appointment underscores the department's commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters," Garland continued. "It also allows prosecutors and agents to continue their work expeditiously, and to make decisions indisputably guided only by the facts and the law."

Habba said that Smith, who is being championed by people on the left as being fair and ethical, not only donated to President Joe Biden's campaign, but his wife was also involved in making a documentary with former First Lady Michelle Obama.

"They pick these people that are partisan. They are not bipartisan," she said. "They should be. And of course, you have to remember one thing, legally, we cannot remove the special counsel. The attorney general has to remove the special counsel. Smith is under their purview. So, if you think Merrick Garland, who did the Mar-a-Lago raid, who approved the subpoenas, is going to now remove this gentleman, I highly doubt it."

She added that Americans are getting "sick and tired" of the left continuously going after Trump while having to foot the bill for all the Democratic "investigations."

"I really hope that the taxpayers themselves realize it," she said. "So, if you're paying taxes every year, I want you to look at your quarterly tax bill. I want you to look at the price of your turkey. I want you to look at the price of your gas, and I want you to say to yourself 'is my life better than it was two years ago?' And what is this? You know what this is. This is all gamesmanship that has no business in this country. We're paying for it, and it shouldn't be."

About NEWSMAX TV:

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

Original Article

Dem Peltola Keeps House Seat, Topping Palin in Alaska Count

Dem Peltola Keeps House Seat, Topping Palin in Alaska Count Dem Peltola Keeps House Seat, Topping Palin in Alaska Count Peltola (AP)

Wednesday, 23 November 2022 09:16 PM EST

Rep. Mary Peltola of Alaska, a Democrat first elected in August, was reelected to a full two-year term on Wednesday, beating two Republicans, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and businessman Nick Begich.

Peltola came out on top after Alaska finished tabulating all ballots in a publicly broadcast session using its new "ranked choice" system, which allows voters to list candidates in order of preference.

In each round of counting, the candidate with the lowest share of votes is eliminated and the ballots which ranked them first are then redistributed. The candidate with a majority of votes after all ballots have been counted wins.

Peltola would have won even under the old system, as she had a significant plurality against Palin and Begich from the first count.

Palin, a former governor, is a polarizing figure within the party, as her vice presidential run in 2008 was a precursor to the U.S. Tea Party era of politics and helped pave the way for Donald Trump to win the White House.

After Peltola's win in a special election in August against the same two candidates, both Palin and Begich pressed each other to drop out and give the remaining Republican a better chance at beating the Democrat.

But each refused, insisting their strain of conservatism would be more popular with Alaskan voters. The state has one of the highest proportions of independent voters in the country.

Peltola, the first Alaska Native elected to Congress, was endorsed by the state's longtime U.S. senator, Lisa Murkowski, a moderate Republican, as well as the staff of Republican former U.S. Rep. Don Young, Peltola's predecessor.

Original Article

Dem Rep. Peltola Tops Palin in Alaska, House Now 220-213

Dem Rep. Peltola Tops Palin in Alaska, House Now 220-213 (Newsmax)

Thursday, 24 November 2022 06:42 AM EST

Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, first elected in August, was reelected to a full two-year term Wednesday, beating two Republicans, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and businessman Nick Begich, Newsmax can officially declare.

Peltola came out on top after Alaska finished tabulating all ballots in a publicly broadcast session using its new "ranked choice" system, which allows voters to list candidates in order of preference.

In each round of counting, the candidate with the lowest share of votes is eliminated and the ballots which ranked them first are then redistributed. The candidate with a majority of votes after all ballots have been counted wins.

Peltola would have won even under the old system, as she had a significant plurality against Palin and Begich from the first count.

Palin, a former governor, is a polarizing figure within the party, as her vice presidential run in 2008 was a precursor to the U.S. Tea Party era of politics and helped pave the way for Donald Trump to win the White House.

After Peltola's win in a special election in August against the same two candidates, both Palin and Begich pressed each other to drop out and give the remaining Republican a better chance at beating the Democrat.

But each refused, insisting their strain of conservatism would be more popular with Alaskan voters. The state has one of the highest proportions of independent voters in the country.

Peltola, the first Alaska Native elected to Congress, was endorsed by the state's longtime Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, as well as the staff of Republican former Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, Peltola's predecessor.

Original Article

Dem Rep. Peltola Tops Palin in Alaska, House Now 220-213

Dem Rep. Peltola Tops Palin in Alaska, House Now 220-213 (Newsmax)

Thursday, 24 November 2022 06:42 AM EST

Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, first elected in August, was reelected to a full two-year term Wednesday, beating two Republicans, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and businessman Nick Begich, Newsmax can officially declare.

Peltola came out on top after Alaska finished tabulating all ballots in a publicly broadcast session using its new "ranked choice" system, which allows voters to list candidates in order of preference.

In each round of counting, the candidate with the lowest share of votes is eliminated and the ballots which ranked them first are then redistributed. The candidate with a majority of votes after all ballots have been counted wins.

Peltola would have won even under the old system, as she had a significant plurality against Palin and Begich from the first count.

Palin, a former governor, is a polarizing figure within the party, as her vice presidential run in 2008 was a precursor to the U.S. Tea Party era of politics and helped pave the way for Donald Trump to win the White House.

After Peltola's win in a special election in August against the same two candidates, both Palin and Begich pressed each other to drop out and give the remaining Republican a better chance at beating the Democrat.

But each refused, insisting their strain of conservatism would be more popular with Alaskan voters. The state has one of the highest proportions of independent voters in the country.

Peltola, the first Alaska Native elected to Congress, was endorsed by the state's longtime Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, as well as the staff of Republican former Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, Peltola's predecessor.

Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski Wins Reelection to Senate

Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski Wins Reelection to Senate Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski Wins Reelection to Senate (AP)

Wednesday, 23 November 2022 09:08 PM EST

Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska has won reelection, defeating Kelly Tshibaka, a former Republican state official who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, a tabulation carried out by state officials showed on Wednesday.

Murkowski, 65, has represented Alaska in the Senate since 2002 and has built an independent profile as one of the chamber's few centrists. Her victory is another setback for Trump, who saw several of his preferred candidates defeated in the Nov. 8 midterm elections.

Murkowski defeated Tshibaka after Alaska finished tabulating all ballots in a publicly broadcast session using its new "ranked choice" system, which allows voters to list candidates in order of preference.

In each round of counting, the candidate with the lowest share of votes is eliminated and the ballots which ranked them first are then redistributed. The candidate with a majority of votes after all ballots have been counted wins.

She would have won even under the old system, as she had a slight edge on Tshibaka after the first round of counting.

Murkowski was the first Republican senator to call for Trump's resignation after his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to prevent Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden's 2020 election victory. She later voted to impeach him.

She won reelection as a write-in candidate in 2010 after her party nominated a more right-wing contender.

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Sen. Cruz Says GOP Should Pursue ‘Godfather’ Joe Biden, Not Hunter

Sen. Cruz Says GOP Should Pursue 'Godfather' Joe Biden, Not Hunter Sen. Cruz Says GOP Should Pursue 'Godfather' Joe Biden, Not Hunter Republican Senator from Texas Ted Cruz at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. (Michael Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

By Michael Katz | Wednesday, 23 November 2022 07:54 PM EST

Last week, House Republicans laid out their plans for the next Congress on how they will investigate whether President Joe Biden was compromised by his family's foreign business dealings.

They said they plan to subpoena Biden's son, Hunter, but not the president. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said it would be a mistake for his Republican colleagues to focus on Hunter alone instead of his father.

Cruz said on his podcast "Verdict with Ted Cruz" that Joe Biden is "the godfather" in Biden family business schemes, comparing the president to the head of a criminal organization.

"The focus needs to be on Joe Biden," Cruz said. "This is not about Hunter Biden any more than if you're going after the mafia and you catch some low-level enforcer or you're going after a drug cartel and you catch some mule who swallowed balloons full of heroin. It's not about some poor schlub who got caught.

"It's about the boss. It's about the big guy. It's about the godfather. Joe Biden is the godfather. He is the one who ultimately is profiting from this corruption. He is the one who is abusing official authority to further the criminal activity of his family members."

Cruz suggested the last thing the mainstream media, Democrats and a politicized Justice Department want is an investigation focusing on the president, who has denied any wrongdoing.

"The reason we should talk about it," Cruz said, "and the reason why the corporate media and the Democrats desperately don't want to talk about it is there is now growing evidence of corruption from Joe Biden himself, from when he was vice president of the United States and now when he's president of the United States, personally enriching himself, enriching his family by personally selling official favors to enemies , hostile foreign governments.

"That is an issue of highest importance. And the Democrats and the media desperately want to cover it up."

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Georgia GOP Gov. Kemp Makes TV Ad for Herschel Walker

Georgia GOP Gov. Kemp Makes TV Ad for Herschel Walker Georgia GOP Gov. Kemp Makes TV Ad for Herschel Walker Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

By Charles Kim | Wednesday, 23 November 2022 06:52 PM EST

Georgia's Republican Gov. Brian Kemp put his popularity following his easy reelection victory earlier this month behind GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker by making a television ad for his runoff election with Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock.

According to a report in The Hill Wednesday, the ad entitled "Partner" will start airing on Thanksgiving Day, and is part of a $14.2 million ad blitz by the Senate Leadership Fund, the super PAC run by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

"Herschel Walker will vote for Georgia, not be another rubber stamp for [President] Joe Biden," The Hill reported Kemp saying in the ad. "That's why I'm backing Herschel, and I hope you'll join me in voting for him too."

While Warnock slid by Walker in the general election Nov. 8, 49.4% to 48.5%, neither candidate received the required 50% of the vote to win the position, forcing a Dec. 6 runoff for the key Senate seat.

Kemp easily defeated Democrat Stacy Abrams in the gubernatorial race 53.4% to 45.9%, garnering around 300,000 more votes during the Nov. 8 polling, according to Politico.

He also won about 200,000 more votes than Walker did in his race, getting 2,110,328 votes compared to Walker's 1,907,272 votes, and the 1,943,737 won by Warnock, Politico reported.

Currently, Warnock is slightly leading Walker by four percentage points, 51% to 47% in the latest political polling, U.S. News and World Report said in a story published Tuesday.

According to the news outlet, the poll was conducted by Fabrizio and associates for the AARP.

The survey found Warnock leading among Blacks, young voters, and independents in the state over Walker, the former NFL star player and candidate endorsed by former President Donald Trump, the report said.

While Warnock is scheduled to have former Democratic President Barack Obama come to the state to campaign for him, it is not yet known if Trump will campaign for Walker before the runoff election, according to the report.

"Right now, Trump is running for president. I'm running for the Senate here in Georgia," the outlet reported Walker telling Fox Business. "This is not Trump's race. This is Herschel Walker's race."

According to the report, both parties are concerned about turnout in the runoff contest now that Democrats have retained control of the Senate, making the race almost a moot point as far as national politics goes.

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Sen. Grassley Presses Musk Over Twitter Security Concerns

Sen. Grassley Presses Musk Over Twitter Security Concerns (Newsmax)

By Jay Clemons | Wednesday, 23 November 2022 06:39 PM EST

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has reportedly asked Twitter owner and CEO Elon Musk to conduct a comprehensive review of the social platform's security practices in the wake of whistleblower allegations involving the company's data-protection protocols — predating Musk's arrival.

According to Bloomberg Government News, Grassley — the top-ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee — recently wrote that Musk is "uniquely positioned to provide answers to Congress" about the claims made by Peiter "Mudge" Zatko, Twitter's former head of security, before Musk's $44 purchase and subsequent takeover of the company.

From his written complaints and congressional testimony, Zatko alleged that Twitter suffered from years of lax security practices and unchecked violations regarding its agreement with the Federal Trade Commission.

Going further, Zatko alleges that Twitter didn't properly safeguard its user data from being exposed to foreign actors or agents — the same groups which could potentially launch cyber attacks against the social platform.

Also, Zatko claims that one foreign agent was on Twitter's payroll, prior to the Musk takeover.

"Twitter collects vast amounts of data on American citizens," said Grassley, a U.S. senator for more than 40 years. "Twitter has a responsibility to ensure that the data is protected and doesn't fall into the hands of foreign powers."

Back in September, after Zatko's whistleblower complaints garnered national attention, his claims were rebutted by then-CEO Parag Agrawal, who characterized Zatko as a disgruntled employee.

That prompted Grassley to reportedly send Agrawal a similar letter of informal inquiry.

However, Agrawal never responded to the Iowa senator, reports Bloomberg News.

Musk, the world's richest man, according to Forbes, has supervised a number of substantive changes to Twitter since taking over in October — an overhaul which includes massive layoffs and resignations, adding a number of premium services to Twitter's subscription program, selling blue-check confirmation status for $8 a month, restoring a large number of previously suspended accounts, and then, perhaps most famously, activating the once-banned Twitter account of former President Donald Trump.

According to Reuters, Musk has yet to publicly respond to Grassley's request, pertaining to Twitter's previous security practices.

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More Than 10K Migrants Nabbed Last Week at Texas Crossing

More Than 10K Migrants Nabbed Last Week at Texas Crossing More Than 10K Migrants Nabbed Last Week at Texas Crossing Members of a caravan of Central Americans walk from Mexico to the U.S. side of the border to ask authorities for asylum in Tijuana, Baja California Norte, Mexico. (David McNew/Getty Images)

By Michael Katz | Wednesday, 23 November 2022 06:05 PM EST

Since the midterm elections, Republicans have been focusing on the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Tuesday calling for the resignation of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

The concern was made clearer in a tweet posted Tuesday by Jason D. Owens, chief patrol agent for the border sector in Del Rio, Texas, which showed more than 10,000 migrants were apprehended last week, including six sex offenders.

In a video shared on the tweet, Mickey Donaldson, the patrol agent in charge at the Eagle Pass North Border Patrol Station in Del Rio, said last week the total apprehended was 10,343, including 21 large groups, the largest of which had 383 people. He added a total of 5,903 "gotaways," migrants who escaped capture.

"Del Rio agents were able to rescue eight individuals, and in coordination with our state and local law enforcement partners, 87 smuggling loads were intercepted, which resulted in 503 apprehensions and seven firearms seized," Donaldson said.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol statistics, there were 230,678 encounters along the U.S.-Mexico border in October, a 1.3% increase over September. And 19% of the individuals had at least one prior encounter with the border patrol in the past 12 months.

The crisis could worsen as the Biden administration seeks to rescind Title 42, a Trump-era public health order during the COVID-19 pandemic that allowed the rapid explusion of asylum seekers to Mexico or the country of their origin.

U.S. Senate-elect Markwayne Mull, R-Oklahoma, told Newsmax rescinding Title 42 will allow dangerous migrants to flood the border. Mullin said last month immigration officials caught nine men traveling alone and determined they were on the terrorist watch list.

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

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DOJ Seeking to Question Pence in Jan. 6 Investigation

DOJ Seeking to Question Pence in Jan. 6 Investigation

(Newsmax/"The Chris Salcedo Show"

By Brian Pfail | Wednesday, 23 November 2022 04:25 PM EST

The Justice Department is seeking to question former Vice President Mike Pence as a witness concerning the criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump's efforts to remain in power after losing the 2020 election, according to The New York Times.

According to people familiar with his thinking, Pence is open to considering the request.

Trump may invoke executive privilege to stop him or at least limit his testimony, which he has tried to do with other officials with limited success.

Pence is believed to have played a critical role as Trump and allies schemed to block the congressional certification of Joe Biden's victory. If Pence had any agreement, there might be legal and political consequences, especially since he is believed to be a 2024 Republican candidate.

Thomas Windom, one of the lead investigators, reached out to Pence's team in the weeks before Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to oversee the Jan. 6 investigation and a separate inquiry into Trump's handling of classified materials.

Pence has not yet been subpoenaed, which could take months because Trump can block or slow his testimony by trying to invoke executive privilege.

Trump has used executive privilege to stop two of Pence's top aides: his former chief of staff, Marc Short, and his general counsel, Greg Jacob. Both men eventually returned for grand jury interviews behind a closed-door court proceeding.

Pence has been publicly critical of Trump's conduct in the run-up to Jan. 6. In interviews for the release of his new book, "So Help Me God," Pence has asserted that "Congress has no right to my testimony" about what he witnessed.

"There's profound separation-of-powers issues," Pence told The New York Times in an interview. "And it would be a terrible precedent."

Pence's testimony could be compelled by subpoeana, but none has been issued.

The former vice president is represented by Emmet Flood, a veteran Washington-based attorney who served as the lead Trump White House lawyer dealing with the Robert Mueller investigation into the Trump-Russia collusion conspiracy in 2016.

As part of the Justice Department's inquiry, an increasing number of high-ranking officials in the Trump administration are finding themselves as witnesses to various congressional and Justice Department investigations.

Pence is considering running for president in 2024. Biden's Justice Department seeks to use Pence as a potential witness against Trump, which could put them against each other as rivals. Pence has already detailed in his book Trump's efforts to stay in power and the pressure the campaign imposed upon him at the beginning of December 2020.

He describes one interaction in which Trump brought him to the Oval Office on Jan. 4, 2021 to meet with attorney John Eastman, who repeatedly argued that Pence could exceed the ceremonial duties of overseeing the Electoral College certification by Congress. Eastman was promoting the idea that Pence had the power to set aside the result from states where Trump was still trying to challenge the outcome.

Pence wrote that he told Trump he didn't have the authority. He stressed it in an interview with The Times.

"In the weeks before Jan. 6, I repeatedly told the president that I did not have the authority to reject or return electoral votes," Mr. Pence said in the interview. "It was clear he was getting different legal advice from an outside group of lawyers that, frankly, should have never been let in the building."

Trump pressured Pence and officials in Georgia to go along with the effort. He used his Twitter account to draw attention as well.

Trump addressed the crowd at the Ellipse on Jan. 6 and again pressured Pence, who had called a few hours earlier to persuade him to block the certification. At the Ellipse, Trump said, "You're never going to take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong."

The former president said, "So I hope Mike has the courage to do what he has to do. And I hope he doesn't listen to the RINOs [Republicans in name only]."

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