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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Original Article

Judge: DACA Can Continue for Now, With Limits

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Original Article

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Original Article

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Original Article

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Report: Trump Says 2024 Announcement Coming Soon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Original Article

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Original Article

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Original Article

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Original Article

Trump slams J6 cmte following subpoena vote

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Original Article Oann

SCOTUS rejects Trump’s request to intervene in Special Master’s review

The U.S Supreme Court is seen, Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022 in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
The U.S Supreme Court is seen, Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022 in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 3:53 PM PT – Thursday, October 13, 2022

The Supreme Court has rejected 45th President Donald J. Trump’s emergency request to intervene in the Special Master review of documents taken from his Mar-a-Lago estate.

In an unsigned order on Thursday, the Justices declined to consider Trump’s bid to include 100 documents marked as classified in the Special Master’s review. The order did not incorporate any dissents.

A lower court had ruled that the documents in question were exempt from the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) review. The ruling allowed the DOJ to continue accessing the documents as part of their criminal investigation into Trump’s handling of government records.

The former president argued that an appeals court does not possess the jurisdiction to exceed its authority against him. Trump maintains the belief that he may possess the right to safeguard government documents, including the United States’ most sensitive secrets rights, because of his past role as president.

Special Master, Judge Raymond Dearie, is tasked with reviewing thousands of records taken from Trump’s Florida home. Dearie is deciding whether or not the government can use the documents in the DOJ’s case.

Original Article Oann

Alex Jones to Newsmax: If They Think I’m Paying $965M, ‘They’re Gravely Mistaken’

Alex Jones to Newsmax: If They Think I'm Paying $965M, 'They're Gravely Mistaken' alex jones

Alex Jones (Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images)

By Eric Mack | Thursday, 13 October 2022 09:25 PM EDT

InfoWars founder Alex Jones mocked the $965 million verdict against him, calling it a "total joke," a "railroad job," a blatant effort to silence and bankrupt him, and an affront to freedom of speech and opinion, adding to Newsmax that there is a 99% chance he can get it overturned on appeal.

"So, look, nobody's talking about the appeal," Jones, who was sued by Sandy Hook victims' families and an FBI agent, told Thursday's "Eric Bolling The Balance." "We are very, very sure — like 99% — that this is such a joke, this thing is such a fiasco, such a kangaroo court, such a railroad job that these will be overturned, both the Texas rulings and the Connecticut rulings, at the Supreme Court of Connecticut and Texas, if not the Supreme Court of the United States.

"But it doesn't matter at the end of the day. I don't have $10 million cash. I got a couple of houses, a couple million bucks in the bank. It's a total joke. And so if they think they're gonna get 900-plus million dollars, they're gravely mistaken."

Jones told host Eric Bolling in the exclusive interview after the ruling, the astronomical numbers in the ruling are "just not reality based" and ultimately will not be received by the plaintiffs.

"They put in attorney's fees for $400 million, as if that really cost him $400 million to persecute me in the last four years," Jones noted, breaking down total rulings being made against him for once questioning whether the deadly Sandy Hook shooting actually happened.

"So they're asking again for over a billion and a half dollars. They've had a jury, who was told I was already guilty, say that I owe $965 million. Well, guess what? You can't get blood out of a stone."

Jones told Bolling his opinion on Sandy Hook is not worth what the ruling claims, adding it originated in an effort by Democrats like Hillary Clinton to start the attacks on their political enemies.

"I didn't kill their kids," Jones said. "You know, it's like O. J Simpson was found civilly guilty of murdering two people. He paid $33.5 million. So I didn't murder anybody. I just question the public event. I didn't send people to harass anybody — hardly ever even talked about it. It wasn't an issue for the first five to six years when Hillary ran against [Donald] Trump. She ran against Trump on Sandy Hook and a little short clip she edited of me, and then the Democrats actually believed I was the Sandy Hook man.

"Four years ago, they filed this lawsuit. They got all the discovery, our bank records, our documents, our emails. They had no case, so they default to this; and they had this huge show trial and then gave 15 defendants tens of millions of dollars apiece. An FBI agent, never said his name, didn't even know who he was; and he sued me four years ago. He was given $90 million.

"Under Connecticut law and under Texas law, they also sued me. You can't sue somebody when we haven't said their name, but these judges don't care."

Jones also noted the lawyers for the plaintiffs clearly cared more about putting InfoWars out of business than getting the huge dollars they sought.

"This group came out and said at a press conference to my listeners: 'Don't buy his products, don't support him, because we're gonna shut him down,'" Jones added to Bolling. "See, they don't even want money for their plaintiffs. They want to shut us down.

"So I'm in Chapter 11, subchapter 5 bankruptcy, which is not a liquidation. It's reorganization. So as long as I want to work, basically for free, I mean, instead of making $2 million a year and a half million dollars here under it, I'm happy to do that.

"InfoWars will continue on because the bankruptcy is going to be successful, as long as listeners and people support us."

Jones also said "good luck" getting any money out of him.

"Under Texas law: can't get my house, can't get my car; I'm not into a bunch of stuff; I'm not into fancy garbage," Jones said. "I care about free speech.

"So, Mark Twain once said, 'Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.' And that is exactly what I'm saying here. And to quote John Paul Jones, the founder of the U.S. Navy, when his ship — one-third the size of the British ship — was sinking, they held across on their bullhorn and said, 'Are you ready to surrender?'

"He said, 'Surrender? I have only begun to fight.'"

Jones told Bolling the Sandy Hook issue was long apologized for, admitted it was not a hoax, and resurfaced only because Jones was a conservative and backing Trump.

"They targeted me because of Trump; they went after me over the Trump thing," Jones said, before concluding: "I didn't kill the children. Adam Lanza did."

About NEWSMAX TV:

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

Alex Jones to Newsmax: If They Think I’m Paying $965M, ‘They’re Gravely Mistaken’

Alex Jones to Newsmax: If They Think I'm Paying $965M, 'They're Gravely Mistaken'

(Newsmax/"Eric Bolling The Balance")

By Eric Mack | Thursday, 13 October 2022 10:28 PM EDT

InfoWars founder Alex Jones mocked the $965 million verdict against him, calling it a "total joke," a "railroad job," a blatant effort to silence and bankrupt him, and an affront to freedom of speech and opinion, adding to Newsmax that there is a 99% chance he can get it overturned on appeal.

"So, look, nobody's talking about the appeal," Jones, who was sued by Sandy Hook victims' families and an FBI agent, told Thursday's "Eric Bolling The Balance." "We are very, very sure — like 99% — that this is such a joke, this thing is such a fiasco, such a kangaroo court, such a railroad job that these will be overturned, both the Texas rulings and the Connecticut rulings, at the Supreme Court of Connecticut and Texas, if not the Supreme Court of the United States.

"But it doesn't matter at the end of the day. I don't have $10 million cash. I got a couple of houses, a couple million bucks in the bank. It's a total joke. And so if they think they're gonna get 900-plus million dollars, they're gravely mistaken."

Jones told host Eric Bolling in the exclusive interview after the ruling, the astronomical numbers in the ruling are "just not reality based" and ultimately will not be received by the plaintiffs.

"They put in attorneys' fees for $400 million, as if that really cost him $400 million to persecute me in the last four years," Jones noted, breaking down total rulings being made against him for once questioning whether the deadly Sandy Hook shooting actually happened.

"So they're asking again for over a billion and a half dollars. They've had a jury, who was told I was already guilty, say that I owe $965 million. Well, guess what? You can't get blood out of a stone."

Jones told Bolling his opinion on Sandy Hook is not worth what the ruling claims, adding it originated in an effort by Democrats like Hillary Clinton to start the attacks on their political enemies.

"I didn't kill their kids," Jones said. "You know, it's like O.J. Simpson was found civilly guilty of murdering two people. He paid $33.5 million. So I didn't murder anybody. I just question the public event. I didn't send people to harass anybody — hardly ever even talked about it.

"It wasn't an issue for the first five to six years when Hillary ran against [Donald] Trump. She ran against Trump on Sandy Hook and a little short clip she edited of me, and then the Democrats actually believed I was the Sandy Hook man.

"Four years ago, they filed this lawsuit. They got all the discovery, our bank records, our documents, our emails. They had no case, so they default to this; and they had this huge show trial and then gave 15 defendants tens of millions of dollars apiece. An FBI agent, never said his name, didn't even know who he was; and he sued me four years ago. He was given $90 million.

"Under Connecticut law and under Texas law, they also sued me. You can't sue somebody when we haven't said their name, but these judges don't care."

Jones also noted the lawyers for the plaintiffs clearly cared more about putting InfoWars out of business than getting the huge dollars they sought.

"This group came out and said at a press conference to my listeners: 'Don't buy his products, don't support him, because we're gonna shut him down,'" Jones added to Bolling. "See, they don't even want money for their plaintiffs. They want to shut us down.

"So I'm in Chapter 11, subchapter 5 bankruptcy, which is not a liquidation. It's a reorganization. So as long as I want to work, basically for free, I mean, instead of making $2 million a year, and a half million dollars a year under it, I'm happy to do that.

"InfoWars will continue on because the bankruptcy is going to be successful, as long as listeners and people support us."

Jones also said "good luck" getting any money out of him.

"Under Texas law: can't get my house, can't get my car; I'm not into a bunch of stuff; I'm not into fancy garbage," Jones said. "I care about free speech.

"So, Mark Twain once said, 'Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.' And that is exactly what I'm saying here. And to quote John Paul Jones, the founder of the U.S. Navy, when his ship — one-third the size of the British ship — was sinking, they yelled across on their bullhorn and said, 'Are you ready to surrender?'

"He said, 'Surrender? I have only begun to fight.'"

Jones told Bolling the Sandy Hook issue was long apologized for, admitted it was not a hoax, and resurfaced only because Jones was a conservative and backing Trump.

"They targeted me because of Trump; they went after me over the Trump thing," Jones said, before concluding: "I didn't kill the children. Adam Lanza did."

About NEWSMAX TV:

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

Original Article

Alex Jones to Newsmax: If They Think I’m Paying $965M, ‘They’re Gravely Mistaken’

Alex Jones to Newsmax: If They Think I'm Paying $965M, 'They're Gravely Mistaken' (Newsmax/"Eric Bolling The Balance")

By Eric Mack | Thursday, 13 October 2022 10:28 PM EDT

InfoWars founder Alex Jones mocked the $965 million verdict against him, calling it a "total joke," a "railroad job," a blatant effort to silence and bankrupt him, and an affront to freedom of speech and opinion, adding to Newsmax that there is a 99% chance he can get it overturned on appeal.

"So, look, nobody's talking about the appeal," Jones, who was sued by Sandy Hook victims' families and an FBI agent, told Thursday's "Eric Bolling The Balance." "We are very, very sure — like 99% — that this is such a joke, this thing is such a fiasco, such a kangaroo court, such a railroad job that these will be overturned, both the Texas rulings and the Connecticut rulings, at the Supreme Court of Connecticut and Texas, if not the Supreme Court of the United States.

"But it doesn't matter at the end of the day. I don't have $10 million cash. I got a couple of houses, a couple million bucks in the bank. It's a total joke. And so if they think they're gonna get 900-plus million dollars, they're gravely mistaken."

Jones told host Eric Bolling in the exclusive interview after the ruling, the astronomical numbers in the ruling are "just not reality based" and ultimately will not be received by the plaintiffs.

"They put in attorneys' fees for $400 million, as if that really cost him $400 million to persecute me in the last four years," Jones noted, breaking down total rulings being made against him for once questioning whether the deadly Sandy Hook shooting actually happened.

"So they're asking again for over a billion and a half dollars. They've had a jury, who was told I was already guilty, say that I owe $965 million. Well, guess what? You can't get blood out of a stone."

Jones told Bolling his opinion on Sandy Hook is not worth what the ruling claims, adding it originated in an effort by Democrats like Hillary Clinton to start the attacks on their political enemies.

"I didn't kill their kids," Jones said. "You know, it's like O.J. Simpson was found civilly guilty of murdering two people. He paid $33.5 million. So I didn't murder anybody. I just question the public event. I didn't send people to harass anybody — hardly ever even talked about it.

"It wasn't an issue for the first five to six years when Hillary ran against [Donald] Trump. She ran against Trump on Sandy Hook and a little short clip she edited of me, and then the Democrats actually believed I was the Sandy Hook man.

"Four years ago, they filed this lawsuit. They got all the discovery, our bank records, our documents, our emails. They had no case, so they default to this; and they had this huge show trial and then gave 15 defendants tens of millions of dollars apiece. An FBI agent, never said his name, didn't even know who he was; and he sued me four years ago. He was given $90 million.

"Under Connecticut law and under Texas law, they also sued me. You can't sue somebody when we haven't said their name, but these judges don't care."

Jones also noted the lawyers for the plaintiffs clearly cared more about putting InfoWars out of business than getting the huge dollars they sought.

"This group came out and said at a press conference to my listeners: 'Don't buy his products, don't support him, because we're gonna shut him down,'" Jones added to Bolling. "See, they don't even want money for their plaintiffs. They want to shut us down.

"So I'm in Chapter 11, subchapter 5 bankruptcy, which is not a liquidation. It's a reorganization. So as long as I want to work, basically for free, I mean, instead of making $2 million a year, and a half million dollars a year under it, I'm happy to do that.

"InfoWars will continue on because the bankruptcy is going to be successful, as long as listeners and people support us."

Jones also said "good luck" getting any money out of him.

"Under Texas law: can't get my house, can't get my car; I'm not into a bunch of stuff; I'm not into fancy garbage," Jones said. "I care about free speech.

"So, Mark Twain once said, 'Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.' And that is exactly what I'm saying here. And to quote John Paul Jones, the founder of the U.S. Navy, when his ship — one-third the size of the British ship — was sinking, they yelled across on their bullhorn and said, 'Are you ready to surrender?'

"He said, 'Surrender? I have only begun to fight.'"

Jones told Bolling the Sandy Hook issue was long apologized for, admitted it was not a hoax, and resurfaced only because Jones was a conservative and backing Trump.

"They targeted me because of Trump; they went after me over the Trump thing," Jones said, before concluding: "I didn't kill the children. Adam Lanza did."

About NEWSMAX TV:

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

Original Article

Alex Jones to Newsmax: If They Think I’m Paying $965M, ‘They’re Gravely Mistaken’

Alex Jones to Newsmax: If They Think I'm Paying $965M, 'They're Gravely Mistaken' (Newsmax/"Eric Bolling The Balance")

By Eric Mack | Thursday, 13 October 2022 10:28 PM EDT

InfoWars founder Alex Jones mocked the $965 million verdict against him, calling it a "total joke," a "railroad job," a blatant effort to silence and bankrupt him, and an affront to freedom of speech and opinion, adding to Newsmax that there is a 99% chance he can get it overturned on appeal.

"So, look, nobody's talking about the appeal," Jones, who was sued by Sandy Hook victims' families and an FBI agent, told Thursday's "Eric Bolling The Balance." "We are very, very sure — like 99% — that this is such a joke, this thing is such a fiasco, such a kangaroo court, such a railroad job that these will be overturned, both the Texas rulings and the Connecticut rulings, at the Supreme Court of Connecticut and Texas, if not the Supreme Court of the United States.

"But it doesn't matter at the end of the day. I don't have $10 million cash. I got a couple of houses, a couple million bucks in the bank. It's a total joke. And so if they think they're gonna get 900-plus million dollars, they're gravely mistaken."

Jones told host Eric Bolling in the exclusive interview after the ruling, the astronomical numbers in the ruling are "just not reality based" and ultimately will not be received by the plaintiffs.

"They put in attorneys' fees for $400 million, as if that really cost him $400 million to persecute me in the last four years," Jones noted, breaking down total rulings being made against him for once questioning whether the deadly Sandy Hook shooting actually happened.

"So they're asking again for over a billion and a half dollars. They've had a jury, who was told I was already guilty, say that I owe $965 million. Well, guess what? You can't get blood out of a stone."

Jones told Bolling his opinion on Sandy Hook is not worth what the ruling claims, adding it originated in an effort by Democrats like Hillary Clinton to start the attacks on their political enemies.

"I didn't kill their kids," Jones said. "You know, it's like O.J. Simpson was found civilly guilty of murdering two people. He paid $33.5 million. So I didn't murder anybody. I just question the public event. I didn't send people to harass anybody — hardly ever even talked about it.

"It wasn't an issue for the first five to six years when Hillary ran against [Donald] Trump. She ran against Trump on Sandy Hook and a little short clip she edited of me, and then the Democrats actually believed I was the Sandy Hook man.

"Four years ago, they filed this lawsuit. They got all the discovery, our bank records, our documents, our emails. They had no case, so they default to this; and they had this huge show trial and then gave 15 defendants tens of millions of dollars apiece. An FBI agent, never said his name, didn't even know who he was; and he sued me four years ago. He was given $90 million.

"Under Connecticut law and under Texas law, they also sued me. You can't sue somebody when we haven't said their name, but these judges don't care."

Jones also noted the lawyers for the plaintiffs clearly cared more about putting InfoWars out of business than getting the huge dollars they sought.

"This group came out and said at a press conference to my listeners: 'Don't buy his products, don't support him, because we're gonna shut him down,'" Jones added to Bolling. "See, they don't even want money for their plaintiffs. They want to shut us down.

"So I'm in Chapter 11, subchapter 5 bankruptcy, which is not a liquidation. It's a reorganization. So as long as I want to work, basically for free, I mean, instead of making $2 million a year, and a half million dollars a year under it, I'm happy to do that.

"InfoWars will continue on because the bankruptcy is going to be successful, as long as listeners and people support us."

Jones also said "good luck" getting any money out of him.

"Under Texas law: can't get my house, can't get my car; I'm not into a bunch of stuff; I'm not into fancy garbage," Jones said. "I care about free speech.

"So, Mark Twain once said, 'Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.' And that is exactly what I'm saying here. And to quote John Paul Jones, the founder of the U.S. Navy, when his ship — one-third the size of the British ship — was sinking, they yelled across on their bullhorn and said, 'Are you ready to surrender?'

"He said, 'Surrender? I have only begun to fight.'"

Jones told Bolling the Sandy Hook issue was long apologized for, admitted it was not a hoax, and resurfaced only because Jones was a conservative and backing Trump.

"They targeted me because of Trump; they went after me over the Trump thing," Jones said, before concluding: "I didn't kill the children. Adam Lanza did."

About NEWSMAX TV:

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

Michigan Governor Hopefuls Clash Over Abortion Rights

Michigan Governor Hopefuls Clash Over Abortion Rights Michigan Governor Hopefuls Clash Over Abortion Rights (Dreamstime)

JOEY CAPPELLETTI and SARA BURNETT Thursday, 13 October 2022 09:12 PM EDT

The candidates for governor of Michigan criticized each other's positions on abortion Thursday, with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer saying women's “fundamental rights" are at risk and GOP challenger Tudor Dixon calling the Democrat's support for abortion rights “extremely radical.”

Dixon is a former commentator for a conservative online program who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump. She has never held public office and is still working to introduce herself and her ideas to voters — some of whom she acknowledged were hearing from her directly for the first time during a debate Thursday night.

For months, Whitmer and fellow Democrats have been airing attack ads portraying the Republican as too extreme on the issue, noting Dixon’s opposition to the procedure even in cases of rape or incest. Those ads have largely gone unanswered as Dixon has struggled to raise money to compete with Whitmer’s multimillion-dollar campaign fund.

On Thursday, she said she is “pro-life with exceptions for the life of the mother" and criticized Whitmer for not supporting limits on abortion.

Whitmer said she will continue fighting for abortion rights. She noted that prior to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning the right to an abortion, she filed a lawsuit to block a dormant 1931 state ban on abortion from taking effect. When the Supreme Court ruled and ended the national right, Whitmer said, Dixon celebrated.

Abortion has been a particularly prominent issue in Michigan this year because voters in November also will decide whether to enshrine the right to the procedure in the state constitution.

Dixon, who has been endorsed by anti-abortion groups including Right to Life of Michigan, said that if elected governor, she will abide by the will of the voters on that ballot question.

“I will always respect the will of the voter,” she said, adding that she believes “in the right of the people to decide.”

Asked whether she will abide by the Nov. 8 vote on the ballot measure, Whitmer noted the court case she filed remains pending before Michigan courts, meaning the vote on the ballot measure may not be the final word.

She also scoffed at Dixon's statement about respecting the will of voters, saying “this is a candidate who still denies the outcome of the 2020 election.”

Dixon said during the Republican primary that she believed the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, whose loss to Joe Biden in Michigan by some 154,000 votes was confirmed through multiple investigations and lawsuits.

“People in this country are allowed to question elections, it doesn’t mean that you’re not going to accept the will of the people," Dixon said when asked following the debate about her previous comments on the 2020 election.

The outcome of the November race will be significant beyond Michigan, a presidential election battleground. The winner will be in office for the 2024 contest, and could influence voting laws and how the election is conducted.

Dixon also criticized Whitmer for her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying she was heavy handed in issuing lockdowns that hurt small businesses and the statewide economy and kept kids out of school. Whitmer shot back that Dixon promoted “conspiracy theories."

“Had she been governor during the pandemic, thousands more people would have died," Whitmer said.

“And what about our students, who she kept locked out of our schools and wouldn’t listen to parents when they begged her to let them play," Dixon said. “She wouldn’t even listen.”

The two candidates are scheduled to debate again on Oct. 25 at Oakland University in Rochester.

Original Article

NY Post: FBI targeted Trump, protected Biden family

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA - OCTOBER 11: Russian analyst Igor Danchenko (R) arrives at the Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse for his trial on October 11, 2022 in Alexandria, Virginia. Danchenko faces five counts of lying to the FBI over his sources as to claims made in the “Christopher Steele Dossier” as part of the investigation of Special Counsel John Durham into the origins of the FBI probe of alleged collusion between Russia and the 2016 Trump presidential campaign. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Russian analyst Igor Danchenko (R) arrives at the Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse for his trial on October 11, 2022 in Alexandria, Virginia. Danchenko faces five counts of lying to the FBI over his sources as to claims made in the “Christopher Steele Dossier” as part of the investigation of Special Counsel John Durham into the origins of the FBI probe of alleged collusion between Russia and the 2016 Trump presidential campaign. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 2:12 PM PT – Thursday, October 13, 2022

The New York Post has reported that the FBI has deliberately targeted 45th President Donald Trump while protecting Joe and Hunter Biden. This information comes amid a debate of political bias at the bureau.

The opinion article was released on Wednesday. The New York Post claimed that the FBI has framed Trump and has shielded Hunter Biden over the past few years.

The article said that the FBI employed Russian-born analyst, Igor Danchenko, to help manufacture the false Christopher Steele Dossier. The dossier sparked the crossfire hurricane investigation into false claims of Russia collusion. Meanwhile, the FBI claimed that Hunter Biden’s foreign dealings were Russian propaganda, yet the bureau refused to investigate it.

The report said that the ongoing Durham probe puts the entire FBI and its questionable methods on trial, which in turn may erode the bureau’s credibility.

Original Article Oann

House Republicans Denounce ‘Political Ploy’ of Trump Subpoena

House Republicans Denounce 'Political Ploy' of Trump Subpoena

(Newsmax/"Spicer & Co.")

By Eric Mack | Thursday, 13 October 2022 08:24 PM EDT

The Jan. 6 House select committee's unanimous vote to subpoena former President Donald Trump was blasted by House GOP members Thursday.

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

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

Trump's former White House doctor, Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, tweeted his rebuke.

"The January 6th Committee is out of control!" he wrote on Twitter. "Subpoenaing President Trump is a disgrace! They want to destroy Trump and every one of his supporters! They'll stop at nothing. We must beat them in November!!"

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., tweeted the committee was "illegitimate" and a "political hatchet committee."

"The illegitimate January 6 Committee's vote to subpoena President Trump is a political hatchet job read by a political hatchet committee," Biggs wrote on Twitter. "This committee is illegitimately formed, in violation of House rules, and is organized to search and destroy perceived political enemies."

Trump called out the timing of the subpoena, noting the "unselect committee" only subpoenaed him at the end because it was a "bust."

"Why didn't the Unselect Committee ask me to testify months ago?" Trump wrote in his rebuke on Truth Social. "Why did they wait until the very end, the final moments of their last meeting? Because the committee is a total 'bust' that has only served to further divide our country which, by the way, is doing very badly — a laughing stock all over the world?"

Save America PAC spokesman Taylor Budowich on Twitter accused panel members of "partisan theatrics" and said "Trump will not be intimidated by their meritless rhetoric or un-American actions."

Thursday's session was serving as a closing argument for Reps. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., who have essentially been shunned by Trump and their party and will not be returning in the new Congress. Cheney lost her primary election, and Kinzinger decided not to run.

Under committee rules, the Jan. 6 panel is to produce a report of its findings, likely in December. The committee will dissolve 30 days after publication of that report, and with the new Congress in January.

House Republicans are expected to drop the Jan. 6 probe and turn to other investigations if they win control after midterm elections, primarily focusing on President Joe Biden, his family and his administration.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Original Article

Trump Dossier Source Shocked Speculation Portrayed as Fact

Trump Dossier Source Shocked Speculation Portrayed as Fact Trump Dossier Source Shocked Speculation Portrayed as Fact Russian analyst Igor Danchenko walks to the Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse during a break in his trial on October 11, 2022 in Alexandria, Virginia. (Drew Angerer/Getty)

Associated Press Thursday, 13 October 2022 06:46 PM EDT

A Russian-born analyst who provided the bulk of the information for a flawed dossier about former President Donald Trump told an FBI agent he was shocked and dismayed that the speculative information he provided was portrayed as fact, an agent testified Thursday.

FBI agent Kevin Helson is the second bureau employee to testify at the trial of Igor Danchenko, who's accused of lying to the FBI about his own sources for the information he passed on to British spy Christopher Steele.

The “Steele dossier” contained numerous allegations about connections between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and the Kremlin, and also included allegations of salacious sexual activity that Trump supposedly engaged in at a Moscow hotel.

Prosecutors say Danchenko should have been more forthcoming about his own sources and that if he had done so, the FBI would not have treated the dossier as credulously as it did. As it turned out, the FBI used the allegations in the dossier to obtain a surveillance warrant against a Trump campaign staffer, Carter Page.

Helson, though, offered largely positive assessments of his interviews with Danchenko when he was cross-examined by Danchenko's attorneys. In that respect, Helson's testimony mirrored that of the first FBI witness, analyst Brian Auten, who contradicted the prosecution theory that Auten fabricated interactions with one of his supposed sub-sources, Sergei Millian.

Helson served as Danchenko's handler from 2017 through 2020, a time period in which Danchenko was a paid “confidential human source” for the FBI.

Helson said Danchenko was upfront from the start that the information he gave to Steele was mere rumor and speculation, and that he had no ability to corroborate it.

He also said Steele seemed to be telling the FBI in the months after the dossier was leaked and prompted a media frenzy that Danchenko's sourcing was more solid than Danchenko ever claimed it to be.

“Steele was really trying to prove it (the dossier), even during that time period, because he wanted it to be true. And that was putting pressure on Danchenko,” Helson said.

Danchenko is being prosecuted by Special Counsel John Durham, who was appointed by then-Attorney General William Barr to investigate any misconduct in the FBI’s investigation of the Trump campaign and its alleged ties to Russia. Danchenko is the third person to be prosecuted by Durham. It is the first of Durham’s cases that delves deeply into the origins of the dossier, which Trump derided as fake news and a political witch hunt.

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

In the Danchenko trial, prosecutors say he lied when he told the FBI he obtained some of his information during an anonymous phone call from a man he believed to be Millian, a former head of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce.

Prosecutors say Danchenko never spoke with Millian and that phone records show he never received an anonymous phone call at the time Danchenko claimed it occurred.

They also say Danchenko lied when he told the FBI he never “talked” with a man named Charles Dolan about the allegations contained in the dossier.

Defense lawyers say that Danchenko did receive a call, perhaps over an internet app, from someone he genuinely believed to be Millian, and that he was truthful when he said he never “talked” with Dolan about the information in the dossier because their relevant exchanges were over email.

Original Article