Trump Sues CNN Claiming Defamation Seeks $475 Million In Punitive Damages
Trump Sues CNN Claiming Defamation, Seeks $475 Million In Punitive Damages https://digitalalaskanews.com/trump-sues-cnn-claiming-defamation-seeks-475-million-in-punitive-damages/
Oct 3 (Reuters) – Former U.S. president Donald Trump sued CNN for defamation on Monday, seeking $475 million in punitive damages and claiming the network had carried out a “campaign of libel and slander” against him.
Trump claims in his lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that CNN had used its considerable influence as a leading news organization to defeat him politically.
CNN declined to comment on the case.
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Trump, a Republican, claims in the 29-page lawsuit that CNN had a long track record of criticizing him but had ramped up its attacks in recent months because the network feared that he would run again for president in 2024.
“As a part of its concerted effort to tilt the political balance to the left, CNN has tried to taint the Plaintiff with a series of ever-more scandalous, false, and defamatory labels of ‘racist,”http://www.reuters.com/”Russian lackey,”http://www.reuters.com/”insurrectionist,’ and ultimately ‘Hitler,”http://www.reuters.com/” the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit lists several instances in which CNN appeared to compare Trump to Hitler, including a January 2022 special report by host Fareed Zakaria that included footage of the German dictator.
Trump, who in 2020 lost a re-election bid to Democrat Joe Biden, has not said whether he would seek re-election.
In a statement, the former president said he would be filing lawsuits against other major media companies “in the coming weeks and months,” and that he could even take action against a congressional committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.
The lawsuit comes as the 76-year-old former president faces considerable legal woes, including a criminal investigation by the U.S. Justice Department for retaining government records at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after leaving office in January 2021.
Trump was sued last month by New York state Attorney General Leticia James, who has accused him of lying to banks and insurers over the value of his assets.
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Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Additional reporting by Kanishka Singh and Tim Ahmann; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Chris Reese
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Trump Lawyer Refused Trump Request In February To Say All Documents Returned
Trump Lawyer Refused Trump Request In February To Say All Documents Returned https://digitalalaskanews.com/trump-lawyer-refused-trump-request-in-february-to-say-all-documents-returned-2/
Former president Donald Trump asked one of his lawyers to tell the National Archives and Records Administration in early 2022 that Trump had returned all materials requested by the agency, but the lawyer declined because he was not sure the statement was true, according to people familiar with the matter.
As it turned out, thousands more government documents — including some highly classified secrets — remained at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and private club. The later discovery of those documents, through a May grand jury subpoena and the Aug. 8 FBI search of the Florida property, are at the heart of a criminal investigation into the potential mishandling of classified material and the possible hiding, tampering or destruction of government records.
Alex Cannon, an attorney for Trump, had facilitated the January transfer of 15 boxes of presidential records from Mar-a-Lago to the National Archives, after archives officials agitated for more than a year to get “all original presidential records” back, which they are required by law to do. Following months of stonewalling by Trump’s representatives, archives officials threatened to get the Justice Department or Congress involved.
Trump himself eventually packed the boxes that were returned in January, people familiar with the matter said. The former president seemed determined in February to declare that all material sought by the archives had been handed over, said the people, who like others interviewed for this article spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal conversations.
Around the same time The Washington Post reported that the archives had retrieved documents from Mar-a-Lago, the people said, Trump asked his team to release a statement he had dictated. The statement said Trump had returned “everything” the archives had requested. Trump asked Cannon to send a similar message to archives officials, the people said. In addition, the former president told his aides that the documents in the boxes were “newspaper clippings” and not relevant to the archives, two of these people said, and complained that the agency charged with tracking government records was being persnickety about securing the materials from his Florida club.
But Cannon, a former Trump Organization lawyer who worked for the campaign and for Trump after the presidency, told Trump he could not tell the archives all the requested material had been returned. He told others he was not sure if other documents were still at the club and would be uncomfortable making such a claim, the people familiar with the matter said. Other Trump advisers also encouraged Cannon not to make such a definitive statement, people familiar with the matter said.
The Feb. 7 statement Trump dictated was never released over concerns by some of his team that it was not accurate, people familiar with the matter said. A different statement issued three days later said Trump had given boxes of materials to the archives in a “friendly” manner. It did not say that all of the materials were handed over.
“The papers were given easily and without conflict and on a very friendly basis, which is different from the accounts being drawn up by the Fake News Media,” said the Feb. 10 statement, which came on the same day The Washington Post reported that classified material was found in the 15 boxes.
A Trump spokesman did not respond to specific questions for this article, instead issuing a statement that said the Justice Department “has no greater ally than the Bezos-subsidized Washington Post, which seems to only serve as the partisan microphone of leakers and liars buried deep within the bowels of America’s government. President Trump remains committed to defending the Constitution and the Office of the Presidency, ensuring the integrity of America for generations to come.” (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)
Cannon did not respond to a detailed email seeking comment about his interactions with Trump and the archives.
The question of whether Trump — or anyone else — knew that there was additional government material at Mar-a-Lago after the return of the 15 boxes has become a central issue in the Justice Department investigation.
Attempts to get Trump’s representatives to falsely state he had no presidential records in his possession could serve as evidence that he was intentionally and knowingly withholding documents. And if Trump continued to pressure aides to make false statements even after learning the Justice Department was involved in retrieving the documents, authorities could see those efforts as an attempt to obstruct their investigation.
Even as Trump was seeking to convey that he had complied fully with the request from the archives, Cannon appears to have been communicating a different message to officials at the agency.
On Feb. 8, according to people familiar with the matter, archives lawyer Gary Stern told colleagues at the agency that he had spoken with Cannon and that Cannon said he did not know if there were more relevant documents in Trump’s possession. Stern had been asking the Trump team to attest that all relevant documents had been returned, and privately feared they had not, these people said.
Months earlier, in late 2021, when the archives was seeking the return of specific presidential documents, Cannon had told Stern there could be more documents in Trump’s possession than what he was transmitting to the agency, but that he did not know one way or the other. Cannon also told Stern that he was not sure where all the documents were located, or what the documents were, according to people familiar with the conversations.
According to an account given to Stern’s colleagues, Stern also asked Trump lawyer Pat Philbin whether there were more documents, the people said. Philbin declined through a spokesman to comment for this article.
Cannon’s refusal to declare everything had been returned soured his relationship with Trump, people familiar with the matter said. Cannon, who had worked for the Trump Organization since 2015, was soon cut out of the documents-related discussions, some of the people said, as Trump relied on more pugilistic advisers.
A separate issue of concern to Cannon and others was whether any of the material in the returned boxes might be classified, people familiar with the matter said. Cannon did not have a security clearance and had not reviewed the boxes himself, one of the people said. He had told other aides not to review the boxes either, saying that doing so could get them in trouble, these people said.
A total of 184 classified documents were found in the returned boxes, officials have said.
Trump’s team later returned 38 additional classified documents to the Justice Department in June in response to the May 11 grand jury subpoena, which sought any documents still at Mar-a-Lago that bore classified markings.
In August, believing there was still more classified material at Mar-a-Lago, the Federal Bureau of Investigation obtained a warrant to search the property and confiscated more than 27 additional boxes of material. Agents retrieved 11 sets of classified material in their search — totaling about 100 documents. Some of them contained closely held secrets of the U.S. government, people familiar with the matter have said, including information about a foreign nation’s nuclear capabilities.
In responding to the May subpoena, other aides to Trump agreed to assert all documents being sought had been returned. Evan Corcoran, who replaced Cannon, told the Justice Department he was handing over all the relevant materials, people familiar with the matter have said. Christina Bobb, another Trump lawyer, signed a document saying she had been advised that Trump’s team had given over all relevant documents after a diligent search.
The National Archives preserves all presidential records under the Presidential Records Act, which states that “any records created or received by the President as part of his constitutional, statutory, or ceremonial duties are the property of the United States government and will be managed by NARA at the end of the administration.”
Rosalind S. Helderman and Carol D. Leonnig contributed to this report.
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Trump Lawyer Refused Trump Request In February To Say All Documents Returned
Trump Lawyer Refused Trump Request In February To Say All Documents Returned https://digitalalaskanews.com/trump-lawyer-refused-trump-request-in-february-to-say-all-documents-returned/
Former president Donald Trump asked one of his lawyers to tell the National Archives and Records Administration in early 2022 that Trump had returned all materials requested by the agency, but the lawyer declined because he was not sure the statement was true, according to people familiar with the matter.
As it turned out, thousands more government documents — including some highly classified secrets — remained at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and private club. The later discovery of those documents, through a May grand jury subpoena and the Aug. 8 FBI search of the Florida property, are at the heart of a criminal investigation into the potential mishandling of classified material and the possible hiding, tampering or destruction of government records.
Alex Cannon, an attorney for Trump, had facilitated the January transfer of 15 boxes of presidential records from Mar-a-Lago to the National Archives, after archives officials agitated for more than a year to get “all original presidential records” back, which they are required by law to do. Following months of stonewalling by Trump’s representatives, archives officials threatened to get the Justice Department or Congress involved.
Trump himself eventually packed the boxes that were returned in January, people familiar with the matter said. The former president seemed determined in February to declare that all material sought by the archives had been handed over, said the people, who like others interviewed for this article spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal conversations.
Around the same time The Washington Post reported that the archives had retrieved documents from Mar-a-Lago, the people said, Trump asked his team to release a statement he had dictated. The statement said Trump had returned “everything” the archives had requested. Trump asked Cannon to send a similar message to archives officials, the people said. In addition, the former president told his aides that the documents in the boxes were “newspaper clippings” and not relevant to the archives, two of these people said, and complained that the agency charged with tracking government records was being persnickety about securing the materials from his Florida club.
But Cannon, a former Trump Organization lawyer who worked for the campaign and for Trump after the presidency, told Trump he could not tell the archives all the requested material had been returned. He told others he was not sure if other documents were still at the club and would be uncomfortable making such a claim, the people familiar with the matter said. Other Trump advisers also encouraged Cannon not to make such a definitive statement, people familiar with the matter said.
The Feb. 7 statement Trump dictated was never released over concerns by some of his team that it was not accurate, people familiar with the matter said. A different statement issued three days later said Trump had given boxes of materials to the archives in a “friendly” manner. It did not say that all of the materials were handed over.
“The papers were given easily and without conflict and on a very friendly basis, which is different from the accounts being drawn up by the Fake News Media,” said the Feb. 10 statement, which came on the same day The Washington Post reported that classified material was found in the 15 boxes.
A Trump spokesman did not respond to specific questions for this article, instead issuing a statement that said the Justice Department “has no greater ally than the Bezos-subsidized Washington Post, which seems to only serve as the partisan microphone of leakers and liars buried deep within the bowels of America’s government. President Trump remains committed to defending the Constitution and the Office of the Presidency, ensuring the integrity of America for generations to come.” (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)
Cannon did not respond to a detailed email seeking comment about his interactions with Trump and the archives.
The question of whether Trump — or anyone else — knew that there was additional government material at Mar-a-Lago after the return of the 15 boxes has become a central issue in the Justice Department investigation.
Attempts to get Trump’s representatives to falsely state he had no presidential records in his possession could serve as evidence that he was intentionally and knowingly withholding documents. And if Trump continued to pressure aides to make false statements even after learning the Justice Department was involved in retrieving the documents, authorities could see those efforts as an attempt to obstruct their investigation.
Even as Trump was seeking to convey that he had complied fully with the request from the archives, Cannon appears to have been communicating a different message to officials at the agency.
On Feb. 8, according to people familiar with the matter, archives lawyer Gary Stern told colleagues at the agency that he had spoken with Cannon and that Cannon said he did not know if there were more relevant documents in Trump’s possession. Stern had been asking the Trump team to attest that all relevant documents had been returned, and privately feared they had not, these people said.
Months earlier, in late 2021, when the archives was seeking the return of specific presidential documents, Cannon had told Stern there could be more documents in Trump’s possession than what he was transmitting to the agency, but that he did not know one way or the other. Cannon also told Stern that he was not sure where all the documents were located, or what the documents were, according to people familiar with the conversations.
According to an account given to Stern’s colleagues, Stern also asked Trump lawyer Pat Philbin whether there were more documents, the people said. Philbin declined through a spokesman to comment for this article.
Cannon’s refusal to declare everything had been returned soured his relationship with Trump, people familiar with the matter said. Cannon, who had worked for the Trump Organization since 2015, was soon cut out of the documents-related discussions, some of the people said, as Trump relied on more pugilistic advisers.
A separate issue of concern to Cannon and others was whether any of the material in the returned boxes might be classified, people familiar with the matter said. Cannon did not have a security clearance and had not reviewed the boxes himself, one of the people said. He had told other aides not to review the boxes either, saying that doing so could get them in trouble, these people said.
A total of 184 classified documents were found in the returned boxes, officials have said.
Trump’s team later returned 38 additional classified documents to the Justice Department in June in response to the May 11 grand jury subpoena, which sought any documents still at Mar-a-Lago that bore classified markings.
In August, believing there was still more classified material at Mar-a-Lago, the Federal Bureau of Investigation obtained a warrant to search the property and confiscated more than 27 additional boxes of material. Agents retrieved 11 sets of classified material in their search — totaling about 100 documents. Some of them contained closely held secrets of the U.S. government, people familiar with the matter have said, including information about a foreign nation’s nuclear capabilities.
In responding to the May subpoena, other aides to Trump agreed to assert all documents being sought had been returned. Evan Corcoran, who replaced Cannon, told the Justice Department he was handing over all the relevant materials, people familiar with the matter have said. Christina Bobb, another Trump lawyer, signed a document saying she had been advised that Trump’s team had given over all relevant documents after a diligent search.
The National Archives preserves all presidential records under the Presidential Records Act, which states that “any records created or received by the President as part of his constitutional, statutory, or ceremonial duties are the property of the United States government and will be managed by NARA at the end of the administration.”
Rosalind S. Helderman and Carol D. Leonnig contributed to this report.
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Russian Journalist Who Protested Ukraine War On Air Escapes House Arrest
Russian Journalist Who Protested Ukraine War On Air Escapes House Arrest https://digitalalaskanews.com/russian-journalist-who-protested-ukraine-war-on-air-escapes-house-arrest/
RIGA, Latvia — Marina Ovsyannikova — the Russian journalist who made international headlines after protesting the war in Ukraine live on state television in March — has escaped house arrest and fled with her 11-year-old daughter, according to Russia’s Interior Ministry.
Ovsyannikova’s whereabouts are not known, nor is it clear exactly how she escaped her pretrial house arrest. The Interior Ministry put the 44-year-old on its wanted list Monday.
Ovsyannikova, a former senior editor at Channel One, the Russian state-controlled television channel, staged an astonishing protest live on air in March. She shouted, “No to war!” and held up a placard condemning the invasion of Ukraine and telling people not to believe government lies.
She has since been fined twice for the offense of discrediting Russia’s military and was placed under a two-month house arrest in August on charges of spreading fake news about the military, which carries a sentence of up to 10 years.
The latter related to a protest in July when she stood on the river embankment opposite the Kremlin in central Moscow and held up a poster calling the Russian president and his soldiers fascists.
“How many more children must die before you will stop?” the poster read.
Her ex-husband first reported her absence to authorities on Saturday, Russian media reported. Igor Ovsyannikov, in an interview with the pro-Kremlin RT network, said he did not know where his ex-wife was, but that his daughter did not have a passport.
Since April, Ovsyannikova and her husband have been in a custody battle over their two children. Their 17-year-old son has already declared that he wants to live with his father, Russian media reported.
“After my daughter went missing, I applied to the authorities, but I still haven’t received any official answers from them about the progress of the investigation,” Ovsyannikov said. “When I called my daughter, she was confused and answered my questions weirdly.”
Several other prominent figures, including activists Lucy Shtein and Maria Alyokhina of the band Pussy Riot, previously fled Russia despite restrictions on their movement.
Ovsyannikova’s escape is the latest embarrassment for Russia, which has faced stunning battlefield losses in Ukraine and rising criticism of the war at home, even among some key Kremlin supporters. At the same time, the Kremlin has cracked down on displays of dissent as it works to conscript thousands of new soldiers for the fighting in Ukraine.
Ovsyannikova did not respond to calls and text messages from The Washington Post on Sunday and Monday.
Born in Ukraine, Ovsyannikova had been a senior editor for Channel One. But when she went to the office the day after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, she said, she realized she could no longer work there.
“Unfortunately, I have been working at Channel One during recent years, working on Kremlin propaganda,” Ovsyannikova said in a video message she aired after the March protest. “And now I am very ashamed. I am ashamed that I’ve allowed the lies to be said on the TV screens. I am ashamed that I let the Russian people be zombified.”
“It is only in our power to stop this madness,” she said, alluding to the high price of dissent in Russia. “Take to the streets. Do not be afraid. They can’t jail us all.”
War in Ukraine: What you need to know
The latest: Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees Friday to annex four occupied regions of Ukraine, following staged referendums that were widely denounced as illegal. Follow our live updates here.
The response: The Biden administration on Friday announced a new round of sanctions on Russia, in response to the annexations, targeting government officials and family members, Russian and Belarusian military officials and defense procurement networks. President Volodymyr Zelensky also said Friday that Ukraine is applying for “accelerated ascension” into NATO, in an apparent answer to the annexations.
In Russia: Putin declared a military mobilization on Sept. 21 to call up as many as 300,000 reservists in a dramatic bid to reverse setbacks in his war on Ukraine. The announcement led to an exodus of more than 180,000 people, mostly men who were subject to service, and renewed protests and other acts of defiance against the war.
The fight: Ukraine mounted a successful counteroffensive that forced a major Russian retreat in the northeastern Kharkiv region in early September, as troops fled cities and villages they had occupied since the early days of the war and abandoned large amounts of military equipment.
Photos: Washington Post photographers have been on the ground from the beginning of the war — here’s some of their most powerful work.
How you can help: Here are ways those in the U.S. can support the Ukrainian people as well as what people around the world have been donating.
Read our full coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for updates and exclusive video.
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ROY Vs EAG Dream11 Prediction: Fantasy Cricket Tips Today's Playing XIs And Pitch Report For KCA President Cup T20 2022 Match 27
ROY Vs EAG Dream11 Prediction: Fantasy Cricket Tips, Today's Playing XIs And Pitch Report For KCA President Cup T20 2022, Match 27 https://digitalalaskanews.com/roy-vs-eag-dream11-prediction-fantasy-cricket-tips-todays-playing-xis-and-pitch-report-for-kca-president-cup-t20-2022-match-27/
KCA Royals (ROY) will take on KCA Eagles (EAG) in the 27th game of the KCA President Cup T20 on Tuesday at the Sanatana Dharma College Ground in Alappuzha. Ahead of the game, here’s everything you must know about the ROY vs EAG Dream11 prediction, including fantasy cricket tips, pitch report and playing XIs.
The Royals are among the weakest teams in the competitions, winning only three of their nine games. The Eagles, meanwhile, have won four of their eight games. The Royals will look to win this game, but the Eagles are a better team and expected to prevail.
ROY vs EAG Match Details
Match 27 of the KCA President Cup T20 will be played on October 4 at the Sanatana Dharma College Ground in Alappuzha at 9:00 am IST. The live score and commentary of the game can be followed in the Sportskeeda Live Score section.
Match: ROY vs EAG, Match 27
Date and Time: October 4, 2022; 9:00 am IST
Venue: Sanatana Dharma College Ground, Alappuzha
Pitch Report
The pitch at the Sanatana Dharma College Ground in Alappuzha is well-balanced and conducive to both batters and bowlers, especially spinners. Both teams will look to chase on winning the toss. The last game here was between KCA Tigers and KCA Panthers, where 171 runs were scored for the loss of 16 wickets in 34.5 overs.
ROY vs EAG Form Guide
ROY: W-L-L-W-L-L-NR-W-L
EAG: W-W-L-L-W-L-L-W
ROY vs EAG Probable Playing XIs
ROY
No major injury updates
Unnikrishnan Manukrishnan (c), Sachin Suresh (wk), Ameersha SN, Pallam Anfal, Anuraj Js, Aditya Mohan, Amal Ramesh, Vignesh Puthur, Mohit Shibu, Gokul Gopinath Akhil MS, Albin Alias
EAG
No major injury updates
Rahul P (wk), Rohan Nair, Arjun AK, Abhiram CH, Akhil KG, Adithya Vinod, Nipun Babu, Aswanth S Sanker, Krishna Prasad KM Asif, Athul Raveendran, Fazil Fanoos, Mhd Kaif, Sachin Baby (c), Vaishak Chandran, Rahul
ROY vs EAG Dream11 Match Top Picks
Wicketkeeper
Rahul P (8 matches, 195 runs)
Rahul has played exceptionally well in the last few games and is the best wicketkeeper pick. He could also earn additional points from catches and stumpings. S Sachin is another good pick.
Batters
S Baby (8 matches, 219 runs, 1 wicket)
S Baby and A Alias are the two best batter picks. Akhil KG is another good pick. He has performed well in the last few games.
All-rounders
A Raveendran (8 matches, 10 wickets)
A Raveendran and Akhil MS are the best all-rounder picks, as they bat in the top order and also complete their quota of overs. K Prasad is another good pick.
Bowlers
V Chandran (8 matches, 8 wickets)
The top bowler picks are K Asif and V Chandran. Both have bowled brilliantly in the last few games and are also expected to bowl at the death. U Manukrishnan is another good pick.
ROY vs EAG match captain and vice-captain choices
A Raveendran
Raveendran bats in the top order and also completes his quota of four overs, making him a safe options for captaincy. He has taken ten wickets in eight games.
V Chandran
As the pitch is decent, you could make Chandran the captain of the grand league teams. He has taken eight wickets in as many games. He looks in good touch and could take a few early wickets here.
Five Must-Picks for ROY vs EAG, Match 27
V Chandran
8 wickets
321 points
A Raveendran
10 wickets
360 points
Rahul P
195 runs
316 points
S Sachin
152 runs
307 points
S Baby
219 runs and 1 wicket
352 points
KCA Royals vs KCA Eagles Match Expert Tips
As the pitch is decent, it’s advisable to pick at least three all-rounders who bowl both at the death and bat in the middle or top order. Making them the captain or vice-captain could be another good way to gain maximum points and win grand leagues.
KCA Royals vs KCA Eagles Dream11 Prediction, Head-to-head
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Trump Sues CNN For Alleged Defamation https://digitalalaskanews.com/trump-sues-cnn-for-alleged-defamation/
Former President Trump sued CNN on Monday for alleged defamation and is seeking at least $475 million in damages.
Why it matters: Trump has had a contentious relationship with the press, especially CNN, during his time as a candidate and elected official and has bashed news organizations as “fake news” and “enemy of the people.”
What he’s saying: The complaint, which was filed in a U.S. District Court in Florida, claims CNN has tried to taint Trump using defamatory language as part of a “concerted effort to tilt the political balance to the Left.”
“CNN has tried to taint the Plaintiff with a series of ever-more scandalous, false, and defamatory labels of ‘racist,’ ‘Russian lackey,’ ‘insurrectionist,’ and ultimately ‘Hitler'” the complaint reads.
It alleged CNN has used language like “Trump’s big lie” — referring to his claims that the 2020 election was stolen — “with reckless disregard for their truth or falsity, thereby acting with actual malice,” citing the legal standard for libel cases in the U.S.
CNN did not immediately respond to a request for comment
The big picture: Defamation suits have become more common as high-power figures look to challenge the media’s first amendment power.
Trump himself is currently trying to delay proceedings in a defamation lawsuit filed against him by E. Jean Carroll, an author who has alleged he raped her in the mid-1990s.
Yes, but: A slew of recent precedents show how hard defamation can be to prove when it comes to media outlets in the U.S.
Former Republican Alaska Gov. and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin lost her defamation suit against The New York Times in February, after a court said she had failed to prove that the paper acted with “actual malice” toward her.
The Supreme Court earlier this year declined to revisit the decades-old defamation standard set in the landmark New York Times v. Sullivan.
Go deeper: Defamation trials amplify America’s war over free speech
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Key GOP Donor Backs Dem After House Republican Ousted Over Trump Impeachment
Key GOP Donor Backs Dem After House Republican Ousted Over Trump Impeachment https://digitalalaskanews.com/key-gop-donor-backs-dem-after-house-republican-ousted-over-trump-impeachment/
The southwestern Washington district, which Trump narrowly carried in 2020, has become a battle over party extremism. Kent is plagued by connections to white supremacists, while Gluesenkamp Perez is accused of supporting Antifa during the often-violent 2020 protests in Portland, Ore. Both campaigns told POLITICO they feel their candidate best represents the district’s moderate Republican voters, while slinging accusations of extremism at their opponent.
Nierenberg’s financial support indicates that, at least in part of Herrera Beutler’s old political circles, Gluesenkamp Perez’s message of moderation may be working better than Kent’s.
“Joe is smoothly articulate, likable, and yet the substantive positions which he espouses are so extreme,” Nierenberg said. “It can be beguiling to see one that handsome and that smooth, and hear that someone say Anthony Fauci should be fired and tried for murder.”
Nierenberg has been donating to candidates in both parties for more than 20 years, but he took on a more prominent Republican role as a campaign finance chair for his former boss, Mitt Romney, in the 2012 presidential campaign.
Since then, he has backed a who’s-who of centrists, including 2016 presidential candidate Jeb Bush, 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, independent Utah Senate candidate Evan McMullin and Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming.
Most of his big money donations in the last decade have gone to Republicans, but Nierenberg says he’s generally looking for candidates willing to work across the aisle — a breed of politician that voters are choosing in rapidly declining numbers.
“I feel that both the Republican and the Democratic Party are taking out the moderates within themselves,” Nierenberg said.
Gluesenkamp Perez said in a statement that as “growing support from independents and moderate Republicans demonstrates, my campaign is about putting aside partisanship to find common ground and build bridges.”
Kent’s campaign, however, paints Gluesenkamp Perez as a liberal “playing dress-up” as a moderate, pointing to her support for workplace vaccine requirements and gun control legislation.
“On issue after issue that voters actually care about, she’s an extremist Democrat on the left,” Kent campaign strategist Matt Braynard said.
While the 3rd District leans red, its voting record indicates an affinity for moderate candidates. In 2020, Herrera Beutler did at least 5 percentage points better than former President Donald Trump in every county including 6 points in Clark County, the district’s largest population bloc. Kent, as Trump’s endorsed primary challenger, gained a following through appearances on Fox News but has struggled to distance himself from associations with white supremacists such as youtuber Nick Fuentes and the leader of local Christian Nationalist group Patriot Prayer — something that has chased away GOP-leaning supporters like Nierenberg.
Only about 33 percent of primary voters chose a Democrat in the August open primary — which lets any voter cast a ballot for any candidate, regardless of party. Almost 65 percent of the Republican-leaning district, meanwhile, voted for GOP-aligned candidates, including 22 percent for Herrera Beutler.
It is her base that is seen as the deciding factor in the GOP-leaning general election. Nierenberg has a personal stake in the outcome of his home district. But as a long-time donor to moderate Republican candidates, he thinks the entire nation has a stake in the outcome.
“Middle class and lower middle class white people who feel that, in a variety of ways, they have lost ground over the last several decades — and who feel that they have been disrespected by elites,” Nierenberg said, “it would show that they do not necessarily need to swing all the way to the right yet.”
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Budd Beasley Deadlocked In US Senate Race As Economic Concerns Weigh NC Voters WRAL News Poll Sho
Budd, Beasley Deadlocked In US Senate Race As Economic Concerns Weigh NC Voters, WRAL News Poll Sho https://digitalalaskanews.com/budd-beasley-deadlocked-in-us-senate-race-as-economic-concerns-weigh-nc-voters-wral-news-poll-sho/
RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race is a statistical dead heat with the economy as the driving issue for voters in all parties, according to a WRAL News Poll released on Monday.
The online survey found 43% of likely voters favor Republican U.S. Rep. Ted Budd, while 42% prefer the Democrat, former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley. Thirteen percent of the 677 likely voters surveyed are undecided. Two percent plan to back Libertarian candidate Shannon Bray, and less than 1% support Green Party candidate Matthew Hoh.
The poll, which was conducted in partnership with SurveyUSA from Wednesday to Sunday, reported a credibility interval of 4.4 percentage points. A credibility interval is similar to a margin of error but takes into account more factors and is considered by some pollsters to be a more accurate measurement of statistical certainty.
The WRAL survey is the third public opinion poll released over the past week showing Beasley and Budd within a single percentage point of one another. Civitas, a conservative nonprofit organization, last week had Beasley ahead of Budd by 0.3 of a percentage point with 10% of respondents undecided. A Meredith College poll on Thursday reported Budd up by 0.3 of a percentage point with 12% of respondents undecided.
Political onlookers say the race will remain tight leading up to Election Day on Nov. 8, with the economy and concerns over abortion access having an outsize influence on the results.
“What we’re seeing here nationally as well as in the state is there are a lot of crosswinds,” said Doug Heye, a Republican strategist and former communications director for the Republican National Committee who worked on three successful North Carolina U.S. Senate campaigns.
Who has the edge?
Republicans, Democrats and unaffiliated voters overwhelmingly cited the economy as the top issue on their mind heading into the November election and abortion as a distant second.
Asked what issue is most important in determining whether they’d vote for Beasley or Budd, 44% of respondents listed the economy as the top issue, followed by abortion at 17%, health care at 9%, immigration at 8%, crime at 5%, guns at 5%, education at 3% and taxes at 3%. Five percent of respondents considered other issues more important.
Heye said Budd is in a more favorable position in part because the economy is showing few signs of the improvement voters are seeking. He cites higher costs of goods and services as a drag on Democrats politically. Despite plunging gas prices, U.S. inflation ticked up in August. Prices were up 8.3% year on year. He said Budd needs to largely speak to voters’ economic frustrations when he debates Beasley on Friday.
“The economy seems to be [returning] as a more important issue than it was just just a few weeks ago,” Heye said. “That should give Budd a slight upper hand here, but he’ll still have work to do and the debate will be important.
Brad Woodhouse, a North Carolina native and senior adviser to the Democratic National Committee, thinks Beasley has the edge to pull out a victory. He notes Beasley ran two previous successful statewide judicial campaigns and outperformed the presidential and U.S. Senate candidates on the ballot in 2020, when she narrowly lost her reelection bid for chief justice on the state Supreme Court.
Woodhouse views Budd’s refusal to certify the 2020 presidential election results and the subsequent endorsement Budd got from Trump as a political bonus for Beasley.
“The fact that this race is this close, I think speaks to what a talented candidate she is, what a campaign she’s running and how difficult it’s been for Budd to escape from his past support for election denialism and his support for Trump,” Woodhouse said.
Undecided and unaffiliated voters could very well determine whether Budd or Beasley wins, and the state of the economy by Election Day could be the ultimate decider.
“If there’s anything in the polling results that might say how undecided voters would go … it might be the economic issues, depending on how the economy goes in the next five weeks,” said David McLennan, a professor of political science at Meredith College. “We’ll get a jobs report, we’ll get some inflation numbers between now and Election Day. That could be ultimately the determining factor on those few voters that could make a difference.”
Distancing from Biden, Trump
National dynamics are very much at play in North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race. During the primary, former President Donald Trump’s endorsement played a critical part in Budd’s victory. Last month, the two campaigned together in Wilmington.
But linking oneself to Trump could prove harmful in a general election, the WRAL poll indicates. Forty-nine percent of registered unaffiliated voters said Trump’s support for Budd makes them less likely to vote for Budd, while 14% said Trump’s endorsement makes them more likely to vote for Budd.
Heye said the result shows North Carolina voters who may have supported Trump once or twice before have become exhausted by him. Because Budd heavily messaged the Trump endorsement in the primary, he now has to walk a tightrope of appealing to moderates without alienating hardline conservatives. He said he’d advise Budd not to have Trump return to the state.
“There’s a bit of a devil’s bargain that you make with Trump,” Heye said. “If he wants to come in for you, you say yes just to somewhat contain it. Because, if you say no, here comes the screed against you. So you have the event, and you move on.”
While Budd has embraced Trump’s support, Beasley hasn’t joined officials in President Joe Biden’s administration during recent visits to the state. Beasley didn’t attend events last month with Vice President Kamala Harris, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen or Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan. Beasley’s campaign has cited scheduling conflicts. In the case of the Harris visit, the campaign said: “Cheri is focused on her campaign to give North Carolinians a senator in Washington who will work for them.”
The WRAL News poll showed Biden remains deeply unpopular in North Carolina, though he is viewed more favorably than Trump.
In a potential 2024 matchup, Biden has a two-point edge on Trump among 918 registered voters surveyed. That’s within the credibility interval of 3.9 percentage points. While 43% of respondents approved of Biden’s job performance, 55% disapproved.
“The specific result of Biden beating Trump should probably send the signal to Republicans that if Joe Biden is at this stage leading Donald Trump in North Carolina, it may be [that] allegiance to Donald Trump isn’t the smartest thing in the world for Republicans,” Woodhouse said.
The poll results suggest that Beasley’s apparent distancing from Biden may frustrate some Democrats who are staunch Biden supporters, but it also could prove helpful to Beasley.
Two-thirds of respondents, including 62% and 70% of unaffiliated voters, say Beasley’s lack of campaigning with Biden or Harris doesn’t impact their vote.
If anything, voters appear to welcome it. One-quarter of registered Democrats and 21% of unaffiliated voters said the refusal to campaign with the president and vice president makes them more likely to vote for Beasley, while 13% of Democrats and 9% of unaffiliated voters said it makes them less likely to support her. The credibility interval for the question was 4.2 percentage points.
“You don’t want to offend Democrats that are strong supporters of the president or the vice president,” Woodhouse said. “As close as this race is, whatever Cheri Beasley is doing seems to be working. And in that regard, she should probably stick to it.”
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Prosecution Says Oath Keepers Concocted A Plan For Armed Rebellion
Prosecution Says Oath Keepers ‘Concocted A Plan For Armed Rebellion’ https://digitalalaskanews.com/prosecution-says-oath-keepers-concocted-a-plan-for-armed-rebellion/
Defense lawyers said the far-right militia had assembled ahead of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol to await what they hoped would be a decision by Donald Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act.
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Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers militia, is facing a charge of seditious conspiracy.Credit…Susan Walsh/Associated Press
Oct. 3, 2022Updated 5:06 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON — Two days after Election Day in 2020, Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers militia, sent an urgent, encrypted message to high-ranking members of his group, telling them to resist allowing Joseph R. Biden Jr. to enter the White House.
“We aren’t getting through this without a civil war,” he wrote.
Setting out their opening statement in the trial of Mr. Rhodes and four other members of the Oath Keepers on charges of seditious conspiracy, federal prosecutors said on Monday that the message was an early step in a broad effort to stop the transfer of presidential power and to use the might of the far-right militia to keep President Donald J. Trump in office.
Over the next two months, Mr. Rhodes riled up and recruited dozens of Oath Keepers to join his plot, prosecutors said, eventually deploying them in Washington and across the river in Virginia to disrupt a key moment of the democratic process: the certification of Mr. Biden’s victory at a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.
“Ever since our government transferred power from George Washington to John Adams in the year 1797, we have had a core custom of routine and peaceful transfer of power,” Jeffrey S. Nestler, a prosecutor, said in Federal District Court in Washington.
“These defendants tried to change that history,” Mr. Nestler went on. “They concocted a plan for an armed rebellion to shatter a bedrock of democracy.”
In his own opening statement, Phillip Linder, Mr. Rhodes’s lawyer, said that Mr. Rhodes and his subordinates had never planned an attack against the government on Jan. 6. Instead, Mr. Linder said, the Oath Keepers were waiting for Mr. Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act — a move, they claim, that would have given the group standing as a militia to employ force of arms in support of Mr. Trump.
Calling the Oath Keepers a “peacekeeping force,” Mr. Linder also argued that the group did not go to Washington on Jan. 6 to storm the Capitol but to provide security at political rallies for speakers and dignitaries, like Roger J. Stone Jr., Mr. Trump’s longtime political adviser.
“Even though it may look inflammatory,” Mr. Linder told the jury, “they did nothing illegal.”
Mr. Rhodes and his four followers are the first defendants in the sprawling investigation of the Capitol attack to face trial on charges of seditious conspiracy, a crime that traces back to the Union’s efforts to protect the federal government against secessionist rebels during the Civil War.
The proceeding, which is expected to last four to six weeks, will be both a primer on the inner workings of the Oath Keepers and a kind of test case for the sedition conspiracy charge. That is the most serious count the government has brought so far against any of the nearly 900 people charged in the Capitol assault.
During the trial, prosecutors intend to use Mr. Rhodes’s own words — in virtual meetings, letters to his members and encrypted text messages — to show how he fiercely opposed Mr. Biden’s victory in November and became increasingly convinced of the Oath Keepers’ role in keeping Mr. Trump in power.
The conspiracy, Mr. Nestler said, culminated on Jan. 6 when more than a dozen members of the Oath Keepers advanced in military-style “stacks” into the Capitol itself — with some moving off in search of Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Other members, Mr. Nestler added, were stationed as a “quick reaction force” at the Comfort Inn Hotel in Arlington, Va. — across the Potomac River from Washington — in case things went wrong.
Another key aspect of the trial will be the Oath Keepers’ relationship to Mr. Trump, a man they often supported as president despite their traditional antigovernment beliefs. The group, which was founded during the Obama administration to oppose what it saw as an overreaching government, mobilized to defend presidential power once Mr. Trump assumed office and embraced the deep-state conspiracy theories that marked his new administration.
Because of the nature of the Oath Keepers’ defense — and because of the government’s wealth of evidence — the trial is less likely to focus on disputes over what the group did in the days and weeks leading up to Jan. 6 and more likely to hinge on the question of why they did it.
How Times reporters cover politics. We rely on our journalists to be independent observers. So while Times staff members may vote, they are not allowed to endorse or campaign for candidates or political causes. This includes participating in marches or rallies in support of a movement or giving money to, or raising money for, any political candidate or election cause.
The government contends that Mr. Rhodes and his four co-defendants — Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins and Thomas Caldwell — willingly planned to use force against the government and carried out their attack even though Mr. Trump never did invoke the Insurrection Act.
The defense maintains that the Oath Keepers could not have seditiously sought to stop the transfer of power because they believed that the Insurrection Act would allow them to legally come to Mr. Trump’s aid. The group was primarily concerned with potential violence by counterprotesters and instituted the so-called quick reaction force to prevent attacks from leftist activists like antifa, David Fischer, Mr. Caldwell’s lawyer, told the jury.
“This is the biggest bait and switch in the history of the American justice system,” Mr. Caldwell said.
While the seditious conspiracy statute generally bars plots to overthrow the government, Mr. Rhodes and co-defendants have been accused of using force to block the execution of federal law — in this case, the 12th Amendment and the Electoral Count Act of 1887, both of which govern the transfer of presidential power.
The five defendants have also been charged with two other conspiracy counts. One accuses them of plotting to disrupt the election certification process on Jan. 6. The other charges them with plotting to prevent federal officers from discharging their duties that day.
Mr. Rhodes, a former Army paratrooper who wears a black eye patch — the result of a gun accident — is by far the best known member of the Oath Keepers. But during opening statements, some of his co-defendants’ lawyers sought to humanize their clients by telling the jury a little about them.
Mr. Fischer, for example, said that Mr. Caldwell was a former naval officer with lingering injuries from his military service. Ms. Watkins’s lawyer, Jonathan Crisp, explained that she was a former Army Ranger and transgender woman who had repeatedly struggled to fit in with the Oath Keepers. Lawyers for Mr. Meggs and Mr. Harrelson chose not to offer opening statements to the jury.
Much of the evidence the government plans to introduce has been disclosed over the past several months in court filings and hearings — including details such as a patch Mr. Meggs wore on Jan. 6 with a slogan: “I don’t believe in anything. I’m just here for the violence.”
Whatever new evidence emerges at the trial will likely come through the testimony of cooperating witnesses from inside the Oath Keepers, at least three of whom have already pleaded guilty to sedition charges. Mr. Rhodes is also expected to testify, Mr. Linder said.
One of the government’s witnesses was with Mr. Rhodes on Jan. 10, 2021. On that day, Mr. Nestler said, the Oath Keepers’ leaders met with an unnamed person, whom Mr. Rhodes asked to convey a message to Mr. Trump, explaining that the fight to keep the White House was not over.
The witness recorded the meeting and Mr. Rhodes could be heard complaining that the rioters at the Capitol did not have weapons.
“My only regret is that they should have brought rifles,” Mr. Rhodes said, adding, “We could have fixed it right there and then.”
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Live Updates: Russia's War In Ukraine https://digitalalaskanews.com/live-updates-russias-war-in-ukraine-6/
21 min ago
Russian forces pushed from Lyman are moving to Kreminna “to hold the line,” senior US military official
From CNN’s Michael Conte and Oren Liebermann
Russian forces driven from the strategic eastern Ukrainian city of Lyman in Donetsk region have moved back towards the town of Kreminna to the east “to hold the line,” according to a senior US military official.
The official called the liberation of Lyman by Ukrainian forces a “significant operational accomplishment” as it was being used by Russian forces as a “logistics hub” in a background call with reporters.
“It impacts the ability to resupply forces along the forward line of troops … in the Kharkiv region along down near Bakhmut and as far south as Kherson,” the official said.
1 min ago
Brittney Griner’s appeal hearing set for Oct. 25, Russian court says
From CNN’s Uliana Pavlova
American women’s basketball star Brittney Griner, leaves the courtroom in Khimki outside Moscow, Russia, on August 4. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool/AFP/Getty Images)
A Moscow regional court has set Oct. 25 as an appeal date for American women’s basketball star Brittney Griner, court records show.
An appeal hearing will be heard at the Khimki city court in Moscow region.
Griner was sentenced to nine years of jail time in early August for deliberately smuggling drugs into Russia.
She was arrested with less than 1 gram of cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport on Feb. 17.
56 min ago
Authorities in Russia’s Leningrad region canceled 100 conscriptions, state media says
From CNN’s Katharina Krebs in London
Authorities in Russia’s Leningrad region have canceled 100 conscriptions, according to the press service of the regional government, Russian state media RIA Novosti reported on Monday.
“A total of 100 decisions on mobilization measures have been canceled in the Leningrad Region. Of these, 76 — because of age, 1 — because of the number of minor children, 2 —because of the need to care for relatives with disabilities, 11 — due to limited fitness”, according to the press service as quoted by RIA.
By decree of President Vladimir Putin, a partial mobilization has been ongoing in Russia since Sept. 21. Two senior Russian lawmakers on Sunday said that the mobilization should be carried out “in accordance with the law,” following reports of “erroneous incidents of mobilizing citizens.”
58 min ago
UK at “significant risk” of gas supply shortage this winter due to war in Ukraine, energy regulator says
From CNN’s Katharina Krebs and Chris Liakos
The UK may enter a “gas supply emergency” in winter due to the war in Ukraine, UK’s energy regulator Ofgem said on Monday.
Ofgem made the comments in response to a request by energy company SSE, who are worried that in case of a gas supply emergency, they will run out of money if they are hit with large penalties for not being able to deliver electricity.
“Due to the war in Ukraine and gas shortages in Europe, there is a significant risk that gas shortages could occur during the winter 2022/23 in Great Britain (‘GB’). As a result, there is a possibility that GB could enter into a Gas Supply Emergency,” Ofgem said in a letter.
“This winter is likely to be more challenging than previous ones due to the Russian disruption of gas supplies to Europe,” an Ofgem spokesperson told CNN Monday.
“Britain is in a good position with little direct import of gas from Russia; our own domestic gas production; reliable supplies from Norway; and the second-largest port capacity in Europe to import liquified gas. Nevertheless, we need to be prepared for all scenarios this winter,” the Ofgem spokesperson added.
Ofgem said that they are putting in place sensible contingency measures “to ensure that the UK energy system is fully prepared for this winter.”
2 hr 29 min ago
France wants to “make the cost of war unbearable for Russia,” prime minister says
From CNN’s Pierre Meilhan
French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne delivers a government statement on the war in Ukraine and the consequences for France, at the National Assembly in Paris, France, on Monday. (Benoit Tessier/Reuters)
French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne told lawmakers on Monday that although the war in Ukraine will last, France is ready and wants to “make the cost of war unbearable for Russia.”
During her address before France’s lower house of parliament, Borne emphasized that “Russia is likely to go further into illegality and escalation,” and that France “will not weaken, neither in the face of the Russian aggressor nor to protect the French (people). The war in Ukraine will last but we are ready, the resistance of the Ukrainian people obliges us, we will be up to it.”
France has provided more than 200 million euros ($195 million) in aid to Ukraine and 2,500 tons of material have been delivered, according to the prime minister.
Borne added that “the sanctions against Russia are working. The facts are there: the Russian economy is suffocating.”
France’s goal in the conflict is demilitarization and the country is “determined that the crimes committed by Russia will be documented, tried and punished,” Borne said.
Prior to Borne’s speech, the members of parliament paid a tribute to the Ukrainian ambassador to France Vadym Omelchenko, who was attending the session.
3 hr 5 min ago
Russia removes Western Military District commander following losses in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, records show
From CNN’s Uliana Pavlova
Russian authorities removed the commander of the country’s Western Military District (WMD), according records from the country’s Unified State Registry published Monday.
The Unified State Registry, which functions as a state government registry of all registered legal entitles, has listed Col. Gen. Roman Berdnikov as the new commander of Russia’s Western Military District. The announcement comes as Russian forces have pulled out from many parts of eastern Ukraine.
The WMD, based in the western part of Russia, is one of five military districts in the country’s military. It played a significant role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Berdnikov replaces Col. Gen. Alexander Zhuravlyov, who has also been a commander in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region where Russian forces suffered heavy losses in past weeks. Bednikov’s appointment comes on the heels of the Russian forces retreat from the strategic eastern city of Lyman, in the eastern Donetsk region.
More on the former commander: Zhuravlyov, who is known for overseeing one of the most brutal chapters of Syria’s war, also oversaw a rocket artillery brigade, whom CNN identified as the brigade that launched cluster munitions attack in residential districts of Kharkiv in late February, during the early days of the war.
Russian officials have criticized the country’s military leadership following the retreat in Lyman. Russian lawmaker and former army commander, Andrei Gurulev, said he could not explain this “surrender” from a military point of view, speaking on air in Soloviev Live, a pro-Kremlin TV channel on Saturday.
Berdnikov graduated from the Kyiv Suvorov Military School in 1991 and from the Moscow Higher Combined Arms Command School in 1995.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has yet to confirm the leadership change at the Western Military District.
2 hr 45 min ago
What Ukraine’s recent successes in the east could mean for the war, according to a CNN military analyst
Retired US Air Force Col. Cedric Leighton told CNN Monday that the Ukrainian government’s reported offer to the Biden administration of basically providing veto power over their list of intended Russian targets in a bid for long-range rockets is due in part to the “amazing success” that Ukraine has had recently in the war.
Leighton, a CNN military analyst, pointed to Ukraine’s recent success in retaking the key eastern city of Lyman and other northern parts of the country as evidence that the Ukrainian military has “momentum” in the war.
“When you look at what’s going on in the northeastern part of the country, this is Lyman, the area just liberated. See how far Ukrainians have already extended themselves into this area?” Leighton said on CNN.
He added that this success means Ukraine “can make even further asks” of the Biden administration in terms of weapons systems and other needs to “prosecute the war effort even further into Russian-controlled territory.”
More on this: In an effort to overcome the US government’s resistance to providing it with a new set of powerful, long-range rocket systems, the Ukrainian government is now offering the US full and ongoing visibility into their list of intended Russian targets, multiple officials familiar with the discussions tell CNN.
The remarkable transparency essentially gives the US veto power over Ukrainian targeting of Russia and is meant to convince the administration that providing the critical weapons would not lead to strikes inside Russian territory, which the US fears would escalate the war and draw it directly into a conflict with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Watch Leighton’s analysis:
CNN’s Alex Marquardt contributed reporting to this post.
4 hr 15 min ago
EU summons Russian ambassadors following “illegal” annexation of Ukrainian territories
From CNN’s Chris Liakos
European Commission Lead Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano speaks during a conference in Brussels, Belgium, on March 5. (Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
The European Union has summoned in a “coordinated manner” the Russian ambassadors in EU member states following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision last week to annex Ukrainian regions, an EU spokesperson told CNN Monday.
“In response to latest steps by Russia escalating even more its aggression against Ukraine – with sham referenda and illegal annexation of the Ukrainian te...
Wall Street Closes With Sharp Gains As Final Quarter Begins
Wall Street Closes With Sharp Gains As Final Quarter Begins https://digitalalaskanews.com/wall-street-closes-with-sharp-gains-as-final-quarter-begins/
Tesla down as Q3 deliveries miss market estimates
U.S. factory activity slowest in ~2.5 years in Sept -ISM
Credit Suisse, Citi cut 2022 year-end target for S&P 500
Indexes up: Dow 2.66%, S&P 500 2.59%, Nasdaq 2.27%
Oct 3 (Reuters) – Wall Street’s three major indexes rallied to close over 2% on Monday as U.S. Treasury yields tumbled on weaker-than-expected manufacturing data, increasing the appeal of stocks at the start of the year’s final quarter.
The U.S. stock market has suffered three quarterly declines in a row in a tumultuous year marked by interest rate hikes to tame historically high inflation, and concerns about a slowing economy.
“The U.S. yield markets (are) pulling back – that’s been a positive … and that connotes a more risk-on environment,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth in Boston.
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Further supporting rate-sensitive growth stocks, the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yield fell after British Prime Minister Liz Truss was forced to reverse course on a tax cut for the highest rate.
All 11 major S&P 500 (.SPX) sectors advanced to positive territory, with energy (.SPNY) being the biggest gainer.
Oil majors Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) and Chevron Corp rose more than 5%, tracking a jump in crude prices as sources said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies are considering their biggest output cut since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Megacap growth and technology companies such as Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) rose over 3% respectively, while banks .SPXBK advanced 3%.
Data showed manufacturing activity increased at its slowest pace in nearly 2-1/2 years in September as new orders contracted, likely as rising interest rates to tame inflation cooled demand for goods. read more
The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing PMI dropped to 50.9 this month, missing estimates but still above 50, indicating growth.
“The economic data stream actually came in worse than expected. In a very counterintuitive fashion that likely represents good news for equity markets,” said Hogan.
“(While) good economic data, strong readings had been a catalyst for selling, this is the first time we’ve actually seen some negative news be a catalyst.”
All three major indexes ended a volatile third quarter lower on Friday on growing fears that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive monetary policy will tip the economy into recession.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 765.38 points, or 2.66%, to 29,490.89; the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 92.81 points, or 2.59%, at 3,678.43; and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) added 239.82 points, or 2.27%, at 10,815.44.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 11.61 billion shares, compared with the 11.54 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.
Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) fell 8.6% after it sold fewer-than-expected vehicles in the third quarter as deliveries lagged way behind production due to logistic hurdles. Peers Lucid Group (LCID.O) gained 0.9% and Rivian Automotive (RIVN.O) fell 3.1%. read more
Major automakers are expected to report modest declines in U.S. new vehicle sales, but analysts and investors worry that a darkening economic picture, not inventory shortages, will lead to weaker car sales. read more
Citigroup and Credit Suisse became the latest brokerages to lower 2022 year-end targets for the S&P 500, as U.S. equity markets bear the heat of aggressive central bank actions to tamp down inflation. read more
Credit Suisse also set a 2023 year-end price target for the benchmark index at 4,050 points, adding that 2023 would be a “year of weak, non-recessionary growth and falling inflation.”
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 5.04-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.70-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted one new 52-week high and 23 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 58 new highs and 282 new lows.
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Reporting by Echo Wang in New York; Additional reporting by Ankika Biswas and Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva, Arun Koyyur and Richard Chang
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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The JU Graduation Exams Will Start In April 2023 And Will Take Five Months To StudyNews WAALI
The JU Graduation Exams Will Start In April 2023 And Will Take Five Months To StudyNews WAALI https://digitalalaskanews.com/the-ju-graduation-exams-will-start-in-april-2023-and-will-take-five-months-to-studynews-waali/
Date of Publication: | Tue, 04 Oct 2022 12:45 AM (IST)
– Probable dates announced by JU to bring the session on time
Gwalior. (New World Representative). Jivaji University has announced the exam form and probable dates for the academic session 2022-23. Graduation 1st, 2nd, 3rd year exams will start in first week of April 2023. If the exams start as per these dates, students have only five months left to study. The first year of graduation is the least time spent with students appearing for the exam and waiting for the result. Because the first year results of B.Sc and BA are not out yet. Apart from this, the post graduation exams of second, fourth and fifth semesters are likely to be held from April 24.
Due to covid-19 academic session did not start on time for last two years. The college admission process is supposed to end by the end of June, but it will continue till August. Due to this, the meeting was very late. It is also affecting the student’s degree. Degree in hand in three years, should be six come onIt seems to be more than 5 months. Keeping all these circumstances in mind the meeting should be brought on time. JU has announced the probable date of the exam. Exam form, practical and exam date are given. Exams will start accordingly. Controller of Examinations Dr. AK Sharma has released a letter regarding the exams.
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Gwalior-Anchal has about one and a half lakh students
– In Gwalior mandal, about one and a half lakh students are appearing for the matriculation examination. There will not be many gaps in the exams. These will be completed within 45 days from the commencement of the examination. The exams will end in the second and third week of May. When these tests start, it is like burning.
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– Graduation first and second year examinations will be conducted in the new system of education. The third year examination will be conducted in the old manner. The exam pattern for the new education system has been prepared. This will not be a problem anymore come onI am leaning.
– Colleges now have to complete the course by taking additional classes. Because graduation is not the result of the first year come onor is
BSC results by the end of the week come on can do
Two major results of the first year of graduation are yet to be announced. BSc and BA 1st year results will be announced. The student is waiting for these two results. The company offered to declare the first year results of B.Sc. May be announced this week itself. After that the BA results will be announced.
Probable Dates of Graduation Examinations
Class Exam Form Practical Exam Result
The third year is from January 2 to March 1 to April 1 to June 30
The second year is from January 4 to March 6 and from April 3 to June 30
The first year is from January 7 to March 10 and from April 5 to June 30
Copies of 14 students are missing, they are waiting for results
Transcripts of 14 third year undergraduate students of Jivaji University have gone missing. The results of the students have not been disclosed. These students should get admission in Post Graduate. They are worried because the result is not clear. JU is doing the rounds. The committee to give the average number is yet to decide. The students went to meet the registrar Rajendra Kumar Baghel regarding this matter. He promised to declare the results by the end of the week.
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Hogan Convenes Meeting With Supporters To Discuss Possible White House Run WTOP News
Hogan Convenes Meeting With Supporters To Discuss Possible White House Run – WTOP News https://digitalalaskanews.com/hogan-convenes-meeting-with-supporters-to-discuss-possible-white-house-run-wtop-news/
This content was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.
Gov. Larry Hogan continues to take tentative steps toward seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
On Thursday evening, Hogan convened a meeting of about 50 supporters and donors in an Annapolis hotel ballroom and served them cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, to discuss his prospects and his timetable for making a decision, according to several people who attended or were briefed about the gathering.
The group heard from Thomas Kelso, Hogan’s longtime campaign chair who is Hogan’s appointed chair of the Maryland Stadium Authority; David Weinman, who is running Hogan’s political organization, An America United; and Russ Schriefer, a Republican media consultant who works for Hogan and has experience at the presidential level with the campaigns of President George H.W. Bush, President George W. Bush, and Mitt Romney. The governor also spoke.
The thrust of the conversation was that Hogan has a potential path to victory in the Republican nomination scrum, and that he’s preparing to take some preliminary steps to get a campaign off the ground. But people who were at the meeting emphasized that the governor hasn’t made a final decision to run for president and has yet to even set a timeline for making that decision.
Hogan has hinted at a 2024 presidential run for several months but has said publicly that he is focused on his last few months at Government House and won’t make a final decision until he leaves office in mid-January. But he has maintained a busy campaign schedule this summer and into the fall, including a stop at the State Fair in Iowa, home of the first presidential caucus, and stumping for Republican candidates in several states. Hogan has continued to be a regular presence on national political chat shows, and recently penned an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal about America’s role and influence in the global economy.
Hogan is scheduled to speak Wednesday evening about bipartisanship at the Harvard Kennedy School of government, in a conversation moderated by former Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead (R), a Kennedy School fellow. And he’s making a return trip Thursday morning to “Politics and Eggs,” a regular breakfast for aspiring national leaders hosted by St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. Hogan also spoke there in the spring of 2019, as he pondered challenging President Trump in 2020.
An America United has had a fundraising event on the books for Nov. 30 at Maryland Live! Casino in Hanover for several weeks, and it is becoming increasingly apparent that Hogan may publicly tease his White House ambitions then. Ticket prices start at $150.
That event will be preceded by a VIP reception earlier in the evening for another Hogan entity, the Better Path Forward Political Action Committee, where ticket prices start at $1,000. That PAC is described as the national equivalent of Change Maryland, the entity Hogan created more than a decade ago to critique then-Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) and served as the vehicle to organize his political activities before he ran for governor.
Hogan hopes to raise at least a million dollars by about Nov. 30, two participants in Thursday’s meeting said, and would attempt to ramp up fundraising ahead of any presidential run.
This could follow the pattern of Hogan’s announcement for governor nine years ago. He hosted a large party at the Maryland Republican Party semi-annual convention in November 2013, stating the likelihood that he would run for governor the following year. A formal announcement came about two months later.
So it seems conceivable that Hogan could broadly discuss his political plans at the Nov. 30 event, and flesh them out with a formal announcement a few months later, sometime after he leaves office in mid-January.
At a minimum, participants in Thursday’s meeting said, the gathering in Annapolis was an attempt to show that Hogan is aiming to burnish his legacy in the months ahead and wants to make sure that his most devoted supporters are on board and ready to spread the word. Weinman, the executive director of An America United, declined to comment.
According to people who attended Thursday’s meeting, Hogan operatives laid out what they see as the governor’s potential trajectory in 2024, and asserted that President Trump’s stranglehold on the GOP is diminishing, due to his legal entanglements, electoral failures, and waning influence overall.
Hogan advisers suggested that the first-in-the-nation presidential primary in New Hampshire, an independent-minded state where voters are allowed to take either a Republican or Democratic primary ballot, could be especially fertile ground for a possible Hogan bid. Hogan has built his political brand — and widespread popularity at home — by portraying himself as a common-sense conservative who tries to avoid partisan confrontations. He is also one of the few potential Republican candidates for president who has offered a consistently full-throated critique of Trump’s administration and political tactics.
Hogan’s flirtation with a presidential run comes as several other Republicans are well into their deliberations about 2024. The Washington Post reported last week that Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who was just elected in 2021, recently hosted a donor retreat in Charlottesville, Va., to weigh his potential strengths as a nationwide candidate in 2024. And a dozen other potential candidates for the GOP nomination, including Trump, have been criss-crossing the country helping fellow Republicans and collecting political chits.
Hogan’s meeting last Thursday included several Maryland business leaders who have been longtime supporters of his political career, according to participants, including Leonard Berger, who until recently owned the Clarion Hotel in Ocean City; Scott Rifkin, who owns several medical businesses and is publisher of the Jewish media website J’more; Daniel Colton, a Prince George’s County real estate developer; John von Paris, a trucking magnate who is a Hogan appointee on the Maryland Transportation Authority, and Gary Mangum, the former CEO of a chain of nurseries.
At least three registered Annapolis lobbyists were also on hand, along with some Hogan staffers and political advisers, including Amelia Chassé Alcivar, his State House chief of staff.
This article was written by WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters and republished with permission. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.
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Oath Keepers Planned armed Rebellion To Keep Trump In Power Prosecutor Says
Oath Keepers Planned ‘armed Rebellion’ To Keep Trump In Power, Prosecutor Says https://digitalalaskanews.com/oath-keepers-planned-armed-rebellion-to-keep-trump-in-power-prosecutor-says/
ALANNA DURKIN RICHER, MICHAEL KUNZELMAN & LINDSAY WHITEHURST
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — The founder of the Oath Keepers extremist group and four associates planned an “armed rebellion” to keep President Donald Trump in power, a federal prosecutor contended Monday as the most serious case yet went to trial in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Stewart Rhodes and his band of extremists were prepared to go to war to stop Joe Biden from becoming president, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nestler told jurors. The group celebrated the Capitol attack as a battle they had won and continued their plot even after Biden’s electoral victory was certified, Nestler alleged.
“Their goal was to stop, by whatever means necessary, the lawful transfer of presidential power, including by taking up arms against the United States government,” the prosecutor said during his opening statement. “They concocted a plan for armed rebellion to shatter a bedrock of American democracy.”
Rhodes and the four others are the first Jan. 6 defendants to stand trial on the charge of seditious conspiracy, a rare Civil War-era charge that calls for up to 20 years behind bars. The stakes are high for the Justice Department, which last secured a seditious conspiracy conviction at trial nearly 30 years ago.
Rhodes’ attorney painted a far different picture, describing the Oath Keepers as a “peacekeeping” force. He accused prosecutors of building their case on cherry-picked evidence from messages and videos and told jurors that the “true picture” would show that the Oath Keepers had merely been preparing for orders they expected from Trump but never came.
“Stewart Rhodes meant no harm to the Capitol that day. Stewart Rhodes did not have any violent intent that day,” Rhodes’ attorney, Phillip Linder, said. “The story the government is trying to tell you today is completely wrong.”
On trial with Rhodes, of Granbury, Texas, are Kelly Meggs, leader of the Florida chapter of the Oath Keepers; Kenneth Harrelson, another Florida Oath Keeper; Thomas Caldwell, a retired U.S. Navy intelligence officer from Virginia, and Jessica Watkins, who led an Ohio militia group. They face several other charges as well.
About 900 people have been charged and hundreds convicted in the Capitol attack. Rioters stormed past police barriers, engaged in hand-to-hand combat with officers, smashed windows and temporarily halted the certification of Biden’s electoral victory.
Prosecutors told jurors the insurrection was no spontaneous outpouring of election-fueled rage but part of a detailed, drawn-out plot to stop Biden from entering the White House.
Rhodes began plotting to overturn Biden’s victory right after the election, Nestler said. In November 2020, Rhodes sent his followers a step-by-step plan for stopping the transfer of power based on a popular uprising that brought down Yugoslavia’s president two decades earlier. As December approached, Rhodes’ rhetoric became increasingly violent and desperate, Nestler said.
In messages and comments read to the jury, the Oath Keepers repeatedly warned of the prospect of violence if Biden were to become president. During a December interview, Rhodes called senators “traitors” and warned that the Oath Keepers would have to “overthrow, abort or abolish Congress.”
Rhodes knew that if the Oath Keepers didn’t stop Congress from certifying the vote on Jan. 6, it would be much harder to stop Biden from taking office, Nestler said.
The Oath Keepers organized training, including one session that was recorded on video and set to rock music. Before coming to Washington, they set up “quick reaction force” teams with “weapons of war” stashed at a Virginia hotel so they could get them into the capital quickly if necessary, the prosecutor said.
As Oath Keepers stormed the Capitol in helmets and other battle gear, Rhodes remained on the outside, like “a general surveying his troops on a battlefield,” Nestler said. After the attack, the Oath Keepers were “elated,” the prosecutor said.
“These defendants were fighting a war and they won a battle on Jan. 6 … but they planned to continue waging that war to stop the transfer of power prior to Inauguration Day. Thankfully their plans were foiled,” Nestler said.
In the days between the riot and Biden’s inauguration, Rhodes spent more than $17,000 on firearm parts, ammunition and other items, prosecutors say. Around the time of the inauguration, Rhodes told others to organize local militias to oppose the Democratic administration, authorities say.
“Patriots entering their own Capitol to send a message to the traitors is NOTHING compared to what’s coming,” Rhodes wrote in a message the evening of Jan. 6.
Defense attorneys say the Oath Keepers came to Washington only to provide security at events for figures such as Trump ally Roger Stone before the president’s big outdoor rally behind the White House. Rhodes has said there was no plan to attack the Capitol and that the members who did acted on their own.
Rhodes’ lawyer told jurors that his client will take the stand to argue that he believed Trump was going to invoke the Insurrection Act and call up a militia, which Rhodes had been calling on him to do to stop Biden from becoming president. Rhodes’ lawyers have said he was merely lobbying the president to invoke a U.S. law.
Nestler took aim at the Insurrection Act claim, saying it was only an attempt to cover up Rhodes’ illegal scheme. “Rhodes, with a law degree was careful with his own words. Rather than say out loud their plan, they used a code – or shorthand – the Insurrection Act,” he said.
In one message from December 2020, Rhodes wrote that Trump “needs to know that if he fails to act, then we will.”
___
For full coverage of the Capitol riot, go to https://www.apnews.com/capitol-siege
More on Donald Trump-related investigations: https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump
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Justice Clarence Thomas And His Wife Have Bolstered Conservative Causes As He Is Poised To Lead The Supreme Court Rolling Back More Landmark Rulings
Justice Clarence Thomas And His Wife Have Bolstered Conservative Causes As He Is Poised To Lead The Supreme Court Rolling Back More Landmark Rulings https://digitalalaskanews.com/justice-clarence-thomas-and-his-wife-have-bolstered-conservative-causes-as-he-is-poised-to-lead-the-supreme-court-rolling-back-more-landmark-rulings/
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)
(THE CONVERSATION) With the opening of the U.S. Supreme Court’s new session on Oct. 3, 2022, Clarence Thomas is arguably the most powerful justice on the nation’s highest court.
In 1991, after Thomas became an associate justice and only the second African American to do so, his power was improbable to almost everyone except him and his wife, Virginia “Ginni” Thomas.
He received U.S. Senate confirmation despite lawyer Anita Hill’s explosive workplace sexual harassment allegations against him.
Today, Thomas rarely speaks during oral arguments, yet he communicates substantively through his prolific written opinions that reflect a complicated mix of self-help, racial pride and the original intent of America’s Founding Fathers.
He isn’t chief justice. John Roberts Jr. is.
But with Thomas’ nearly 31 years of service, he’s the longest-serving sitting justice and on track to have the lengthiest court tenure ever.
June Jordan, pioneering poet and cultural commentator, observed in 1991 when President George H.W. Bush nominated Thomas that people “focused upon who the candidate was rather than what he has done and will do.”
As a scholar of political theory and Black politics, I contend we haven’t learned from this vital insight.
Conservative activism
Thomas’ service is under increasing scrutiny as his wife, a conservative activist, testified on Sept. 27, 2022, before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol that she still believes false claims that the 2020 election was rigged against Donald Trump.
According to documents obtained by that committee, Ginni Thomas was instrumental in coordinating efforts to keep former President Donald Trump in office. Her efforts included sending emails to not only former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows but also state officials in Arizona and Wisconsin.
Of particular concern to the Jan. 6 committee is testimony from Thomas on her email correspondence with John Eastman, her husband’s former law clerk, who is considered to be the legal architect of Trump’s last-ditch bid to subvert the 2020 election.
In my view, Clarence and Ginni Thomas’ intertwined lives highlight a distressing underside to their personal union: the blurring of their professional and personal lives, which has had the appearance of fracturing the independence of the executive and judicial branches of government.
In this light, Thomas’ sole dissent in the case involving Trump’s turning over documents to the Jan. 6 committee is all the more alarming.
‘What he has done and will do’
Clarence Thomas has cultivated a distinct judicial philosophy and vision of the world – and a view of his place in it.
From what can be gleaned from his own writings and speeches, his vision has been derived from Black nationalism, capitalism, conservatism, originalism and his own interpretations of the law.
Since Thomas’ confirmation, his ideas and rulings have attracted many critics.
But his interpetations of the law are now at the center of the high court’s jurisprudence.
In his concurring opinion of the court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Thomas argued that the court should reconsider reversing other related landmark rulings, including access to contraception in Griswold v. Connecticut, LGBTQ+ sexual behavior and sodomy laws in Lawrence v. Texas and same-sex marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges.
In short, Thomas’ sentiments reveal a broader ultraconservative agenda to roll back the social and political gains that marginalized communities have won since the 1960s.
The rulings in those cases, Thomas wrote, relied on the due process clause of the 14th Amendment and “were demonstrably erroneous decisions.”
“In future cases,” Thomas explained, “we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell … we have a duty to ‘correct the error’ established in those precedents.”
Other recent Supreme Court rulings, on Second Amendment rights, Miranda rights, campaign finance regulations and tribal sovereignty, are also evidence of Thomas’ impact on the nation’s highest court.
The long game
In his memoir and public speeches, Thomas identifies as a self-made man.
Though he has benefited from affirmative action programs – and the color of his skin played a role in his Supreme Court nomination – Thomas has staunchly opposed such efforts to remedy past racial discrimination. Like other notable Black conservatives, Thomas argues that group-based preferences reward those who seek government largesse rather than individual initiative.
With the exception of guidance of Catholic Church institutions and his grandfather Myers Anderson, Thomas claims he earned his accomplishments by effort, hard work and his own initiative.
In a 1998 speech, Thomas foreshadowed his judicial independence and made clear that his attendance before the National Bar Association, the nation’s largest Black legal association, was not to defend his conservative views – or further anger his critics.
“But rather,” he explained, “to assert my right to think for myself, to refuse to have my ideas assigned to me as though I was an intellectual slave because I’m black.”
“I come to state that I’m a man, free to think for myself and do as I please,” Thomas went on. “I’ve come to assert that I am a judge and I will not be consigned the unquestioned opinions of others. But even more than that, I have come to say that, isn’t it time to move on?”
But like many of Thomas’ complexities, his own self-made narrative distorts the ideas of the first prominent Black Republican who remains one of his intellectual heroes – Frederick Douglass, the statesman, abolitionist and fugitive ex-slave whose portrait has hung on the wall of Thomas’ office.
But in “Self-Made Men,” a speech he first delivered in 1859. Douglass disagreed with the idea that accomplishments result from solely individual upliftment.
“Properly speaking,” Douglass wrote, “there are in the world no such men as self-made men. That term implies an individual independence of the past and present which can never exist.”
Law against the people
Thomas’ view of the law is rooted in the originalism doctrine of an immutable rather than living U.S. Constitution.
Since the 1776 Declaration of Independence, modern America for Thomas has been predominantly a republic, where laws are made for the people through their elected representatives. Unlike a pure democracy, where the people vote directly and the majority rules, the rights of the minority are protected in a republic.
Dating back to ancient Rome, the history of republicanism is a story of denouncing domination, rejecting slavery and championing freedom.
Yet in my view, American republicanism has an underside: its long-standing basis in inequality that never intended its core ideals to apply beyond a small few.
Thomas claims consistency with America’s original founding.
In my view, Thomas’ perilous conservative activism works against a fundamental principle of the U.S. Constitution – “to form a more perfect union.”
Thomas’ rulings reveal a broader ultraconservative agenda to roll back the social and political gains that marginalized communities have won since the 1960s.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/justice-clarence-thomas-and-his-wife-have-bolstered-conservative-causes-as-he-is-poised-to-lead-the-supreme-court-rolling-back-more-landmark-rulings-188321.
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Trump Wanted To Reveal Superman Shirt After Leaving Hospital For COVID Care New Book Says
Trump Wanted To Reveal Superman Shirt After Leaving Hospital For COVID Care, New Book Says https://digitalalaskanews.com/trump-wanted-to-reveal-superman-shirt-after-leaving-hospital-for-covid-care-new-book-says/
Former President Donald Trump wanted to wear a shirt with a Superman logo and reveal it after seeking medical care for COVID-19, according to an upcoming book from New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman.
Trump planned to be wheeled out of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he went after testing positive for COVID-19 in 2020, before standing up and opening his button-down shirt to reveal the Superman logo, according to Haberman’s book “Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America.” Axios reported on Haberman’s book’s coverage of the incident, and the Times initially reported calls made about the appearance in 2020.
Trump called a campaign aide to purchase the shirts, according to Haberman. The New York Times’ senior political reporter also writes that Trump was inspired by the singer James Brown, who tossed a cape off onstage.
Trump and former first lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19 in October 2020. Trump spent several days at Walter Reed, located in Bethesda, Maryland, for treatment while he was sick.
USA TODAY has reached out to Trump for comment.
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Haberman’s book is set to be released Tuesday. In the book, she also reported that, when Trump saw congressional staffers of color at the White House, he assumed they were waiters at a January 2017 reception.
CNN also obtained a copy of “Confidence Man,” and the network reported that Haberman wrote in the book that Trump almost fired his daughter, Ivanka Trump, and son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Both served as senior White House aides during his administration.
The book also says White House staff during the Trump administration discovered wads of printed paper clogging a toilet, which led some to believe that Trump flushed documents, according to an excerpt of the book published by Axios.
Contributing: Merdie Nzanga and Matthew Brown, USA TODAY
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'Get Out Of The Cycle': Bill O'Reilly Urges Donald Trump To Flee The United States Before The Midterms
'Get Out Of The Cycle': Bill O'Reilly Urges Donald Trump To Flee The United States Before The Midterms https://digitalalaskanews.com/get-out-of-the-cycle-bill-oreilly-urges-donald-trump-to-flee-the-united-states-before-the-midterms/
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Biden Visits Puerto Rico As Tensions Simmer Over Hurricane Ian Response Live
Biden Visits Puerto Rico As Tensions Simmer Over Hurricane Ian Response – Live https://digitalalaskanews.com/biden-visits-puerto-rico-as-tensions-simmer-over-hurricane-ian-response-live-2/
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n
Biden and first lady Jill Biden are en-route to Puerto Rico, where he will survey damage sustained by Hurricane Fiona and announce $60mn in federal funding for the island’s storm preparations. He is scheduled to give remarks there at 2:30pm eastern time.
n
Partisan tensions are boiling, with Hurricane Ian recovery efforts underway. Republicans are accused of withholding relief money that could help states dealing with similar natural disasters in the future following the current crisis in Florida.
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The White House did not confirm if Biden will be meeting with Florida governor Ron DeSantis, given the frayed relationship between the two politicians. Biden is scheduled to visit Florida on Wednesday to assess damage the state sustained from Hurricane Ian.
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A jury heard opening arguments in seditious conspiracy charges against the founder of the far-right group Oath Keepers, the most serious case so far stemming from the 6 January capitol attack.
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The Supreme court started its new term today, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson sitting on the bench for the first time, the first Black woman to serve on the court.
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The Supreme Court’s new term begins today, with oral arguments set to begin at 10am.
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During today’s session, the court will hear arguments on holding social media companies financially responsible for terrorist attacks, reports the Associated Press.
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Relatives of people killed in terrorist attacks in France and Turkey had sued several social media companies including Twitter, and Facebook, accusing the companies of spreading terrorist messaging and radicalizing new recruits.
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Tomorrow, the court will hear arguments concerning a challenge to the Voting Rights Act, the historic legislation that prohibits racial discrimination in voting rules.
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Across the next, several months, the court will hear other cases centered on affirmative action, enforcement of the Clear Water Act, and other issues.
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Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court, will be sitting on the bench for today’s oral arguments.
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Jackson was celebrated during a ceremony at the court on Friday, attended by Biden, Kamala Harris, and other state officials.
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Good morning US politics blog readers!
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Following several tropical storms that happened last month, the extent of damage from those natural disasters is still being accounted.
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Today, Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will visit Puerto Rico to survey damage the island sustained during Hurricane Fiona. Two weeks ago, flooding and landslides caused by the storm knocked out power across the island and affected water supplies, leaving millions in the dark and without clean water. Hundreds of thousands remain without power.
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Once there, Biden will announce $60m in infrastructure funding for Puerto Rico from the bipartisan infrastructure law that was passed last year.
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Meanwhile, millions of Floridians are struggling to recover after Hurricane Ian made landfall last week, as Ian’s death toll surpasses 80.
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Partisan tensions are boiling over handling of the storm, with Republican officials facing criticism for voting down disaster relief aid in a short-term spending bill, reports Politico.
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Florida governor DeSantis is facing mounting criticism for millions he spent in the weeks leading up to Ian on “political stunts”, privately charted planes that flew migrants from Texas to the affluent Martha’s Vineyard community.
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Biden’s remarks are just beginning. Stay tuned for updates!
Here’s video of the Bidens greeting Puerto Rico officials after landing in Ponce, where Biden is set to speak shortly.
Puerto Rico governor Pedro Pierluisi was on the ground to greet Biden and shared a message of welcome via Twitter.
Joe Biden’s remarks in Puerto Rico were set to begin shortly, but Biden and first lady Jill Biden have just touched down.
While we wait, here’s information on how Hurricane Fiona initially impacted the island, from the Guardian’s Nina Lakhani:
Most of Puerto Rico was still without power or safe drinking water on Monday, with remnants of a category 1 hurricane that struck there a day earlier forecast to bring more heavy rain and life-threatening flooding.
Hundreds of people are trapped in emergency shelters across the Caribbean island, with major roads underwater and reports of numerous collapsed bridges. Crops have been washed away while flash floods, landslides and fallen trees have blocked roads, swept away vehicles and caused widespread damage to infrastructure.
Two-thirds of the island’s almost 800,000 homes and businesses have no water after Hurricane Fiona caused a total blackout on Sunday and swollen rivers contaminated the filtration system. The storm was causing havoc in the Dominican Republic by early Monday.
Lights went out across Puerto Rico just after 1pm on Sunday, leaving only those households and businesses with rooftop solar or functioning generators with power. Critically ill patients had to be moved from the island’s main cancer hospital in the capital, San Juan, after the backup generator failed due to voltage fluctuations – an issue that has led to regular blackouts over the past year.
Read the full article here.
Summary
Here’s a recap of what’s happened so far today in the world of US politics:
Biden and first lady Jill Biden are en-route to Puerto Rico, where he will survey damage sustained by Hurricane Fiona and announce $60mn in federal funding for the island’s storm preparations. He is scheduled to give remarks there at 2:30pm eastern time.
Partisan tensions are boiling, with Hurricane Ian recovery efforts underway. Republicans are accused of withholding relief money that could help states dealing with similar natural disasters in the future following the current crisis in Florida.
The White House did not confirm if Biden will be meeting with Florida governor Ron DeSantis, given the frayed relationship between the two politicians. Biden is scheduled to visit Florida on Wednesday to assess damage the state susta...
Toronto Marlies Announce 2022 Training Camp Roster
Toronto Marlies Announce 2022 Training Camp Roster https://digitalalaskanews.com/toronto-marlies-announce-2022-training-camp-roster/
The Toronto Marlies announced today the hockey club’s 2022-23 training camp roster. The initial camp roster will have 29 players which includes 19 forwards, seven defencemen and three goaltenders. The full training camp roster is attached.
The Belleville Senators (Ottawa) will host the Marlies and the Laval Rocket (Montréal) for a series of preseason games at CAA Arena. The Marlies face off against the Senators on Friday, October 7 followed by the Rocket on Saturday, October 8.
The Marlies open the regular season with a home-and-home against the Rochester Americans (Buffalo) beginning on the road on Friday, October 14 and returning to Coca-Cola Coliseum on Saturday, October 15 at 4:00 p.m.
FORWARDS (19)
PLAYER # HT WT SH BIRTHPLACE BORN 2021-22 CLUB(S) ACQUIRED
BADINI, Jack 33 6’0 203 L Greenwich, CT 01/19/98 San Diego (AHL) Free Agent – AHL (July 29, 2022)
BLANDISI, Joseph 36 6’0 193 L Markham, ON 07/18/94 Toronto (AHL) Free Agent – AHL (March 4, 2022)
BUDGELL, Brett 51 6’0 185 L St. John’s, NL 06/01/01 Charlottetown (QMJHL) Free Agent – AHL (July 29, 2022)
CENTAZZO, Orrin 92 5’8 159 L Marwayne, AB 04/17/00 Newfoundland (ECHL) Free Agent – AHL (June 18, 2022)
CHYZOWSKI, Ryan 13 6’1 170 L Kamloops, BC 05/14/00 Toronto (AHL) / Newfoundland (ECHL) Free Agent – AHL (June 15, 2021)
DOUGLAS, Curtis 53 6’9 242 L Oakville, ON 03/06/00 Toronto (AHL) Free Agent (July 27, 2021)
ELLIS, Max 22 5’9 171 R Plymouth, MI 01/18/00 Toronto (AHL) / Notre Dame (NCAA) Free Agent (April 8, 2022)
GOGOLEV, Pavel 75 6’1 197 L Moscow, Russia 02/19/00 Toronto (AHL) / Newfoundland (ECHL) Free Agent (July 29, 2021)
JOHNSTONE, Marc 9 6’0 181 R Cranford, NJ 06/19/96 Toronto (AHL) / Newfoundland (ECHL) Free Agent – AHL (June 18, 2022)
KRUSE, Brandon 14 5’9 159 L Saline, MI 02/26/99 Henderson (AHL) / Boston College (NCAA) Free Agent – AHL (August 18, 2022)
NOEL, Nathan 8 5’11 174 R St. John’s, NL 06/21/97 Newfoundland (ECHL) Professional Tryout
O’BRIEN, Zach 10 5’11 216 R St. John’s, NL 06/29/92 Toronto (AHL) / Newfoundland (ECHL) Free Agent – AHL (July 29, 2022)
PLOUFFE, Derian 21 5’10 183 L Nepean, ON 01/15/95 Newfoundland (ECHL) Professional Tryout
SHAW, Logan 11 6’4 212 R Glace Bay, NS 10/05/92 Ottawa (NHL) / Belleville (AHL) Free Agent – AHL (July 13, 2022)
SKIRVING, Todd 15 6’2 190 L Thunder Bay, ON 04/30/92 Newfoundland (ECHL) Professional Tryout
SLAGGERT, Graham 90 6’0 195 L South Bend, IN 04/06/99 Toronto (AHL) / Notre Dame (NCAA) Free Agent – AHL (March 31, 2022)
SOLOW, Zach 73 5’9 185 R Naples, FL 11/06/98 Milwaukee (AHL) / Florida (ECHL) Free Agent – AHL (July 29, 2022)
SUTHERS, Keenan 27 6’8 245 L Tecumseh, ON 04/27/98 Univ. of Maine (NCAA) Free Agent – AHL (June 18, 2022)
WALKER, Nolan 20 5’10 181 R Anchorage, AK 10/20/98 St. Cloud State Univ. (NCAA) Free Agent – AHL (April 5, 2022)
DEFENCE (7)
PLAYER # HT WT SH BIRTHPLACE BORN 2021-22 CLUB(S) ACQUIRED
HELLICKSON, Matthew 12 6’0 183 L Rogers, MN 03/21/98 Toronto (AHL) / Newfoundland (ECHL) Free Agent – AHL (August 17, 2021)
HOEFENMAYER, Noel 2 6’0 192 L Toronto, ON 01/06/99 Toronto (AHL) / Newfoundland (ECHL) Free Agent – AHL (April 4, 2020)
JOYAUX, Michael 4 5’10 181 R Bloomingdale, IL 02/13/97 Western Michigan Univ. (NCAA) Free Agent – AHL (April 5, 2022)
KAPCHECK, Brennan 5 5’9 170 R Mt. Prospect, IL 11/17/96 Toronto (AHL) / Newfoundland (ECHL) Free Agent – AHL (April 2, 2021)
LARSEN, Kasper 6’6 231 L Rødovre, Denmark 09/23/02 Mississauga (OHL) Amateur Tryout
MILLER, Tommy 25 6’2 196 R West Bloomfield, MI 03/06/99 Northeastern (NCAA) Free Agent – AHL (March 31, 2022)
PIETRONIRO, Matteo 32 6’1 185 L Boise, ID 10/20/98 Toronto (AHL) / Newfoundland (ECHL) Free Agent – AHL (June 16, 2022)
GOALTENDERS (3)
PLAYER # HT WT C BIRTHPLACE BORN 2021-22 CLUB(S) ACQUIRED
CAVALLIN, Luke 40 6’2 198 R Swindon, Great Britain 04/29/01 Flint (OHL) Free Agent – AHL (June 6, 2022)
McKAY, Dryden 45 6’0 183 L Downers Grove, IL 11/25/97 Minnesota State (NCAA) Free Agent – AHL (April 25, 2022)
PETRUZZELLI, Keith 80 6’6 180 L Wilbraham, MA 02/09/99 Toronto (AHL) / Newfoundland (ECHL) Free Agent – AHL (August 29, 2021)
INJURED (2)
PLAYER # HT WT C BIRTHPLACE BORN 2021-22 CLUB(S) ACQUIRED
ABRAMOV, Mikhail 95 5’11 170 L Moscow, Russia 03/26/01 Toronto (AHL) 2019 NHL Draft (115th overall)
RINDELL, Axel 61 6’0 192 R Espoo, Finland 04/23/00 Kärpät (Liiga) / Jukurit (Liiga) 2020 NHL Draft (177th overall)
The Toronto Marlies are the primary development program for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Since 2005, 142 players have appeared in regular season games at both the NHL and AHL levels. The 2021-22 Maple Leafs roster featured 14 players who have dressed for both the Maple Leafs and Marlies – Joey Anderson, Kyle Clifford, Carl Dahlström, Pierre Engvall, Justin Holl, Erik Källgren, Timothy Liljegren, Jake Muzzin, William Nylander, Morgan Rielly, Nick Robertson, Rasmus Sandin, Alex Steeves and Joseph Woll.
Anaheim Ducks Assign Four to Gulls – San Diego Gulls
Coyotes Assign Three to Tucson – Tucson Roadrunners
Toronto Marlies Announce 2022 Training Camp Roster – Toronto Marlies
Firebirds Release 22-Game Ticket Membership – Coachella Valley Firebirds
Dallas Stars Loan Three More to Texas Stars – Texas Stars
Monsters Announce Roster Additions Prior to 2022-23 Training Camp – Cleveland Monsters
Blues Assign F Will Bitten to T-Birds – Springfield Thunderbirds
Penguins Sign Center Tyler Sikura – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Roadrunners Host Face-Off Luncheon Thursday, October 20 – Tucson Roadrunners
Silver Knights Announce 2022 Training Camp Roster – Henderson Silver Knights
Iowa Wild Releases 2022-23 Training Camp Roster – Iowa Wild
Texas Stars Begin Training Camp in Cedar Park – Texas Stars
Barracuda Announce 2022-23 Training Camp Details, Roster and Exhibition Schedule – San Jose Barracuda
Chicago Wolves Announce 2022 Training Camp Roster – Chicago Wolves
Wolf Pack Announce 2022 Training Camp Roster – Hartford Wolf Pack
Amerks Announce 2022 Training Camp Schedule – Rochester Americans
Roadrunners Announce Roster for Day One of Training Camp – Tucson Roadrunners
IceHogs Single-Game Tickets Are on Sale Now – Rockford IceHogs
San Diego Gulls Announce 2022 Training Camp Roster and Schedule – San Diego Gulls
Soderblom Assigned to Rockford – Rockford IceHogs
Belleville Sens Announce Initial 2022-23 Training Camp Roster – Belleville Senators
Thunderbirds Announce Initial Training Camp Roster – Springfield Thunderbirds
Comets Sign Forward Zach Senyshyn to AHL Contract – Utica Comets
Comets Announce 2022-23 Training Camp Roster – Utica Comets
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
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OPEC Mulling Largest Cuts Since 2020 Crisis Sources Say
OPEC+ Mulling Largest Cuts Since 2020 Crisis, Sources Say https://digitalalaskanews.com/opec-mulling-largest-cuts-since-2020-crisis-sources-say/
LONDON, Oct 3 (Reuters) – The OPEC+ group of oil producers is discussing output cuts of more than 1 million barrels per day (bpd), OPEC sources said, and voluntary cuts by individual members could come on top of that, making it their largest cut since 2020.
The group is set to meet on Oct. 5 in Vienna — in person for the first time since March 2020 — against a backdrop of falling oil prices and months of severe market volatility which prompted top OPEC+ producer, Saudi Arabia, to say the group could cut production.
OPEC+, which combines OPEC countries and allies such as Russia, has been gradually raising its output target to unwind the record cuts it made in 2020.
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But it now faces a sharp fall in prices, which have dipped below $90 per barrel from as high as $120 in recent months due to fears about the global economy and a rally in the U.S. dollar after the Federal Reserves raised rates.
“It may be as significant as the April 2020 meeting,” the source said, referring to when OPEC+ agreed record supply cuts of around 10 million bpd, or 10% of global supply, as the COVID-19 pandemic slashed demand.
A significant cut is likely to anger the United States, which has been putting pressure on Saudi Arabia to continue pumping more to help oil prices soften further and reduce revenue for Russia as the West seeks to punish Moscow for sending troops into Ukraine.
What the West describes as an invasion the Kremlin calls a special military operation.
Saudi Arabia has not condemned Moscow’s actions amid difficult relations with the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden.
The logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna March 16, 2010. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader/File Photo
Last week, a source familiar with Russian thinking said Moscow would like to see OPEC+ cut its output target by 1 million barrels per day (bpd) or 1% of global supply.
On Sunday, sources said the cut might exceed 1 million bpd.
On Monday, one OPEC source said voluntary cuts by individual members would come on top of that figure.
It was not yet clear what levels of voluntary cuts Saudi Arabia or any other top Gulf OPEC producers could contribute.
In the past few years, only Saudi Arabia has offered voluntary cuts to give additional boost to the markets.
“My instinct is that if they (OPEC+) have suggested a cut and prices are still going down, they will have to do it and a bigger one than they wanted,” said Raad Alkadiri, managing director at Eurasia Group.
Stephen Brennock at PVM said fears of a demand-sapping recession have rattled OPEC+ and hence they are set to take preemptive action.
“It must be noted that OPEC+ is already pumping more than 3 million bpd below its target, hence any further cuts will only exacerbate the existing supply tightness,” he said.
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Reporting by Reuters OPEC, Newsroom; Editing by David Goodman and Louise Heavens
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Ukrainian Troops Overrun Russian Forces Break Through Lines In Recently Annexed Kherson: Live Updates
Ukrainian Troops Overrun Russian Forces, Break Through Lines In Recently Annexed Kherson: Live Updates https://digitalalaskanews.com/ukrainian-troops-overrun-russian-forces-break-through-lines-in-recently-annexed-kherson-live-updates/
A Ukrainian counteroffensive that already has reclaimed thousands of miles is breaking through Russian lines in the southern Kherson region recently annexed by Moscow, Kremlin-installed officials said Monday.
Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-picked head of the Kherson province, said on state television that multiple settlements about 70 miles northeast of Kherson on the Dnieper River have been overrun.
“It’s tense, let’s put it that way,” Saldo said in a translation by Reuters.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in his daily briefing that “with superior tank units … the enemy managed to penetrate into the depths of our defense.” But Konashenkov said Russian troops had fallen back to a defensive position and “continue to inflict massive fire damage” on Kyiv’s forces.
The deputy head of the regional administration, Kirill Stremousov, said Ukraine forces “have broken through a little deeper,” but wrote on Telegram that “everything is under control.”
Ukraine also reported making inroads in the Luhansk province days after reclaiming the strategic eastern city of Lyman in the Donetsk province near the border with Luhansk.
Developments:
►Ihor Murashov, director general of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in the Ukrainian province of Zaporizhzhia, was released from Russian custody after being detained leaving the facility Friday, according to Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
►Russian shelling of eight Ukrainian regions over the past 24 hours killed two civilians and wounded 14 others, Ukraine’s presidential office said Monday.
►The Joint Expeditionary Force group of northern European nations will meet Monday to discuss the safety of undersea pipelines and cables after blasts ruptured two natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said.
Petraeus: US and NATO allies would ‘take out’ Russian forces if they used nukes
There’s an important fact to keep in mind amid the concern Russian President Vladimir Putin has raised with his nuclear threats: The U.S. and its allies would crush the Russian forces, former CIA Director David Petraeus says.
Petraeus, a retired four star general, said that if Putin used nuclear weapons in Ukraine, the U.S. would lead a collective response with other NATO nations “that would take out every Russian conventional force that we can see and identify on the battlefield in Ukraine and also in Crimea and every ship in the Black Sea.”
Petraeus made the comments during a Sunday interview with ABC’s “This Week” in which he said Putin is not only losing the war, but “the battlefield reality he faces is, I think, irreversible.” He added: “There’s nothing he can do at this point. … and the losses have been staggering.”
Petraeus noted that he hasn’t spoken with U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan, who last week revealed the Biden administration has made it clear to the Russians that they would face “catastrophic consequences” if they used nuclear weapons against Ukraine.
Even though Ukraine is not a member of NATO, Petraeus said a Russian nuclear attack would be so “horrific” that the U.S. and its allies would have no choice but to respond militarily.
“But it doesn’t expand, it doesn’t – it’s not nuclear for nuclear. You don’t want to, again, get into a nuclear escalation here,” he said. “But you have to show that this cannot be accepted in any way.”
Russian parliament house approves annexations
The lower house of the Russian parliament on Monday approved the treaties for four regions of Ukraine to join Russia. The unanimous vote by the State Duma came days after President Vladimir Putin and Russian-installed leaders of the four regions signed the treaties. The upper house is expected to follow suit Tuesday. Ukraine, the U.S. and its western allies have dismissed the annexations as having no legal validity.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the entire Donetsk and Luhansk regions that make up the Donbas would join Russia. He said the borders of the two other regions – Zaporizhzhia and Kherson – have not been determined.
Kremlin shrugs off criticism of leadership
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said criticism of Russia’s military leadership by Chechnya’s regional leader was driven by emotions. Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya, scathingly criticized the Russian military command over the weekend, saying the Russian retreat from the city of Lyman in eastern Ukraine was a result of incompetence and nepotism. Kadyrov wrote on Telegram that Russian military leader Colonel-General Alexander Lapin should be fired.
“If I had my way I would have demoted Lapin to private, would have deprived him of his awards and would have sent him to the front line to wash off his shame with the rifle in his hands,” Kadyrov wrote.
Kadyrov also called for the use of low-yield nuclear weapons in Ukraine to reverse the momentum of the war, which has been decidedly in Ukraine’s favor in recent weeks.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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Jim Jordan Ready For Mayorkas Impeachment In GOP-Run House: Failure To Enforce The Law
Jim Jordan Ready For Mayorkas Impeachment In GOP-Run House: ‘Failure To Enforce The Law’ https://digitalalaskanews.com/jim-jordan-ready-for-mayorkas-impeachment-in-gop-run-house-failure-to-enforce-the-law/
Rep. Jim Jordan laid out the case for impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, telling The Washington Times he “deserves it” after having overseen an unprecedented surge of illegal activity at the southern border.
Mr. Jordan, who is in line to become chairman of the House Judiciary Committee with jurisdiction over impeachment should Republicans win control of the chamber in November, said the decision to pull the trigger will be made collectively.
But the Ohio Republican, in an interview with The Times, signaled his support for the idea.
“Mayorkas deserves it,” Mr. Jordan said. “He’s told us how many times the border is secure and you almost want to say, like, ‘what are you talking about?’ There’s not a rational person with an ounce of common sense who thinks the border is secure. We don’t really have a border anymore, and we’ve had a record number of millions of illegal migrants coming across, so he certainly deserves it, but that’ll be a decision we make as a committee and one that we make as a conference.”
Mr. Mayorkas is the most likely first target as Republicans eye control of the impeachment power, but he’s not the only possibility.
Various GOP lawmakers have introduced measures backing impeachment against President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. None of them have gone anywhere in the Democrat-controlled chamber.
SEE ALSO: Woman who enlisted migrants for flights to Martha’s Vineyard ID’ed by media outlets
The Mayorkas impeachment resolution, sponsored by Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, has garnered the most support, with more than 30 GOP members signing on.
Asked if the votes for impeachment are there, Mr. Jordan paused.
“I don’t know, but I do think there is strong sentiment among House Republicans, particularly House Republicans on the Judiciary Committee that Mayorkas has done an absolutely terrible job,” he said.
Impeachment requires only a majority vote in the House.
Once an official is impeached, the Senate then holds a trial. It takes a two-thirds majority in the Senate for conviction and removal from office.
Only one Cabinet official has ever been impeached, in 1876, and the Senate did not vote to convict in that case. Several others have resigned while impeachment proceedings were underway in the House.
Written more than a year ago, Mr. Biggs’s measure describes the case against Mr. Mayorkas as “a pattern of conduct that is incompatible with his duties.” That included halting the construction of the border wall while overseeing the catch-and-release of unprecedented numbers of illegal immigrants, and a rise in the trafficking of illegal drugs such as fentanyl.
Mr. Jordan said the case against Mr. Mayorkas would be a “failure to enforce the law and secure the border in a general sense.”
He said the number of terrorism suspects trying to sneak into the U.S. could become part of impeachment proceedings. From Oct. 1 through Aug. 30, Border Patrol agents recorded nabbing 78 people who appear on the government’s terrorist watchlist.
Mr. Jordan earlier this year confronted Mr. Mayorkas over the number and demanded to know what happened to them.
“Have they been sent back? Were they released? What’s the status? He said, ‘I don’t know.’ That in and of itself would raise concerns of are you fit for this job,” Mr. Jordan said.
Homeland Security declined to comment.
In the past, Mr. Mayorkas brushed aside calls for his ouster. He told CNN earlier this year he wasn’t concerned. “I am focused on mission,” he told the network.
He has defended his decisions as restoring humanity to an immigration system that he says tilted too far during the Trump years. Mr. Mayorkas says he has a vision for a safe, secure and orderly flow of migrants and he’s trying to execute those plans.
Critics wonder why those plans weren’t in place before he led the dismantling of the Trump-era tools that had largely calmed the border.
Calls for Mr. Mayorkas’s ouster have begun to increase recently.
Chad Wolf, who served as acting secretary in the Trump administration, told The Times’ “Politically Unstable” podcast in August that there was a “very strong case” for impeaching him.
“Your job is to enforce the laws as Congress has written,” Mr. Wolf said. “There’s a number of things Congress has told you to do, and if you say, ‘I’m not going to do that because I have limited resources and I’m just going to exempt whole [categories of] people from that,’ I would say that’s a good case of you’re ignoring the law.”
A former ambassador to Mexico, Christopher Landau, who served in the Trump administration, also said Mr. Mayorkas should face impeachment.
The GOP’s appetite for impeachment has been fueled partly by the two impeachments of President Trump, both of which failed to win enough votes for conviction in the Senate.
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Today https://digitalalaskanews.com/today/
“Two good reasons to impeach Biden: dereliction of duty and to protect the U.S. from all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
“Still think Biden is fit for office after at a White House conference he called out to a congresswoman who died in a car wreck in August?”
“Why isn’t stuff placed into landfills burned? What is the point of leaving it there?”
“Watching Brian Kemp try to blame Stacey Abrams for things that have happened in Georgia while he’s been the governor would be funny but way too many people believe it. All of the things that hurt your family have happened under Republican control in our state.”
“Every time Joe Biden and the Democrats go out and talk about zero inflation and a strong economy they’re begging for the acceptance of every American, but nobody believes them anymore. They inherited a booming economy with virtually no inflation from Donald Trump and, in slightly more than a year, turned it into a busting recession with record inflation. That’s not an easy thing to do and still despite what financial markets are telling them, what typical families and parents are telling them, what the border crisis and what the U.S. crime wave is telling them, they continue to refuse to listen.”
“Is there a representative who could help with getting better cellphone communications in the west side of the Whitfield County area?. I had gas delivered and the driver could not connect to print an invoice.”
“The Public Service Commission is totally controlled by Republicans. Enjoy the price hike or are you a socialist?”
“Are you kidding me? You think the media made up the story that the mob on Jan. 6 had the intent of hanging Mike Pence? The mob was chanting ‘Hang Mike Pence,’ they erected a gallows, and Trump himself said Pence deserved it. It’s inconceivable that Republicans deny this happened.”
“The U.S. has 286 million vehicles. It has 2.3 million electric vehicles. Electric vehicles are the future. But it is a distant future.”
“The one thing you can not say about Trump is that he’s for the people. That’s the most absurd statement I’ve ever heard in The Forum (and that’s saying a lot). He’s for people who are for him. The minute you aren’t for him he turns on you. Need proof? He’s more than willing to give our state to Stacey Abrams just to get back at Kemp. A state absolutely full of his own devotees. Ultimately, the only thing he is for is himself. You just happen to benefit from his service to himself occasionally. No matter how many times we miss the target, Americans still need to try to elect presidents that actually see all people as ‘their people.'”
“I have so enjoyed reading the new Sandra Derrick column that highlights various local restaurants. It is one of the few columns that I read start to finish!”
“If Trump declassified documents with his mind, Biden reclassified them on Jan. 22, 2021.”
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Oath Keepers Leader Regretted Not Having Guns On Jan. 6 Prosecutors Say At Seditious Conspiracy Trial
Oath Keepers Leader Regretted Not Having Guns On Jan. 6, Prosecutors Say At Seditious Conspiracy Trial https://digitalalaskanews.com/oath-keepers-leader-regretted-not-having-guns-on-jan-6-prosecutors-say-at-seditious-conspiracy-trial/
WASHINGTON — The founder of the far-right Oath Keepers was recorded days after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol saying his “only regret” about that day is that the group “should have brought rifles,” federal prosecutors revealed in federal court Monday.
Opening statements began Monday in the seditious conspiracy trial of Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes alongside Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins and Thomas Caldwell. Other members of the alleged conspiracy will go on trial in November.
The Justice Department alleges that Rhodes and members of his organization plotted to oppose the peaceful transfer of power, stockpiling guns in “quick reaction forces” just outside of D.C. that could be brought into the city at a moment’s notice. Rhodes’ lawyers have noted that he followed D.C.’s strict gun laws, which they say is an indication that he would have only acted upon an order from then-President Donald Trump. But the audio recording and other evidence prosecutors presented Monday suggest that Rhodes planned to disrupt certification of the presidential election regardless of what Trump said.
“My only regret is that they should have brought rifles,” Rhodes said in a recording from Jan. 10 played by the government. He added that they could’ve “fixed it right then and there” if they had weapons with them at the Capitol.
Rhodes’ defense attorneys are using a novel legal defense strategy, arguing that he believed his actions leading up to Jan. 6 were legal because he believed Trump would invoke the Insurrection Act.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nestler said that Rhodes’ references to the Insurrection Act were nothing more than an attempt to give legal cover for something that Rhodes, a Yale-educated attorney, knew was illegal. His proof? A recording of Rhodes saying the Insurrection Act references were “legal cover,” which Nestler played for the jury.
The trial is expected to further highlight ties between Trump associates and the far-right Oath Keepers, who provided security for high-profile Trump supporters and had links to others in Trump’s orbit. As NBC News reported, Kellye SoRelle — the general counsel for the Oath Keepers who was charged in connection with Jan. 6 last month — had been in touch with former Trump White House aide Andrew Giuliani in connection with her work for Lawyers for Trump during the 2020 campaign. SoRelle has said that Rhodes asked for her White House contacts ahead of Jan. 6.
Another Oath Keeper who pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy told the court that Rhodes spoke with a Trump intermediary on the night of Jan. 6 and asked to speak directly to Trump while imploring the person “to tell President Trump to call upon groups like the Oath Keepers to forcibly oppose a transfer of power.”
Citing America’s history of a peaceful transfer of power dating back to George Washington and John Adams, Nestler told jurors during opening arguments that the Oath Keepers “tried to change that history” by keeping Trump in power.
The defendants “banded together to do whatever was necessary, up to and including using force, to stop the transfer of power from Donald Trump to President-elect Joe Biden,” Nestler said.
“If Congress could not meet, it could not declare the winner of the election,” he said. “And that was their goal.”
The Oath Keepers, he said, “were fighting a war, and they won a battle in that war” on Jan. 6.
After the riot, Nestler said, Rhodes tried to get other members of the Oath Keepers to delete their texts.
“You all need to delete any of your comments regarding who did what,” Rhodes told members of an Oath Keepers group chat on Jan. 8.
“Do not chat about Oath Keeper members allegedly doing anything at Capitol,” he said. “Go dark on that. Do not discuss… Let me put it in infantry speak: SHUT THE F–K UP.”
Phillip Linder, one of Rhodes’ lawyers, told jurors that the government was presenting selective evidence of his client’s actions that day. Linder, who had to be reined in by the judge several times because he made unallowable arguments that cited media coverage or referred to the amount of time the defendants could spend behind bars if convicted, told jurors that the evidence “is going to show you that my client, Mr. Rhodes, did nothing illegal.”
Linder confirmed that Rhodes will testify during the trial.
“The real evidence is going to show that our clients were there to do security for events that were scheduled on the 5th and the 6th,” Linder said.
“Stewart Rhodes meant no harm to the Capitol that day,” he said. “Stewart Rhodes did not have any violent intent that day.”
The Justice Department disagrees, saying this group of Oath Keepers weren’t there to assist anyone on Jan. 6.
“They did not go to the Capitol to defend or to help, they went to attack,” Nestler said.
Opening arguments from the other members of the Oath Keepers who are on trial were scheduled for Monday afternoon. The trial is expected to last five weeks.
Ryan J. Reilly is a justice reporter for NBC News.
Daniel Barnes
Daniel Barnes reports for NBC News, based in Washington.
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Voting Groups File Lawsuits Over Wisconsin https://digitalalaskanews.com/voting-groups-file-lawsuits-over-wisconsin/
By Scott Bauer, Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Two lawsuits filed in the last week of September argue that Wisconsin election clerks should be allowed to accept absentee ballots that are missing portions of witness addresses, the next step in the ongoing legal battle that has pit conservatives against liberals in the battleground state.
The lawsuits, filed three days apart on Sept. 27 and Sept. 30, come after a judge in Waukesha County circuit court in September sided with Republicans and said election clerks are barred from filling in missing information on the form that serves as an envelope for absentee ballots.
The judge struck down guidance issued by the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission, in place for six years, saying that clerks could fill in missing information. The judge agreed with Republicans that there is nothing in law allowing clerks to do that.
The practice, known as ballot curing, was unchallenged until after Donald Trump’s narrow loss in 2020 when nearly 1.4 million voters cast absentee ballots and COVID-19 vaccines weren’t available yet.
Absent any guidance, there is confusion among election officials over how much of an address must be provided by the witness to allow for the ballot to be counted.
Absentee ballots with partial witness addresses should be accepted, not rejected, according to a lawsuit seeking an order to that effect filed Friday by the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin. The group is represented by Fair Elections Center and Law Forward, law firms that have represented liberal groups suing over voting rights in Wisconsin.
Rejecting a ballot because it doesn’t have parts of a witness address violates the 1964 Civil Rights Act’s prohibition on denying a vote based on immaterial omission or error, the lawsuit contends. Also, the lack of notice to voters whose ballots are threatened with rejection violates the U.S. Constitution’s due process requirements, the lawsuit argues.
“Our aim is to obtain certainty for voters and the municipal clerks who do the critical work of administering Wisconsin’s elections, and to make sure that every eligible voter may have their voice heard in November,” said Law Forward attorney Dan Lenz.
Their complaint comes three days after a liberal group filed a similar lawsuit seeking a definition of what constitutes an address under the law. That lawsuit was filed by Rise Inc., which encourages students to vote, along with Jason Rivera, a Madison voter.
That lawsuit seeks an order requiring the Wisconsin Elections Commission to tell local election officials that they must accept ballots as long as the witness address “includes sufficient information from which the clerk can reasonably discern the place where the witness may be communicated with.”
Both lawsuits were filed in Dane County circuit court. None of the legal battles are expected to be resolved before the November midterm election. The fight is likely to go to the conservative-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court.
The Legislative Audit Bureau last year reviewed nearly 15,000 absentee ballot envelopes from the 2020 election across 29 municipalities and found that 1,022, or about 7%, were missing parts of witness addresses. Only 15 ballots, or 0.1%, had no witness address. Auditors found that clerks had corrected addresses on 66 envelopes, or 0.4% of the sample.
President Joe Biden defeated Trump by just under 21,000 votes, a margin similar to Trump’s victory in 2016.
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