Digital Arkansas News

Issue 3 Could Solidify Religious Freedom In The State Constitution https://digitalarkansasnews.com/issue-3-could-solidify-religious-freedom-in-the-state-constitution/ We’re taking a look at Issue 3 on the ballot and learning that if passed, it would support adding Arkansas Religious Freedom Restoration Act to the AR constitution. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The U.S. Constitution states that there can’t be a preferred religion and that the government can’t keep people from worshiping how they want. Though sometimes, it’s not cut-and-dried, such as when a government agency says people can’t go to a church because of a virus. Issue 3 would put a limit in the Arkansas constitution’s legal language on how the government’s rules can impact religion— even if the rules didn’t set out to impact religious beliefs.  Arkansas Family Council is a longtime conservative group that supports the amendment, and their president, Jerry Cox, explained that government cannot burden your free exercise of religion unless they have a compelling reason to do so.  “Then, if they do that, they have to do it in the least restrictive means possible,” added Cox. For example, the laws that were designed to limit large gatherings during COVID could be deemed unconstitutional because they ended up limiting religious gatherings. Even though the law didn’t set out to limit religious gatherings specifically. According to John DiPippa, dean emeritus of the UA-Little Rock Bowen School of Law, the government would then have to prove that the rule is necessary. “If the state wants to burden religion in any way, it has to meet the highest level of judicial scrutiny,” DiPippa said. “What that means is, it has to have a really important reason. And it has to show that there’s no other way to accomplish that reason, except by burdening religion.” Given the First Amendment’s religious protections, you would think this specific idea would have already been understood, but for 25 years, there have been efforts to solidify the concept. Issue 3 was crafted on the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which first tried to clear things up when it passed Congress in 1994. A few years later, the US Supreme Court limited federal law, and that’s when 21 states, including Arkansas, put a RFRA in place to extend it to local situations. Supporters have said that Issue 3 would take the law that’s already in place, and make it a constitutional amendment. “[It] Guarantees the same religious freedoms that the U.S. Constitution protects,” said Cox. “And so we have it in the U.S. Constitution, and if issue three passes, we’ll have protections in the state constitution this well.” Why do its supporters think it’s necessary? “It’s much much harder to change the Constitution than it is to repeal a statute, said DiPippa. “Putting it in the Constitution makes it more or less permanent.” So, a vote of “yes” would support amending the constitution so that the “government shall not burden a person’s freedom of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability.” Meanwhile a vote of “no” would oppose making this a constitutional amendment, but the state law would still be in place. Read More…

MD Governor Forum: Candidates' Position On I-270 Express Lanes https://digitalarkansasnews.com/md-governor-forum-candidates-position-on-i-270-express-lanes/ CBS Miami So, who won? Val Demings & Marco Rubio face off in heated debate Democratic U.S. Rep. Val Demings went on the attack Tuesday in her first debate against Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, castigating him as a serial liar, while Rubio criticized her for supporting President Joe Biden’s economic agenda. Each accused the other of being an extremist on abortion. Bloomberg Trump Fraud Suit Will Stay Before Judge Who Held Him in Contempt (Bloomberg) — Former President Donald Trump lost his request to transfer New York’s fraud lawsuit against him and his company to a different court division in Manhattan, ensuring the case will remain before the same judge who once held him in contempt of court.Most Read from BloombergTrump Prosecutors See Evidence for Obstruction ChargesWeed Is Coming to Circle K Gas Stations in US Next YearA Tense Pay Dispute Overshadows Nintendo’s Upcoming Bayonetta 3Trump Special Master Has ‘No Patience’ for Bloomberg Trump Special Master Has ‘No Patience’ for Records Spats (Bloomberg) — The special master reviewing documents seized from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate warned the former president’s lawyers that their initial efforts to claim certain records were personal and not presidential might be lacking enough detail.Most Read from BloombergA Tense Pay Dispute Overshadows Nintendo’s Upcoming Bayonetta 3$200 Diesel Puts Biden in an Ugly CornerTrump Special Master Has ‘No Patience’ for Records SpatsBlinken Says China Wants to Seize Taiwan on ‘Much Faster Timel Reuters U.S. senator to hold EV battery hearing if GOP takes control SPARTANBURG, South Carolina (Reuters) -U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on Wednesday said he will hold a hearing on electric vehicle batteries and sourcing issues if his party takes control after the November midterm elections. Graham, who would be Budget Committee chair under GOP control, said the hearing would look at the impact of the shift to EVs on automakers and the oil industry. “South Carolina’s going to become the Detroit of batteries.” The Recount Herschel Walker, who did not attend the second debate, attacks Sen. Warnock (D-GA) who did. Georgia Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker, who did not attend the second debate, attacked Democratic Senator Warnock for his performance during the second debate. At the first debate between the two candidates, Herschel Walker received immense criticism for bringing out a fake police badge, claiming he works with police officers. Recently, a former partner of Herschel Walker came out and announced that Herschel Walker paid for her to have an abortion. The Daily Beast Hannity Spins Durham Probe Acquittal: ‘I Never Really Cared That Much’ Fox NewsFox News host Sean Hannity on Tuesday tried to extract some good news from the acquittal of Igor Danchenko in what was Special Counsel John Durham’s final case, in part by minimizing his own past focus on the Steele dossier researcher.“A lot of people think this was a loss for Durham,” Hannity said after a judge found Danchenko not guilty on four counts of lying to the FBI. The work by Durham, the Trump-era prosecutor tasked with probing the FBI’s investigation into the Trump campaign’s Associated Press China party congress offers look at future leaders While Xi Jinping is primed to receive a third term as head of China’s ruling Communist Party on Sunday, it is unknown who will join him for the next five years on the party’s leading bodies, the Central Committee and the Politburo. Analysts will scrutinize who joins, and who leaves, for any clues about the future direction of policy as well as just how much power the 69-year-old Xi has been able to amass as one of China’s most influential figures in the country’s modern political history. Most closely watched will be the Politburo Standing Committee, whose size fluctuates but has stood at seven members under Xi. Read More Here

Federal Judge Rules That President Trump Knew Ga. Voter Fraud Claims In Legal Documents Were False https://digitalarkansasnews.com/federal-judge-rules-that-president-trump-knew-ga-voter-fraud-claims-in-legal-documents-were-false/ WASHINGTON, D.C. — Former President Donald Trump signed legal documents challenging the results of the 2020 election that included voter fraud claims he knew to be false, a federal judge said in a ruling Wednesday. U.S. District Court Judge David Carter in an 18-page opinion ordered the release of those emails between Trump and attorney John Eastman to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. He said those communications cannot be withheld because they include evidence of potential crimes. “The emails show that President Trump knew that the specific numbers of voter fraud were wrong but continued to tout those numbers, both in court and to the public,” Carter wrote. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Though the judge’s conclusion has no practical bearing on a separate Justice Department investigation into efforts to overturn the election, any evidence that Trump signed documents he knew to be false could at minimum be a notable data point for criminal prosecutors trying to sort out culpability for far-ranging efforts to undo the results. The judge specifically cited claims from Trump’s attorneys that Fulton County in Georgia had improperly counted more than 10,000 votes of dead people, felons and unregistered voters. Those false allegations were part of a filing that Trump’s legal team made in Georgia state court on Dec. 4, 2021. Later that month, Eastman warned in a message that Trump had been made aware that “some of the allegations (and evidence proffered by the experts)” in that Georgia filing “has been inaccurate.” Yet even after the message from Eastman, Trump and his team filed another legal complaint that had “the same inaccurate numbers,” the judge wrote. Trump under oath verified the complaint was true to the best of his knowledge. TRENDING STORIES: Gwinnett mother accused of killing child after using oven to heat apartment, police say GA election officials investigating after suspected fake ballot discovered at early voting location Legendary Hall of Fame UGA football player Charley Trippi dies at 100 Carter wrote that the emails are “sufficiently related to and in furtherance of a conspiracy to defraud the United States.” Representatives for Trump and Eastman did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for the Jan. 6 committee declined to comment on the ongoing litigation. The ruling is the latest development in a months-long legal battle between Eastman — a conservative lawyer and lead architect of Trump’s last-ditch efforts to stay in office — and congressional investigators. Eastman has been trying to withhold documents from the committee on the basis of attorney-client privilege claims. The committee has argued that there is a legal exception allowing the disclosure of communications regarding ongoing or future crimes. And Carter has mostly agreed, ordering the release of hundreds of emails to the House committee since the spring. In a stunning ruling in March, the judge had asserted that it is “more likely than not” that Trump committed crimes in his attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 election. Carter in his ruling Wednesday said the messages he has reviewed from Eastman and other attorneys show that the “primary goal” for some of their litigation was to stop the certification of President Joe Biden’s election win. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] The totality of the evidence makes clear that “Trump filed certain lawsuits not to obtain legal relief, but to disrupt or delay the January 6 congressional proceedings through the courts,” the judge wrote. The emails from Eastman are part of the House committee’s investigation into a multi-part plan by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election and the ensuing violence at the Capitol. The release of the emails could be critical for the committee as it enters the last few months of its probe when lawmakers will have to decide whether to send a criminal referral against Trump and his allies to the Justice Department. The judge ordered Eastman to give the documents to the committee by the afternoon of Oct. 28. IN OTHER NEWS: Gwinnett mother accused of killing child after using oven to heat apartment, police say Police say Jasmine Walker, 30, used the oven to heat her Norcross apartment while she slept with her baby. ©2022 Cox Media Group Read More Here

Trump Made Insensitive Comments About Jews In 2021 Video Clip – KVIA https://digitalarkansasnews.com/trump-made-insensitive-comments-about-jews-in-2021-video-clip-kvia/ By Jim Acosta, Brian Rokus and Paul LeBlanc, CNN Former President Donald Trump asked whether a documentary filmmaker interviewing him last year was a “good Jewish character,” according to the filmmaker and video obtained by CNN. The 60-second clip, which was recorded in May 2021 at Trump’s Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club and first reported by The New York Times, shows the former President as he spoke with several people off-camera. In the clip, he told documentary filmmaker Alex Holder “don’t let it roll” as he converses with a woman who approached him with a comment about his support among Jewish voters. Following a jump in the video clip, Trump is shown boasting about an executive order he signed in 2019 that recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights before pointing to Holder and asking, “Is this a good Jewish character right here?” “I am,” Holder responds. “You’ve got to love Trump,” the former President continued. “In Israel, I’m the most popular. With Orthodox, I’m the most popular.” At another point in Holder’s footage, Trump asks someone else: “Are you Persian?” “My parents were from Iran,” the person says. “Be careful, they’re very good sales[men],” Trump replies as the clip cuts off. CNN has reached out to representatives for Trump for comment. Holder, a British documentary filmmaker, had access to Trump and his family in the weeks after the election. The short clip of Trump’s comments are an outtake of footage for his documentary, “Unprecedented.” Just this week, Trump criticized American Jews for what he argued was their insufficient praise of his policies toward Israel, warning that they need to “get their act together” before “it is too late!” The suggestion, made on Trump’s social media platform Truth Social, plays into the antisemitic trope that US Jews have dual loyalties to the US and to Israel, and it drew immediate condemnation. Those comments echo an argument he has made before. In an interview last December, the former President argued that Jewish Americans “either don’t like Israel or don’t care about Israel,” and also repeated his claim that evangelicals “love Israel more than the Jews in this country.” Additionally, during his first campaign for president, Trump delivered a speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition that was rife with antisemitic stereotypes. A Pew Research survey released in 2021 found that 45% of Jewish adults in the US viewed caring about Israel as “essential” to what being Jewish means, with an additional 37% saying it was “important, but not essential.” Only 16% said caring about Israel was “not important.” The-CNN-Wire & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. Read More Here

Day 3: Arkansas Transgender Healthcare Trial Continues https://digitalarkansasnews.com/day-3-arkansas-transgender-healthcare-trial-continues/ LITTLE ROCK, Ark – Testimony continues in a trial against Arkansas’ bill to ban care for transgender youth under the age of 18.  Day 3 of the trial began with testimony from Dr. Michelle Hutchison.  Hutchison was previously the medical director of Arkansas Children’s Gender Clinic.  In her testimony, Hutchison explained that she saw 3 of the plaintiffs in the case for treatment for Gender Dysphoria.  In her explanation, she went through points in which she would administer treatment.  Most began with mental health and psychological assessment of the patient. Discussing daily habits, mental state and how long they had identified in a specific gender.  Hutchison said in most cases she would see patients for 10 months or more before recommending any sort of medical treatment.  “If any member of the team felt that it wasn’t right, that would delay treatment,” Hutchison stated.  In the past few months, Hutchison says the clinic has stopped medically treating new patients in anticipation the states bill banning care would become law.  Hutchison said she has fears about this becoming a reality.  “Forcing a kid to wait until they’re 18, I just worry these kids are going to hurt themselves,” Hutchison said.  Dr. Kathryn Stambough who is the current director, taking over Hutchison, echoed those same concerns in relation to suicide rates.  “Not every patient could make it to 18,” Stambough stated.  Also Wednesday, two sets of parents with transgender children were called to give testimony.  First to the stand was Amanda Dennis.  Dennis has a 10-year-old daughter, Brooke, who is transgender.  Dennis says before Brooke came out as transgender, life was relatively dark for the young child.  “A lot of moments in her young life when you’re supposed to be happy, she didn’t have that,” Dennis said.  Dennis says Brooke came out as transgender in the second grade. Shortly after she started seeing a therapist for Gender Dysphoria.  “She got her smile back. A lot of that sadness went away,” Dennis said.  Joanna Brandt, a parent of a transgender child, said it was a world of difference when her son Dylan, started hormone therapy.  “He had been holding his breath for years and he was finally able to exhale and relax,” Brandt said.  Both parents said they feel anxious about the possibility of Arkansas’ ban becoming reality. Brandt says she feels like the state is forcing her out.  “We’re not ready to leave,” Brandt proclaimed.  The plaintiff, in this case, is expected to rest Friday in which case the State will present its testimony.  Read More…

Fort Smith City Administrator Charged With A Class-A Misdemeanor https://digitalarkansasnews.com/fort-smith-city-administrator-charged-with-a-class-a-misdemeanor/ Fort Smith City Administrator charged with a class-a misdemeanor  KATV Read More Here

Trump’s Promised ‘Crime Of The Century’ Fizzles In The End https://digitalarkansasnews.com/trumps-promised-crime-of-the-century-fizzles-in-the-end/ By Eric Tucker | Associated Press WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump once predicted that a special prosecutor appointed during his administration would uncover “the crime of the century” — a conspiracy to sink his 2016 campaign. Yet here are the results of the three-year probe by prosecutor John Durham: two trial acquittals — the latest on Tuesday — and a former FBI attorney sentenced to probation. That has fallen far short of Trump supporters’ expectations that Durham would reveal a “deep state” plot behind the U.S. government’s investigation into ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. The outcome has led to scrutiny over the purpose of Durham’s appointment by former Attorney General William Barr, who tasked him with sussing out misconduct in the Trump-Russia probe. It also has raised questions about whether or when the current attorney general, Merrick Garland, might move to rein in Durham’s work or hasten its completion. “You really measure the success of an investigation by what it uncovers in terms of pernicious activity, and he’s uncovered nothing,” said Stephen Saltzburg, a George Washington University law professor and former senior Justice Department official. There are no signs Durham plans to charge anyone else in his investigation. He is expected to produce a report at some point, but it’s unclear whether he will identify any significant misconduct or errors beyond those already reported by the Justice Department’s watchdog. Barr gave Durham a broad mandate in 2019 to hunt for wrongdoing by the FBI or other agencies in the early days of their investigation into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia. At the time, Durham was the U.S. attorney in Connecticut with decades of Justice Department experience, including investigating CIA interrogations of terror suspects. Trump supporters cheered the appointment, and not just because of Durham’s bona fides. The appointment was made shortly after the conclusion of an investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, which found substantial contacts between Russians and Trump associates but did not allege a criminal conspiracy between them. In December 2019, a Justice Department inspector general report concluded that the Russia investigation was opened for a legitimate reason but identified numerous errors in how it was conducted — giving Trump and his supporters an avenue of attack and optimism over Durham. But by the end of 2020, there were signs Durham’s investigation was losing momentum. One of his top prosecutors resigned without explanation from the Justice Department. Months later, Barr told The Wall Street Journal that he did not believe there had been improper activity during the Russia investigation by the CIA, even though suspicions about the intelligence community had helped prompt Durham’s appointment in the first place. The year ended with just one criminal case — a guilty plea by an FBI lawyer who admitted doctoring an internal email related to the surveillance of a former Trump campaign adviser. Kevin Clinesmith was sentenced to probation, rather than prison. Notably, the case involved conduct uncovered in an earlier investigation by the inspector general, rather than by Durham’s team. Two other criminal cases, also narrow in nature, faltered. After deliberating for just a few hours, a jury in May acquitted Michael Sussmann, a lawyer for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. He had been accused of lying to the FBI during a meeting in which he presented the bureau’s top lawyer with information about Trump he thought should be investigated. On Tuesday, a jury acquitted Igor Danchenko, a Russian analyst at a U.S. think tank who’d been accused of lying to the FBI about his role in the creation of a largely discredited dossier — a compendium of unproven assertions that sought to tie Trump to Russia and whose creation was funded by Democrats. During the trial, he attacked the credibility of FBI agents who were his own witnesses. Despite the lack of convictions, Durham has still managed to cast an unflattering light on aspects of the Russia investigation. The Danchenko trial, for instance, centered on the origins of the dossier, which helped form the basis of secret surveillance applications the FBI filed to monitor the communications of ex-Trump campaign aide Carter Page. Even so, Page was one of numerous threads investigated by the FBI, and the dossier did not initiate the Russia probe. The allegations from Durham’s probe have also not erased the core finding of the Mueller probe — that Russia wanted Trump elected and that Trump’s team welcomed the help — nor have they swayed jurors. “While Durham essentially tried to put the FBI itself on trial through these prosecutions by pointing to missteps and errors in the early Trump-Russia probe, the cases painted the FBI as more victim than perpetrator and evidence of any orchestrated scheme by FBI agents to steer the investigation for political purposes never materialized,” Robert Mintz, a New Jersey lawyer and former federal prosecutor, wrote in an email. The Justice Department declined to comment about Durham’s future, including how much longer his team might continue or when he might produce a report. Weeks before he resigned, Barr designated Durham as a special counsel to ensure his investigation would continue in the Biden administration. A spokesman for Durham declined to comment on criticism of the work. Garland and senior Justice Department leaders, perhaps careful to avoid the perception of meddling in such a politically charged investigation, have taken a hands-off approach to Durham’s work. Before Sussmann was indicted, his attorneys appealed to senior department officials in hopes of preventing a charge, according to a person familiar with the matter who insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations. But the Justice Department rebuffed the protest, allowing the case to proceed. Now, though, there is rising pressure not only on Durham to wrap up but on Garland, as attorney general, to urge him along. “I think he was very wise to let this run its course,” Saltzburg said of Garland. “I believe the course has been run. It’s over. I believe what Merrick Garland should say to Durham is, it’s time to submit your report and go home.” Associated Press writer Matthew Barakat in Alexandria, Virginia, contributed to this report. Read More Here

Trump Deposed In Defamation Suit Filed By E. Jean Carroll https://digitalarkansasnews.com/trump-deposed-in-defamation-suit-filed-by-e-jean-carroll/ Former President Donald Trump answered questions under oath Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by E. Jean Carroll, a magazine columnist who says he raped her in the mid-1990s in a department store dressing room. The deposition gave Carroll’s lawyers a chance to interrogate Trump about the assault allegations, as well as statements he made in 2019 when she told her story publicly for the first time. Details on how the deposition went weren’t immediately disclosed. “We’re pleased that on behalf of our client, E. Jean Carroll, we were able to take Donald Trump’s deposition today. We are not able to comment further,” the law firm representing her, Kaplan Hecker & Fink, said in a statement. Trump has said Carroll’s rape allegation is “a hoax and a lie.” His legal team worked for years to delay his deposition in the lawsuit, which was filed when the Republican was still president. A federal judge last week rejected Trump’s request for another delay, saying he couldn’t “run the clock out on plaintiff’s attempt to gain a remedy for what allegedly was a serious wrong.” Trump’s lawyers didn’t immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment about the deposition. Carroll was to have been questioned by Trump’s lawyers last Friday. Neither her attorneys nor Trump’s have responded to questions about how that deposition went. The lawyers also haven’t disclosed whether Trump’s deposition was done in person or remotely, over video. Trump was in Florida on Wednesday. The lawsuit is being handled in a court in New York City. Anything Trump said during his deposition could potentially be used as evidence in an upcoming civil trial. He hasn’t faced any criminal charges related to Carroll’s allegations, and any prosecution is unlikely. The deadline for criminal charges over alleged sexual assaults that occurred in the 1990s has long expired. Similar legal deadlines also applied to civil lawsuits claiming sexual assault. As a result, Carroll chose to sue Trump for defamation over comments he made in 2019 when he denied any wrongdoing. She maintains that her reputation was damaged by his denials and attacks on her credibility and character. However, New York lawmakers recently gave people a one-year window to take old sexual assault claims to civil courts. Carroll’s lawyer has told the court she intends to file such a suit against Trump after that window opens in late November. According to Carroll’s account, she bumped into Trump as the two were shopping at the Bergdorf Goodman store across Fifth Avenue from Trump Tower. At the time, Carroll was on television as the host of an advice program, “Ask E. Jean.” She said the two engaged in friendly banter as she tried to help him pick out a gift. But when they were briefly alone in a dressing room, she said he pulled down her tights and raped her. In a recent statement, Trump called that story “a complete con job.” “I don’t know this woman, have no idea who she is, other than it seems she got a picture of me many years ago, with her husband, shaking my hand on a reception line at a celebrity charity event,” Trump said. Read More Here

Reuters US Domestic News Summary | Law-Order https://digitalarkansasnews.com/reuters-us-domestic-news-summary-law-order-3/ Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Mexico confident U.S. will expand humanitarian access for Venezuelans The U.S. government is likely to increase the number of Venezuelans to which it grants humanitarian access under a recent migrant accord, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Wednesday. Under a bilateral plan announced last Wednesday, Washington said it would grant up to 24,000 Venezuelans humanitarian access to the United States by air, while enabling U.S. officials to expel to Mexico those caught trying to cross illegally by land. U.S. Senate candidate Fetterman releases doctor letter saying he is OK Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman of Pennsylvania released a doctor’s letter on Wednesday that said he was recovering well from a stroke and has no work restrictions. Fetterman, the Pennsylvania lieutenant governor who faces Republican celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz in November’s election, has gradually returned to the campaign trail in recent months after suffering a stroke in May that he said nearly killed him. U.S. senator to hold EV battery hearing if GOP takes control U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on Wednesday said he will hold a hearing on electric vehicle batteries and sourcing issues if his party takes control after the November midterm elections. Graham, who would be Budget Committee chair under GOP control, said the hearing would look at the impact of the shift to EVs on automakers and the oil industry. U.S. committee recommends COVID shot for CDC’s free vaccine program An expert committee on Wednesday recommended that COVID-19 shots become part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) vaccine program for children, which provides many types of free inoculations to millions of kids each year. While all COVID-19 vaccines are currently provided free in the United States by the federal government, the U.S. public health emergency is expected to end in early 2023 and the private market will take over distribution of COVID vaccines and treatments. Trump deposed in writer’s defamation suit over rape claim Donald Trump was deposed on Wednesday in a defamation lawsuit brought in New York by writer E. Jean Carroll after the former U.S. president denied having raped her, a spokesperson for Carroll said in a statement. “We’re pleased that on behalf of our client, E. Jean Carroll, we were able to take Donald Trump’s deposition today,” the spokesperson said, declining to provide further details. Pennsylvania man charged with threatening to kill Jan. 6 investigator A U.S. grand jury has indicted a jailed Pennsylvania man for threatening to kill the chair of the congressional committee investigating the January 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol, prosecutors said on Wednesday. Robert Vargo, 25, of Berwick, Pennsylvania, also threatened to kill the committee chair’s family and President Joe Biden, prosecutors said. Why a small midterm race in Arizona could have big consequences for U.S. democracy The fight to become Arizona’s next attorney general in November’s midterm elections smashed fundraising records this week. One major reason: the normally backwater contest has potentially big implications for U.S. democracy, election experts said. Arizona is a kingmaker state in U.S. presidential elections, and under Arizona law the attorney general must witness the certification of the election result, has the power to challenge certifications in the courts if they violate state law, and must approve the rulebook that governs how elections are run. Man arrested at U.S. Capitol with guns in his van An 80-year-old Georgia man illegally parked on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, saying he wanted to deliver documents to the Supreme Court, was arrested on Wednesday after three guns were found in his van, police said. Tony Payne of Tunnel Hill, Georgia, was taken into custody on a single charge of bringing weapons to Capitol grounds, the U.S. Capitol Police said in a written statement. Two passengers in the van were detained but not arrested. Exclusive-Korean auto giant Hyundai investigating child labor in its U.S. supply chain Hyundai Motor Co, Korea’s top automaker, is investigating child labor violations in its U.S. supply chain and plans to “sever ties” with Hyundai suppliers in Alabama found to have relied on underage workers, the company’s global chief operating officer Jose Munoz told Reuters on Wednesday. A Reuters investigative report in July documented children, including a 12-year-old, working at a Hyundai-controlled metal stamping plant in rural Luverne, Alabama, called SMART Alabama, LLC. Emails show Trump knowingly pressed false voter fraud claims, judge says A California federal judge on Wednesday said then-U.S. President Donald Trump had signed a sworn statement asserting that voter fraud numbers included in a 2020 election lawsuit were accurate, despite being told the numbers were not correct. U.S. District Judge David Carter made the disclosure in ordering lawyer John Eastman to provide more emails to the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump’s supporters. (This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Read More Here

Trump Signed Legal Documents That He Knew Included False Voter Fraud Numbers, Judge Says https://digitalarkansasnews.com/trump-signed-legal-documents-that-he-knew-included-false-voter-fraud-numbers-judge-says-2/ Former president Donald Trump and his political allies understood that their allegations of widespread voter fraud in Georgia were baseless but continued to push the unfounded claims in courts and the public, according to recent federal court filings. The revelations came in an 18-page opinion Wednesday over Trump ally and conservative lawyer John Eastman’s resistance to a subpoena for emails from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob. U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter found that several documents between Trump’s allies must be made public, as they showed that the group participated in a “knowing misrepresentation of voter fraud numbers in Georgia when seeking to overturn the election results in federal court.” “The emails show that President Trump knew that the specific numbers of voter fraud were wrong but continued to tout those numbers, both in court and to the public,” Carter wrote. “The Court finds that these emails are sufficiently related to and in furtherance of a conspiracy to defraud the United States.” In March, Carter said Trump “more likely than not” committed federal crimes in trying to obstruct the congressional count of electoral college votes on Jan. 6. That determination came in a ruling addressing scores of sensitive emails Eastman had resisted turning over to the House committee. Eastman wrote key legal memos aimed at denying Democrat Joe Biden’s victory and later cited attorney-client privilege as a shield against turning over the documents sought by the committee, saying he was representing Trump at that time. The committee had argued in its filing that Eastman’s claim of privilege was voided by the “crime/fraud exemption.” That exemption means communication between a lawyer and their client does not have to be kept confidential if the attorney is found to be helping the client commit a crime. To resolve the dispute, the committee asked Carter, the judge, to privately review the documents to see whether he thought Eastman had, in fact, been assisting Trump in criminal acts. In the Wednesday filing, Carter concluded from the collective documents that Trump’s legal team currently “make clear that President Trump filed certain lawsuits not to obtain legal relief, but to disrupt or delay the Jan. 6 congressional proceedings through the courts.” In one email, Eastman wrote that Trump signed paperwork for a lawsuit in Georgia on Dec. 1 but has “since been made aware that some of the allegations” in it are “inaccurate.” Eastman then wrote that for Trump to sign new paperwork for that lawsuit “with that knowledge (and incorporation by reference) would not be accurate.” But, Carter wrote, “Trump and his attorneys ultimately filed the complaint” with the knowingly inaccurate numbers. Carter also wrote that Trump signed a legal document, under oath, attesting to the court in Georgia that the numbers “are true and correct” to the best of his knowledge. Carter has ordered Eastman to disclose more than 30 documents sought by the House committee by 2 p.m. on Oct. 28. Read More Here

Nasdaq 100 Futures Fall After Major Averages End Two-Day Rally https://digitalarkansasnews.com/nasdaq-100-futures-fall-after-major-averages-end-two-day-rally/ Traders on the floor of the NYSE, Sept. 14, 2022. Source: NYSE Nasdaq 100 futures fell on Wednesday night after surging Treasury yields ended a two-day rally for the major averages. Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped by 12 points, or 0.04%. S&P 500 futures declined 0.26%, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.49%. Tesla shares dropped 4.5% in extended trading after the electric vehicle maker reported third-quarter revenue that missed analysts’ expectations, though it beat on earnings. Revenue came in at $21.45 billion, less than the $21.96 billion forecasted by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. During the regular session Wednesday, the major averages snapped a two-day winning streak, though all three indexes remain on track for a positive week. The Dow declined 99.99 points, or 0.33%. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.85%, while the S&P 500 slid 0.67%. Investors monitored rising Treasury yields for recession signals even with a stronger-than-expected earnings season underway. On Wednesday, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note traded as high as 4.136%, or its highest level since July 2008. “We’re in this position where the Fed is in control,” Bryn Talkington, managing partner at Requisite Capital Management, said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime.” “The 2-year leads the Fed, and as long as the 2-year continues to go higher, we will not make a bottom in stocks, and the equity rally will not continue.” Alaska Air Group, Freeport-McMoRan, Tractor Supply, American Airlines, Union Pacific, CSX, AT&T are set to report earnings Thursday. On the economic front, the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey and the weekly jobless claims data are expected Thursday before the bell. Investors weigh rising Treasury yields Investors monitored Treasury yields for recession signals Wednesday even as a stronger-than-expected start to earnings season has helped buoy markets this week. Of the 64 companies in the S&P 500 that have posted third-quarter results through Wednesday, 69.4% have beaten expectations, according to FactSet data. Still, surging Treasury yields have helped stocks get back to “real life” on Wednesday, according to comments from LPL Financial’s Quincy Krosby. On Wednesday, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose as high as 4.136%, or its highest level since July 2008. “A steady 3-month/10-year inversion would reinforce the Treasury market’s signal that a recession is in the offing, since it has the reputation of predicting a serious economic downturn,” Krosby wrote. — Sarah Min Tesla shares fall after earnings results Shares of Tesla dropped 4.6% in extended trading Wednesday after the electric vehicle maker reported third-quarter results that missed on revenue expectations.  Tesla posted revenue of $21.45 billion, less than the $21.96 billion expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. Still, the company reported $1.05 in adjusted earnings per share, which beat expectations of 99 cents adjusted EPS. — Sarah Min Nasdaq 100 futures open lower Nasdaq 100 futures fell slightly on Wednesday night after surging Treasury yields ended a two-day rally for the major averages. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose by 38 points, or 0.12%. S&P 500 futures slid 0.09%, while Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.23%. — Sarah Min Read More Here

DNA Of 13 Neanderthals Reveals ‘exciting’ Snapshot Of Ancient Community https://digitalarkansasnews.com/dna-of-13-neanderthals-reveals-exciting-snapshot-of-ancient-community/ The first snapshot of a Neanderthal community has been pieced together by scientists who examined ancient DNA from fragments of bone and teeth unearthed in caves in southern Siberia. Researchers analysed DNA from 13 Neanderthal men, women and children and found an interconnecting web of relationships, including a father and his teenage daughter, another man related to the father, and two second-degree relatives, possibly an aunt and her nephew. All of the Neanderthals were heavily inbred, a consequence, the researchers believe, of the Neanderthals’ small population size, with communities scattered over vast distances and numbering only about 10 to 30 individuals. Laurits Skov, first author on the study at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, said the fact that the Neanderthals were alive at the same time was “very exciting” and implied that they belonged to a single social community. Neanderthal remains have been recovered from numerous caves across western Eurasia – territory the heavy-browed humans occupied from about 430,000 years ago until they became extinct 40,000 years ago. It has previously been impossible to tell whether Neanderthals found at particular sites belonged to communities or not. “Neanderthal remains in general, and remains with preserved DNA in particular, are extremely rare,” said Benjamin Peter, a senior author on the study in Leipzig. “We tend to get single individuals from sites often thousands of kilometres, and tens of thousand of years apart.” In the latest work, researchers including Svante Pääbo, who won this year’s Nobel prize in medicine for breakthrough studies on ancient genomes, examined DNA from the remains of Neanderthals found in the Chagyrskaya cave and nearby Okladnikov cave in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia. Neanderthals sheltered in the caves about 54,000 years ago, seeking cover to feast on the ibex, horse and bison they hunted as the animals migrated along the river valleys the caves overlook. Beyond Neanderthal and animal bones, tens of thousands of stone tools were also found. Writing in the journal Nature, the scientists describe how the ancient DNA points to the Neanderthals living at the same time, with some being members of the same family. Further analysis revealed more genetic diversity in Neanderthal mitochondria – the tiny battery-like structures found inside cells which are only passed down the maternal line – than in their Y chromosomes, which are passed down from father to son. The most likely explanation, the researchers say, is that female Neanderthals travelled from their home communities to live with male partners. Whether force was involved is not a question DNA can answer, however. “Personally, I don’t think there is particularly good evidence that Neanderthals were much different from early modern humans that lived at the same time,” said Peter. “We find that the community we study was likely very small, perhaps 10 to 20 individuals, and that the wider Neanderthal populations in the Altai mountains were quite sparse,” Peter said. “Nevertheless, they managed to persevere in a rough environment for hundreds of thousands of years, which I think deserves great respect.” Dr Lara Cassidy, an assistant professor in genetics at Trinity College Dublin, called the study a “milestone” as “the first genomic snapshot of a Neanderthal community”. “Understanding how their societies were organised is important for so many reasons,” Cassidy said. “It humanises these people and gives rich context to their lives. But also, down the line if we have more studies like this, it may also reveal unique aspects of the social organisation of our own Homo sapiens ancestors. This is crucial to understanding why we are here today and Neanderthals are not.” Read More Here

Trump Testifies In E Jean Carroll Lawsuit Accusing Him Of Rape https://digitalarkansasnews.com/trump-testifies-in-e-jean-carroll-lawsuit-accusing-him-of-rape/ Donald Trump answered questions under oath Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by E Jean Carroll, a magazine columnist who says the Republican former president raped her in the mid-1990s in a department store dressing room. The deposition gave Carroll’s lawyers a chance to interrogate Trump about the assault allegations as well as statements he made in 2019 when she told her story publicly for the first time. Details on how the deposition went weren’t immediately disclosed. “We’re pleased that on behalf of our client, E Jean Carroll, we were able to take Donald Trump’s deposition today. We are not able to comment further,” said a spokesperson for the law firm representing her, Kaplan Hecker & Fink. Trump has said Carroll’s rape allegation is “a hoax and a lie”. Last week, the former president lashed out angrily, calling the legal system a “broken disgrace” after he was ordered to answer questions under oath. “Now all I have to do is go through years more of legal nonsense in order to clear my name of her and her lawyer’s phony attacks on me. This can only happen to ‘Trump!’” he said. Trump’s legal team worked for years to delay his deposition in the lawsuit, which was filed when he was still president. A federal judge last week rejected Trump’s request for another delay, saying he couldn’t “run the clock out on plaintiff’s attempt to gain a remedy for what allegedly was a serious wrong”. Carroll was to have been questioned by Trump’s lawyers last Friday. Neither her attorneys nor Trump’s have responded to questions about how that deposition went. The lawyers haven’t disclosed whether the deposition was done in person or remotely, over video. Trump was in Florida on Wednesday. The lawsuit is being handled in a court in New York City. Anything Trump said during his deposition could potentially be used as evidence in an upcoming civil trial. He hasn’t faced any criminal charges related to Carroll’s allegations and any prosecution is unlikely. The deadline for criminal charges over sexual assaults that occurred in the 1990s has long expired. Similar legal deadlines also apply to civil lawsuits over sexual assault. As a result, Carroll chose to sue Trump for defamation over comments he made in 2019 when he denied any wrongdoing. She maintains his denials and attacks on her credibility and character damaged her reputation. However, New York lawmakers recently gave survivors of sexual violence a one-year window to sue their attackers over old assaults. Carroll’s lawyer has told the court she intends to file such a suit against Trump after that window opens in late November. According to Carroll’s account, she bumped into Trump as the two were shopping at the Bergdorf Goodman store across Fifth Avenue from Trump Tower. At the time, Carroll was on television as the host of an advice program, “Ask E Jean.” She said the two engaged in friendly banter as she tried to help him pick out a gift. But when they were briefly alone in a dressing room, she said he pulled down her tights and raped her. In a recent statement, Trump called that story “a complete con job”. “I don’t know this woman, have no idea who she is, other than it seems she got a picture of me many years ago, with her husband, shaking my hand on a reception line at a celebrity charity event,” Trump said. At one point, the former president also said, “She’s not my type.” Read More Here

Piers Morgan: Stacey Abrams Is Using 'exactly The Same Language' As Trump https://digitalarkansasnews.com/piers-morgan-stacey-abrams-is-using-exactly-the-same-language-as-trump/ Fox Nation host Piers Morgan made the argument that Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams’ comments about alleged voter suppression are reminiscent of ideas spread by former President Donald Trump on ‘The Five.’ PIERS MORGAN: I was looking into what Stacey Abrams had said about what happened last time. She said the election was “stolen.” She said, “I won.” She said the election laws were rigged and it wasn’t a free or fair election. This is basically Donald Trump.  WAS STACEY ABRAMS 2018 ELECTION STOLEN? VOTERS IN GEORGIA REFUSE TO GIVE UP ON DEBUNKED CLAIM So if they’re going to try, as you say, a run on Trump,= – stolen election, rigged election, all these things. Well, she’s on the record as using exactly the same language. So, like exactly what you just said, if it’s close, what are they going to do? CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP This article was written by Fox News staff. Read More Here

Record Hot Real Estate Market Near Fort Smith Pushes Sebastian County Home Sale Prices To $185,000 https://digitalarkansasnews.com/record-hot-real-estate-market-near-fort-smith-pushes-sebastian-county-home-sale-prices-to-185000/ Sean Lahman USA TODAY NETWORK  |  Fort Smith Times Record The median sales price for a single-family home sold in Sebastian County during July was $185,000. That’s an increase of 8.8% compared with July 2021, according to a USA TODAY Network localized analysis generated with data from Realtor.com. On a year-over-year basis, prices have been rising for two consecutive months. July’s median sale price represents an all-time record in a database that covers 91 consecutive months. July prices are up from $173,000 the previous month. The number of houses sold fell by 21% from a year earlier. A total of 173 houses were sold countywide during July. During the same period a year earlier, 219 single-family homes were sold. High interest rates are making mortgage payments more expensive. With prevailing mortgage rates and 20% down, the mortgage payment on Sebastian County’s median single-family home from July would have cost $822 per month, not including insurance, closing fees, homeowner association dues or other costs, according to a USA TODAY Network analysis. A month earlier, the median home mortgage would have cost $803. A year earlier, the median home mortgage would have cost $559. Crawford County’s median sales price for a single-family home was $150,000, down 16.7% from a year earlier. Some 82 houses were sold in July, up 2.5% from a year earlier. Real estate sales can take weeks or months to be recorded and collected. This is the latest data made available through Realtor.com to the USA TODAY Network. How hot is Sebastian County’s real estate market in Arkansas? Information on your local housing markets is available through the USA TODAY Network, with more data from Realtor.com. In Sebastian County the top 10% of the properties sold for at least $362,500, up 13.3% from a year before. In July, no properties sold for $1 million or more. In Crawford County the top 10% of the properties sold for at least $310,000, down 2.2% from a year before. Arkansas’s median single-family home sales price was $221,000 in July, up 13.9% from a year earlier. The state reported 3,394 single-family homes sold, down 23.7% from a year earlier. Oklahoma’s median single-family home sales price was $220,000 in July, up 10.8% from a year earlier. The state reported 4,929 single-family homes sold, down 10.1% from a year earlier. The median home sale price — the midway point of all the houses or units sold over a period of time — is used in this report instead of the average home sale price because experts say the median offers a more accurate view of what’s happening in a market. In finding the average price, all prices of homes sold are added and then divided by the number of homes sold. This measure can be skewed by one low or high price. The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Realtor.com. Localized versions are generated for communities where the data quality and transaction volume meets Realtor.com and USA TODAY Network standards. The story was written by Sean Lahman. Read More Here

Don Lemon Says Trump Too Afraid To Go On CNN, Claims He Never 'butted Heads' With Him https://digitalarkansasnews.com/don-lemon-says-trump-too-afraid-to-go-on-cnn-claims-he-never-butted-heads-with-him/ CNN host Don Lemon continued to attack former President Donald Trump on Thursday, claiming that Trump didn’t “have the courage” to butt heads with him on his evening show. Lemon gave his first interview to Semafor’s Max Tani following the announcement that he would be demoted from his primetime evening show to a new three-hour morning show. With the switch in line-up, Tani noted Lemon “would occasionally butt heads with Trump” and asked whether he had gotten “tired” of covering politics so much in primetime. Despite Lemon’s infamous anti-Trump rants, he denied that he ever really “butted heads” with the former president. “I would be lying to you if I didn’t say that was a factor. I never really butted heads with the last president. He didn’t have the courage to come on and take hard questions from CNN and me and my show,” Lemon said. CNN host Don Lemon ranted against Trump many times over the years. (AP) CNN WRITER FRETS AMERICANS CARE MORE ABOUT ‘COST OF FRENCH FRIES’ THAN ‘COMPELLING’ JAN. 6 COMMITTEE  He acknowledged it’s “been frustrating over the last couple of years having to deal with politics in the way it’s been dealt with in primetime” and that in some ways it had “gotten old” and he was tired of it. Lemon added, “It was frustrating to say the least, not that I wasn’t committed to doing it in prime time. But after Donald Trump wasn’t president anymore, and we had a war in Ukraine — that changed our approach to what we did in primetime, which was not starting every single night with a monologue about Donald Trump and how bad he was and how terrible things were in the country.” However, he suggested that there could be a return of these attacks in a new fashion should Trump return to office. “So I was ready to move on and I think the audience is ready to move on as well. And even if he comes back, I think there’s a different approach that can be taken in primetime and in the mornings. The morning gives me more latitude to educate and elevate the conversation,” Lemon said. Don Lemon frequently attacked Donald Trump on his primetime show. (CNN) CNN’S TAPPER RIPPED FOR ‘SOFT-SERVE’ INTERVIEW OF PRESIDENT BIDEN  Lemon has frequently used his evening show to attack Trump and his supporters even after claiming that the media should abandon him as a topic. After his network’s ratings took a dive when Trump left office, Lemon insisted he was unconcerned with them in favor of attacking the former president. “Trump was a horrible person. And he was terrible for the country. And it is better for all — for the world that he is no longer the President of the United States,” Lemon said in 2021. “So if that means that cable news ratings go down? Aww. So I’m not really that concerned about it. I would prefer that my ratings go down and Trump not be in office than my ratings be sky-high and him be there. That’s the honest truth.” Don Lemon insists CNN didn’t demote him. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for THR) Lemon is set to join CNN hosts Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins in a new morning show that will replace “New Day” later this year. This move followed CNN canceling Brian Stelter’s “Reliable Sources” program in a move reflecting a new direction for the network. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Although many media pundits referred to this schedule change as a demotion for Lemon, he denied that was the case and referred to the move as a new “opportunity.” Lindsay Kornick is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to lindsay.kornick@fox.com and on Twitter: @lmkornick. Read More Here

Police ID Victims In North Little Rock Apartment Fire https://digitalarkansasnews.com/police-id-victims-in-north-little-rock-apartment-fire/ A fire early Tuesday at the Shorter College Gardens Apartments killed three people, according to the North Little Rock Fire Department. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Tommy Metthe) North Little Rock police Tuesday afternoon released the names of three people who died in a fire at Shorter Gardens Apartments in the early morning hours of Oct. 4, although no further information on what caused the fire was included. Wanda Freeman, 64, Kenneth Jackson, 63, and Allewese Childs, 71, all died in the fire in Shorter Gardens Apartments’ building eight, 800 North Beech St., the police news release states. The fire began around 2:22 a.m. and was extinguished by 7:10 a.m., authorities said. Earlier this month, North Little Rock Fire Department Capt. Dustin Free said the fire started in a first-floor apartment and climbed to the second floor, causing that floor to collapse. In addition to the three deaths, the fire also left several people without a home. No cause of the fire has yet been given. Police and fire officials are still investigating the fire, the Tuesday release stated. Read More…

Trump Signed Legal Documents That He Knew Included False Voter Fraud Numbers, Judge Says https://digitalarkansasnews.com/trump-signed-legal-documents-that-he-knew-included-false-voter-fraud-numbers-judge-says/ Former president Donald Trump and his political allies understood that their allegations of widespread voter fraud in Georgia were baseless but continued to push the unfounded claims in courts and the public, according to recent federal court filings. The revelations came in an 18-page opinion Wednesday over Trump ally and conservative lawyer John Eastman’s resistance to a subpoena for emails from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob. U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter found that several documents between Trump’s allies must be made public, as they showed that the group participated in a “knowing misrepresentation of voter fraud numbers in Georgia when seeking to overturn the election results in federal court.” “The emails show that President Trump knew that the specific numbers of voter fraud were wrong but continued to tout those numbers, both in court and to the public,” Carter wrote. “The Court finds that these emails are sufficiently related to and in furtherance of a conspiracy to defraud the United States.” In March, Carter said Trump “more likely than not” committed federal crimes in trying to obstruct the congressional count of electoral college votes on Jan. 6. That determination came in a ruling addressing scores of sensitive emails Eastman had resisted turning over to the House committee. Eastman wrote key legal memos aimed at denying Democrat Joe Biden’s victory and later cited attorney-client privilege as a shield against turning over the documents sought by the committee, saying he was representing Trump at that time. The committee had argued in its filing that Eastman’s claim of privilege was voided by the “crime/fraud exemption.” That exemption means communication between a lawyer and their client does not have to be kept confidential if the attorney is found to be helping the client commit a crime. To resolve the dispute, the committee asked Carter, the judge, to privately review the documents to see whether he thought Eastman had, in fact, been assisting Trump in criminal acts. In the Wednesday filing, Carter concluded from the collective documents that Trump’s legal team currently “make clear that President Trump filed certain lawsuits not to obtain legal relief, but to disrupt or delay the Jan. 6 congressional proceedings through the courts.” In one email, Eastman wrote that Trump signed paperwork for a lawsuit in Georgia on Dec. 1 but has “since been made aware that some of the allegations” in it are “inaccurate.” Eastman then wrote that for Trump to sign new paperwork for that lawsuit “with that knowledge (and incorporation by reference) would not be accurate.” But, Carter wrote, “Trump and his attorneys ultimately filed the complaint” with the knowingly inaccurate numbers. Carter also wrote that Trump signed a legal document, under oath, attesting to the court in Georgia that the numbers “are true and correct” to the best of his knowledge. Carter has ordered Eastman to disclose more than 30 documents sought by the House committee by 2 p.m. on Oct. 28. Read More Here

Zeldin Downplays Trump Endorsement, Text Messages To Mark Meadows. Hochul Airs An Ad About It. https://digitalarkansasnews.com/zeldin-downplays-trump-endorsement-text-messages-to-mark-meadows-hochul-airs-an-ad-about-it/ New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who has seen her lead in the governor’s race slip in the polls, is coming down hard on her opponent’s ties to former President Donald Trump. Republican Long Island Congressman Lee Zeldin, who initially had far less campaign cash than Hochul, held a fundraiser over the summer hosted by Trump. The money raised has helped Zeldin run ads blaming Hochul for the state’s increased rate of violent crime, which has been resonating with voters. Hochul blames the crime rate on societal disruption due to the pandemic. This week, Trump endorsed Zeldin, predicting on his social media site that Zeldin will be a “GREAT governor of New York.” In the post, Trump says he has “watched and known Congressman Lee Zeldin for many years,” and calls him “a great and brilliant lawyer.” Trump also says Zeldin was a key resource for other Republicans in Congress when they faced legal obstacles in crafting legislation. Trump, a polarizing figure, is largely unpopular in New York; a recent poll found he was disliked by 61% of voters. The Hochul camp wasted no time in cutting a new television ad. The ad features footage of Trump saying, “Lee fought for me very, very hard.” The ad features footage of Trump at an April 2022 event at Mar-a-Lago saying, “Lee fought for me very, very hard.” Zeldin is seen standing nearby. Zeldin’s voice is also featured. “President Trump, I stand with him, I support him,” Zeldin says in the ad. “Zeldin voted with Trump too, nearly 90% of the time,” the narrator continues. The ad also shows Trump giving Zeldin a friendly tap on the shoulder, and a photo of the two men, smiling. Zeldin is downplaying the endorsement, saying “a lot of people” endorse him. “It shouldn’t have been news,” Zeldin said. “He’s supported me before this weekend.” Zeldin, speaking to reporters (on Monday) says he welcomes “everyone’s support,” but the race is between himself and Hochul, and nobody else. “At the start of this campaign, I was asked, ‘Are you a Charlie Baker Republican or a Ron DeSantis Republican?’” Zeldin said. “I’m my own man.” Zeldin also held a fundraiser over the summer with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a conservative who has been active in national controversies including the immigration debate. He did not hold a fundraiser with Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, a moderate Republican who has distanced himself from Trump. Hochul’s campaign also criticized text messages that Zeldin sent to Trump’s former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, on the day before the 2020 election was called for Biden. In the messages, he advised Meadows to create a file of any alleged voting irregularities and include a donation link for Trump’s legal fund. Zeldin told Meadows that needed to be done “instantly.” He also advised Meadows on how to coordinate media coverage for highlighting any alleged wrongdoing in voting practices in “battleground states.” Trump continues to falsely claim that he won the election, in the face of facts and evidence that show President Joe Biden won both the popular vote and the Electoral College. The texts, uncovered by the congressional committee investigating the events of the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, were released by investigative journalist Hunter Walker. Hochul says the texts, along with Zeldin’s votes in Congress on that day against certifying the election, show that Zeldin is unfit to be governor. “Not only did he vote to overturn the presidential election, he was one of the early co-conspirators,” Hochul said. “Sending text messages, trying to give a strategy to the White House, the chief of staff of the White House, on how to subvert the will of the people.” Zeldin’s campaign does not deny that the congressman wrote the texts, but they say the Hochul campaign is mischaracterizing them for political gain. Zeldin campaign spokesperson Katie Vincentz says in a statement that Hochul is “desperate, when she’d rather obsess over a text message sent at the beginning of November before the election was even called, rather than focusing on the issues most important to New Yorkers.” Vincentz says those issues include the rising crime rate and the “skyrocketing” cost of living. Polls released this week show Zeldin is between four and eleven points behind Hochul in the race, and he is leading among independent voters. Read More Here

Alert: Former President Donald Trump Has Been Deposed In Defamation Suit Filed By Rape Accuser E. Jean Carroll, Her Lawyers Say https://digitalarkansasnews.com/alert-former-president-donald-trump-has-been-deposed-in-defamation-suit-filed-by-rape-accuser-e-jean-carroll-her-lawyers-say/ Currently Reading Alert: Former President Donald Trump has been deposed in defamation suit filed by rape accuser E. Jean Carroll, her lawyers say Read More Here

Russia's War In Ukraine | CNN https://digitalarkansasnews.com/russias-war-in-ukraine-cnn-6/ CNN reporter gets exclusive access to Ukraine’s front lines 03:22 – Source: CNN Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law Wednesday introducing martial law in four Ukrainian regions that Moscow claims to have annexed in defiance of international law: Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk. Russia does not control the entirety of those regions, and is in a hasty retreat in Kherson after Ukrainian forces regained territory there. Russian-backed leaders in that region say they are relocating thousands of residents amid warnings over Moscow’s ability to withstand a Ukrainian counter-offensive. Ukrainian energy officials said Wednesday they had no choice but to introduce emergency and scheduled blackouts nationwide after losing at least 40% of the country’s power generating capacity following days of Russian attacks. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military continues to try to counter Moscow with their air defenses. Ukrainian officials said they shot down 13 Iranian-made “kamikaze” drones over the Mykolaiv region overnight. Ukraine suffered new damage to its critical energy infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address Wednesday. “Of course, we will do everything possible to restore normal energy capabilities of our country. But this requires time and our combined effort,” he said. Zelensky appealed to Ukrainians to become careful about electricity consumption starting on Thursday from 7:00 a.m. local time. “Please do not turn on unnecessary electrical appliances. Please limit electricity consumption on those appliances that require a lot of energy,” the president said, “Tomorrow it is very important that consumption is as conscious as possible. Then the schedules of stabilization outages will be shorter.” Zelensky also thanked Ukraine’s armed forces for shooting down kamikaze drones and cruise missiles before they could reach their targets.  Over the last month, 233 ‘Shaheds’ and dozens of missiles were shot down, he said, including 10 Iranian-made drones directed Wednesday at Kyiv. A view of Kyiv during a rolling blackout following rocket attacks to critical infrastructures in the evening on October 11. Eugene Kotenko/AFP/Getty Images Ukrainian energy officials on Wednesday said they had no choice but to introduce emergency and scheduled blackouts after losing at least 40% of the country’s power generating capacity following days of devastating Russian cruise missile and drone strikes. “Unfortunately, according to new data, about 40% of the total infrastructure and our generating capacities are really seriously damaged,” Oleksandr Kharchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s energy minister, said “Restoration and repair work is ongoing, but miracles are possible only to a certain extent,” Kharchenko said in the statement broadcast on national television. “Therefore, we should expect not only emergency but also scheduled outages today and tomorrow in order not to overload the grid,” he added. NPC Ukrenergo, Ukraine’s national energy company, on Wednesday called for the “understanding and support” of its energy users as they have been forced to introduce consumption restrictions following the missile attacks. Ukrenergo said the “consumption restrictions may be applied throughout Ukraine from 7:00 am to 22:00 pm” Thursday.  “The outages will be alternate — the duration of the outage is also determined by the regional power distribution company, but not more than 4 hours,” the statement said. “The enemy, who cannot compete with the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the battlefield, attacked the civilian energy infrastructure again. Therefore, tomorrow we will apply controlled and carefully calculated restrictions to consumers, which we must implement to make the system work in a balanced way,” the power company said. Ukraine’s foreign ministry has condemned Moscow’s declaration of “martial law” in the territories of Ukraine that are under Russian occupation, calling it a “new state of terror.” The move was an attempt “to suppress the resistance of the residents of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, who oppose the Russian occupation,” said a statement released by Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday. “Putin’s decree is null and void. It has no legal consequences for Ukraine and its citizens, as well as for the international community.” Despite not fully controlling the territories, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced earlier on Wednesday he has signed a decree introducing martial law in four Ukrainian regions the Kremlin has sought to annex, in violation of international law. The regions are Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk. Martial law will come into effect Thursday, according to the decree. Ukraine called on its “international partners to strongly condemn the intention of the Russian occupation administrations under the guise of the so-called “martial law” to deprive residents of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine of even basic human rights, as well as to condemn their illegal plans to legalize looting, forced deportations and mobilization,” the statement added. The ministry said Ukraine would continue to liberate the occupied territories and rescue the Ukrainian people. Denis Pushilin, the leader of the separatist Donetsk region, in Saint Petersburg in June. Olga Maltseva/AFP/Getty Images The Moscow-appointed head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) welcomed the announcement of martial law by Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling it “timely.”  The local headquarters of the Territorial Defense will now have an opportunity to coordinate with Russian federal authorities, which will have a “positive impact on the situation,” Denis Pushilin said in a video statement on his Telegram channel.    “This will not particularly and radically affect the restrictions on the freedoms of our residents, because we have been living under martial law for eight and a half years,” he added.  Earlier on Wednesday, Putin announced martial law in the four Ukrainian regions he claims to have annexed: Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk.  United States response: President Joe Biden said Russia’s martial law declaration reflects Putin’s desperate predicament. “What it reflects to me is, it seems his only tool available to him is to brutalize individual citizens in Ukraine, Ukrainian citizens, to try to intimidate them into capitulating. They’re not going to do that,” Biden said. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s martial law orders in the areas Moscow claims to have annexed are “desperate tactics to try to enforce and control,” US State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said Wednesday. “It should be no surprise to anybody that Russia is resorting to desperate tactics to try and enforce control in these areas,” Patel said at a State Department briefing.  “The truth is that Russia is not wanted in these regions, and the people in Ukraine are rejecting Russia’s illegal invasion and seizure by force of what is Ukrainian territory,” he said. Patel stressed that “no matter what the Kremlin says or does, no matter what they try to enact via decree via paper or otherwise, Crimea, Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia are Ukrainian sovereign territory.” “They have no legal claim whatsoever. There is no jurisdiction that they have over those territories. This is Ukraine’s land and Russia has blatantly violated Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as violating UN Charter with their illegal acts,” he said. Members of the Ukrainian police force standing guard next to smoke as Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, was rocked by explosions during a drone attack in the early morning on October 17. Paula Bronstein/Getty Images The European Union is working on new Iran sanctions that could come as soon as this week due to the use of Iranian drones by Russia in Ukraine, a European diplomat told CNN. These ongoing EU efforts come as the UN Security Council is set to discuss the Iranian drones during a closed-door meeting on Wednesday in New York. But diplomats caution that they do not expect that they could get new sanctions through the security council because they will be vetoed by Russia.   The State Department said the US would “welcome” EU sanctions on Iran for supplying drones to Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said the US has been “coordinating closely with the EU” but would not get into details of those discussions. “I would again note and reiterate that the United States itself continues to have tools at its disposal that are practical, that are aggressive, that are useful in holding Iran accountable,” said Patel, “and you have seen us take those actions as it relates to Iranian malign activity.” Moscow has no plans to close its diplomatic missions in Western countries, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgeny Ivanov told state media RIA Novosti in a comment on Wednesday. “There are no such plans,” Ivanov said. “We already have the minimum number of workers everywhere, and in a number of European countries there aren’t any except for the ambassador. Therefore, there isn’t any country where to reduce the number of workers, only if we completely close down the mission,” Ivanov added. This announcement comes off the back of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov saying on Tuesday that Russia will be pulling back on its diplomatic presence in Western countries. The concept of Russia’s migration policy will be changed before the end of the year due to security risks, Russia’s Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said on Wednesday. According to Patrushev, in light of new challenges and threats to the national security of Russia, “there is a need to clarify the priority tasks of state authorities in the field of migration.” “Law enfo...

Putin Boosts Russia's War Footing As Battle Looms For Ukraine's Kherson https://digitalarkansasnews.com/putin-boosts-russias-war-footing-as-battle-looms-for-ukraines-kherson/ Russia tightens security in seized regions Kherson is evacuated Ukraine calls martial law move meaningless Ukraine to curb electricity nationwide Thursday KYIV/MYKOLAIV, Ukraine, Oct 19 (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin ordered all of Russia to support the war effort in Ukraine on Wednesday, as the Russian-appointed administration of Kherson prepared to evacuate the only regional capital Moscow has captured during its invasion. Images of people using boats to flee the strategic southern city were broadcast by Russian state TV, which portrayed the exodus on the Dnipro river as an attempt to evacuate civilians before it became a combat zone. The Russian-installed chief of Kherson – one of four Ukrainian regions unilaterally claimed by Moscow where Putin declared martial law on Wednesday – said about 50,000-60,000 people would be moved out in the next six days. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com “The Ukrainian side is building up forces for a large-scale offensive,” Vladimir Saldo, the official, told state TV. “Where the military operates, there is no place for civilians.” Kherson is arguably the most strategically important of the annexed regions. It controls both the only land route to the Crimea peninsula Russia seized in 2014, and the mouth of the Dnipro, the 2,200-kilometre-long (1,367-mile) river that bisects Ukraine. Staff at Kherson’s Russian-backed administration were also being relocated to the eastern side of the Dnipro, Saldo said, although he said Russia had the resources to hold the city and even counter-attack if necessary. Russian forces near Kherson have been driven back by 20-30 km (13-20 miles) in the last few weeks. Eight months after being invaded, Ukraine is pressing major counter-offensives in the east and south to try to take as much territory as it can before winter. ELECTRICITY CUTS Russia has intensified its missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s power and water infrastructure this week in what Ukraine and the West call a campaign to intimidate civilians ahead of the cold winter. On Thursday, electricity supply will be restricted nationwide between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., government officials and the grid operator Ukrenergo said. Street lighting in cities will be limited, a presidential aide said on the Telegram messaging app, adding that if electricity use was not minimised, there would be temporary blackouts. While limited to Thursday, “we do not exclude that with the onset of a cold weather we will be asking for your help even more frequently,” Ukrenergo said. Russia has destroyed three Ukrainian energy facilities over the last 24 hours, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his Wednesday night video address. A Russian missile strike hit a major thermal power station in the city of Burshtyn in western Ukraine on Wednesday, the region’s governor said. Zelenskiy, who has said a third of his country’s power stations have been hit by Russian strikes, discussed security at power supply plants with senior officials. “We are working to create mobile power points for the critical infrastructure of cities, towns and villages,” Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram. “We are preparing for various scenarios,” Zelenskiy said. A view shows the city administration building hit by recent shelling in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict, in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, October 16, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko PUTIN’S POWERS In televised remarks to his Security Council, Putin boosted the powers of Russia’s regional governors and ordered the creation of a coordinating council under Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to support his “special military operation”. He said the “entire system of state administration” must be geared to back up the Ukraine effort. It was unclear what the immediate impact of Putin’s declaration of martial law would be, beyond much tighter security measures in Kherson and the other three regions. But Ukraine, which along with the West does not recognise Moscow’s self-styled annexations, derided the move. Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak called it “a pseudo-legalisation of (the) looting of Ukrainians’ property.” “This does not change anything for Ukraine: we continue the liberation and deoccupation of our territories,” he tweeted. U.S. President Joe Biden said Putin had found himself in a difficult position and his only tool was to brutalize Ukrainian civilians. The U.S. State Department said it was no surprise that Russia was resorting to “desperate tactics”. Ukrainian and Russian forces exchanged intermittent artillery fire on a section of the Kherson front in the Mykolaiv region on Wednesday, the impacts marked by towers of smoke. Several Ukrainian soldiers said they were aware of the martial law declaration but were not worried, although they warned a visiting Reuters reporter of the danger presented by Russian drones. “For sure he’s (Putin) up to no good. We understand that,” said Yaroslav, who declined to give his last name. “But whatever they are doing, we will screw them anyway.” Oleh, who also withheld his last name, said Russia in the past had warned about what it claimed would be escalatory Ukrainian actions only to carry them out itself. “We are just concerned about our people in the Kherson region,” he said. Moscow denies deliberately targeting civilians, though the conflict has killed thousands, displaced millions and pulverised Ukrainian cities. The Kremlin placed a nuclear umbrella over the regions it says it has annexed, among nuclear threats which Britain’s chief of defence staff Tony Radakin said signalled desperation. “It is a sign of weakness, which is precisely why the international community needs to remain strong and united,” Radakin said during a speech. British Defence Minister Ben Wallace met his U.S counterpart in Washington this week to discuss shared security concerns about the situation in Ukraine, a senior defence source said in response to speculation around the sudden trip. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Additional reporting by Tom Balmforth, Max Hunder and Reuters bureaux; Writing by Andrew Osborn, Philippa Fletcher and Grant McCool; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, John Stonestreet and Rosalba O’Brien Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Read More Here

Biden Awards $2.8 Billion To Boost U.S. Minerals Output For EV Batteries https://digitalarkansasnews.com/biden-awards-2-8-billion-to-boost-u-s-minerals-output-for-ev-batteries/ WASHINGTON, Oct 19 (Reuters) – The Biden administration said on Wednesday it is awarding $2.8 billion in grants to boost U.S. production of electric vehicle batteries and the minerals used to build them, part of a bid to wean the country off supplies from China. “By undercutting U.S. manufacturers with their unfair subsidies and trade practices, China seized a significant portion of the market,” President Joe Biden said Wednesday in announcing the awards.”Today we’re stepping up… to take it back, not all of it, but bold goals.” Albemarle Corp (ALB.N) is among the 20 manufacturing and processing companies receiving U.S. Energy Department grants to domestically mine lithium, graphite and nickel, build the first large-scale U.S. lithium processing facility, construct facilities to build cathodes and other battery parts, and expand battery recycling. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com The grants, which are going to projects across at least 12 states, mark the latest push by the Biden administration to help reduce the country’s dependence on China and other nations for the building blocks of the green energy revolution. The funding recipients, first reported by Reuters, were chosen by a White House steering committee and coordinated by the Energy Department with support from the Interior Department. But the program does nothing to alleviate permitting delays faced by some in the mining industry. Albemarle is set to receive $149.7 million to build a facility in North Carolina to lightly process rock containing lithium from a mine it is trying to reopen. That facility would then feed a separate U.S. plant that the company said in June would double the company’s lithium production for EV batteries. Albemarle, which also produces lithium in Australia and Chile, said the grant “increases the speed of lithium processing and reduces greenhouse gas emissions from long-distance transportation of raw minerals.” Piedmont Lithium Inc (PLL.O), whose shares rose nearly 11% following the news, was awarded $141.7 million to build its own lithium processing facility in Tennessee, where the company will initially process the metal sourced from Quebec and Ghana. Piedmont’s plans to build a lithium mine in North Carolina have faced strong opposition. Talon Metals Corp (TLO.TO), which has a nickel supply deal with Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), will receive $114.8 million to build a processing plant in North Dakota. That plant will process rock extracted from its planned underground mine in Minnesota. The grants are “a clear recognition that production of domestic nickel and other battery minerals is a national priority,” Talon said. Other grants include $316.2 million to privately-held Ascend Elements to build a battery parts plant, $50 million to privately-held Lilac Solutions Inc for a demonstration plant for so-called direct lithium extraction technologies, $75 million to privately-held Cirba Solutions to expand an Ohio battery recycling plant, and $219.8 million to Syrah Technologies LLC, a subsidiary of Syrah Resources Ltd (SYR.AX), to expand a graphite processing plant in Louisiana. BIDEN’S GOAL By 2030, Biden wants 50% of all new vehicles sold in the United States to be electric or plug-in hybrid electric models along with 500,000 new EV charging stations. He has not endorsed the phasing-out of new gasoline-powered vehicle sales by 2030. Legislation tied to the program that Biden signed in August sets new strict battery component and sourcing requirements for $7,500 consumer EV tax credits. A separate $1 trillion infrastructure law signed in November 2021 allocates $7 billion to ensure U.S. manufacturers can access critical minerals and other components to manufacture the batteries. The White House said that the United States and allies do not produce enough of the critical minerals and materials used in EV batteries. “China currently controls much of the critical mineral supply chain and the lack of mining, processing, and recycling capacity in the U.S. could hinder electric vehicle development and adoption, leaving the U.S. dependent on unreliable foreign supply chains,” the White House said. In March, Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to support the production and processing of minerals and materials used for EV batteries. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Ernest Scheyder in Houston; Additional reporting by Nandita Bose; Editing by Alexandra Alper; Bernadette Baum, Matthew Lewis, Paul Simao and Deepa Babington Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Ernest Scheyder Thomson Reuters Covers the future of energy and transportation including electric vehicle and battery technology, with a focus on lithium, copper, cobalt, rare earths and other minerals, politics, policy, etc. Previously covered the oil and natural gas, including a stint living in North Dakota’s Bakken shale oil patch. Read More Here

Trump Claim Of ‘Crime Of Century’ Fizzles In 3-Year Probe https://digitalarkansasnews.com/trump-claim-of-crime-of-century-fizzles-in-3-year-probe/ WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump once predicted that a special prosecutor appointed during his administration would uncover “the crime of the century” — a conspiracy to sink his 2016 campaign. Yet here are the results of the three-year probe by prosecutor John Durham: two trial acquittals — the latest on Tuesday — and a former FBI attorney sentenced to probation. That has fallen far short of Trump supporters’ expectations that Durham would reveal a “deep state” plot behind the U.S. government’s investigation into ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. The outcome has led to scrutiny over the purpose of Durham’s appointment by former Attorney General William Barr, who tasked him with sussing out misconduct in the Trump-Russia probe. It also has raised questions about whether or when the current attorney general, Merrick Garland, might move to rein in Durham’s work or hasten its completion. “You really measure the success of an investigation by what it uncovers in terms of pernicious activity, and he’s uncovered nothing,” said Stephen Saltzburg, a George Washington University law professor and former senior Justice Department official. There are no signs Durham plans to charge anyone else in his investigation. He is expected to produce a report at some point, but it’s unclear whether he will identify any significant misconduct or errors beyond those already reported by the Justice Department’s watchdog. Barr gave Durham a broad mandate in 2019 to hunt for wrongdoing by the FBI or other agencies in the early days of their investigation into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia. At the time, Durham was the U.S. attorney in Connecticut with decades of Justice Department experience, including investigating CIA interrogations of terror suspects. Trump supporters cheered the appointment, and not just because of Durham’s bona fides. The appointment was made shortly after the conclusion of an investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, which found substantial contacts between Russians and Trump associates but did not allege a criminal conspiracy between them. In December 2019, a Justice Department inspector general report concluded that the Russia investigation was opened for a legitimate reason but identified numerous errors in how it was conducted — giving Trump and his supporters an avenue of attack and optimism over Durham. But by the end of 2020, there were signs Durham’s investigation was losing momentum. One of his top prosecutors resigned without explanation from the Justice Department. Months later, Barr told The Wall Street Journal that he did not believe there had been improper activity during the Russia investigation by the CIA, even though suspicions about the intelligence community had helped prompt Durham’s appointment in the first place. The year ended with just one criminal case — a guilty plea by an FBI lawyer who admitted doctoring an internal email related to the surveillance of a former Trump campaign adviser. Kevin Clinesmith was sentenced to probation, rather than prison. Notably, the case involved conduct uncovered in an earlier investigation by the inspector general, rather than by Durham’s team. Two other criminal cases, also narrow in nature, faltered. After deliberating for just a few hours, a jury in May acquitted Michael Sussmann, a lawyer for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. He had been accused of lying to the FBI during a meeting in which he presented the bureau’s top lawyer with information about Trump he thought should be investigated. On Tuesday, a jury acquitted Igor Danchenko, a Russian analyst at a U.S. think tank who’d been accused of lying to the FBI about his role in the creation of a largely discredited dossier — a compendium of unproven assertions that sought to tie Trump to Russia and whose creation was funded by Democrats. During the trial, he attacked the credibility of FBI agents who were his own witnesses. Despite the lack of convictions, Durham has still managed to cast an unflattering light on aspects of the Russia investigation. The Danchenko trial, for instance, centered on the origins of the dossier, which helped form the basis of secret surveillance applications the FBI filed to monitor the communications of ex-Trump campaign aide Carter Page. Even so, Page was one of numerous threads investigated by the FBI, and the dossier did not initiate the Russia probe. The allegations from Durham’s probe have also not erased the core finding of the Mueller probe — that Russia wanted Trump elected and that Trump’s team welcomed the help — nor have they swayed jurors. “While Durham essentially tried to put the FBI itself on trial through these prosecutions by pointing to missteps and errors in the early Trump-Russia probe, the cases painted the FBI as more victim than perpetrator and evidence of any orchestrated scheme by FBI agents to steer the investigation for political purposes never materialized,” Robert Mintz, a New Jersey lawyer and former federal prosecutor, wrote in an email. The Justice Department declined to comment about Durham’s future, including how much longer his team might continue or when he might produce a report. Weeks before he resigned, Barr designated Durham as a special counsel to ensure his investigation would continue in the Biden administration. A spokesman for Durham declined to comment on criticism of the work. Garland and senior Justice Department leaders, perhaps careful to avoid the perception of meddling in such a politically charged investigation, have taken a hands-off approach to Durham’s work. Before Sussmann was indicted, his attorneys appealed to senior department officials in hopes of preventing a charge, according to a person familiar with the matter who insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations. But the Justice Department rebuffed the protest, allowing the case to proceed. Now, though, there is rising pressure not only on Durham to wrap up but on Garland, as attorney general, to urge him along. “I think he was very wise to let this run its course,” Saltzburg said of Garland. “I believe the course has been run. It’s over. I believe what Merrick Garland should say to Durham is, it’s time to submit your report and go home.” ____ Associated Press writer Matthew Barakat in Alexandria, Virginia, contributed to this report. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Read More Here

Trump Claim Of ‘Crime Of Century’ Fizzles In 3-Year Probe https://digitalarkansasnews.com/trump-claim-of-crime-of-century-fizzles-in-3-year-probe-2/ This exhibit from video released by the House Select Committee, shows a photo of then-President Donald Trump with his coast on as he returns to the Oval Office after speaking on the Ellipse on Jan. 6, 2021, displayed at a hearing by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (House Select Committee via AP) The Associated Press By ERIC TUCKER, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump once predicted that a special prosecutor appointed during his administration would uncover “the crime of the century” — a conspiracy to sink his 2016 campaign. Yet here are the results of the three-year probe by prosecutor John Durham: two trial acquittals — the latest on Tuesday — and a former FBI attorney sentenced to probation. That has fallen far short of Trump supporters’ expectations that Durham would reveal a “deep state” plot behind the U.S. government’s investigation into ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. The outcome has led to scrutiny over the purpose of Durham’s appointment by former Attorney General William Barr, who tasked him with sussing out misconduct in the Trump-Russia probe. It also has raised questions about whether or when the current attorney general, Merrick Garland, might move to rein in Durham’s work or hasten its completion. Political Cartoons “You really measure the success of an investigation by what it uncovers in terms of pernicious activity, and he’s uncovered nothing,” said Stephen Saltzburg, a George Washington University law professor and former senior Justice Department official. There are no signs Durham plans to charge anyone else in his investigation. He is expected to produce a report at some point, but it’s unclear whether he will identify any significant misconduct or errors beyond those already reported by the Justice Department’s watchdog. Barr gave Durham a broad mandate in 2019 to hunt for wrongdoing by the FBI or other agencies in the early days of their investigation into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia. At the time, Durham was the U.S. attorney in Connecticut with decades of Justice Department experience, including investigating CIA interrogations of terror suspects. Trump supporters cheered the appointment, and not just because of Durham’s bona fides. The appointment was made shortly after the conclusion of an investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, which found substantial contacts between Russians and Trump associates but did not allege a criminal conspiracy between them. In December 2019, a Justice Department inspector general report concluded that the Russia investigation was opened for a legitimate reason but identified numerous errors in how it was conducted — giving Trump and his supporters an avenue of attack and optimism over Durham. But by the end of 2020, there were signs Durham’s investigation was losing momentum. One of his top prosecutors resigned without explanation from the Justice Department. Months later, Barr told The Wall Street Journal that he did not believe there had been improper activity during the Russia investigation by the CIA, even though suspicions about the intelligence community had helped prompt Durham’s appointment in the first place. The year ended with just one criminal case — a guilty plea by an FBI lawyer who admitted doctoring an internal email related to the surveillance of a former Trump campaign adviser. Kevin Clinesmith was sentenced to probation, rather than prison. Notably, the case involved conduct uncovered in an earlier investigation by the inspector general, rather than by Durham’s team. Two other criminal cases, also narrow in nature, faltered. After deliberating for just a few hours, a jury in May acquitted Michael Sussmann, a lawyer for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. He had been accused of lying to the FBI during a meeting in which he presented the bureau’s top lawyer with information about Trump he thought should be investigated. On Tuesday, a jury acquitted Igor Danchenko, a Russian analyst at a U.S. think tank who’d been accused of lying to the FBI about his role in the creation of a largely discredited dossier — a compendium of unproven assertions that sought to tie Trump to Russia and whose creation was funded by Democrats. During the trial, he attacked the credibility of FBI agents who were his own witnesses. Despite the lack of convictions, Durham has still managed to cast an unflattering light on aspects of the Russia investigation. The Danchenko trial, for instance, centered on the origins of the dossier, which helped form the basis of secret surveillance applications the FBI filed to monitor the communications of ex-Trump campaign aide Carter Page. Even so, Page was one of numerous threads investigated by the FBI, and the dossier did not initiate the Russia probe. The allegations from Durham’s probe have also not erased the core finding of the Mueller probe — that Russia wanted Trump elected and that Trump’s team welcomed the help — nor have they swayed jurors. “While Durham essentially tried to put the FBI itself on trial through these prosecutions by pointing to missteps and errors in the early Trump-Russia probe, the cases painted the FBI as more victim than perpetrator and evidence of any orchestrated scheme by FBI agents to steer the investigation for political purposes never materialized,” Robert Mintz, a New Jersey lawyer and former federal prosecutor, wrote in an email. The Justice Department declined to comment about Durham’s future, including how much longer his team might continue or when he might produce a report. Weeks before he resigned, Barr designated Durham as a special counsel to ensure his investigation would continue in the Biden administration. A spokesman for Durham declined to comment on criticism of the work. Garland and senior Justice Department leaders, perhaps careful to avoid the perception of meddling in such a politically charged investigation, have taken a hands-off approach to Durham’s work. Before Sussmann was indicted, his attorneys appealed to senior department officials in hopes of preventing a charge, according to a person familiar with the matter who insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations. But the Justice Department rebuffed the protest, allowing the case to proceed. Now, though, there is rising pressure not only on Durham to wrap up but on Garland, as attorney general, to urge him along. “I think he was very wise to let this run its course,” Saltzburg said of Garland. “I believe the course has been run. It’s over. I believe what Merrick Garland should say to Durham is, it’s time to submit your report and go home.” ____ Associated Press writer Matthew Barakat in Alexandria, Virginia, contributed to this report. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Read More Here

State Attorney Predicts Donald Trump Indictment After Elections https://digitalarkansasnews.com/state-attorney-predicts-donald-trump-indictment-after-elections/ Charges could include conspiracy to defraud the United States or obstruction of an official proceeding. Before former President Donald Trump eyes 2024, perhaps he should have his attention on matters more pressing. A South Florida prosecutor believes the Justice Department will up its game on indictments, after Election Day, related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riots and Trump’s handling of confidential government documents.  “We have reports that involve nuclear materials, we have reports that involve foreign spies, but we don’t know (those allegations) for sure,” said Dave Aronberg, State Attorney for the 15th Judicial Circuit. “And that’s where I’m guessing (the documents do) involve that, and I think he will be indicted after the midterms.” Aronberg, a regular on cable news networks regarding legal matters, spoke to the Flagler Tiger Bay Club. The club invited him to get his look at what might come out of the Mar-a-Lago confidential documents investigation, and how the elections may shake out in Florida and nationally. There are a number of layers between Trump and what his supporters did Jan. 6, he noted.  “If you’re going to charge the former President with any crimes, you have to tie him directly to the violence,” Aronberg said. “It’s not so easy to do.” Seditious conspiracy, a charge which Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes faces, is notoriously hard to prove, and there would have to be evidence of an agreement with Trump regarding the violence. Trump could be charged with other offenses, though, like conspiracy to defraud the United States, and obstruction of an official proceeding. “There’s a federal judge, Judge (David) Carter, who said that it is more likely than not that former President Trump committed those two crimes,” Aronberg said. “So, those two are in play. But again, you have to have a direct link between Trump and the violence on that day for prosecutors to charge. “Based on what we know now, not sure.” On the documents, though, there is a direct line, he said. “He keeps making admissions in his public statements,” all of which really hurts him, Aronberg said. “It shows knowledge, it shows intent.” There’s also the matter of whether it’s in the government’s interest to prosecute Trump. “To get there, you have to show something that is really damaging to our national security,” Aronberg said. “If the documents matter is about Kim Jong-un’s love letters, it’s not going to happen, you’re not going to see a prosecution.” Aronberg, a Democrat and former state Senator, made jokes about how the Republican bastion of Flagler County felt like an away game, and he hoped whatever he said wouldn’t gain him the attention of Gov. Ron DeSantis. “The goal here today is for me to be honest and interesting and provocative,” Aronberg said, “but not so honest, interesting and provocative to get suspended by this Governor.”  Post Views: 0 Read More Here

US Forecast https://digitalarkansasnews.com/us-forecast-24/ City/Town, State;Yesterday’s High Temp (F);Yesterday’s Low Temp (F);Today’s High Temp (F);Today’s Low Temp (F);Weather Condition;Wind Direction;Wind Speed (MPH);Humidity (%);Chance of Precip. (%);UV Index Albany, NY;52;36;56;34;Partial sunshine;S;10;52%;28%;3 Albuquerque, NM;70;47;72;46;Sunny and pleasant;SSE;7;36%;0%;5 Anchorage, AK;47;39;45;34;Periods of rain;SSW;7;80%;93%;0 Asheville, NC;53;27;59;31;Mostly sunny;NW;5;43%;1%;4 Atlanta, GA;59;32;63;37;Mostly sunny;WSW;6;35%;1%;4 Atlantic City, NJ;58;44;62;46;Mostly sunny, breezy;SSW;15;42%;3%;4 Austin, TX;74;51;86;57;Sunshine and warmer;SSW;7;35%;0%;5 Baltimore, MD;57;39;62;43;Brilliant sunshine;SW;9;33%;13%;4 Baton Rouge, LA;65;36;73;50;Sunny and nice;SSW;5;44%;0%;5 Billings, MT;75;49;80;46;Breezy, warm;E;16;25%;4%;3 Birmingham, AL;60;31;64;39;Mostly sunny;SSW;7;37%;1%;4 Bismarck, ND;70;35;75;43;Partly sunny, warm;W;9;47%;1%;3 Boise, ID;75;44;76;44;Sunny and warm;ENE;6;26%;0%;3 Boston, MA;57;42;59;42;Mostly sunny, breezy;SSW;16;46%;6%;3 Bridgeport, CT;55;39;58;40;Breezy in the p.m.;SW;12;43%;6%;3 Buffalo, NY;45;38;45;36;A couple of showers;SSW;19;67%;95%;1 Burlington, VT;53;38;52;36;Winds subsiding;S;15;54%;32%;1 Caribou, ME;65;38;54;35;Mostly sunny;S;8;61%;17%;3 Casper, WY;72;36;78;37;Breezy, warm;WSW;14;21%;1%;4 Charleston, SC;64;41;68;45;Sunny;W;6;42%;5%;4 Charleston, WV;55;32;59;35;Partly sunny;SSW;9;43%;3%;4 Charlotte, NC;59;33;64;35;Mostly sunny;SSW;6;45%;4%;4 Cheyenne, WY;71;38;77;45;Breezy in the p.m.;W;14;19%;0%;4 Chicago, IL;48;36;59;43;Partly sunny, warmer;SW;12;28%;3%;3 Cleveland, OH;46;37;49;40;Breezy;S;16;51%;23%;1 Columbia, SC;61;35;67;37;Mostly sunny, cool;SW;6;42%;5%;4 Columbus, OH;44;30;53;36;Partly sunny, cool;SSW;11;36%;1%;3 Concord, NH;57;31;55;30;Mostly sunny;S;9;53%;6%;3 Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX;68;54;85;55;Sunny and warmer;NNE;11;38%;2%;4 Denver, CO;76;44;78;48;Sunny and very warm;SW;7;19%;0%;4 Des Moines, IA;50;34;67;44;Warmer;SSW;9;41%;4%;3 Detroit, MI;46;36;49;37;A couple of showers;SW;10;52%;85%;1 Dodge City, KS;75;41;80;45;Sunny and very warm;SSW;10;29%;1%;4 Duluth, MN;47;30;52;42;Variable cloudiness;SW;7;61%;6%;2 El Paso, TX;70;46;76;52;Sunny and nice;WSW;4;43%;0%;5 Fairbanks, AK;38;28;38;28;Cloudy;WSW;5;80%;94%;0 Fargo, ND;58;34;62;46;Partly sunny;S;8;65%;3%;3 Grand Junction, CO;73;42;73;43;Sunny and pleasant;SE;7;27%;0%;4 Grand Rapids, MI;45;37;52;36;Partly sunny, warmer;SSW;10;49%;27%;3 Hartford, CT;55;37;58;38;Sunny and breezy;S;14;47%;6%;3 Helena, MT;70;35;71;49;Sunny and warm;WSW;8;35%;1%;3 Honolulu, HI;86;70;84;74;A shower or two;SSE;8;62%;84%;2 Houston, TX;67;46;82;59;Sunny and warmer;SSW;8;43%;0%;5 Indianapolis, IN;53;29;60;41;Partly sunny, breezy;SSW;14;35%;1%;4 Jackson, MS;63;34;71;48;Mostly sunny;S;7;42%;0%;5 Jacksonville, FL;66;42;73;48;Sunny and nice;NNW;6;43%;5%;5 Juneau, AK;52;45;48;42;Rain;S;9;91%;100%;0 Kansas City, MO;56;40;74;52;Partly sunny, warmer;SSW;7;39%;4%;4 Knoxville, TN;59;29;60;34;Mostly sunny, cool;SSW;7;43%;3%;4 Las Vegas, NV;88;59;88;60;Partly sunny;N;5;19%;0%;4 Lexington, KY;54;28;58;39;Breezy in the p.m.;SSW;12;41%;0%;4 Little Rock, AR;61;35;74;46;Partly sunny, warmer;S;8;43%;11%;4 Long Beach, CA;95;67;84;64;Partly sunny;S;7;51%;0%;4 Los Angeles, CA;93;68;87;63;Partly sunny, warm;SE;7;41%;1%;4 Louisville, KY;55;31;63;42;Partly sunny;SSW;11;36%;0%;4 Madison, WI;45;29;58;36;Partly sunny, warmer;SSW;6;36%;5%;3 Memphis, TN;57;37;70;50;Mostly sunny, warmer;S;8;37%;4%;4 Miami, FL;70;64;80;68;A shower or two;NNW;9;69%;89%;2 Milwaukee, WI;46;33;56;40;Partly sunny, warmer;SW;9;35%;6%;3 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN;48;30;58;43;Milder;S;8;49%;5%;3 Mobile, AL;65;37;69;45;Mostly sunny;WSW;5;44%;2%;5 Montgomery, AL;63;32;64;38;Mostly sunny, cool;WSW;6;43%;2%;5 Mt. Washington, NH;30;18;24;18;Windy;WSW;33;86%;31%;2 Nashville, TN;57;30;64;40;Partly sunny;SSW;8;39%;0%;4 New Orleans, LA;64;48;71;54;Plenty of sun;SW;5;40%;0%;5 New York, NY;55;42;58;46;Mostly sunny, breezy;SSW;14;39%;3%;3 Newark, NJ;55;38;59;38;Sunny and breezy;SSW;13;39%;3%;3 Norfolk, VA;59;38;65;42;Mostly sunny;S;8;47%;9%;4 Oklahoma City, OK;66;44;79;51;Sunny and warmer;SSW;7;44%;0%;4 Olympia, WA;70;47;65;43;Periods of sun;SW;8;82%;42%;2 Omaha, NE;57;35;72;44;Partly sunny, warmer;S;8;45%;4%;3 Orlando, FL;67;52;75;58;Mostly sunny, nice;N;8;49%;5%;5 Philadelphia, PA;55;40;60;44;Winds subsiding;SSW;14;37%;3%;4 Phoenix, AZ;90;65;90;66;Mostly sunny;NE;6;26%;0%;4 Pittsburgh, PA;45;33;51;37;Becoming cloudy;S;10;44%;16%;4 Portland, ME;58;39;57;38;Sunshine and breezy;SW;14;52%;6%;3 Portland, OR;76;50;70;46;Partly sunny;NW;5;66%;12%;3 Providence, RI;57;37;59;39;Mostly sunny, breezy;SSW;14;47%;6%;3 Raleigh, NC;58;35;64;37;Mostly sunny;SSW;6;49%;7%;4 Reno, NV;79;40;79;43;Partly sunny, warm;WSW;4;25%;0%;4 Richmond, VA;57;35;63;37;Sunny;S;9;43%;8%;4 Roswell, NM;73;43;80;44;Sunshine and nice;SSW;7;40%;2%;5 Sacramento, CA;90;52;88;53;Mostly sunny, warm;S;4;38%;1%;4 Salt Lake City, UT;75;48;76;50;Sunny and warm;SE;7;30%;0%;4 San Antonio, TX;75;48;83;53;Sunny and delightful;SSW;10;40%;0%;5 San Diego, CA;91;63;80;63;Not as warm;SSW;7;61%;0%;4 San Francisco, CA;85;57;70;55;Partly sunny, cooler;WSW;8;59%;1%;4 Savannah, GA;65;38;70;41;Plenty of sunshine;WNW;5;42%;3%;5 Seattle-Tacoma, WA;70;52;64;49;Partly sunny;S;5;76%;44%;1 Sioux Falls, SD;56;34;66;42;Warmer with some sun;S;7;49%;4%;3 Spokane, WA;73;42;71;44;Partly sunny, mild;W;7;49%;2%;3 Springfield, IL;49;30;68;40;Partly sunny, milder;SW;10;35%;2%;4 St. Louis, MO;52;32;70;43;Partly sunny, warmer;SW;8;37%;2%;4 Tampa, FL;67;49;74;53;Sunny and nice;N;8;51%;7%;5 Toledo, OH;48;35;50;34;A couple of showers;SW;9;46%;84%;2 Tucson, AZ;84;60;86;61;Plenty of sunshine;ESE;7;34%;0%;5 Tulsa, OK;65;40;76;48;Mostly sunny, warmer;S;4;45%;3%;4 Vero Beach, FL;67;61;76;63;Clouds and sun;NNW;11;61%;44%;3 Washington, DC;56;38;61;40;Plenty of sunshine;SSW;9;37%;9%;4 Wichita, KS;67;39;80;48;Partly sunny, warmer;S;9;41%;1%;4 Wilmington, DE;56;38;61;39;Sunny and breezy;S;13;38%;3%;4 _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather Read More…

Judge Says John Eastman Emails About Trump Election Challenge Must Be Given To Jan. 6 Probe https://digitalarkansasnews.com/judge-says-john-eastman-emails-about-trump-election-challenge-must-be-given-to-jan-6-probe/ John Eastman, the University of Colorado Boulders visiting scholar of conservative thought and policy, speaks about his plans to sue the university at a news conference outside of CU Boulder on Thursday, April 29, 2021. Andy Cross | Denver Post | Getty Images A federal judge ordered attorney John Eastman on Wednesday to turn over multiple documents to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, including emails allegedly showing efforts by him and former President Donald Trump to disrupt Congress’ confirmation of Trump’s 2020 election loss. The 33 documents that must be handed over are either not protected by legal privileges, or are exempted from those privileges because they are related to an attempted crime, Judge David Carter wrote. Eight of Eastman’s emails were subject to that “crime-fraud exception,” according to the order in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, California. In four of them, Eastman and other Trump attorneys suggest that a “primary goal” of a court filing “is to delay or otherwise disrupt” the Jan. 6, 2021, congressional vote to confirm President Joe Biden’s electoral victory, the judge ruled. Another four emails “demonstrate an effort by President Trump and his attorneys to press false claims in federal court for the purpose of delaying the January 6 vote,” Carter wrote. “The emails show that President Trump knew that the specific numbers of voter fraud were wrong but continued to tout those numbers, both in court and to the public,” Carter wrote. “The Court finds that these emails are sufficiently related to and in furtherance of a conspiracy to defraud the United States,” the judge wrote. Lawyers for Eastman did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Carter’s order. A spokesman for the Jan. 6 committee did not immediately comment. This is breaking news. Please check back for updates. Read More Here

Oath Keeper Wanted To Stop Biden Win ‘one Way Or The Other’ https://digitalarkansasnews.com/oath-keeper-wanted-to-stop-biden-win-one-way-or-the-other/ Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes is on trial for seditious conspiracy. (Collin County Jail/TNS) WASHINGTON (Tribune News Service) — A military veteran who stormed the U.S. Capitol with the Oath Keepers testified that members of the far-right militia group were set on stopping the certification of the 2020 election on Jan. 6, 2021, with violence, if necessary. “It seemed to me that a lot of us were prepared, I was prepared, to stop the certification process one way or the other,” said Jason Dolan, who participated in Oath Keeper chats leading up to the attack on the Capitol. Dolan testified for the prosecution in the seditious conspiracy trial of Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and four others. Dolan had agreed to cooperate with the government and had pleaded guilty to conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding. He could face five to seven years in prison. Dolan is the first to take the stand of six Oath Keepers who pleaded guilty, three of them to seditious conspiracy. Rhodes had previously sought to subpoena their communications to try to prove they were pressured into pleading guilty. Rhodes and the other defendants have denied taking part in a conspiracy to stop the transfer of presidential power, claiming that they traveled to Washington to provide security and in preparation for former President Donald Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act, which they believed would give them the authority to act as a militia. Dolan, who was part of the Florida Oath Keepers, testified on Tuesday that his understanding was that if Trump invoked the Insurrection Act, two different factions of the government, including military and law enforcement, would face off. “We would be fighting with pro-Trump forces against pro-Biden forces,” he said. He said he considered Congress to be part of the pro-Biden faction, since its members were certifying the election. The former Marine recalled for the jury what led him to taking part in the attack on the Capitol. He said he spent each evening in 2020 in a garage with a six pack of beer, or half a bottle of vodka, trying to kill the pain from a bad hip surgery. He spent his time scrolling through news articles on his phone and became convinced that Biden’s election win was a fraud. A friend recommended he join the Oath Keepers, he said. “It felt good to know there were other people out there that felt the same as I did,” Dolan told the jury. He said he became frustrated when he saw all legal avenues closing to overturn what he viewed as a stolen election. “It felt like my government was being taken away,” he said. So, he and other Oath Keepers went to Washington from Florida, set to take part in the Jan. 6 rally. He said they stashed their guns in a hotel in Virginia. Dolan said that when he entered the Capitol he chanted “treason” along with the crowd. He said he wanted the lawmakers to be afraid enough to decertify the election. “I wanted them to feel the anger, the frustration, the rage I felt,” he told the jury. Now, he said he views some of his decisions as “downright stupid.” “I look at myself and I sit there and wonder how I got there from point A to point C,” he said. During cross-examination Wednesday, Phillip Linder, Rhodes’ defense attorney, implied that Dolan pleaded guilty to get a shorter sentence. Dolan responded that he “wasn’t trying to make up stories.” He agreed it was possible to get a lighter sentence for cooperating with the government, but that a judge would make the ultimate decision. Linder also delved into Dolan’s mental state when he joined the Oath Keepers in 2020, asking whether he suffered from substance abuse issues and depression. Dolan said he hadn’t been diagnosed with depression, but struggled with alcohol problems. In response to other questions from Linder, Dolan agreed that his group was supposed to provide security to individuals in Washington during the Jan. 6 rally, that they would bring weapons into Washington if Trump invoked the Insurrection Act and that there was no plan to go inside the Capitol. Dolan explained that he ascended the steps of the Capitol when he saw the crowd move forward. ©2022 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com.  Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Read More Here

Pence Warns Of 'unprincipled Populists,' 'Putin Apologists' https://digitalarkansasnews.com/pence-warns-of-unprincipled-populists-putin-apologists/ WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday warned against the growing populist tide in the Republican Party as he admonished “Putin apologists” unwilling to stand up to the Russian leader over his assault on Ukraine. Speaking at the conservative Heritage Foundation in Washington less than a month before November’s midterm elections, Pence addressed the growing gulf between traditional conservatives and a new generation of populist candidates inspired, in part, by former President Donald Trump, who has transformed a large swath of the party. “Today, on the cusp of a new era of Republican leadership … I think we need to chart a course that doesn’t veer off too far in either direction,” Pence told the think tank audience. “Our movement cannot forsake the foundational commitment that we have to security, to limited government, to liberty and to life. But nor can we allow our movement to be led astray by the siren song of unprincipled populism that’s unmoored from our oldest traditions and most cherished values,” he said. “Let me say: This movement and the party that it animates must remain the movement of a strong national defense, limited government and traditional moral values and life.” To that end, Pence criticized those in the party who have pushed a more isolationist foreign policy, particularly when it comes to Russian aggression. Earlier Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared martial law for four illegally annexed Ukrainian regions as his forces have suffered stinging battlefield defeats and renewed attacks on Ukrainian cities and vital infrastructure. Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/J. Scott Applewhite Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/J. Scott Applewhite PreviousNext “Now, I know there is a rising chorus in our party, including some new voices to our movement, who would have us disengaged with the wider world,” Pence said. “But appeasement has never worked, ever, in history. And now more than ever, we need a conservative movement committed to America’s role as leader of the free world and as a vanguard of American values.” “As Russia continues its unconscionable war of aggression to Ukraine, I believe that conservatives must make it clear that Putin must stop and Putin will pay,” he added. “There can be no room in the conservative movement for apologists to Putin. There is only room in this movement for champions of freedom.” Pence has been traveling the country, campaigning on behalf of Republican midterm candidates as he lays the groundwork for a potential 2024 presidential campaign. Some of the candidates he has endorsed have espoused the kinds of populist and isolationist views he seemed to take issue with Wednesday. Arizona’s Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters, for instance, has labeled the Russia-Ukraine conflict a “European problem” and has criticized federal spending on Ukraine. Pence’s speech largely focused on the conservative “Freedom Agenda,” which he released earlier this year. It serves as both a concrete policy plan for Republicans as well as an implicit criticism of Trump, who has spent much of his time since leaving office obsessing about the 2020 election instead of looking forward. Pence, who again argued in his remarks that in order to win “we must do more than simply criticize and complain,” has been a target of Trump’s ire since he refused to go along with the former president’s unconstitutional plot to try to overturn the will of voters in January 2021. Pence once again stressed the importance of the oath he took when he was sworn in as vice president, adding that, “The American people must know that conservatives will not simply pay lip service to keeping faith with the Constitution, but that we will always keep our oath — that we will keep our oath, as the Bible says, even when it hurts” and “stand for the Constitution … even when it would be politically expedient to do otherwise.” Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Read More Here