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Influential Conservative Network Endorses Nikki Haley

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The political network founded by the Koch brothers is endorsing Nikki Haley in the Republican presidential primary race according to a Tuesday memo.

Americans for Prosperity Action’s endorsement bolsters Haley’s campaign as Republicans get closer to the Iowa Caucuses. Haley is largely seen as the candidate most likely to topple Ron DeSantis for the No. 2 position in the primary field. Trump has so far dominated the primary field despite refusing to participate in any debates.

“In sharp contrast to recent elections that were dominated by the negative baggage of Donald Trump and in which good candidates lost races that should have been won, Nikki Haley, at the top of the ticket, would boost candidates up and down the ballot,” reads the memo from Emily Seidel, a senior adviser to Americans for Prosperity Action, who adds that Ms. Haley would win “the key independent and moderate voters that Trump has no chance to win.”

The memo goes on to say that the country “is being ripped apart by extremes on both sides,” adding: “The moment we face requires a tested leader with the governing judgment and policy experience to pull our nation back from the brink. Nikki Haley is that leader.”

The group has been committed to opposing Mr. Trump’s return as leader of the Republican Party. In a memo in February, Ms. Seidel, who also serves as the president of Americans for Prosperity, the political network’s parent group, wrote: “We need to turn the page on the past. So the best thing for the country would be to have a president in 2025 who represents a new chapter.”

In recent months, Haley’s popularity has surged among Republicans and political pundits but the endorsement from the super PAC established by David and Charles Koch could prove Haley’s campaign the push it needs. It will give her access to a direct-mail operation, field workers to knock on doors and people making phone calls to prospective voters in Iowa and beyond. The group has money to spend on television advertisements, as well.

Americans for Prosperity Action has been among the country’s largest spenders on anti-Trump material this year, buying online ads and sending mailers to voters in several states, including Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. All told, the group has spent more than $9 million in independent expenditures opposing Mr. Trump.

Romney Signals He Will Vote For Democrat In Next Presidential Election

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Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Retiring Utah Senator Mitt Romney signaled we could be open to voting for a Democrat in the next presidential election if it helps keep Donald Trump out of the White House.

“I’d be happy to support virtually any one of the Republicans — maybe not Vivek [Ramaswamy] — but the others that are running would be acceptable to me, and I’d be happy to vote for them,” the retiring senator said Friday in an interview with CBS’s Norah O’Donnell.

“I’d be happy to vote for a number of the Democrats too,” he continued. “It would be an upgrade, in my opinion, from Donald Trump and perhaps also from Joe Biden.”

Romney announced in September that he would not seek reelection, sparking a wave of gloating insults from Trump. Romeny has been one of Trump’s staunchest critics among Senate Republicans, voting twice to impeach him.

“Mitt Romney, sometimes referred to as Pierre Delecto, will not be seeking a second term in the U.S. Senate, where he did not serve with distinction,” Trump wrote in all caps on Truth Social when Romney announced his retirement, referencing the pseudonym Romney used for a private Twitter account.

The Utah Republican’s biographer, McKay Coppins, suggested last month that the animosity between the former president and senator is so heavy that he could even opt to endorse Biden later in the election.

“I would keep an eye out for whether Romney does something like endorse Joe Biden late in the election,” Coppins said in an October interview with “The Press Box” podcast. “I mean, I have no idea, I haven’t talked to him about this. I would not be shocked if he did.”

Texas Congressman Makes Unexpected 2024 Endorsement

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Image via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Texas Rep. Chip Roy endorsed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for President on Saturday.

“I stand 100% alongside this wonderful woman & her husband, @RonDeSantis, because they are truly good & decent people,” Roy posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, in response to a tweet from Florida first lady Casey DeSantis. “America needs THAT again.”

“I proudly fight for @RonDeSantis to be our GOP nominee for President because it’s time to #MeetTheMoment & WIN again. #DeSantis2024,” he added.

Back in March, the Texas Congressman strongly hinted he would support the Florida Governor.

“The next President of the United States must be a vibrant and energetic leader with the faith, vision, and courage to chart a new course,” Roy said in an email to supporters at the time.

“America needs a leader who will truly defend her and empower the people against the destructive force of unrestrained government and corporate excess, profligate spending, and woke cultural indoctrination,” he wrote, adding “That leader is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.”

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has also endorsed DeSantis.

Report: Ex-Obama Official Arrested, Charged With Hate Crime

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Arrest image via Pixabay

Former national security adviser Stuart Seldowitz was charged with a hate crime after his rant at a New York City food vendor was recorded and went viral online.

Seldowitz has pleaded not guilty.

Mediaite has more:

Seldowitz, a former National Security Counsel chief to former President Barack Obama, was launched into public infamy this week when he was filmed spewing racist and insulting comments at a man working at a halal food cart. Videos posted online showed that Seldowitz had been accosting the vendor for weeks, and his abusive comments included him calling the vendor a “terrorist,” saying the killing of 4,000 Palestinian children in the Israel-Hamas war “wasn’t enough,” and calling the Islamic prophet Muhammad a “rapist.”

After the media identified Seldowitz, he was disowned and ostracized by his business associates while claiming he made his comments “in the heat of the moment.” He was arrested on Wednesday, and CNN cited the NYPD to report that he faces preliminary charges of hate crime/stalking, second-degree aggravated harassment, stalking causing fear, and stalking at employment.

Islamophobic and anti-Semitic incidents have seen a global spike since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas War.

Report: Colorado Supreme Court To Hear Trump 14th Amendment Appeal

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Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

The Colorado Supreme Court will hear appeals weighing whether Donald Trump should be barred from the state’s 2024 ballot due to the 14th Amendment.

Last week, a judge ruled that former President Donald Trump must be allowed on next year’s Republican primary ballot.

Trump and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), which filed the lawsuit on behalf of six Colorado voters, have both appealed the decision.

The 14th Amendment disqualification trial focused on Trump’s actions before and during the U.S. Capitol riot and whether they violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. Section 3 states:

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

Trump in his appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court said he agreed with the latter part of the ruling keeping him on the state’s ballot but is appealing on other issues.

“But the district court nonetheless made legal and factual findings wholly unsupported in the law, and these errors demand review – especially if the Petitioners in this matter also seek review of the sole dispositive issue upon which President Trump prevailed,” Trump’s attorneys wrote.

Colorado District Judge Sarah Wallace said in her ruling that that language means the 14th Amendment can’t be used to prevent Trump from appearing on the ballot, regardless of whether the then-president’s actions on Jan. 6 cleared the threshold.

Wallace ruled the presidency was not an “office … under the United States” because the 14th Amendment explicitly lists all federal elected positions, except for the presidency and vice presidency. Wallace further ruled Trump was not an “officer of the United States” in the first place, referencing other constitutional provisions that distinguish the presidency from federal officers. 

“Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, passed after the Civil War, excludes from federal or state office those who engaged in insurrection against the Constitution after previously taking an oath to support it,” CREW argued in its appeal brief. 

Pro-Trump Candidate Beats Moderate Dem in Utah Special Election

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Ted Eytan from Washington, DC, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Republican Celeste Maloy beat state Sen. Kathleen Riebe, a self-described moderate, to win Utah’s special election Tuesday night.

Maloy, a pro-Trump candidate, filled the last remaining seat in the U.S. House of Representatives with her victory in Utah’s 2nd congressional district.

Fox News has more:

As a candidate, Maloy touted her roots growing up in rural southern Utah, of which the district covers a vast portion, and has leaned into her support of former President Donald Trump, arguing the numerous ongoing prosecutions against him are politically motivated.

“It’s exciting that we’re going to have somebody come out of this primary that represents rural and southern Utah. I think it’s time for that, and everybody’s ready for it,” Maloy said following her primary win.

However, Riebe has argued the race is a pickup opportunity for Democrats, and has leaned on her experience as a school teacher while making the case that people in the district “are ready for a change.”

In an interview with Deseret News in August, Riebe expressed concern over the nation’s rising debt, and vowed to join the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition if elected.

“Coming to a very rational decision and having very moderate ideas, I think that is what serves us best,” she told the outlet.

This is a breaking news story. Click refresh for the latest updates.

Report: Trump’s Truth Social Parent Company Sues 20 Media Outlets

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Photo via Pixabay images

The parent company to former President Trump’s Truth Social wants $1.5 billion in damages from news organizations that reported that the social media platform had lost $73 million.

In a Monday lawsuit, lawyers for Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. said in the lawsuit that the number was “an utter fabrication” and accused 20 news outlets of a “deliberate, malicious, and coordinated attack” against Truth Social.

Bloomberg has more:

Outlets including the Guardian and Reuters posted stories early last week about Truth Social’s financial condition, citing a regulatory filing by its merger partner, Digital World Acquisition Corporation, a special-purpose acquisition company. Later, at least some of the outlets, including Reuters, posted corrections on their stories.

Reuters and some other publications said they had reached the wrong figure by incorrectly counting a $50.5 million profit for 2022 as a loss. TMTG lawyers said that the “incredible circumstances” of all 20 outlets reporting the $73 million figure within hours of each other suggested a coordinated campaign.

“We dispute any allegation that Reuters defamed TMTG or intended to harm TMTG,” a Reuters spokesperson said in a statement. “We corrected our mistake as soon as TMTG made us aware of it, consistent with the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Reuters remains committed to reporting news fairly and accurately in the public interest.”

Judge Rules Against Revoking Bond For Trump Co-defendant

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Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

On Tuesday, a Georgia judge declined to revoke the bond of one of former President Trump’s co-defendants in his 2020 election interference case.

Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee determined Tuesday that the bond agreement for Harrison Floyd, a former leader of Black Voices for Trump, must be updated to reflect the “nuances of social media.” However, McAfee said he believed that Floyd did make a “technical violation” of his bond.

Floyd was the first defendant threatened with pretrial detention over social media posts that prosecutors say demonstrate attempts at intimidating future witnesses.

The Hill has more:

“I think the ultimate result of today’s hearing is that it’s very clear to me that this bond needs to be modified,” McAfee said

Willis’s attempt to revoke Floyd’s bond was filed hours later, alleging his social media posts violated his conditions of release.

“What we’re really here to decide today is does this order mean something or not,” Willis said, asserting that Floyd “spit on the court” by posting about witnesses and co-defendants online.

“None of these posts amounted to a threat or intimidation,” said Chris Kachouroff, one of Floyd’s attorneys.

This is a breaking news story. Click refresh for the latest updates.

Former Obama Adviser Predicts Biden Has 50-50 Chance Of Reelection

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Former President Obama’s senior adviser David Axelrod said he thinks President Biden has a “50-50 shot” of winning in the 2024 election after advising Biden to consider dropping out of the race.

“I think he has a 50-50 shot here, but no better than that, maybe a little worse,” Axelrod told New York Times’ Maureen Dowd in an interview. “He thinks he can cheat nature here, and it’s really risky. They’ve got a real problem if they’re counting on Trump to win it for them. I remember Hillary doing that, too.”

Axelrod’s comments come shortly after the former senior Obama adviser said it would be “wise” for Biden to consider dropping out of the race, citing concerns about Biden’s age and ability to effectively lead. A recent poll also showed Biden trailing Trump in five out of six battleground states.

But, the column notes, “Axelrod drew Biden’s ire because he urged the president to consider stopping at one term.” Axelrod earlier this month suggested that Biden needs to decide if it’s still wise to run following a recent poll showing Biden trailing former President Trump in key swing states.

“I don’t care about them thinking I’m a pr— — that’s fine,” Axelrod told Dowd. “I hope they don’t think the polls are wrong because they’re not.”

Lawyer Admits To Leaking Witness Video In Trump Election Case

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Image via Gage Skidmore Flickr

On Wednesday, an attorney for one of former President Trump’s co-defendants in Georgia admitted to providing videos of defendants who pled guilty to a media outlet.

Attorney Jonathan Miller, who is representing former Coffee County election supervisor Misty Hampton, did not name the outlet and said he leaked the footage in the name of transparency during an emergency hearing.

The Hill has more:

“In being transparent with the court and to make sure that nobody else gets blamed for what happened – and so that I can go to sleep well tonight – judge, I did release those videos to one outlet,” Miller said. “And in all candor, I need the court to know that.”

ABC News was the first outlet to publish the videos on Monday, followed by The Washington Post, which showed four defendants who pleaded guilty in the election interference case – ex-Trump lawyers Jenna Ellis, Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, plus former Georgia bail bondsman Scott Hall – interviewing with state prosecutors.

Miller’s confession at Wednesday’s hearing came after Floyd’s lawyers filed additional documents insisting they did not leak the proffers and that the individual who did would come forward.

“It is my understanding that today the individual that disseminated the proffer videos will inform the Court of that fact. … All of this colossal time waste is the direct result of the State’s intentional maneuver to use the typographical error in an email in a motion that the State knows has zero support,” Floyd’s lawyer wrote in court documents filed earlier Wednesday. 

“The State knows that Mr. Floyd and his team were not the cause of any problem and is wasting valuable resources and it will be shown today.”