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West Virginia Senator Stomps Out 2024 White House Speculation

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Joe Manchin via Wikimedia Commons

Joe Biden is likely breathing a sigh of relief right about now…

On Wednesday, Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin (W.V.) revealed he would not be running for president in 2024, a letdown for those hoping the moderate Democrat would pose a challenge to unpopular President Biden.

“I’m not running for President of the United States,” Manchin told MetroNews during a radio interview broadcast from the State Capitol in Charleston, West Virginia.

However, the two-term senator and former governor refused to say if he has decided to seek another term in the Senate as Republicans eye his seat as a top target to flip in 2024.

West Virginia Attorney General and failed 2018 Senate hopeful Patrick Morrisey has already been named a likely challenger to seek Manchin’s seat.

While speaking to The Hill, Morrisey said Manchin lost significant political capital when he voted in favor of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which included major components of President Biden’s agenda.

In November, Rep. Alex Mooney (R- W.Va.) announced that he will run for Senate in 2024 in a bid to unseat Sen. Joe Manchin.

As Great America News Desk previously reported:

Manchin stonewalled President Joe Biden’s original Build Back Better plan but ultimately was the deciding vote for the renegotiated Inflation Reduction Act.

“SEN. MANCHIN DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED WEST VIRGINIANS AND LET THEM DOWN TREMENDOUSLY WHEN HE SUPPORTED THE ‘BUILD BACK BROKE’ BILL LAST SUMMER. THAT LEGISLATION REALLY HIT OUR STATE VERY HARD. YOU CAN DRESS UP THE PIG ANY WAY YOU WANT BUT MOST PEOPLE IN WEST VIRGINIA UNDERSTAND THAT THAT BILL IS GOING TO HURT US,” MORRISEY TOLD THE OUTLET.

“HE LET THE AIR OUT OF HIS BALLOON AND IT’S NOT GOING TO BE SO EASY TO PUMP IT BACK UP,” HE SAID.  

MORRISEY, WHO IS “EVALUATING OPTIONS” ABOUT WHAT TO DO IN 2024, SAID “WE’RE LOOKING VERY CLOSELY AT THE SENATE RACE.”  

While President Biden has indicated he plans to seek a second term in the White House, some Democrats seem undeterred by his plans. While some saw a Manchin 2024 campaign as a potential way to appeal to undecided voters due to his more moderate policies compared to his progressive colleagues another Democrat says she’s ready to step out of the shadows and challenge Biden.

Former presidential candidate Marianne Williamson, 70, recently teased a rematch against Biden.

This story is developing. Click refresh for the latest updates.

January 6th Panel Votes to Recommend DOJ Prosecute Trump

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Gage Skidmore Flickr

On Monday, the House Select Committee investigating the events surrounding the January 6th, 2021 Capitol riot voted to recommend the Department of Justice criminally prosecute former President Donald Trump.

The committee voted 9-0.

According to Fox News, the first referral recommended by the committee is for Trump’s obstruction an official proceeding of Congress. The committee will also refer Trump to DOJ for conspiracy to defraud the federal government, making a false statement and inciting, assisting, or aiding and comforting an insurrection.

In what is expected to be its final meeting on Monday, the House Select Committee to Investigate January 6 said it will formally ask the DOJ to pursue charges after a nearly 18-month probe into the former president’s involvement in the activities that lead to the Capitol breach on January 6, 2021.

The committee’s unprecedented criminal referral holds no official legal weight, and a final determination in whether to pursue the charges will be up to Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Justice Department.

At Monday’s meeting, the committee’s members, seven Democrats and two anti-Trump Republicans, each presented a portion of their findings against Trump before taking the vote to issue criminal referrals. 

The committee will also refer four Republican members of Congress to the House Committee on Ethics for defying the committee’s subpoenas. One of the Republicans who defied their subpoena was then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, (R-Calif.)

The committee also subpoenaed:

  • Jim Jordan, R-Ohio
  • Mo Brooks, R-Ala.
  • Scott Perry, R-Pa.
  • Andy Biggs, R-Ariz.

According to The Hill, It’s unclear if the Ethics panel will launch an investigation based on the select committee’s new recommendations. Unlike most other standing committees, membership on the Ethics panel is evenly divided between the parties. And the committee strives — at least rhetorically — to avoid the divisive partisan politicking that practically defines some of the other panels. 

Yet with just weeks left in the 117th Congress, there’s a small and closing window for the committee to launch any new probes while Democrats are still in the House majority. And it’s unlikely that a GOP-led Ethics Committee would take the remarkable step of investigating the role of sitting Republicans in an event as polarizing as the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. 

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell to Challenge Ronna McDaniel for RNC Chair

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Mike Lindell via Gage Skidmore Flickr

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell is planning to challenge Ronna McDaniel to become the next chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC).

Despite midterm election losses, McDaniel recently announced her plans to seek re-election to the position.

In a livestream this week, Lindell called for new RNC leadership and suggested he would be up to the job.

“We need someone everybody, and I would step into that, if God willing,” he said, according to Mediaite.

“Ronna McDaniel has failed in her leadership,” he said. “We need a new input to get a different output.”

“We need someone who knows how to run a business to lead one of the most important organizations in our country,” Lindell said.

The MyPillow CEO continues to claim he has evidence of mass v*ter fr*ud, though no actual proof has been found to back up his claims. Lindell claimed he would “drop everything” to present his supposed evidence to Elon Musk so he could get his Twitter account back.

“I would fly to him, do whatever it takes. I would hand- deliver it on a silver platter and say, ‘here you go, look at it,” Lindell told Steve Bannon this week. “You’re a very smart man. Look at this and do whatever you want to do with my Twitter account. But for sure I would like you to say, ‘hey, this guy got banned and he’s banned right now for no reason.’”

Will Lackluster Midterm Results Deter Trump 2024 Announcement?

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Gage Skidmore Flickr

Tuesday’s midterms produced lackluster results as ballots continue to be tallied across the country. While the red tsunami appeared to be more of a wave Republicans and Democrats are still waiting to know which party will control the House of Representatives and the Senate on Wednesday morning.

The midterm results have spurred questions about Trump’s potential plan to announce his third presidential campaign next week. The former president has been heavily involved throughout the midterms but some are left wondering if Trump will push his announcement.

During an interview with Markie Martin on NewsNation ahead of the midterms Trump noted he’s made over 300 endorsements.

“You’ve endorsed more than 330 candidates this election cycle,” Martin said. “Tonight, win or lose, the results for Republicans, how much of that will be because of Donald Trump?”

“Well, I think if they win, I should get all the credit. And if they lose, I should not be blamed at all, okay?” Trump said. “But it’ll probably be just the opposite. When they win, I think they’re going to do very well, I’ll probably be given very little credit even though in many cases I told people to run and they ran and they turned out to be very good candidates. You know, they’ve turned out to be very good candidates.”

“But usually what would happen is when they do well, I won’t be given any credit and if they do badly, they will blame everything on me,” he continued. “So I’m prepared for anything, but we’ll defend ourselves.”

Advisers close to Trump say the former president is certainly running but he’s yet to make any formal announcement as doing so will link him to specific election laws.

During a Monday evening rally in Ohio, former President Trump declared he plans to make a “big announcement” next Tuesday.

“I’m going to be making a very big announcement on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla.,” Trump said toward the end of a rally near Dayton, Ohio, where he was campaigning for a host of candidates in the state, including Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance.

“We want nothing to distract from the importance of tomorrow,” Trump said.

Vance won his race against Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan Tuesday night.

“I can’t thank President Trump enough for his support,” Vance said. “His endorsement and the work he did to drive turnout – including a huge rally in Dayton on election eve – made all the difference in this race, and led us to the largest battleground victory in the nation.”

Republicans Pour Cold Water on Trump Ahead of 2024 Announcement

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As buzz continues to build around Trump’s looming 2024 announcement some Republicans are already trying to burst his bubble.

Despite the obvious excitement surrounding Trump’s long-awaited presidential campaign announcement the Republican is already facing hurdles on the path to 2024.

Trump, who is already facing various legal challenges, will be effectively cut off from the Republican National Committee if he declares his candidacy committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told The Hill.

Last year, the RNC admitted it was paying for legal fees “that relate to politically motivated legal proceedings waged against President Trump” and in recent months the committee has funded Trump’s defense against probes launched by Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. (D) and New York Attorney General Letitia James (D).

“We cannot pay legal bills for any candidate that’s announced. So these are bills that came from the Letitia James lawsuit that started while he was president,” McDaniel said. “It was voted on by our executive committee for our former president, that this was a politically motivated investigation and that’s what it’s been.”

“But we cannot do in kind contributions to any candidate right now. He’s the former president being attacked from every which way with lawsuits, and he’s certainly raised more under the RNC than we’ve spent on these bills,” she added.

Advisers in Trump’s inner circle have indicated the announcement could come as soon as November 14th but some conservatives say it shouldn’t come as any shock.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said on Sunday that Trump’s upcoming announcement doesn’t surprise him, according to The Hill.

“Like, why should anybody be surprised,” Christie said, adding, “When something happens that you anticipated happening, it doesn’t make any difference.”

“He’s going to run. Everyone always knew he was going to run. He can’t miss the attention any more than he does, and he’s going to run,” the former governor added. “Now we’ll see what happens.”

However, reports began to swirl on Monday that Trump couls make his annoucenment during tonight’s rally in Ohio. Axios reporter Jonathan Swan was the first to report that Trump could move up the announcement date.

“Based calls/texts all morning, Trump/Vance rally in Ohio will be v closely watched by Rs. Speculation has reached a point of absurdity at this point but many Rs of varying degrees of closeness to Trump are anticipating accelerated announcement based on his recent private comments,” Swan tweeted.

A source close to the matter told The Washington Examiner that ultimately the decsion is up to Trump and nobody knows exactly when he will share the news.

“There’s a lot of back-and-forth right now, no one really knows if it’s going to happen tonight or if it’s going to happen in a week or so. Trump himself is the one who wants to do it ASAP. No one knows right now whether it’s happening tonight or not,” the source explained.

Patriot Tulsi Gabbard Leaves Dems and Quickly Backs Republican Retired General

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Tulsi Gabbard via Gage Skidmore Flickr

ANALYSIS – Tulsi Gabbard, former Democrat congresswoman, Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee DNC and Democrat candidate for president has publicly left the Democrat Party.

And without skipping a beat, she quickly backed Trump-endorsed Republican New Hampshire Senate candidate Don Bolduc, a retired Army general.  

Bolduc, beat the GOP establishment-supported state Sen. Chuck Morse in the Republican primary last month.

He had created controversy by questioning the results of the 2020 presidential election, but after winning the primary, he said on Fox News: “I have come to the conclusion, and I want to be definitive on this, the election was not stolen.”

In her blistering statement announcing her leaving the Dems, the patriotic Army Reserve Major twice deployed to the Middle East, blasted the Democrats for their insane wokeness, calling them an ‘elitist cabal.’

She also implored other “independent-minded Democrats” to join her by leaving the Democrats.

As CNN reported:

“I can no longer remain in today’s Democratic Party. It’s now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness, who divide us by racializing every issue & stoking anti-white racism, who actively work to undermine our God-given freedoms enshrined in our Constitution,” Gabbard said in a video posted to social media. The announcement was made on the first episode of her new podcast, “The Tulsi Gabbard Show.”

Gabbard, who made history by becoming the first American Samoan and practicing Hindu in Congress following her election in 2012, also criticized what she said were Democrats’ “open border” policies and anti-police rhetoric.

Gabbard endorsed Joe Biden after suspending her presidential campaign in 2020, but she has since been a vocal critic of the befuddled President.

“President Biden campaigned on a message of unity, healing the partisan divide bringing the country together. He just gave a big speech saying supporters of President (Donald) Trump are the most extremist group in our country and a threat to our democracy. That’s half the country,” she said in her Tuesday video.

During the 2020 campaign, Hillary Clinton suggested that Gabbard was being groomed as a potential third-party candidate without naming Gabbard, while also suggesting she was a “Russian asset.” 

Appearing increasingly on Fox News, Gabbard even spoke to the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in February.

While Gabbard has not said whether she will join the Republican Party, register as an independent or launch a new party, her strong support for Bolduc says a lot about her trajectory and hints to a possible future political role.

The Blaze reports:

The Bolduc campaign announced Wednesday that Gabbard will join the GOP candidate and “barnstorm the Granite State,” with a schedule of events forthcoming.

“We don’t agree on every issue, but I am honored to have the support of Tulsi Gabbard who shares my view that the status quo is broken, and we need a change of direction,” Bolduc said in a statement.

“Tulsi is a fellow change agent and independent-minded outsider willing to speak truth to power. I am going to spend every day between now and election day building a wide coalition of supporters that includes Republicans, independents and even disaffected Democrats…”

A recent Trafalgar Group survey found incumbent Democrat Senator Maggie Hassan leading Bolduc by a tiny margin of 48% to Bolduc’s 45%, showing that the race remains tight and Hassan vulnerable.

It is hoped that Gabbard’s independence, star quality and strong support can help propel Gen. Bolduc over the finish lion to victory. Let’s pray that it does.

Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.

Amanda Head: No, Gavin Newsom Isn’t a Moderate and His Own Family is Turning on him

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A trust connected to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s in-laws donated $5,000 to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Records show that the Siebel Family Revocable Trust, which is run by Kenneth Siebel Jr. and Judith Siebel, the parents of Newsom’s wife, Jennifer Siebel, gave $5,000 to the Friends of Ron DeSantis PAC in early April.

The Siebel family has a history of making donations to Republican candidates, including Senators Ron Johnson (R-WI), Tom Cotton (R-AR), and Josh Hawley (R-MO).

Watch Amanda break down the drama HERE.

New Accusations Released About Member of Trump’s Family and Inner Circle

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[Photo Cred: Office of the President of the United States, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons]

Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro recently made some potentially damaging accusations about Jared Kushner, former President Trump’s son-in-law and longtime White House adviser.

As reported by Mediaite, Navarro recently bashed Kushner about his portrayal of several dramatic actions he allegedly took while working at the White House.

“Appearing on Newsmax, Navarro addressed Kushner’s claim in his recently-published book that he was treated for thyroid cancer while serving in the White House.

Host Chris Salcedo flagged the excerpt from the book and stated Kushner “withheld a cancer diagnosis during tense negotiations with communist China.

Navarro addressed Kushner’s book.

“It’s fiction,” he continued. “And the thyroid thing, that came out of nowhere. I saw the guy every day. There’s no sign that he was in any pain or danger or whatever. I think it’s just sympathy to try to sell his book now.”

Salcedo asked if Kushner is “worthy” of Trump’s trust.

“No,” Navarro replied. “Time after time, whether it’s mismanagement of the campaign, mismanagement of the pandemic, taking too much credit for NAFTA, taking too much credit for the Abraham Accords. I mean, the guy was just a one-man wrecking crew, 36 years old I think when he got in there with no training. His only qualification was that he was the boss’s son-in-law.”

Notably, Navarro is dealing with a few of his own issues at the moment. A few days ago he was sued by President Biden’s Justice Department for refusing to hand over emails from his personal accounts which were used to conduct official White House business. Earlier this summer, he was criminally charged for ignoring a subpoena from the Jan. 6 Committee.

Former Trump Adviser Sued by Biden’s Justice Department

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[Photo Cred: Office of the President of the United States, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons]

President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against former President Donald Trump’s trade adviser, Peter Navarro.

The lawsuit alleges Navarro used personal email accounts to conduct official White House business, “constituting presidential records.” The DOJ also accused the former Trump adviser of violating federal record-keeping laws when he didn’t copy the emails into an official government account or respond to the National Archives requests for the messages.

“Mr. Navarro is wrongfully retaining Presidential records that are the property of the United States, and which constitute part of the permanent historical record of the prior administration,” the lawsuit states. “Mr. Navarro’s wrongful retention of Presidential records violates District of Columbia law, federal common law, and the [Presidential Records Act].”

The Justice Department said officials initially approached Navarro about handing over the missing emails, but he refused “absent a grant of immunity for the act of returning such documents.”

Navarro’s attorneys, John Irving and John Rowley denied withholding the messages.

“As detailed in our recent letter to the Archives, Mr. Navarro instructed his lawyers to preserve all such records, and he expects the government to follow standard processes in good faith to allow him to produce records,” Navarro’s lawyers told POLITICO. “Instead, the government chose to file its lawsuit today.”

The civil lawsuit was assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton.

The lawsuit marks the latest in a string of public battles between the former Trump adviser and the U.S. government. In June, Navarro was charged with contempt of Congress after he refused to comply with the January 6th panel’s subpoena requests.

Trump-backed Candidate Wins Arizona GOP Gubernatorial Primary

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Kari Lake speaking with supporters at a "Stand for Freedom" rally at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Scottsdale Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. [Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons]

Former television news anchor-turned-staunch Trump supporter Kari Lake has been declared the winner of Arizona’s highly competitive gubernatorial primary.

With an estimated 94% of ballots counted, Lake has 46.78% of the vote, compared to Karrin Robson with 44.03%. Lake will now face off against Democratic nominee Katie Hobbs in the November 8th general election in what is expected to be one of the most closely watched races in the country.

Early Wednesday, Lake prematurely declared victory in the GOP primary while addressing supporters.“I wanted to come out here tonight, I wanted to say, ‘Wow, we already have the final results,’” she said. “But we know how our election systems work and they don’t work well. And that’s one of the reasons why I’m standing here.”

With three-quarters of the vote in, Robson led Lake by eight. However, Arizona is a state where mail-in ballots get tabulated first. Then, Election Day votes are counted. The process is the same in Florida. The result, depending on the order chosen by a given state, created red and blue mirages in 2020, given Democrats’ tendency to vote by mail and Republicans’ overwhelming desire to vote on Election Day.

Two years ago, that phenomenon lead to Biden leading Trump by four points in increasingly reddish Florida early on election night before Trump overtook him by a relatively decisive three-point margin. For Lake — who won the Election Day count in some precincts by as much as 40 points — the result was the same.

The highly anticipated race set up a proxy war between former President Donald Trump and his Vice President Mike Pence. Trump, who has become a kingmaker of sorts within the GOP threw his support behind Lake. Meanwhile, Pence and current Arizona Governor Doug Ducey chose Robinson.

Trump’s endorsements have become a sort of gauge of his own power within the GOP as he toys with launching a third presidential campaign.