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Michigan Appeals Court Rules On Trump Ballot Challenge

By
Madeleine Jackson
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Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

On Thursday, the Michigan Court of Appeals sided with former President Donald Trump, ruling the Republican candidate can appear on the state’s primary ballot.

While the appeals court upheld two lower court decisions the Court declined to decide whether Trump should be disqualified under the 14th Amendment, which bars those who previously took an oath to uphold the Constitution but later “engaged in insurrection” from holding office again.

The Hill has more:

The court determined that the former president’s spot on the general election ballot was not ripe for consideration. 

“It would be improper to decide whether to grant a declaration that Trump is disqualified from holding the office of President of the United States at this time,” the 3-0 opinion reads. “At the moment, the only event about to occur is the presidential primary election.”

Regarding his spot on Michigan’s primary ballot, the secretary of state has “no discretion” to decide not to place him — or any other candidate identified as a primary candidate by a state political party — on the ballot.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

Cornel West Casts Doubts Over Biden Re-Election Strategy

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America,

    During a recent interview Independent presidential contender Cornel West expressed doubts President Joe Biden makes it to the general election next year.

    Recently, Biden has been clobbered by numerous polls showing his popularity slipping amongst key voting blocs as Trump surges ahead in battleground states.

    “I’m not even sure whether I’ll be running against Biden,” the independent presidential candidate told Politico. “Biden — I think he’s going to have an LBJ moment [and] pull back.”

    “I’m just saying that I’m open to those possibilities, given the fluidity of the situation,” the renowned academic said. “He’s running out of gas.”

    West noted that while the Republican ticket appears more solid, he added that it’s also possible former President Trump leaves the race “if the weight becomes too heavy with the indictments and court processes.”

    West described Trump as a “pied piper” and a “fascist,” and Biden as a “milquetoast neoliberal.” He said both could lead the country down dark paths, Trump to a civil war and Biden to World War III.

    “I’m more concerned about Trump domestically,” West said. “I’m more concerned about Biden in terms of foreign policy.”

    Report: Trump Leading In Seven Swing States

      By
      Madeleine Jackson
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      0
      Gage Skidmore Flickr

      A fresh round of polling shows former President Donald Trump leading President Joe Biden in seven battleground states.

      The surveys tested how Biden would perform against the Republican frontrunner — whom Biden defeated in the 2020 election — and found that Trump would beat him in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

      Mediaite has more:

      Across all of the aforementioned swing states, Trump leads Biden 47%-42% according to a poll of 4,935 registered voters.

      A greater proportion of voters trusts the former president more than the incumbent on the economy (51%-33%), immigration (49%-32%), U.S.-China relations (47%-33%), the war between Russia and Ukraine (45%-34%), the war between Israel and Hamas (44%-33%), and guns (44%-35%). Biden boasts advantages over Trump on healthcare (41%-39%), entitlements (42%-40%), abortion (39%-36%), democracy (42%-39%), and climate change (42%-30%).

      The results come on the heels of a CNN survey that found that Trump beating Biden in Georgia and Michigan.

      CNN has more:

      In Georgia, a state Biden carried by a very narrow margin in 2020, registered voters say they prefer Trump (49%) over Biden (44%) for the presidency in a two-way hypothetical matchup. In Michigan, which Biden won by a wider margin, Trump has 50% support to Biden’s 40%, with 10% saying they wouldn’t support either candidate even after being asked which way they lean. In both Michigan and Georgia, the share of voters who say they wouldn’t support either candidate is at least as large as the margin between Biden and Trump.

      Overall, just 35% in Michigan and 39% in Georgia approve of Biden’s job performance, the surveys find, and majorities in both states say his policies have worsened economic conditions in the country (54% in Georgia, 56% in Michigan).

      Court Upholds Trump Gag Order In New York Fraud Case

        By
        Madeleine Jackson
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        3
        Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

        On Thursday, a New York appeals court rejected Donald Trump’s attempt to have a gag order in his New York business fraud trial thrown out.

        In October, Judge Arthur Engoron put in place the gag order barring Trump and his attorneys from making remarks about the judge’s staff.

        The New York Supreme Court, a trial court that is not the state’s highest court, upheld Engoron’s gag order, finding it did not unlawfully restrict Trump’s speech.

        “Here, the gravity of potential harm is small, given that the Gag Order is narrow, limited to prohibiting solely statements regarding the court’s staff,” the court wrote in its opinion.

        Engoron said his staff has been “inundated” with threats following Trump’s comments. He later expanded the order to include Trump’s attorneys, after they questioned his passing of notes to communicate with his staff.

        “My law clerks are public servants who are performing their job in the manner in which I request,” he wrote in the order. “This includes providing legal authority and opinions, as well as responding to questions I pose to them. Plainly, defenders are not entitled to the confidential communications among me and my court staff.”

        DeSantis Asks Fox News Host To Tee Up Debate With Trump

        By
        Madeleine Jackson
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        4
        The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

        Ron DeSantis is issuing a challenge to his rival Donald Trump.

        On Wednesday, the Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis asked Fox News anchor Sean Hannity to arrange a debate between himself and former President Donald Trump.

        Recently, Hannity moderated a long-awaited debate between DeSantis and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The Fox anchor seemed to welcome the idea of a similar event involving Trump before asking if DeSantis was confident Joe Biden would be the Democrat party’s nominee for president.

        “Well, Sean, I don’t think we’ve spoken since that debate, and the reaction that I’ve gotten has been incredible in terms of obviously being able to show that freedom works and the California models of failure, what that means for the country. But people appreciated the way you set it up, and they said it was the most substantive debate that they’ve seen in this entire election cycle, and so kudos to you for doing it,” began DeSantis before throwing down the gauntlet. “So I’m glad we were able to get that done, and just know if you want to do other debates — Nikki Haley and me, I’m in, Donald Trump, and me, I’m in — so just say the word. You’ve shown that you can do it in a way that I think really helps the voters. So I’m game. Just let me know.”

        “Okay, those are two. Do you have any more on your list? Maybe Joe Manchin, He’s going on a two month tour. Anybody else on your list that you’d like to do?” replied an amused Hannity.

        Trump has dominated the polls and so far has refused to participate in any Republican primary debates.

        The surveys tested how Biden would perform against the Republican frontrunner — whom Biden defeated in the 2020 election — and found that Trump would beat him in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

        House Greenlights Biden Impeachment Inquiry

        By
        Madeleine Jackson
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        2
        Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

        The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Wednesday evening to formalize an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.

        The Republican resolution passed on a party line vote of 221-212. Earlier in the day, Hunter Biden defied the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena to testify behind closed doors, pushing lawmakers to initiate contempt of Congress proceedings.

        The Hill continues:

        The resolution makes official an inquiry into Biden that has been underway for months, after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in September said that various GOP probes into the president would be under the umbrella of impeachment — but did not hold an official vote. 

        Republicans have said they moved to formalize the inquiry in part because the White House responded to document requests last month with a letter that argued their inquiry was unconstitutional due to the lack of a vote, citing a Trump-era legal opinion.

        “We’re very pleased with the vote today. I think that’s it a message loud and clear to the White House. We expect you to comply,” House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), who is leading one of the arms of the probe, said after the vote.

        President Biden ripped House Republicans for what he called a “baseless political stunt.”

        After the vote, the president released a statement, saying in part: “I wake up every day focused on the issues facing the American people – real issues that impact their lives, and the strength and security of our country and the world. Unfortunately, House Republicans are not joining me.”

        On the Senate side, some Republicans remain skeptical of the investigation’s most salacious allegations. If the House votes to approve articles of impeachment against Biden, it will be imperative to win over the following holdouts:

        • Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who stated that no evidence had been found of wrongdoing by President Biden himself. However, he added that if such evidence is uncovered, it would be critical and important. “But we haven’t seen that yet,” he added.
        • Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of the chamber’s GOP leadership, said,”I don’t see any evidence there” before conceding that “The House is going to do what the House is going to do. I don’t have any influence.”
        • Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) argued that Republicans have not learned from the Democrats’ strategic mistakes in their first impeachment of former President Trump. According to Rounds, the Senate did not have sufficient evidence to convict Trump during the impeachment trial. Democrats “were trying to develop it in the trial.” Rounds emphasized that House Republicans must provide clear and incontrovertible evidence of impeachable offenses before bringing it to trial before the Senate. If they fail to do so, their actions will be deemed as “crying wolf.”

        The inquiry is investigating the finances of the Biden family, treatment of Hunter Biden by the Justice Department and Hunter’s alleged influence-peddling scheme.

        This article was republished with permission from American Liberty News.

        Here’s Why James Comer Quit Appearing On ‘Fox & Friends’

          By
          admin
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          Looking east towards 6th Avenue along north (48th Street) side of Fox News building on a snowy afternoon. [Photo Credit: Jim.henderson, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons]

          The chairman of the House Oversight Committee is done listening to one Fox News co-host’s skepticism towards the ongoing investigation into allegations of impeachable conduct by President Joe Biden.

          Despite receiving praise from Lawrence Jones, Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade, Kentucky Rep. James Comer (R) has stopped appearing on “Fox & Friends” due to Steve Doocy’s constant criticism that Republicans haven’t presented more than circumstantial evidence that Hunter Biden criminally involved his father in his business dealings.

          With the House expected to vote on an impeachment inquiry into President Biden as early as today, Comer told Newsmax’s Eric Bolling that he “quit going on ‘Fox & Friends’ because of Doocy.” Comer added that he had a theory about why Doocy has “been very critical of the investigation.”

          “But I don’t think the average viewer of Fox News agrees with Doocy one bit,” he continued.

          Mediaite reports:

          During an interview with Comer about his House investigation into President Joe Biden on Wednesday, Bolling said, “Forget the Democrats like Dan Goldman who say there’s no evidence. My concern is when the media, especially the conservative media, starts siding with the Bidens. Listen to Steve Doocy over at Fox saying you don’t have evidence.”

          Bolling then played a clip of Doocy saying, “The Republicans at this point don’t have– they have a lot of ledgers and spreadsheets, but they have not connected the dots. They’ve connected the dots, the Department of Justice did on Hunter, but they have not shown where Joe Biden, you know, did anything illegally.”

          Comer responded, “Well I think we’ve done a pretty good job connecting the dots. We’ve traced two checks from influence peddling schemes going directly into Joe Biden’s pocket.”

          When Bolling asked Comer why Doocy had criticized his efforts, the Kentucky Republican went on a tear.

          “He’s had that position from the very beginning. I’ve quit going on ‘Fox & Friends’ because of Doocy, you know? I mean, he’s the one guy on Fox that’s been very critical of the investigation. I have my theory why, and we’ll talk about that at a later point, but at the end of the day, he’s entitled to his opinion, but I don’t think the average viewer of Fox News agrees with Doocy one bit.”

          “Even 40% of the Democrats are concerned that Joe Biden has violated the law with his family’s shady business. The American people expect somebody to investigate the president of the United States for public corruption, and thank God the Oversight Committee is,” Comer said, ending his rebuttal.

          This article was republished with permission from American Liberty News.

          Report: Special Counsel To Use Trump White House Cell Data In Election Interference Case

          By
          Madeleine Jackson
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          3
          Elvert Barnes, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

          New filings show special counsel Jack Smith plans to call witnesses who have analyzed data extracted from former President Trump’s cell phone in the federal election interference case.

          Smith reportedly plans to bring in experts for testimony, including one who can weigh in on Trump’s Twitter habits and another who has analyzed the movement of the crowd following the President’s speech on Jan. 6th, 2021.

          Prosecutors on the election interference case also extracted data from Trump’s White House cell phone, and that of an aide, described in the filing only as “Individual 1.”

          The expert, who is unnamed in the court filing, reviewed how Trump and the aid used their phone throughout the post-election period, and has “specifically identified the periods of time during which the defendant’s phone was unlocked and the Twitter application was open on Jan. 6.” 

          It’s unclear the extent of the information prosecutors have from Trump’s phone, though the filing says the expert analyzed “images found on the phones and websites visited.”

          A separate expert prosecutors plan to bring in will analyze how a crowd of Trump supporters moved in response to his speech which included calls to “march towards the Capitol.”

          The expert “plotted the location history data for Google accounts and devices associated with individuals who moved, on January 6, 2021, from an area at or near the Ellipse to an area encompassing the United States Capitol building.”

          Their review “will aid the jury in understanding the movements of individuals toward the Capitol area during and after the defendant’s speech at the Ellipse.”

          Hunter Biden Lawyers Seek To Dismiss Delaware Gun Charges

          By
          Madeleine Jackson
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          2
          President Joe Biden hugs his family during the 59th Presidential Inauguration ceremony in Washington, Jan. 20, 2021. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took the oath of office on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol. (DOD Photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Carlos M. Vazquez II)

          Hunter Biden’s legal team has filed a motion to dismiss the indictment against him over gun charges in Delaware.

          Earlier this year, special counsel David Weiss charged Hunter Biden with making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm; making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federal firearms licensed dealer; and one count of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance. 

          The president’s son pleaded not guilty to all counts in October before a sweetheart plea deal fell through.

          Biden’s lawyers are attempting to have the indictment dismissed by saying it “violates” the collapsed plea agreement and maintain it is “still in effect” between the president’s son and federal prosecutors. 

          Fox News has more:

          “The Indictment against Mr. Biden must be dismissed because it violates a Diversion Agreement that is in effect between Mr. Biden and the prosecution,” Lowell argued in the filing. “In exchange for Mr. Biden giving up various rights—including his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent by agreeing to the Statement of Facts drafted by the prosecution and numerous restrictions on his liberty—the prosecution agreed to provide him immunity for any offense concerning his purchase of a firearm (among other offenses).” 

          Citing the initial agreement, which Republicans have billed as a “sweetheart plea deal,” Lowell said prosecutors, in July, said they could not bring firearms charges “based on the firearm identified in the factual statement to the Diversion Agreement.” 

          “Nevertheless, the prosecution did just that, by subsequently bringing this Indictment charging Mr. Biden with three felony firearm offenses, which all relate to the firearm identified in the Diversion Agreement’s factual statement,” Lowell continued Monday. “Because Mr. Biden gave up valuable rights as part of this contract, in exchange for the prosecution’s promise not to prosecute him, such promise must be fulfilled.”

          Last week, Biden was also indicted on tax charges in California.

          CNN reported that Hunter was hit with nine counts on charges that include failure to file and pay taxes; evasion of assessment and false or fraudulent tax return.

          Biden is facing up to 17 years in prison for his crimes.

          Tucker Carlson Unveils Next Career Move

            By
            admin
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            1
            Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

            A new challenger to cable news will arrive today.

            Tucker Carlson is set to launch his own streaming service for $9 per month, which might go live as early as Monday morning.

            The eponymously named Tucker Carlson Network has five shows planned in the first few weeks. Its logo is a red pill with the initials TCN.

            The network’s leadership comprises of Carlson confidants; with Neil Patel as CEO, Justin Wells as the network president and Carlson as the face of the operation, hosting multiple shows. The network’s programming will feature long-form interviews, commentaries and investigative reporting.

            Carlson revealed his reasons for challenging the status quo in a press release Monday morning:

            “News coverage in the West has become a tool of repression. Reporters no longer reveal essential information to the public; they work to hide it. We plan to tell the truth about things that matter – clearly and without fear.”

            Wells expressed gratitude to Elon Musk’s X for amplifying Carlson’s message following his dismissal from Fox News and stated that Carlson isn’t leaving the social network:

            “Tucker has maintained an important connection with the audience on X. We look forward to continuing that relationships but also providing people with even more video content through Tucker Carlson Network.”

            The Wall Street Journal further reports:

            Carlson and his team explored launching TCN through X, but the company wasn’t able to move quickly enough to build out the technology they needed to run a subscription service, the people said.

            X declined to comment.

            Carlson will continue to post the service’s free content on X. His media company will also launch a new podcast, “The Tucker Carlson Podcast,” which will feature audio versions of that content.

            Carlson’s team is exploring distributing the service through streaming-TV apps independently and through X, one of the people said. 

            The network is currently only accessible through TuckerCarlson.com.

            This article was republished with permission from American Liberty News.

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