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Sen. Hawley Endorses Kari Lake

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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]

    Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake just scored a major endorsement.

    According to The Daily Caller, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley (R) is reportedly planning to endorse Lake on Monday for U.S. Senate.

    “I am proud to endorse Kari Lake for Senate in Arizona. Kari is a proven conservative outsider and fighter who will deliver border security and economic security for Arizonans,” Hawley told the Caller.

    Hawley said Lake would be the perfect candidate to shake things up in Washington and defeat her Democratic opponent, Rep. Ruben Gallego. The senator also said she will deliver on border security and economic security for Arizonans.

    The Arizona Republican, who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2022, is heavily favored to win the GOP primary. 

    “Senator Hawley is a proven America First fighter. I am thrilled to have his endorsement for Senate in Arizona. I look forward to working with him to Save America from the Far-Left,” Lake told the Caller in response to Hawley’s endorsement.

    Lake has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty, Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville, Indiana Rep. Jim Banks and New York Rep. Elise Stefanik. The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has also endorsed Lake.

    Cook Political rates the Arizona Senate as a toss-up.

    Trump Responds To NBC Firing Ronna McDaniel

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      Ronna McDaniel via Gage Skidmore Flickr

      It has been a rough few days for former Republican National Committee (RNC) chair…

      NBC News cut ties with the Republican after 5 days following swift backlash from a number of MSNBC hosts.

      Donald Trump quickly piled on after the news broke.

      “Wow! Ronna McDaniel got fired by Fake News NBC. She only lasted two days, and this after McDaniel went out of her way to say what they wanted to hear,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social website on Tuesday. “It leaves her in a very strange place, it’s called NEVER NEVERLAND, and it’s not a place you want to be.”

      “These Radical Left Lunatics are CRAZY, and the top people at NBC ARE WEAK,” Trump wrote in his Truth Social post on Tuesday. “They were BROKEN and EMBARRASSED by LOW RATINGS, HIGHLY OVERPAID, ‘TALENT.’ BRING BACK FREE AND FAIR PRESS.”

      In a note to NBC staff on Tuesday, NBCUniversal News Group Chair Cesar Conde apologized for bringing McDaniel on board as a paid contributor and explained the decision “was made because of our deep commitment to presenting our audiences with a widely diverse set of viewpoints and experiences, particularly during these consequential times.”  

      McDaniel on Tuesday was reportedly exploring legal options in the event the network terminated its agreement with her, which was announced late last week and was slated to pay her more than six figures annually.

      McDaniel stepped down as head of the Republican National Committee earlier this year.

      Report: Judge Imposes Gag Order In Trump Hush Money Trial

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      Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

      On Tuesday, the New York judge overseeing the Trump hush money trial imposed a gag order on the former President.

      Judge Juan Merchan’s order still enables Trump to publicly attack the judge and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) but protects jurors and court staff as the trial approaches.

      The Hill has more:

      But it prevents the former president from attacking other prosecutors, court staff and their family members “if those statements are made with the intent to materially interfere with” the case.

      Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) charged Trump in the case with 34 counts of falsifying business records last spring over reimbursements Trump made to his then-fixer, Michael Cohen.

      Cohen had paid porn actress Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an affair she alleged to have had with Trump. The indictment accuses Trump of improperly deeming the reimbursements a legal retainer to conceal damaging information from the public ahead of the 2016 presidential election. 

      Trump, who denies the affair, pleaded not guilty.

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

      Biden Pulls Even Or Ahead of Trump in Several Swing States

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        Joe Biden via Gage Skidmore Flickr

        Bad news for Trump…

        According to a new Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll, President Biden is quickly catching up to Trump in multiple swing states.

        In previous iterations of the survey of voters’ preferences in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, Trump has boasted leads in every single one of the battleground states.

        However, the most recent poll reports that Biden has drawn even with Trump in Michigan (45%-45%) and Pennsylvania (45%-45%) and even pulled ahead of the presumptive Republican nominee in Wisconsin (46%-45%). Trump did retain leads in all of the other key states. He leads by five in Arizona, seven in Georgia, two in Nevada, and six in North Carolina.

        In February, Bloomberg and Morning Consult reported that Trump was up by six points in Pennsylvania, four in Wisconsin, and two in Michigan.

        Mediate reports that Trump performed worse in every single state except for Georgia in March as compared to February. In the Peach State, his margin of victory increased by a single point (+6 to +7). But he previously led by six in Arizona, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, nine in North Carolina, and four in Wisconsin.

        Trump Press Sec. Claims Campaign Will Have ‘Soldiers’ Watching Polling Stations on Election Day

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        President Donald J. Trump is presented with a 10th Combat Aviation Brigade challenge coin following an air assault and gun rain demonstration at Fort Drum, New York, on August 13. The demonstration was part of President Trump's visit to the 10th Mountain Division (LI) to sign the National Defense Authorization Act of 2019, which increases the Army's authorized active-duty end strength by 4,000 enabling us to field critical capabilities in support of the National Defense Strategy. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Thomas Scaggs) 180813-A-TZ475-010

        Is this a step too far?

        On Monday, former President Donald Trump’s press secretary told Kimberly Guilfoyle during an interview that Trump plans to deploy “soldiers” to monitor polling stations on election day in an effort to make sure “there are no irregularities” or “fraud.”

        Karoline Leavitt, who previously ran for Congress and lost, explained the plan during an appearance on The Kimberly Guilfoyle Show.

        Mediaite has more:

        We’re so excited about our recent merger with the Republican National Committee and the new leadership we have there in both Lara Trump and Michael Whatley. Our team is already working hand-in-hand with the staff at the RNC as one very lean and mean machine, as we like to call it, with one goal, and that goal is victory for Republicans up and down the ballot on November 5th.

        We have the team, now it’s time to deploy the troops on the ground. We have an amazing volunteer-led effort right now in all of the battleground states, in addition to our great paid staff who will be making direct voter contact every single hour of every day between now and November 5th to get out the vote. A large part of this is also educating voters on the laws within their state. If you live in an early voting state, we encourage you to get out and vote early, cast your ballot. You don’t know what could happen to you on election day.

        And then we’re also investing a lot of money into voter integrity efforts to ensure that every American knows their ballot will be cast and counted and matter, and we’re gonna play offense this time around. We’re not gonna play defense like we unfortunately did in 2020. We’re gonna have soldiers, poll watchers on the ground who are making sure that there are no irregularities and fraud like we saw in the last election cycle.

        Guilfoyle replied, “I love it. I cannot wait. It’s gonna be fantastic.”

        This is hardly the first time Trump has called for backup at the polls. During the 2020 election, the then-President encouraged supporters to stay vigilant and independently monitor polling stations for evidence of fraud.

        “I am encouraging my supporters to go into the polls and watch very carefully because that’s what has to happen,” said Trump at the time. “I am urging them to do it.”

        Mexico’s President Speaks Out Over Trump’s Border Wall Plans

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        Trump at the border wall via Wikimedia Commons

        Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador thinks Trump is all talk…

        During a recent interview,  President Obrador expressed doubts President Trump would follow through on his pledge to build a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border because of the two countries’ economic ties.

        “Because we understood each other very well. We signed an economic, a commercial agreement that has been favorable for both peoples, for both nations. He knows it. And President Biden, the same,” he said in an interview released Sunday by CBS News’s “60 Minutes.”

        When CBS reporter Sharyn Alfonsi asked López Obrador to respond to those who argue the wall “works,” he said a wall “doesn’t work,” adding he told then-President Trump the same during a phone call.

        López Obrador said the two leaders agreed not to talk about the wall as they “were not going to agree” and the phone call was the only instance the two discussed it.

        “That was the only time and I told him, ‘I am going to send you, Mr. President, some videos of tunnels from Tijuana up to San Diego, that passed right under U.S. Customs.’ He stayed quiet, and then he started laughing and told me, ‘I can’t win with you,’” López Obrador recalled.

        The Hill has more:

        In 2020, López Obrador — Mexico’s first leftist president in decades — said while he does not agree with Trump’s assertion the wall staved off COVID-19 transmission, he also would not publicly confront him over the claim.

        López Obrador, at the time, asserted the relationship between the U.S. and his country was “very good” and emphasized the two nations “are not distant neighbors.”

        Appeals Court Punts Trump Civil Fraud Judgment

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        Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

        On Monday, a New York Appeals Court extended the deadline by 10 days for Donald Trump to post his bond to satisfy the civil fraud judgment and cut the necessary amount to $175 million.

        “We will abide by the decision of the Appellate Division, and post either a bond, equivalent securities, or cash,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

        CNN reports:

        It’s a major lifeline for the former president, who, along with his adult sons and his company, were fined more than $464 million, including interest, after Judge Arthur Engoron found Trump and his co-defendants fraudulently inflated the value of his assets.

        The ruling staves off the prospect, for now, of New York Attorney General Letitia James seeking to seize the former president’s property to enforce the judgement against him.

        Trump had been struggling to come up with the means to post the $464 million bond, the total that he would have needed before Monday’s appellate decision.

        Judge Engoron’s ruling ordered Trump to pay nearly $355 million, Donald Jr. and Eric to each pay $4 million, and ex-Trump Org chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg to pay $1 million. The order also barred Trump from serving as a corporate officer or a director of a company in New York for three years, and barred his sons for two years. The Trumps did avoid the so-called “corporate death penalty;”

        New York Attorney General Letitia James said that if Trump fails or refuses to pay the $354.8 million fine, plus roughly $100 million in interest, she will seize his assets – including his properties.

        Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham proposed a list of properties former President Trump would be most disappointed to have seized if he cannot pay the damages in his civil fraud case.

        “I think if it were to happen, 40 Wall Street is probably the one that he would … I mean, he would hate it,” Grisham told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Monday. “But I think if she tried to seize Mar-a-Lago or Bedminster or Trump Tower even — I mean, those are his babies.”

        “You’ve got the Sterling golf course in Virginia. Any of the properties with golf courses, I think, would absolutely devastate him,” Grisham, who worked under the Trump administration, added. “It will be interesting to see what [New York Attorney General Letitia James] goes for.”

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

        Ronna McDaniel Faces Roadblocks Over NBC News Gig

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        Ronna McDaniel via Gage Skidmore Flickr

        Former Republican National Committee (RNC) chair Ronna McDaniel could already be heading for the exit…

        Days after NBC News announced it had hired McDaniel as a new contributor to the network and reports of inner turmoil are already running rampant.

        According to The Wall Street Journal, MSNBC president Rashida Jones “has no plans to have McDaniel on the channel,” citing “people familiar” with the controversy.

        The Journal reported that there has been “internal backlash” over the hire — adding that “a number of MSNBC anchors and producers have voiced concern about McDaniel’s ties to former President Donald Trump and the RNC’s role in his efforts to challenge the 2020 election results.”

        “Morning Joe” Co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski in their Monday broadcast sharply criticized the network for hiring McDaniel and called on NBC News to reconsider the decision.

        “To be clear, we believe NBC News should seek out conservative Republican voices to provide balance in their election coverage. But it should be conservative Republicans, not a person who used her position of power to be an anti-democracy election denier,” Brzezinski said.

        “And we hope NBC will reconsider its decision. It goes without saying that she will not be a guest on ‘Morning Joe’ in her capacity as a paid contributor,” Brzezinski added.

        On Friday, Carrie Budoff Brown, who leads political coverage at NBC, wrote in a memo shared with The New York Times, “It couldn’t be a more important moment to have a voice like Ronna’s on the team.”

        Chuck Todd, the former host of “Meet the Press,” appeared on the Sunday morning show and blasted his network over the decision.

        “There’s a reason why there are a lot of journalists at NBC News uncomfortable with this, because many of our professional dealings with the RNC over the last six years have been met with gaslighting, have been met with character assassination,” he said.

        “We learned about the hiring when we read about it in the press on Friday,” Scarborough said.

        “We weren’t asked our opinion of the hiring, but if we were, we would have strongly objected to it for several reasons, including, but not limited to, as lawyers might say, Ms. McDaniels’s role in Donald Trump’s fake electoral scheme, and her pressuring election officials to not certify election results while Donald Trump was on the phone,” he continued.

        Ken Buck Leaves Congress With Unbelievable Parting Gift

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          With less than one day left in Congress, Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) is leaving Congress with one last parting gift, or shot, depending on your perspective.

          The conservative congressman signed the House Democrats’ foreign aid discharge petition for Ukraine late last night. He is the first Republican in the chamber to do so. If the petition reaches 218 signatures, it will force a vote on a $95 billion Ukraine aid package, an increasingly unpopular proposition with MAGA Republicans.

          The New Republican’s Tori Otten reports:

          House Speaker Mike Johnson has refused to consider the aid package, which would also give aid to Israel and Taiwan, despite it passing the Senate with broad bipartisan support, because it does not include regulations for the U.S.-Mexico border that he considers strict enough. But if the aid bill makes it to the House floor, it is expected to pass, again with bipartisan backing.

          As of Thursday night, the discharge petition had 188 signatures. It needs just 30 more to pass.

          Buck also signed a competing discharge petition to force a vote on a package that includes both Ukraine aid and new border restrictions. Other Republicans have also signed on to that petition, which has only 16 signatures so far.

          Although Friday is Buck’s last day in Congress, his signatures will remain on both petitions until his temporary successor is chosen in a special election. If the successor also signs either petition, Buck’s name will be removed. The special election to replace Buck won’t be held until June, coinciding with the Colorado primaries.

          On Tuesday, the conservative House Freedom Caucus decided to expel Rep. Buck from their ranks.

          The decision to cleave Buck from the herd was allegedly due to his lack of active participation in the group, including failure to attend meetings regularly.

          However, one source told that Buck, known for his increasing frustration with – and opposition to – former President Trump, was ousted for political reasons.

          This article originally appeared on American Liberty News. Republished with permission.

          Former RNC Director To Join NBC News

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          Former Republican National Committee (RNC) director Ronna McDaniel is joining NBC News as a contributor.

          According to The Hill, McDaniel will appear on “Meet The Press” this Sunday, giving her first interview since resigning as head of the RNC earlier this year.

          McDaniel is expected to be featured as part of election coverage on NBC and on the network’s sister cable channel, MSNBC.

          “It couldn’t be a more important moment to have a voice like Ronna’s on the team,” Carrie Budoff Brown, who leads political coverage at NBC, wrote in a memo shared with The New York Times.

          McDaniel became RNC chair in 2017 and was re-elected four times before announcing her plans to resign after the South Carolina primary.

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