The Trump Organization, former President Donald Trump&#8217;s company, was found guilty Tuesday of committing tax fraud.
A jury ruled that two entities underneath the Trump Organization umbrella schemed to evade taxes by paying a number of its top executives through gifts and perks that were deducted from their paychecks, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/12/06/nyregion/trump-organization-trial-verdict" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a>. The gifts, which included items like luxury cars and apartment leases, were used to evade a stiffer tax penalty on income.
Prosecutors faced off against the Trump Organization in court proceedings that began in late October. Prosecutors argued that the company, as well as former President Trump, was complicit in a years-long tax evasion scheme involving multiple top executives, according to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-new-york-manhattan-donald-trump-government-and-politics-b8baed4b15f436f6dafcc759e091c658" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Associated Press</a>. The former president was not charged in the case.
Trump weighed in after the verdict was announced, <a href="https://twitter.com/Jose_Pagliery/status/1600266554020544513" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blaming</a> his company&#8217;s former finance chief and calling the prosecution a &#8220;continuation of the Greatest Political Witch Hunt in the History of our Country.&#8221; He said his company would appeal the decision in the &#8220;unprecedented&#8221; case.
&#8220;This case is about Allen Weisselberg committing tax fraud on his personal tax returns, etc., with he and every witness repeatedly testifying that President Trump and the Trump Family knew nothing about his actions, which he admits were done solely for his own benefit, and with no benefit to the two companies,&#8221; Trump said.
The trial was against two Trump Organization entities: the Trump Corporation and the Trump Payroll Corporation. The former was charged with nine counts, the latter with eight. The entities were represented by separate legal teams, and both were convicted on all counts.
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The defense teams pinned the blame for a string of tax-free gifts awarded to some executives on Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s former chief financial officer. Weisselberg pleaded guilty to charges of tax fraud, grand larceny, and others in August, forcing the company to overhaul its defense after Weisselberg agreed to testify for the prosecution.
“We are here today because of one reason, and one reason only: The greed of Allen Weisselberg,” Trump Organization attorney Susan Necheles told the jury last week during closing arguments, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-organization-tax-fraud-trial-closing-arguments-focus-on-company-role-11669933588" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wall Street Journal</a>.
Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass argued for the prosecution that the Trump Organization “cultivated a culture of fraud and deception.” He showed jurors a lease, signed by former President Trump, for Weisselberg’s apartment that was covered by the company. Steinglass also presented a company memo initialed by Trump that authorized pay cuts for executives that received non-monetary gifts.
“It’s not that the folks at the Trump Organization didn’t know what they were doing was illegal,” Steinglass said. “It was that they didn’t care.”
This is a developing story; refresh the page for updates.

Donald Trump

Jury Finds Trump Organization Guilty In Tax Evasion Trial

New York

Trump Organization

U.S. air marshals reportedly plan to “mutiny” against an order from the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/white-house" target="_blank" rel="noopener">White House</a> to leave their posts aboard commercial flights and take up posts at the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/southern-border" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U.S. southern border</a>.
Dozens of marshals have promised to disobey the order in protest, Air Marshal National Council President David Londo told <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/fairness-justice/us-air-marshals-plot-mutiny-against-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Washington Examiner</a>. President Joe Biden has ordered U.S. air marshals to the southern border to make up for a lack of Border Patrol agents, a move expected to leave the marshals at one-eighth their normal coverage of U.S. flights.
“The rank and file air marshals are going to refuse to deploy and risk termination,” Londo said. “You’re almost going to have a mutiny of a federal agency, which is unheard of.”
“Morale is so destroyed from this,” he added. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) denied Londo’s claim. It is “entirely inaccurate and does not reflect the critical and professional law enforcement role these officers perform,” the TSA said in a statement.
The Federal Air Marshal Service asked marshals last year to volunteer to spend a 30-day stint at the southern border helping border agents process migrants. Last month, the Biden administration made the deployments mandatory.
In a letter obtained by the Examiner, Londo wrote to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, TSA Administrator David Pekoske, and Federal Air Marshal Service Director Tirrell Stevenson that the marshals had lost “confidence” in the officials’ ability to lead.
“As it stands today, we believe that many FAMs will refuse to deploy, believing the order is reckless and leaving our country vulnerable to attack,” Londo wrote. “On behalf of our membership, stop these dangerous and irresponsible deployments before our adversaries take advantage of the opportunity this policy has provided.”
The air marshals’ organization is drawing support from other outside law enforcement groups in its budding fight with the Biden administration. The National Association of Police Organizations issued a statement backing the air marshals’ protest, according to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/air-marshals-facing-mandatory-border-deployment-plan-mutiny-biden-admin-leaving-flights-unguarded-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News</a>.
“The Federal Air Marshal Service is understaffed and covering the fewest number of flights since before September 11, 2001,” the association said. “We strongly question the decision by the Department of Homeland Security to divert much-needed aviation security to the southern border especially as we enter the busiest travel season of the year, particularly as a federal emergency has not been declared at the border.”
The Department of Homeland Security pushed back against Londo’s claims that the order sending air marshals to the southern border is leaving commercial flights unprotected.
“The suggestion that flights are being left unprotected is completely false,” the department said in a statement to Fox News. “TSA takes its responsibility to secure the skies for the traveling public very seriously. We will continue to protect commercial flights though [sic] our multi-layered security processes, including through the Federal Air Marshal Service which supports this critical mission on the ground and onboard aircrafts.”

American Airlines

U.S. Air Marshals Planning Rebellion After Biden Orders Them To Southern Border: Report

U.S. Air Marshals Planning Rebellion After Biden Orders Them To Souther Border: Report

Alejandro Mayorkas

Department of Homeland Security

Executive

Southern Border

U.S.

Washington D.C.

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China</a> has built up its nuclear arsenal at a rate that has far outpaced U.S. estimates and is projected to have 1,000 nuclear warheads by the end of the decade, according to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-defense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Defense</a> (DOD).
The Pentagon <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3230682/china-military-power-report-examines-changes-in-beijings-strategy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> a report on China’s military on Tuesday stating that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has accelerated its nuclear program. China’s current purpose in building up its nuclear arsenal appears to be deterrence and retaliation, if necessary, according to information collected by the U.S. government.
“In 2020, the DoD estimated China’s operational nuclear warhead stockpile was in the low-200s and expected to at least double by 2030. However, Beijing probably accelerated its nuclear expansion, and DoD estimates this stockpile has now surpassed 400 operational nuclear warheads,” the <a href="https://media.defense.gov/2022/Nov/29/2003122279/-1/-1/1/2022-MILITARY-AND-SECURITY-DEVELOPMENTS-INVOLVING-THE-PEOPLES-REPUBLIC-OF-CHINA.PDF" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> states.
“By 2030, DoD estimates that the PRC will have about 1,000 operational nuclear warheads, most of which will be fielded on systems capable of ranging the continental United States,” it continued.
The Pentagon estimates that by 2035, China’s People’s Liberation Army could have as many as 1,500 operational nuclear warheads at its disposal.
“The PRC probably intends to develop new nuclear warheads and delivery platforms that at least equal the effectiveness, reliability, and/or survivability of some of the warheads and delivery platforms currently under development by the United States and/or Russia,” the report says. “Developing robust nuclear strike options is likely intended to provide deterrence predominantly against a ‘strong enemy,’ as well as ensure China can inflict unacceptable damage with both proportionate and overwhelming retaliatory capabilities, and thus denying an adversary victory if a war escalates to the nuclear domain.”
The Pentagon estimates that China’s military has the largest navy and the third largest air force in the world. Defense officials are also skeptical of Beijing’s claims that it is adhering to agreements to limit the construction of biological and chemical weapons.
Chinese labs and factories, as well as its missile technology is advanced enough that it could weaponize biological and chemical agents or toxins and attach them to missiles, U.S. officials estimate.
“The PRC’s chemical and biotechnology infrastructures are sufficient to research, develop, and produce some chemical and biological agents or toxins on a large scale,” the report says. “China probably has the technical expertise to weaponize chemical and biological warfare (CBW) agents, and China’s robust armaments industry and numerous conventional weapon systems, including missiles, rockets, and artillery, probably could be adapted to deliver CBW agents.”
U.S.-China relations have grown more tense recent years along with the outbreak of COVID-19 and China’s increasingly aggressive moves in its region, such as taking control of Hong Kong and threatening Taiwan. U.S. President Joe Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House in November. Among other topics, the leaders discussed the use of nuclear weapons.
“President Biden raised Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine and Russia’s irresponsible threats of nuclear use. President Biden and President Xi reiterated their agreement that a nuclear war should never be fought and can never be won and underscored their opposition to the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine,” a White House <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/11/14/readout-of-president-joe-bidens-meeting-with-president-xi-jinping-of-the-peoples-republic-of-china/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">readout</a> of the meeting says.

Xi Jinping

Pentagon: China Blitzed Past U.S. Estimates For Nuclear Buildup, Could Have 1,000 Warheads By 2030

China

Department of Defense

Military

Nuclear Weapons

United States

World

A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/washington-d-c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Washington, D.C.</a>, jury convicted Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes of seditious conspiracy for his role in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/january-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">January 6, 2021, riot</a> at the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/us-capitol" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U.S. Capitol</a> on Tuesday.
The jury convicted Rhodes alongside Kelly Meggs, who headed the Oath Keepers Florida chapter, on sedition charges after three days of deliberation. Three other Oath Keepers — Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins, and Thomas Caldwell — were convicted of related felony charges over January 6, according to the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/leader-oath-keepers-and-oath-keepers-member-found-guilty-seditious-conspiracy-and-other" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Justice</a>.
“As this case shows, breaking the law in an attempt to undermine the functioning of American democracy will not be tolerated,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. “The FBI will always uphold the rights of all citizens who peacefully engage in First Amendment protected activities, but we and our partners will continue to hold accountable those who engaged in illegal acts regarding the January 6, 2021, siege on the U.S. Capitol.”
Rhodes and Meggs’ cases are among over 900 that the Justice Department has brought against people accused of crimes related to the January 6 riot. Wray’s FBI has led the investigation into the hundreds of defendants.
The trial took about eight weeks. The seditious conspiracy cases against Rhodes and Meggs are the first to be successfully prosecuted since 1995 when a group of Islamic militants were found guilty of planning to set off a series of bombings across New York City, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/29/us/politics/oath-keepers-trial-verdict-jan-6.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a>.
In addition to sedition, Rhodes was found guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding and tampering with documents and proceedings. Meggs was also found guilty of conspiracy to obstruct and of obstructing an official proceeding, conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging duties, and tampering with documents or proceedings.
Rhodes, Meggs, Harrelson, and Watkins will remain in prison until sentencing. Caldwell will remain on release until sentencing, according to <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/29/stewart-rhodes-oath-keepers-verdict-00071248" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Politico</a>.
Rhodes’ attorney Ed Tarpley called the verdict a “mixed bag,” noting that the jury acquitted each defendant on at least one charge. Another defense attorney, Lee Bright, said that he thought the jury was fair, but believed the defendants would have had a better outcome had they been tried outside of Washington, D.C. Tarpley said he plans to appeal the jury’s decision.
Of the five defendants, Meggs faces the longest potential stint in prison with a max sentence of 86 years. Rhodes faces a maximum sentence of 60 years. Watkins, Harrelson, and Caldwell face a max sentence of 56 years, 46 years, and 40 years in prison, respectively.

Stewart Rhodes

Oath Keepers Founder Convicted Of Seditious Conspiracy Over Capitol Riot

Crime

Department of Justice

January 6

Politics

United States Capitol

Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/raphael-warnock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Raphael Warnock</a>’s church is a part of a leftist coalition that supports <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/critical-race-theory" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Critical Race Theory</a> (CRT) and suggests the first slave ship’s arrival in the U.S. is as equally definitive founding event as the writing of the Declaration of Independence or Constitution.
The Georgia Democrat is the senior pastor at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, the “spiritual home of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” The church is a member of the Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC), a body of leftist faith groups that back such causes as CRT and <a href="https://freebeacon.com/democrats/warnocks-church-belongs-to-coalition-that-wants-to-end-military-aid-to-israel/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ending</a> U.S. military aid to Israel.
Warnock won election to the Senate in a special election in January 2021 but retained his spot as Ebenezer’s senior pastor. He is engaged in a runoff election against Republican Herschel Walker to retain the Senate seat. The election is scheduled for December 6.
Warnock, as the head of Ebenezer Baptist Church, had close ties to the PNBC and served as the chairman of the convention’s Social Justice Commission as recently as 2018. Later that year, he <a href="https://religionnews.com/2021/08/05/warnock-progressive-national-baptists-focus-on-voting-rights-during-annual-meeting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">delivered</a> the keynote address to PNBC’s annual meeting.
In 2021, the PNBC passed a “Resolution in Support of Critical Race Theory.” The resolution states that CRT is “taught primarily at Law Schools” and is not taught at all in any elementary or high schools in the U.S. Warnock <a href="https://religionnews.com/2021/08/05/warnock-progressive-national-baptists-focus-on-voting-rights-during-annual-meeting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">delivered</a> the keynote address to PNBC’s annual meeting the year the resolution was adopted.
“CRT is not a racist theory,” the <a href="https://www.pnbc.org/assets/uploads/2021/09/pnbc-resolutions-2021.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resolution</a> states. “Rather, it asserts that a true understanding of the history and evolution of this country cannot be fully grasped without giving thoughtful consideration to the way in which sustained, systemic, institutional racism has been at work in every aspect of American life since before the nation was even formed.”
The resolution also suggests that the year 1619, when the first slave ship arrived on the shores of what would become the United States, is as equally defining date in U.S. history as 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was signed, and 1787, when the U.S. Constitution was written.
“PNBC goes on record acknowledging, consistent with the core principle of CRT, that racism is not the behavior of a single white person. Racism is the use of political power and social conformity by one group that creates systems that have historically afforded white people an unfair advantage,” the resolution states. “The problem for CRT is not individual white people, but the presumptions of white supremacy and the inherited benefits of white privilege that have been at work in this country for more than four hundred years.”
Last year, Warnock <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/senate-democrats-show-their-support-for-critical-race-theory" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted</a> against an amendment that would restrict federal funding from being used “to promote critical race theory or compel teachers or students to affirm critical race theory in prekindergarten programs, elementary schools, and secondary schools.”
In part, Warnock’s 2021 keynote address to PNBC focused on election laws in Georgia and what he claimed was voter suppression.
“If we don’t check what they’re doing in Georgia, they’ll be able to nullify the votes and the voices of the people after they have already been cast,” Warnock <a href="https://religionnews.com/2021/08/05/warnock-progressive-national-baptists-focus-on-voting-rights-during-annual-meeting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
“This is the delta variant of Jim Crow voting laws. The only inoculation is federal legislation and the only way that happens is for God’s people to stand up. So thank you, Progressive, for standing up. Thank you for bearing witness to God’s love and God’s justice in the world,” he added.

Raphael Warnock

Raphael Warnock’s Church Belongs To A Leftist Group That Supports Critical Race Theory

Critical Race Theory

Georgia

GOP Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/liz-cheney" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Liz Cheney</a> has drawn the ire of House <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/january-6-committee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">January 6 Committee</a> staffers over her influence on the final committee report expected out next month.
At least fifteen current and former members of the committee believe Cheney is manipulating the final report to place too much focus on former President Donald Trump while leaving other important information out, according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/23/liz-cheney-jan-6-committee/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Washington Post</a>. Cheney’s office says that the staffers are wrong and that the information the Wyoming congresswoman is cutting out was rife with “liberal bias.”
One former committee staffer said that Cheney’s changes to the report were done chiefly for political reasons. Cheney’s focus on Trump is potentially coming at the cost of other committee research on law enforcement, militia groups, and financing, staffers complained.
“We all came from prestigious jobs, dropping what we were doing because we were told this would be an important fact-finding investigation that would inform the public,” the former staffer told WaPo. “But when [the committee] became a Cheney 2024 campaign, many of us became discouraged.”
Cheney spokesman Jeremy Adler said that the congresswoman is trying to protect the integrity of the committee’s work by cutting out “liberal bias” and narrative that has infected the committee’s investigative work and draft report.
“Donald Trump is the first president in American history to attempt to overturn an election and prevent the peaceful transfer of power,” Adler told WaPo in a statement. “So, damn right Liz is ‘prioritizing’ understanding what he did and how he did it and ensuring it never happens again.”
“Some staff have submitted subpar material for the report that reflects long-held liberal biases about federal law enforcement, Republicans, and sociological issues outside the scope of the Select Committee’s work,” Adler continued. “She won’t sign onto any ‘narrative’ that suggests Republicans are inherently racist or smears men and women in law enforcement, or suggests every American who believes God has blessed America is a white supremacist.”
January 6 Committee spokesman Tim Mulvey sided with Cheney in a statement, saying the committee’s “historic, bipartisan fact-finding effort speaks for itself, and that won’t be changed by a handful of disgruntled staff who are uninformed about many parts of the committee’s ongoing work.”
Cheney lost her primary for reelection to the Trump-backed Harriet Hageman earlier this year. Hageman went on to win the election to Cheney’s Wyoming congressional seat with nearly 70% of the vote. Cheney is reportedly <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/20/cheney-2024-election-trump-legacy-00057599" target="_blank" rel="noopener">eyeing</a> a return to political office with a 2024 presidential run.
The final report on the January 6 Committee’s investigation into the riot at the U.S. Capitol is reportedly to span about 1,000 pages, according to <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/24/cheney-trump-jan6-report-pages" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Axios</a>. The committee’s publicized hearings, in which Trump was a major focus, took place over the course of the summer as the Republican and Democratic parties battled for control of Congress next year. Trump has <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/oct/14/trump-trashes-house-jan-6-committee-witch-hunt-14-/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticized</a> the committee’s investigation into him as a politically-driven “witch hunt of the highest level.”

Liz Cheney

‘Liberal Bias’ Or ‘Cheney 2024’? J6 Staffers, Liz Cheney Trade Blows Over Final Committee Report

Congress

January 6 Committee

A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/new-mexico" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New Mexico</a> mother used her children to allegedly traffic a fatal dose of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fentanyl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fentanyl</a> to their father, according to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-justice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Justice</a>.
Authorities arrested and charged Magdalena Silva Banuelos, 46, with distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndtx/pr/mother-accused-using-children-mule-fatal-fentanyl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> on Tuesday. Silva Banuelos’ boyfriend and father of her two sons died in an airport bathroom in May after overdosing on fentanyl.
“I feel for these children. To lose one parent due to the actions of the other is a calamity for a child,” U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham said in a statement. “This defendant allegedly concealed fentanyl – a synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin – in her own minor sons’ luggage. This drug has stolen too many futures and ruined too many lives. The Justice Department remains determined to hold accountable those who spread it.”
Silva Banuelos faces up to life in prison if convicted. The charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years.
The defendant placed her two sons, ages 8 and 10, on a flight from Albuquerque to Dallas on May 31 to visit her on-again, off-again boyfriend — the boys&#8217; father. Surveillance video shows the father meeting his sons at the gate, going through their luggage, and entering a nearby airport bathroom at 10:26 p.m., according to authorities. The man died a short time later after overdosing on fentanyl.
At a November 17 detention hearing in New Mexico, prosecutors said the defendant “used her minor children to mule drugs.”
Investigators recovered a makeup container holding more than a gram of fentanyl from inside the bathroom stall the man died in. Investigators also recovered a series of text messages between the defendant and the deceased that, according to authorities, suggest she knew about the fentanyl and trafficked it to him using their children. According to the DOJ, the messages said:
<blockquote>“Hey you need to be careful,” she wrote a few hours before he died.
“Yes ma’am. Very slow and easy,” he replied.
“Just one and then wait you’ll see,” she said. “Just one.”
“Ok cool. Thank you. Will do,” he said.
“No passing out on the kitchen floor,” she responded. “Seriously you could od. No dying on the kitchen floor … It’s going to f*** you up!!!&#8221;</blockquote>
“This arrest and detention is yet another example of the devastation that fentanyl continues to reap on families throughout the country. The actions of Ms. Banuelos risked the lives of her minor children by concealing a highly potent drug in their luggage during a flight from Albuquerque to Dallas,” Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) acting Special Agent in Charge W. Guy Baker said. “The DEA will continue to work side-by-side with our state and local partners in investigating drug related poisonings and overdose deaths to hold those accountable for their actions.”

Fentanyl

Mother Charged With Using Sons Ages 8, 10 To ‘Mule’ Lethal Dose Of Fentanyl To Their Father

New Mexico

Texas

Elon Musk may release information on Twitter’s internal discussions regarding censorship of stories about Hunter Biden’s laptop prior to the 2020 election, the newly-established CEO suggested Wednesday.
Musk took over Twitter last month in a $44 billion deal and pursued an aggressive overhaul of the social media platform, firing thousands of workers and adjusting the site’s approach to account suspensions and censorship. The 51 year old, who has been vocal about the site&#8217;s future since its purchase, said late Wednesday that releasing internal Twitter messages about Biden’s laptop is “necessary to restore public trust.”
“Raise your hand if you think @ElonMusk should make public all internal discussions about the decision to censor the @NYPost’s story on Hunter Biden’s laptop before the 2020 Election in the interest of Transparency,” one user tweeted.
“This is necessary to restore public trust,” Musk replied.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This is necessary to restore public trust
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1595637837969653760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The New York Post first reported messages from Biden’s laptop in October 2020, weeks before a presidential election. Social media giants, including Twitter, cracked down on the story to prevent its spread. Current and former national security officials <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/reminder-these-50-intelligence-officers-claimed-without-evidence-that-new-york-posts-hunter-biden-story-was-russian-disinformation">claimed</a> at the time that the Biden story was likely Russian disinformation and a veiled attempt from Moscow to intervene in U.S. elections.
Media outlets such as <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/hunter-bidens-laptop-is-100-authentic-forensic-examination-concludes">The Washington Examiner</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cbs-finally-admits-hunters-laptop-is-real-more-than-two-years-after-the-fact">CBS News</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-rest-of-the-country-is-starting-to-open-their-eyes-major-outlets-confirm-contents-of-hunters-laptop">The New York Times, and The Washington Post</a> have confirmed the laptop’s contents and messages, in part regarding foreign business deals Hunter Biden worked on in Ukraine, China, and elsewhere.
Twitter initially banned the Post’s story on the social media platform. Users were blocked from posting the link to the story or direct messaging it to other users. Twitter also locked the Post’s account for weeks, saying that the Post’s story violated Twitter’s rules against “hacked materials” despite lacking evidence that the materials were obtained through hacking.
Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey later admitted that Twitter made a mistake in taking action against the Post over its Biden laptop story.
“We were called here today because of an enforcement decision we made against the New York Post based on a policy we created in 2018 to prevent Twitter from being used to spread hacked materials. This resulted in us blocking people from sharing a New York Post article publicly or privately,” Dorsey <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/twitter-ceo-admits-his-company-was-wrong-to-censor-hunter-biden-story">said</a> in November 2020 testimony to Congress. “We made a quick interpretation using no other evidence that the materials in the article were obtained through hacking, and according to our policy, we blocked them from being spread. Upon further consideration, we admitted this action was wrong and corrected it within 24 hours.”
Social media giant Facebook also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbi-responds-to-zuckerbergs-bombshell-rogan-revelation-bureau-helped-bury-hunter-biden-laptop-story">censored</a> the Post’s story. CEO Mark Zuckerberg later revealed that Facebook acted in part because of a briefing it received from the FBI warning about the spread of potential Russian information. The specifics of the briefing are unclear, nor is it clear whether Twitter and other sites received similar briefings from the FBI in the run-up to the 2020 election.

Elon Musk, Hunter Biden

Musk: Releasing Twitter’s ‘Internal Discussions’ On Hunter Biden Laptop Story ‘Necessary To Restore Public Trust’

Big Tech

California

Elon Musk

Hunter Biden

Twitter

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/georgia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Georgia</a> Supreme Court voted unanimously to allow counties to offer early voting on the Saturday after <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/thanksgiving" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Thanksgiving</a>, overruling GOP protests in favor of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/democratic-party" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Democrats</a>.
A trio of Republican groups — Georgia Republican Party, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and the Republican National Committee — filed an appeal with the state Supreme Court Tuesday requesting it overturn a lower court ruling allowing early voting on Saturday. The GOP groups argued that state law prohibits early voting on a Saturday that comes after a holiday on the previous Thursday or Friday.
The state’s highest court ruled 9-0 in favor of Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock’s campaign and the state Democratic Party, according to the <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/11/23/georgia-oks-early-voting-in-warnock-walker-senate-runoff/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Post</a>. The Democratic groups argued that the provision in question applies to primary and general elections, but not to runoffs. Warnock faces GOP candidate Herschel Walker in a runoff election for Warnock’s seat on December 6.
The GOP appeal came after Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger prohibited counties from offering early voting on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Raffensperger’s order drew legal complaints from Warnock’s campaign and the Democratic Party of Georgia, sparking a legal battle that appears to have ended Wednesday in the state Supreme Court.
Raffensperger quit the legal battle after the state Court of Appeals ruled against the secretary of state on Monday, keeping in place a Fulton County judge’s ruling. The Republican groups <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gop-asks-georgias-highest-court-to-limit-early-voting-in-senate-runoff" target="_blank" rel="noopener">picked up</a> the legal battle a day later, stating that the Court of Appeals’ decision would “gut the statute, sow utter chaos, and unevenly impact Georgia voters’ access to advance voting.”
Raffensperger accused Warnock and Democrats on Wednesday after the Supreme Court’s decision of meddling in the state’s election laws for their own benefit.
“Senator Warnock and his Democratic Party allies are seeking to change Georgia law right before an election based on their political preferences,” Raffensperger said in a statement, according to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/georgia-supreme-court-allows-early-voting-this-saturday-us-senate-runoff-election" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News</a>. “Instead of muddying the water and pressuring counties to ignore Georgia law, Senator Warnock should be allowing county election officials to continue preparations for the upcoming runoff.”
Warnock and Walker are facing each other in the last undecided contest for a U.S. Senate seat in 2022. The November 8 general election ended with neither candidate reaching the required 50% threshold to avoid a runoff. Warnock ended slightly <a href="https://www.politico.com/2022-election/results/georgia/senate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ahead</a> with 49.4% of the vote to Walker’s 48.5%. Libertarian Party candidate Chase Oliver, who will not appear on the ballot in the runoff, finished with 2.1%.
The runoff election will decide whether the Republican Party will maintain its 50-50 split in the Senate or lose a seat and give the Democrats a 51-49 advantage. The additional Democratic seat would allow Democrats to pass legislation on party-line votes without the tiebreaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris. The legislation would have to be approved by a GOP-controlled House, however.

Georgia Supreme Court Sides With Warnock, Democrats In Early Voting Fight

2022 Election

Elections

Herschel Walker

Former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> is asking a federal judge to force the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-justice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Justice</a> (DOJ) to turn over an unredacted copy of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fbi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FBI</a> affidavit used to justify a raid on Trump’s Florida residence.
Trump’s legal team filed the request with U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who has overseen Trump’s legal efforts to push back against the DOJ investigation into classified documents the former president allegedly stored at his Mar-a-Lago estate after he left the White House. Cannon previously approved Trump’s request for a special master to oversee the FBI’s audit of a trove of documents confiscated from Trump in an August FBI raid.
In a Tuesday court <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/609516253/Trump-Affidavit-Motion#fullscreen&amp;from_embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filing</a>, Trump’s attorneys argued that they need access to the underlying affidavit to ensure the information the FBI used to justify the raid was accurate and to ensure that their client’s rights are being respected. The publicly-released version of the affidavit <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-doj-releases-affidavit-justifying-fbi-raid-on-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contained</a> significant redactions.
“In the public version, … 50 of the affidavit’s 84 total paragraphs are blacked out; of the 55 paragraphs following the header ‘Probable Cause,’ only four are fully unredacted,” the filing says. “There is no legitimate basis to withhold the redacted information from Plaintiff.”
The DOJ has said that the redactions to the affidavit are necessary to protect sources that have aided in the FBI investigation into the Mar-a-Lago documents. The DOJ’s sources’ identities must continue to be protected in case the department should need them later in its investigation, the government has said. The redactions also protect important FBI methods of investigation, according to <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-lawyers-doj-ordered-turn-unredacted-mar-lago/story?id=93807888" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ABC News</a>.
Trump’s attorneys said that repeated leaks about the investigation from the DOJ to the media have undermined the government’s case to keep its own sensitive information protected.
“The exceptional circumstances here — including a virtually limitless search of a President’s home, the seizure of huge amounts of personal materials including attorney-client privileged documents, and an Attorney General’s publication of the Government’s position in an unprecedented press conference — require the disclosure of the affidavit,” the filing says.
“The idea that the Government must keep the details of the affidavit from Plaintiff is further undermined by the repeated leaks by DOJ of selected and misleading information,” it continued. “The Government’s conduct alone justifies the release of the affidavit to Plaintiff.”
The filing in Cannon’s court came hours before the former president’s legal team faced off with prosecutors in front of a three-judge panel at the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. The judges heard arguments over the basis of Cannon’s decision to approve Trump’s request for a special master.
The judges on the panel, two of whom were Trump appointees, appeared skeptical of the Trump team’s arguments, according to <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/22/feds-battle-trump-over-outside-review-of-seized-mar-a-lago-documents-00070541?nname=playbook&amp;nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&amp;nrid=0000015e-f320-d26d-a7fe-fbf341270000&amp;nlid=630318" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Politico</a>. The judges pushed Trump’s attorneys for a basis for a special master in a case where the affidavit has not been found to be incorrect. Trump’s team argued about the unprecedented nature of the case in which the home of a former president was raided by the FBI.
Attorney General Merrick Garland <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/from-the-hague-to-obamas-irs-scandal-meet-jack-smith-the-new-special-counsel-to-investigate-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">named</a> a special counsel last week to take over the DOJ investigation into the documents. Garland said that Trump’s announcement of his candidacy for president in 2024 necessitated that the investigation is moved under a special counsel outside the DOJ’s purview.

Trump Says DOJ Should Spill All Its Secrets About Mar-A-Lago Raid After ‘Repeated Leaks’ To Media

Courts

Florida

Mar-a-Lago

House Minority Leader <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kevin-mccarthy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kevin McCarthy</a> (R-CA) said Tuesday that the incoming GOP House majority will investigate and potentially impeach Homeland Security Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/alejandro-mayorkas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alejandro Mayorkas</a> over his handling of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/southern-border" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U.S. southern border</a>.
McCarthy made the pledge in a press conference after leading a contingent of Republican House members in a visit to the U.S. southern border near El Paso, Texas. McCarthy is expected to become House speaker next year provided he can overcome internal resistance from conservative members of the House.
“[Mayorkas’s] actions have produced the greatest wave of illegal immigration in recorded history. Our country may never recover from Secretary Mayorkas’ dereliction of duty,” McCarthy said. “This is why, today, I am calling on the secretary to resign. He cannot and must not remain in that position.”
“If Secretary Mayorkas does not resign, House Republicans will investigate every order, every action, and every failure will determine whether we can begin impeachment inquiry,” he continued. “If secretary Mayorkas was in charge of any company, he would have been fired by now for the failures of what he has caused.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Live: McCarthy visits with Border Patrol personnel" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iAn5cJBWR2U?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
President Joe Biden’s administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-border-commissioner-resigns-following-termination-threats-from-biden-officials" target="_blank" rel="noopener">forced out</a> U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Chris Magnus earlier this month over the unprecedented crisis at the southern border. Illegal immigration across the U.S. southern border has set multiple records since Biden took office nearly two years ago.
Immigration authorities have recorded record-shattering numbers of migrant encounters along the U.S. southern border the past two years. In fiscal year 2021, the Department of Homeland Security <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mayorkas-maintains-dhs-plan-title-42-end-despite-fears-new-migrant-wave-southern-border" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recorded</a> about 1.7 million migrant encounters. In fiscal year 2022, that number increased to 2.3 million encounters. Those numbers do not include hundreds of thousands of “gotaways,” migrants who were observed crossing, but could not be apprehended, who entered the U.S. since Biden took office.
In addition to total migration numbers, immigration authorities have also seen a jump in known and suspected terrorists attempting to enter the U.S. In fiscal year 2022, authorities <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/nearly-100-fbi-terror-watch-list-suspects-caught-southern-border" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrested</a> 98 people on the FBI’s terror watch list attempting to enter the U.S. through its southern border. Two years ago in fiscal year 2019, that number was zero.
Communities along the border have also faced a constant humanitarian crisis as shelters, cities, and federal authorities attempt to process and house the flood of people entering the U.S. A recent court order forcing the Biden administration to scrap Title 42 in roughly a month has raised concerns that the humanitarian crisis may worsen. Title 42 allows CBP agents to expel migrants back to Mexico without processing over COVID concerns.

Kevin McCarthy

‘Dereliction Of Duty’: McCarthy Threatens DHS Chief With Investigations, Potential Impeachment If He Doesn’t Resign

Immigration

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/republican-party" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GOP</a> groups have requested that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/georgia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Georgia</a>’s Supreme Court prohibit early voting this Saturday in the state’s runoff <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senate</a> election, arguing that state law dictates that early voting can&#8217;t take place on that day because it follows the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Georgia Republican Party, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and the Republican National Committee filed an appeal with the state’s Supreme Court after an appeals court rejected a similar request from Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, according to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-herschel-walker-georgia-atlanta-83f554285f2740a6fb8b97a862632150" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Associated Press</a>. The Georgia Court of Appeals dismissed Raffensperger’s request on Monday.
Raffensperger argued, and the GOP groups maintain, that state law prohibits early voting on Saturday if a holiday falls on either of the two days before. Thursday, Thanksgiving, and Friday are both recognized holidays. This coming Saturday will be the only opportunity to cast any early vote on a Saturday before the runoff election on December 6.
“The court of appeals’ denial of the Intervenor’s motion for emergency stay allows the superior court’s interpretation of [state law] to gut the statute, sow utter chaos, and unevenly impact Georgia voters’ access to advance voting,” the Tuesday GOP <a href="https://www.democracydocket.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/RNC-NRSC-GAGOP-Supreme-Court-Filing-Package.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filing</a> says.
The GOP intervention in the case comes after Raffensperger decided against pursuing the issue. Raffensperger’s office said Monday that he would not file any additional appeals.
“The court has worked its will. We believe this is something the General Assembly should consider clarifying to avoid confusion in the future. I hope that election workers are able to enjoy a somewhat restful holiday despite this decision,” Raffensperger spokesman Mike Hassinger said, according to <a href="https://www.ajc.com/politics/georgia-appeals-court-allows-saturday-early-voting-in-us-senate-runoff/NNQ4B7DY25ARVGXK7AQPNBDSMM/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Atlanta Journal-Constitution</a>.
At least 10 counties are expected to offer early voting on Saturday. The legal battle began after Raffensperger prohibited early voting on Saturday, citing state law. His decision sparked a lawsuit from the campaign of incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and the Georgia Democratic Party.
Warnock will face GOP challenger Herschel Walker in the runoff election. The November 8 general election ended with neither candidate reaching the required 50% threshold to avoid a runoff. Warnock ended slightly <a href="https://www.politico.com/2022-election/results/georgia/senate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ahead</a> with 49.4% of the vote to Walker’s 48.5%. Libertarian Party candidate Chase Oliver, who will not appear on the ballot in the runoff, finished with 2.1%.
The runoff election will decide whether the Republican Party will maintain its 50-50 split in the Senate or lose a seat and give the Democrats a 51-49 advantage. The additional Democratic seat would allow Democrats to pass legislation on party-line votes without the tiebreaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris. The legislation would have to be approved by a GOP-controlled House, however.

Herschel Walker, Raphael Warnock

GOP Asks Georgia’s Highest Court To Limit Early Voting In Senate Runoff

2022 Midterms

U.S. Senate

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Tim Pearce