The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is facing pressure from Senate Republicans after a report revealed efforts to combat alleged misinformation.
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) sent a letter to NSF Director Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan on Friday requesting a “comprehensive list of projects funded by the NSF Convergence Accelerator Track F.” Through the program, the NSF has spent tens of millions of dollars to “combat mis- and disinformation,” according to <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2023/02/19/nsf-funding-misinformation-disinformation-research-grants/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Caller News Foundation</a>.
“To say that NSF’s reported involvement in funding research projects aimed at developing AI tools for identifying and combating alleged misinformation is un-American would be an understatement,” Schmitt wrote in the letter, obtained by The Daily Wire. “This seems to be yet another brazen attempt by your agency and the Biden Administration to collude with Big Tech to silence those who eschew the thoughts and ideals of the political Left.”
Schmitt’s request follows a report on the NSF program by the House Judiciary Committee.
 “The purpose of these taxpayer-funded projects is to develop artificial intelligence (AI)- powered censorship and propaganda tools that can be used by governments and Big Tech to shape public opinion by restricting certain viewpoints or promoting others,” the report said according to the <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2024/02/06/emails-show-how-biden-officials-considered-covering-up-censorship-activities-in-the-wake-of-dcnf-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DCNF</a>.
The NSF has dolled out sizeable grants to top U.S. universities to track and study online discourse for examples of misinformation and disinformation. Syracuse University received nearly $500,000 to study how “misinformation becomes woven into narratives online, how technology influences this process, and how design might be used to alter it.”
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology received $750,000 from the program. One of the researchers wrote in a project proposal summary to the NSF that “broad swaths of the public cannot effectively sort truth from fiction online.”
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The NSF program has already been the <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2024/02/06/jim-jordan-subpoenas-national-science-foundation-communications-discussing-content-moderation-social-media/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">target</a> of subpoenas by Republicans in the House. 
<iframe loading="lazy" class="scribd_iframe_embed" tabindex="0" title="Senator Eric Schmitt Letter to NSF Director Panchanathan" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/707732169/content?start_page=1&amp;view_mode=scroll&amp;access_key=key-IRj8Rnq4aQuk3BUzLUwj" width="100%" height="600" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" data-auto-height="true" data-aspect-ratio="0.7729220222793488"></iframe>
“The Biden Administration has shown a stunning disregard for Americans’ freedom of speech online and has gone as far as to coerce social media companies to censor Americans online,” Schmitt told The Daily Wire in a statement. “With the rapid rise of artificial intelligence in the public and commercial sector, we have a duty to ensure AI is used responsibly and not weaponized against Americans’ constitutional rights.”

Eric Schmitt

Senate GOP Probe National Science Foundation Over ‘Brazen Attempt’ To Censor Free Speech

Censorship

Congress

Free Speech

Politics

Washington D.C.

Missouri GOP Senator Eric Schmitt is speaking out about China’s role in the world, saying the “dynamic” in world affairs has “changed dramatically.” 
Schmitt made the comments on Sunday during an <a href="https://catsroundtable.com/sen-eric-schmitt-the-us-has-serious-problems-confronting-it/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> on “The Cats Roundtable” talk show with host John Catsimatidis. He said “China’s ambitions” pose a bigger threat than previous adversaries because it is both a military and economic rival.
“I don’t think we’re starting to come to grips with that as a country, but China views themselves as a, you know, 5,000-year-old civilization,” he continued. “They are hell-bent on world domination – now they’ve kind of showed their fangs.”
Schmitt said China is using the belt-and-road initiative to achieve its rise by trapping poorer countries in a “debt trap.” He added that China’s increasing aggression in the South China Sea, where the communist country has built islands in an attempt to increase its claims over the territory. 
The Missouri Republican also warned about China’s military and space capabilities, pointing out that it has a larger navy than the U.S., that it obtained hypersonic missiles, and that they are in space. China&#8217;s People&#8217;s Liberation Army has approximately 340 warships, a number that&#8217;s expected to grow to 400 in the next couple of years. The United States has fewer than 300 ships, according to the Pentagon’s 2022 China Military Power <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/16/asia/china-navy-fleet-size-history-victory-intl-hnk-ml/index.html#:~:text=The%20People's%20Liberation%20Army%20Navy,two%20years%2C%20the%20report%20says." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Report</a>. U.S. officials expect to have 350 ships by 2045. 
“If you think about that, the dynamic has changed dramatically,” Schmitt said. “The United States of America, you know, during the Cold War, we had a nuclear rival with Russia – a military rival. But never a military and an economic rival. That’s what we have with China.”
The former Missouri attorney general said the United States has to take the threat China poses “seriously” because we don’t have a “military-industrial base right now.” He said that for the U.S. to be able to compete on the world stage, it must “build that back up.” 
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Schmitt, who <a href="https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/about/membership" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sits on</a> the Senate Committee on Armed Services, blasted “climate alarmism” and Biden&#8217;s policies for sending American jobs to China when Catsimatidis asked if the U.S. “may be in trouble” in the case of a “real war.” 
“This is a big concern,” Schmitt said. “I think it plays into, again, the Biden agenda, when you have this obsession with climate alarmism like they have, we have all the energy we’ll ever need right under our feet to be competitive from an industrial perspective.&#8221;
“But we’re shipping all those jobs essentially to China, and they’re mining all those rare earth materials there,” Schmitt said. “We could be doing it here. … Our supply chains are compromised. We need to bring those home.”
Schmitt blasted Biden’s broad foreign policy as well, noting the current administration’s &#8220;soft on Iran approach,&#8221; Biden’s pick for ambassador to Israel, and the 2020 withdrawal from Afghanistan potentially leaving resources that are now being used by Hamas, saying, “Everything they could get wrong, they’ve gotten wrong on foreign policy.”

Sen. Eric Schmitt

GOP Senator Warns Of China’s Ambitions, Says ‘The Dynamic Has Changed Dramatically’

China

Communist China

Tens of thousands of U.S. State Department emails were stolen by a group of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/communist-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China-based</a> hackers who breached Microsoft&#8217;s email platform earlier this year, according to a Senate staffer.
The anonymous staffer, who works for Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO), <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/chinese-hackers-stole-60000-emails-us-state-department-microsoft-hack-senate-2023-09-27/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Reuters that State Department IT officials briefed the U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday that 60,000 emails were stolen from ten different accounts — all directly working on East Asia and the Pacific.
In June, Chinese Communist Party-affiliated hackers subverted Microsoft&#8217;s system, giving them access to multiple U.S. agencies that deal with China ahead of Secretary of State Antony Blinken&#8217;s trip to Beijing.
Wang Wenbin, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, reportedly called the accusation &#8220;disinformation&#8221; to distract from the U.S. committing cyber espionage against China.
&#8220;No matter which agency issued this information, it will never change the fact that the United States is the world&#8217;s largest hacker empire conducting the most cyber theft,&#8221; Wenbin said, according to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/microsoft-china-hackers-breach-emails-9f774ea07a2857bfc05d17a261e7a705" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Associated Press</a>.
News of the hacking first became public in July, prompting the U.S. agencies to take immediate action to counter China&#8217;s brazen and frequent acts of cyber-espionage on critical infrastructure to acquire sensitive information.
The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and other senior officials at the State Department were victims of a Chinese hacking campaign that gained access to email accounts from roughly two dozen organizations that began on May 15 and went undetected until June 16.
Microsoft disclosed the hack in a <a href="https://msrc.microsoft.com/blog/2023/07/microsoft-mitigates-china-based-threat-actor-storm-0558-targeting-of-customer-email/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blog post</a>, blaming the breach on a state-backed, espionage-focused Chinese hacking group &#8220;known to target government agencies in Western Europe&#8221; known as Storm-0558. The group had begun accessing email accounts in May, affecting about 25 organizations, including government agencies and other consumer accounts likely associated with the agencies.
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Schmitt told Reuters in a statement shared by the staffer following the briefing on Wednesday that the federal government should &#8220;take a hard look&#8221; at relying on a single IT vendor as &#8220;a potential weak point.&#8221;
&#8220;We need to harden our defenses against these types of cyberattacks and intrusions in the future,&#8221; Schmitt said.
Schmitt joined over a dozen other senators earlier this year, <a href="https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/press-releases/senator-schmitt-leads-bipartisan-coalition-demanding-answers-regarding-chinas-hack-of-state-department-email-server/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sending</a> a bipartisan letter to State Department Chief Information Officer Kelly Fletcher to determine the extent of the hacker&#8217;s breach of the unclassified email server preceding Blinken&#8217;s trip to China.
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency officials warned in a joint <a href="https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/news/us-and-international-partners-release-advisory-warning-prc-state-sponsored-cyber-activity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> with international and domestic intelligence services that China poses a risk to American intellectual property.
&#8220;For years, China has conducted aggressive cyber operations to steal intellectual property and sensitive data from organizations around the globe,&#8221; CISA Director Jen Easterly said in a statement.
Earlier this month, the Pentagon released a new cyber strategy <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pentagon-says-china-russia-prepared-to-launch-cyber-attacks-against-u-s-to-sow-chaos-if-war-erupts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> warning that China and Russia are prepared to launch destructive cyber attacks on U.S. critical infrastructure to &#8220;sow chaos and hinder military mobilization&#8221; in the event of war breaking out.
The Chinese Communist Party sees superiority in cyberspace as core to its theories of victory, the report reads, adding that it has engaged in espionage and theft that compromised key defense networks and broader U.S. critical infrastructure.
Microsoft reportedly said earlier this year that state-backed Chinese hackers were targeting U.S. critical infrastructure to potentially disrupt communications between the U.S. and Asia during future crises.

Washington public buildings

China-Based Hackers Accessed 60K U.S. State Dept Emails In Microsoft Breach, Senate Staffer Says

Antony Blinken

Crime

Hackers

Microsoft

State Department

World

The man who may become <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/missouri">Missouri</a>’s next GOP senator has targeted President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden">Biden</a>’s Department of Justice, <a href="https://ago.mo.gov/home/news/2022/09/01/missouri-and-louisiana-attorneys-general-ask-court-to-compel-department-of-justice-to-produce-communications-between-top-officials-and-social-media-companies">asking a court</a> to force the DOJ to reveal communications between high-ranking Biden Administration officials and major social media companies.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, the GOP senatorial candidate, joined Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry to file a Joint Statement on Discovery Disputes, to ask the Louisiana District Court to force the communications between officials in the White House and Department of State and major social media companies to be revealed.
“Missouri and Louisiana filed a landmark lawsuit back in May that seeks to expose how top Biden Administration officials allegedly colluded with social media companies to censor freedom of speech on a number of topics, including COVID-19. We won in court in July, and the Court required the Biden Administration to turn over communications between federal officials and social media companies,” Schmitt stated.
“We have already received a number of documents that clearly prove that the federal government has an incestuous relationship with social media companies and clearly coordinate to censor freedom of speech, but we’re not done, he continued. “The Department of Justice is cowering behind executive privilege and has refused to turn over communications between the highest-ranking Biden Administration officials and social media companies. That’s why, yesterday, we asked the Court to compel the Department of Justice to produce those records. We’re just getting started – stay tuned.”
The plaintiffs claim a “Censorship Enterprise” was implemented in various federal agencies. They add that although the government identified scores of officials at DHS, CISA, the CDC, NIAID, and the Office of the Surgeon General who had communicated with social media platforms, no information had been disclosed about any federal officials at other federal agencies who had done so.
“Meta, for example, has disclosed that at least 32 federal officials—including senior officials at the FDA, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, and the White House—have communicated with Meta about content moderation on its platforms, many of whom were not disclosed in response to Plaintiffs’ interrogatories to Defendants,” the statement charged. “YouTube disclosed eleven federal officials engaged in such communications, including officials at the Census Bureau and the White House, many of whom were also not disclosed by Defendants.”
The joint statement accused the “Censorship Enterprise” “rises to the highest levels of the U.S. Government, including numerous White House officials.”

Missouri Attorney General Republican Eric Schmitt Campaigns For Senate Seat

‘We’re Just Getting Started’: GOP Attorneys General Demand DOJ Reveal Federal Gov’t’s Communications With Social Media Giants

Department of Justice

Facebook

Google

White House

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a lawsuit against the City of St. Louis on Thursday that would stop city officials from using taxpayer-funded resources — like the American Rescue Plan Act — to pay for abortions, including travel expenses and other costs to terminate pregnancies in other states.
&#8220;My Office today filed suit to put a stop to Mayor Jones and the City of St. Louis Board of Aldermen&#8217;s blatantly illegal move to spend Missourians&#8217; hard-earned tax dollars on out-of-state abortions,&#8221; Schmitt said in a <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://ago.mo.gov/home/news/2022/07/21/missouri-attorney-general-eric-schmitt-files-suit-against-the-city-of-st.-louis-to-halt-taxpayer-funded-abortions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>.
Schmitt&#8217;s attempt to sue St. Louis comes off the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court&#8217;s historic overturning of Roe v. Wade last month, which fundamentally changed the abortion landscape across the nation. Since then, at least eight states have outlawed abortions with little to no exceptions — including Missouri.
The decision has left women who choose to end their child&#8217;s life in such states forced to have the operation done elsewhere. However, Missouri&#8217;s AG has vowed to ensure Missouri taxpayers wouldn&#8217;t spend a dime on the terminations.
Schmitt, who unapologetically fights to uphold the sanctity of life, filed the lawsuit after St. Louis city officials passed the &#8220;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/city-laws/board-bills/boardbill.cfm?bbDetail=true&amp;BBId=14073" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reproductive Equity Fund</a>&#8221; bill, which authorizes $1.5 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars to fund &#8220;logistical support&#8221; for abortion.
While signing the bill, CNN <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/22/us/missouri-ag-sues-st-louis-abortion-travel-funds/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a> St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones said, &#8220;abortion bans hurt the working people who can&#8217;t afford child care, a hotel or time off from work because they need access to abortion care.&#8221;
However, Schmitt said the bill &#8220;clearly&#8221; violates Missouri law.
According to the <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://ago.mo.gov/docs/default-source/press-releases/2022-07-21---petition---final.pdf?sfvrsn=ec0f20cb_2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a>, $1 million from the so-called equity fund would cover the costs of childcare, transportation, and other needs for women who seek an abortion. At the same time, Schmitt added that the remaining $500,000 would aid &#8220;reproductive healthcare access,&#8221; which also evidently includes abortion.
Schmitt argues the bill violates state law which reads, &#8220;it shall be unlawful for any public funds to be expended for the purpose of performing or assisting an abortion, not necessary to save the life of the mother, or for the purpose of encouraging or counseling a woman to have an abortion not necessary to save her life.&#8221;
The lawsuit argues that state law prohibited public employees such as doctors, nurses, or other health care personnel like social workers or counselors from encouraging or counseling women to abort their unborn child.
&#8220;The Missouri General Assembly&#8217;s determination &#8216;that the state and all of its political subdivisions are a &#8216;sanctuary of life&#8217; that protects pregnant women and their unborn children,'&#8221; Schmitt said.
Schmitt warned city officials before signing the bill he would file a lawsuit against the move, but the city&#8217;s mayor has stood her ground in using taxpayer money for elective abortions.
&#8220;I will not back down when our opponents threaten, bully or demean our city,&#8221; the mayor said, according to CNN. &#8220;Especially the attorney general, who is more concerned about chasing clout than care.&#8221;
Just the News <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/missouri-ag-threatens-sue-cities-pledging-2-million-covid-funds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a>, Mayor Jones, said 70 percent of Missourians oppose political interference in abortion access, and legal threats would not stop their fight to protect reproductive health care rights for St. Louis families.

Supreme Court Hears Challenge To Trump-Era “Remain In Mexico” Policy

Missouri Attorney General Sues St. Louis To Stop Abortions Using Taxpayer Funds

Abortion

American Rescue Plan

Missouri

Pro-Life Movement

St. Louis

A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/missouri">Missouri</a> <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/sheriff">sheriff</a> and the state&#8217;s attorney general are telling the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fbi">FBI</a> they will not comply with audits they say will infringe on gun owners&#8217; privacy.
State leaders have reportedly been informed that the FBI is set to audit some 24 Missouri counties concerning <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-gun-owners-data-breached-after-state-unveils-firearms-portal">Concealed Carry Weapon</a> (CCW) information next month. Scotland County Sheriff Bryan Whitney and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/eric-schmitt">Attorney General (AG) Eric Schmitt</a>, both Republicans, say that won&#8217;t happen if they can help it.
&#8220;As the sheriff of Scotland County, I want all my citizens to know that I will not allow, cooperate or release any CCW information to the FBI, ‘even at the threat of a federal arrest,’&#8221; Whitney <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/missouri-sheriff-says-even-threat-arrest-he-will-not-release-gun-owners-info-fbi">told</a> his community in a letter on Monday, Fox News Digital first reported.
&#8220;Point Blank, ‘I will go down with the ship if need be,’&#8221; the sheriff added.
Schmitt addressed the coming audits last week in a strongly-worded <a href="https://ago.mo.gov/docs/default-source/press-releases/2022-7-13-ltr-fbi.pdf?sfvrsn=5fbbdf7_2">letter</a> to FBI Director <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/christopher-wray">Christopher Wray</a>, <a href="https://ago.mo.gov/home/news/2022/07/13/missouri-attorney-general-condemns-fbi-s-illegal-attempts-to-harvest-concealed-carry-permit-information-from-missouri-sheriffs">demanding</a> the agency &#8220;cease their attempts to illegally obtain information from local sheriffs on Missourians who have concealed carry permits.&#8221;
&#8220;The FBI has absolutely no business poking around in the private information of those who have obtained a concealed carry permit in Missouri,&#8221; Schmitt slammed. &#8220;The Second Amendment rights of Missourians will absolutely not be infringed on my watch. I will use the full power of my Office to stop the FBI, which has become relentlessly politicized and has virtually no credibility, from illegally prying around in the personal information of Missouri gun owners.&#8221;
&#8220;Let me be perfectly clear,&#8221; Schmitt said in the letter to Director Wray. &#8220;Allowing federal agents from the FBI to have access to records of Missourians who have a permit to carry a concealed weapon violates Missouri law and infringes on our Second Amendment rights.”
In a press release, the AG <a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=571.101">cited</a> RSMo. Section 571.101.9: “Information retained in the concealed carry permit system under this subsection shall not be distributed to any federal, state, or private entities &#8230;&#8221;
Moreover, the AG &#8220;promises to use the full power of his Office to stop the FBI’s attempts to obtain information on Missouri concealed carry weapons permit holders,&#8221; the press release added.
Whitney told Fox News Digital he&#8217;s preparing to move all CCW paperwork to a secure location if an FBI federal search warrant is issued.
The FBI contends that its audits will not &#8220;require access to lists such as state approved concealed carry holders.&#8221;
&#8220;At no point would auditors require access to lists such as state approved concealed carry holders, nor would the CJIS Division retain information beyond what is necessary to address a specific compliance concern,&#8221; the FBI told Fox News Digital, adding that the agency has &#8220;been through this​ routine audit multiple times, most recently in 2018.&#8221;
Just last month, gun owners with CCW permits in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/california">California</a> had their information exposed after Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) launched a 2022 Firearms Dashboard Portal, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-gun-owners-data-breached-after-state-unveils-firearms-portal">The Daily Wire</a> reported. The breach included gun owners&#8217; names, addresses, and races leaked online.
“We are investigating an exposure of individuals’ personal information connected to the DOJ Firearms Dashboard,” the California Department of Justice <a href="https://thereload.com/new-california-ag-website-leaks-massive-trove-of-gun-owner-private-information/">told</a> gun outlet The Reload. “Any unauthorized release of personal information is unacceptable.”
President of the California Rifle &amp; Pistol Association Chuck Michel unloaded after the breach. &#8220;Vindictive sore loser bureaucrats have endangered people’s lives and invited conflict by illegally releasing confidential private information,&#8221; he slammed.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-gun-owners-data-breached-after-state-unveils-firearms-portal">California Gun Owners’ Data Breached After State Unveils Firearms Portal</a>

Gun Owner.

Sheriff Won’t Hand Over Gun Owners’ Info To FBI, Even Under Threat Of Arrest: ‘I Will Go Down With The Ship’

Missouri Sheriff Won’t Hand Over Gun Owners’ Info To FBI, Even Under ‘Threat Of Arrest’ 

Gun Rights

Privacy

Sheriff

A Missouri federal judge ruled against President Joe Biden&#8217;s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health workers on Monday, making it the 10th state to block the requirement.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Schelp granted the <a href="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/543334205/content?start_page=1&amp;view_mode=scroll&amp;access_key=key-qXN9BzXID1TlK19Ccykf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">preliminary injunction</a> that stopped the Biden administration from enforcing the coronavirus mandate as the attorneys general of the 10 states pursue their case.
“Congress did not clearly authorize CMS [the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services] to enact this politically and economically vast, federalism-altering, and boundary-pushing mandate,&#8221; Schelp wrote in the ruling.
Health care workers were expected to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4, 2022, if they wanted to remain employed.
<div class="article__section article__section_type_text utility__text">
&#8220;What the court said today was that the Biden administration has no authority, there&#8217;s no statutory authority for them to do this – none whatsoever,” Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said during a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aboF0VD32I" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press conference</a> on Monday.
“If you talk to the men and women in the health care field, who by the way a year ago were being honored as heroes and are threatened to be put on the unemployment line, they welcome this news,” Schmitt added.
Schmitt added on Twitter that Missouri was &#8220;the first state to file suit against this mandate.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🚨Healthcare worker vaccine mandate lawsuit update: 
We were the first state to file suit against this mandate and today we completed briefing in this case. We expect a ruling from the Court very soon. 
More on our lawsuit 👇<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NoVaccineMandates?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NoVaccineMandates</a> <a href="https://t.co/VNqaRVBfGH">https://t.co/VNqaRVBfGH</a>
&mdash; Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) <a href="https://twitter.com/Eric_Schmitt/status/1463341865814700040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;This was an egregious overreach,&#8221; Schmitt also said on Twitter. &#8220;We’re fighting back and winning. More to come,&#8221; he added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🚨🚨BREAKING: The Missouri led coalition just obtained an injunction HALTING Joe Biden’s CMS Healthcare worker vaccine mandate. This was an egregious overreach. We’re fighting back and winning. More to come. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NoVaccineMandates?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NoVaccineMandates</a> <a href="https://t.co/emQeJvtXl2">pic.twitter.com/emQeJvtXl2</a>
&mdash; Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) <a href="https://twitter.com/Eric_Schmitt/status/1465360539069079560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 29, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
The Missouri ruling joined nine other states, including Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.
Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley tweeted his support of the measure on Monday.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
A federal court in Missouri has blocked Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for healthcare workers <a href="https://t.co/fgMOVhjWzJ">https://t.co/fgMOVhjWzJ</a>
&mdash; Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) <a href="https://twitter.com/HawleyMO/status/1465410929030582272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 29, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-joe-biden-health-business-congress-e710c221e0648cfa24346c36e60e6ae9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> the federal rule includes more than 17 million health workers nationwide in about 76,000 health care facilities as well as home health care providers funded through government health programs.
The temporary win will allow health workers in Missouri and nine other states to continue to remain employed without COVID-19 vaccination while the case proceeds.
The case closely follows a ruling by a federal judge in Florida who ruled against a temporary block for healthcare workers required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rogers turned down the lawsuit, arguing the affidavits “express[ed] opinions of agency heads who ‘estimate’ that they ‘may’ lose a certain percentage or a number of employees, or speculate as to the consequences they will suffer ‘if widespread resignations were to occur’” Rodgers wrote in the <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flnd.419684/gov.uscourts.flnd.419684.6.0_1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ruling</a>.
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis strongly opposed the measure in a <a href="http://www.myfloridalegal.com/newsrel.nsf/newsreleases/C9F27051EC65B86D852587910059F8C1?Open&amp;" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a> prior to the ruling.
“I told Floridians that we would protect their jobs and today we made that the law. Nobody should lose their job due to heavy-handed COVID mandates and we had a responsibility to protect the livelihoods of the people of Florida. I’m thankful to Attorney General Ashley Moody for fighting against unconstitutional mandates and for joining me in standing up for freedom,” DeSantis said.

Judge Blocks Vaccine Mandate for Health Workers in Missouri, Becomes 10th State To Block Requirement

Health Care

Vaccine Mandate

In a letter sent to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt slammed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) attempt to stop &#8220;harassment&#8221; and &#8220;intimidation&#8221; of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-blasted-for-weaponizing-doj-against-parents-speaking-out-against-critical-race-theory">school officials</a>, a move that comes as parents have voiced opposition to Critical Race Theory in schools.
“Biden&#8217;s Department of Justice is weaponizing its resources against parents who dare to advocate for their children. This dangerous federal overreach imposes a chilling effect on free speech by criminalizing dissent. I will always advocate for parents and will continue to push back against unprecedented federal overreach,” Schmitt said in a press release accompanying his letter to Garland.
As The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doj-fbi-investigating-disturbing-spike-in-harassment-threats-against-school-administrators">reported</a> on Monday, the DOJ has &#8220;ordered the FBI to work on curbing &#8216;harassment&#8217; and &#8216;threats of violence&#8217; against school administrators after it said the number of such incidents spiked in the past year. The DOJ’s move came days after the National School Boards Association (NSBA) <a href="https://www.nsba.org/News/2021/federal-assistance-letter">pushed</a> the Biden administration to take action against the rise in &#8216;malice, violence, and threats,&#8217; which the association said could constitute &#8216;a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes.’”
In his <a href="https://ago.mo.gov/docs/default-source/press-releases/2021-10-5-ltr-doj.pdf?sfvrsn=54c36e8e_2">letter</a>, Schmitt explained how the Biden administration’s justification for having the FBI get involved in local matters doesn’t hold up. “[T]he federal government does not have jurisdiction over local school issues,” Schmitt wrote, noting that the National School Boards Association asked the DOJ to use “federal anti-terrorism and anti-hate crimes laws” in order to insert themselves in local matters. The NSBA, Schmitt wrote, specifically asked the DOJ to “protect interstate commerce” by using the Gun-Free School Zones Act and the PATRIOT Act.
Schmitt explained that the Supreme Court has already rejected the interstate commerce argument using the Gun-Free School Zones Act. Twenty-five years ago, in United States v. Lopez, “the federal government argued that possession of a firearm around a school could affect interstate commerce through the economic effects resulting from violence or an impacted education process.” But the Supreme Court rejected this claim, ruling that “if we were to accept the Government’s arguments, we are hard pressed to posit any activity by an individual that Congress is without power to regulate.” The Supreme Court further ruled that such a connection was unconstitutional because it “neither regulates a commercial activity nor contains a requirement that the possession be connected in any way to interstate commerce.”
As Schmitt noted, neither Garland’s memo nor the NSBA’s letter demanding the federal government intervene in school board meetings identified “any impact that parent comments to school bureaucrats could have on interstate commerce.”
Schmitt then explained how the PATRIOT Act would also fail to justify intervention in school-board meetings. “It is ridiculous to think that a law designed to prevent another 9/11 could be used by the Biden Administration to prosecute parents who are advocating for the best interests of their kids,” Schmitt wrote.
The Missouri AG also noted that the Supreme Court just recently ruled that “When it comes to a person’s beliefs and associations, broad and sweeping state inquiries into these protected areas discourage citizens from exercising rights protected by the Constitution.”
Schmitt also insisted that the DOJ’s involvement in school-board meetings is “wildly inconsistent.” According to Garland’s memo, the DOJ “is steadfast in its commitment to protect all people in the United States from violence, threats of violence, and other forms of intimidation and harassment.” Yet Schmitt noted that just in the past few days, “radical activists have chased Senator Krysten [sic] Sinema into a restroom and harassed her in an airport and on an airplane” while other “radical activists surrounded Senator Joe Manchin’s houseboat on kayaks.”
Schmitt noted that President Joe Biden dismissed concerns about the harassment of these two senators by saying it&#8217;s &#8220;part of the process.”
“The Justice Department has not directed the FBI and federal officials to investigate and prosecute these radical activists,” Schmitt noted, adding that the Biden administration “has different rules for parents trying to protect their kids and radicals trying to intimidate moderate senators.”
In closing, Schmitt wrote that the DOJ directive was an attempt to “muzzle and intimidate parents, who are their own children’s best advocates.”
“As elected officials, school board members are directly accountable to the voters – parents – they represent. School boards are designed to receive and reflect parent input. Board meetings are supposed to be open to the public with the opportunity for public comment by parents,” Schmitt wrote. “But now that parents are opposing harmful decisions made by school boards, school boards want to treat parents as domestic terrorists. That is wrong.”

Anti-Vaccination Demonstrators Protest During The San Diego Unified Board Of Education’s Meeting Vote On Vax Mandates

Missouri AG Slams DOJ’s School ‘Harassment’ Memo: An Attempt To ‘Muzzle And Intimidate Parents’

Education

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt blasted the Biden administration last week for seeking emergency comments on the role of diversity and inclusion policies in the U.S. military at a time when Americans were attempting to flee Afghanistan after the country fell to the Taliban.
Schmitt submitted his own comment to the notice, pointing out on August 25 that it was hardly the time to think “diversity” is an emergency given the situation in Afghanistan. The original notice was published to the Federal Register on August 23, seeking to collect comments in just two days.
“Unfortunately, the Biden Administration’s ‘emergency’ did not involve plans to rescue thousands of our fellow Americans and Afghan allies who are in grave danger. Instead, the ‘emergency’ was the apparently urgent need to ‘conduct research to investigate the theoretical relationship between diversity, inclusion policies and practices, and Soldier and team performance,’” Schmitt wrote.
“America is a diverse country, and the American military proudly reflects that diversity. But is not really the time to worry about ‘theoretical relationships’?” the AG added. “Over the past several days, Americans have watched in dismay as the Biden Administration has stranded thousands of Americans and loyal Afghan allies on foreign soil at the mercy of ruthless Taliban extremists. This diverse group of Americans and Afghan allies need America’s help now. Yet the Biden Administration is seemingly content to fiddle away on radical ‘wokism’ while Kabul burns.”
To be clear, the Biden administration did help to evacuate more than 100,000 Americans, Afghans, and other allies from Kabul, but the administration has been heavily criticized for how it handled the U.S. withdrawal from the country.
As The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/screwed-lied-to-state-dept-avoids-questions-about-trapped-passport-holders-congressional-offices-flooded-with-calls-from-abandoned-americans">reported</a> Thursday, State Department spokesman Ned Price attempted to avoid answering questions about those who are still stranded in Afghanistan. Associated Press reported Matt Lee had confronted Price about Americans, American passport holders, and Afghan allies who feel “screwed” and “lied to” after they were promised to be evacuated.
“You must have some estimate of [legal permanent residents] LPRs who are still there who want to get out, and if you don’t, why not?” Lee asked at a press conference.
“Over the past couple days – and, in fact, overnight – we have been in touch with everyone in that remaining 100 to 200, and we do have a little bit more fidelity on that group that we’ve been able to garner over the past couple days,” Price responded. “We have said that the number is likely closer to 100. Everything we have seen over the course of the past 48 to 72 hours indicates that is, in fact, the case. The number is likely closer to 100, perhaps considerably closer to 100.”
Lee followed up by saying he was “asking about green card holders.”
“Was there a decision made at some point to forget about those people?” he asked.
“Because a lot of them feel like they frankly got screwed here and that they were lied to because they had been told by people on the task force … that we know where you are, we’re not going to let you &#8212; we’re not going to strand you, don’t worry, stay tight &#8212; hold tight. And now what do they do? I mean, are you in touch also with the green card holders?” Lee continued.
Price continued to refuse to answer Lee’s specific question, insisting that the U.S. will do what it can to evacuate Americans who “choose” to leave Afghanistan.

Attorneys General Eric Schmitt

Missouri AG Blasts Biden Administration For Seeking Emergency Comment On Military Diversity While Americans Are Stranded In Afghanistan

Afghanistan

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