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RIGHT WING EXTREMISM

Republican Claims GOP’s ‘Whistleblower Witness’ Who Is Indicted but on the Run Is Being ‘Silenced’ by DOJ

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U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is accusing the U.S. Dept. of Justice of silencing House Republicans’ top witness Republicans claim is a “whistleblower,” who allegedly is promoting what appear to be baseless claims accusing President Joe Biden of engaging in criminal acts including bribery. That witness is now known to be think-tank director Gal Luft, who was arrested on an Interpol warrant in February in Cyprus, was released on bail, and has been on the run ever since. Monday evening the DOJ released a statement that Gal Luft “was indicted today for allegedly engaging in multiple international criminal schemes.”

Luft is facing an eight-count indictment that includes, according to DOJ, “offenses related to willfully failing to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA),” along with “arms trafficking,” “conspir[ing] with others in an effort to act within the United States to advance the interests of the People’s Republic of China (China),” and, “Iranian sanctions violations and making false statements to federal agents. Luft was arrested on Feb. 17 in the Republic of Cyprus based on the charges in the indictment.”

House GOP Oversight Committee Chairman Jim Comer claimed just days ago that Luft was a “very credible witness on Biden family corruption,” despite having been missing for months.

Tuesday, Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo asked Rep. Mace for her “reaction to this indictment of Gal Luft.”

READ MORE: ‘I Am Far Too Busy to Be Prosecuted’: Legal Experts Mock Trump’s Request for Indefinite Suspension of Trial

“Well, No one should be surprised here. I don’t trust the DOJ or the FBI,” Congresswoman Mace declared, a commonly held belief among Republicans. “They are trying to silence our witnesses. This is a way to do that.”

Luft is not incarcerated, and has been a fugitive from justice, avoiding extradition ever since he was released on bond after his arrest in February. Presumably he has the ability to contact Chairman Comer via telephone, email, or a myriad of apps that would make his contact untraceable.

“He deserves to testify before the Oversight Committee,” she continued, not explaining why he deserves to do so.

“We have a lot of questions. We want to know why the evidence he brought forth to the FBI in that Brussels meeting in 2019 was not followed up on and the irony here is not lost on anyone, charging him for failing to register as a foreign agent.”

Mace did not mention that Luft is facing eight felony counts which include, among other allegations, arms trafficking and working to sell Iranian oil to China.

READ MORE: Senate Democrats Announce Supreme Court Ethics Bill – Top Republican Immediately Declares It DOA

The DOJ states at the top of its press release: “Gal Luft, a Dual U.S.-Israeli Citizen, Allegedly Evaded FARA Registration While Working to Advance the Interests of China in the United States and Sought to Broker the Illicit Sale of Chiense Manufactured Weapons and Iranian Oil to China.”

“Well, I have a question for the DOJ and the FBI this morning,” Mace continued. “What was Hunter Biden doing with millions and millions of dollars from foreign countries advocating and lobbying on their behalf? I mean, really, this is obscene that they’re not charging Hunter with the same crimes are they’re charging this guy?”

Mace’s claim appears to be refuted by this New York Times deep dive into Hunter Biden, published in Jan jury and updated just last month.

Meanwhile, the details DOJ has released are stunning, including, they allege, Luft “agreed to covertly recruit and pay, on behalf of principals based in China, a former high-ranking U.S. government official (Individual-1), including in 2016 while the former official was an adviser to the then-President-elect,” who at that time was Donald Trump.

Luft, according to the DOJ press release, is also accused of fabricating a written a pro-China “dialogue.”

“Among other things, in the weeks before the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Luft and a co-conspirator (CC-1), who is a Chinese national and worked for a Chinese nongovernmental organization affiliated with a Chinese energy company, created a written ‘dialogue’ between CC-1 and Individual-1, in which Luft wrote Individual-1’s responses and included information that was favorable to China,” DOJ’s press release states.

READ MORE: ‘You Know, It Is What It Is’: GOP Senator Responsible for Marines Having No Leader Shrugs Off National Security Concerns

“The dialogue was then published in a Chinese newspaper online and sent to, among others, individuals in the United States, including a journalist and professors at multiple U.S. universities. When Luft was writing the dialogue, CC-1 told Luft that ‘[i]n these articles, we do not want to spill all the beans yet, just enough to let ‘people’ know he [i.e., Individual-1] is in the corridor of power to be. Just broad stroke policy consideration that leaves plenty of room for interpretation and imagination to be filled in later.’ After the purported ‘conversations’ were published, Luft told CC-1 that certain information, favorable to China, had been ‘tucked between the lines.'”

“Shortly after the 2016 election, Luft and CC-1 also discussed possible roles Individual-1 might have in the incoming U.S. administration, and discussed Individual-1 taking a ‘silent trip’ to China. Luft responded that ‘[w]e are debating about his role in the new admin. There are all kinds of considerations . . .We should talk ftf [i.e., face-to-face] as there can be a supremely unique opportunity for china.'”

If convicted on all eight charges Luft could face up to 100 years in prison, the DOJ statement alleges.

Watch Congresswoman Mace below or at this link.

 

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News

Arizona State Senator Proposes Health Study Looking Into ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’

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President Donald Trump and his allies have long accused critics of suffering from the imaginary ailment Trump Derangement Syndrome. Now, an Arizona state senator wants the local health department to conduct a study on the made-up disease.

State Sen. Janae Shamp introduced Senate Bill 1070 on Monday, asking Arizona’s Department of Health Services to “conduct or support research” on TDS, “including its origins, manifestations and long-term effects on individuals, communities and public discourse.” If the bill were passed into law, the department would have a year to submit a report on its findings.

READ MORE: ‘Monstrous’: Trump Blasted for Blaming Rob Reiner’s Death on ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’

Shamp’s bill defines Trump Derangement Syndrome as “a behavioral or psychological phenomenon that is characterized by intense emotional or psychological reactions to Donald J. Trump, his actions or his public presence as observed in individuals or groups.” From there, the bill lays out its reasoning—mainly a laundry list of Trump’s accomplishments, including reducing the corporate tax rate by 14%, eliminating “22 regulations for every new one in 2017”, and “affirming biological truth in federal policy to protect family values.”

“Despite these contributions to America’s prosperity, security 26 and values, ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ (TDS) has emerged since his 2016 campaign,” Shamp wrote.

“TDS has led to significant social harm, with Americans who 33 support President Trump or his policies reporting discrimination, 34 intimidation or ostracism in professional, academic and social settings, 35 further eroding community cohesion,” she added.

The bill borrows heavily from a House bill proposed by Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), according to Tucson.com. It is unknown what chances Shamp’s bill has of passing the Arizona Senate; Davidson’s bill died in committee. But even should it pass, it is unlikely to be signed into law by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs.

When asked if Hobbs would sign the bill, her spokesperson laughed and told a KTVK-TV reporter “You can quote me on that.”

Image via Reuters

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CORRUPTION

Sotomayor Slams SCOTUS Over Ruling ‘Declaring All Latinos Fair Game to Be Seized’ by ICE

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Justice Sonia Sotomayor had harsh words for the Supreme Court in her dissent in a ruling allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to continue to arrest people based on profiling Latinos working low-wage jobs.

Monday morning, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an emergency decision in Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo. The case concerns “Operation At Large,” which deployed ICE agents in the Los Angeles area to car washes, bus stops, farms and other locations believed to be frequented by Latino people who may or may not be undocumented immigrants. On July 11, the Central District Court of California ruled that ICE had to stop Operation At Large until appeals in the case could be heard.

The Court’s ruling contained no official explanation for the ruling, however Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote a concurrence. In his concurrence, Kavanaugh said the law allowed ICE to “‘briefly detain’ an individual ‘for questioning’” if they have “a reasonable suspicion, based on specific articulable facts, that the person being questioned . . . is an alien illegally in the United States.”

READ MORE: Loyalty Litmus Test? Trump Allies Quietly Prep SCOTUS Short List

Operation At Large, he said, represented “reasonable suspicion” to detain someone on the following factors: “(i) presence at particular locations such as bus stops, car washes, day laborer pickup sites, agricultural sites, and the like; (ii) the type of work one does; (iii) speaking Spanish or speaking English with an accent; and (iv) apparent race or ethnicity.”

He added that “apparent ethnicity alone cannot furnish reasonable suspicion” but could be a “‘relevant factor,” and that if someone detained by ICE turned out to be a citizen, they would be “free to go after the brief encounter.”

Sotomayor disagreed that this is what was happening, citing what had happened to other citizens. Jason Gavidia worked at a Los Angeles tow yard that ICE stopped at. Agents repeatedly asked if he was a citizen. They then took his phone, pushed him against a metal fence, twisted his arm, and took away his identification, according to Sotomayor’s dissent.

“Other Operation At Large encounters have included even more force and even fewer questions. For example, agents pulled up in four unmarked cars to a bus stop in Pasadena; ‘the doors opened and men in masks with guns started running at’ three Latino men who were having their morning coffee, waiting to be picked up for work,” she wrote.

“In Glendale, nearly a dozen masked agents with guns ‘jumped out of . . . cars’ at a Home Depot, and began ‘chasing’ and ‘tackl[ing]’ Latino day laborers without ‘identify[ing] themselves as ICE or police, ask[ing] questions, or say[ing] anything else.’ In downtown Los Angeles, agents ‘jumped out of a van, rushed up to [a tamale vendor], surrounded him, and handled him violently,’ all ‘[w]ithout asking . . . any questions.'”

Sotomayor concluded that Operation At Large and the Court’s decision “all but declared that all Latinos, U. S. citizens or not, who work low wage jobs are fair game to be seized at any time, taken away from work, and held until they provide proof of their legal status to the agents’ satisfaction.”

She also condemned the court for not issuing an explanation beyond the concurrence. She alleged that the Court had been eager to “circumvent the ordinary appellate process” when it comes to President Donald Trump and his administration.

“Some situations simply cry out for an explanation, such as when the Government’s conduct flagrantly violates the law,” Sotomayor wrote, adding that Operation At Large and the Court’s ruling clearly violates the Bill of Rights.

“The Fourth Amendment protects every individual’s constitutional right to be ‘free from arbitrary interference by law officers.’ After today, that may no longer be true for those who happen to look a certain way, speak a certain way, and appear to work a certain type of legitimate job that pays very little. Because this is unconscionably irreconcilable with our Nation’s constitutional guarantees, I dissent,” she wrote.

Image via Shutterstock

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law

Arkansas Senator Files Bill to Abolish State Library, Give Education Department Control

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The right-wing war on knowledge continues as an Arkansas state senator filed a bill Thursday to abolish the State Library as well as the library board.

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Jonesboro), along with State Rep. Wayne Long (R-Bradford), filed Senate Bill 536 on Thursday. The bill would not just remove all references to the State Library from existing laws, but also put the state’s other libraries under the control of the Arkansas Department of Education.

A previous version of the bill, SB184, would have also shuttered the Arkansas Educational Television Commission, which oversees the state’s PBS stations, according to the Arkansas Advocate.

READ MORE: Clean Up Alabama Wants State to Dump ‘Marxist’ American Library Association

The Arkansas State Library is not just a regular library. In addition to providing information to state agencies and lawmakers, it also distributes funding to the other libraries around the state. Under SB536, the Department of Education would take on all its responsibilities. The State Library is officially a part of the Department of Education already, but it operates as an independent organization.

While the proposal may sound like a shuffling-around of duties, the main thrust of the bill is to allow more direct control over the Arkansas library system by controlling the purse strings. The bill would keep libraries from distributing “age-inappropriate materials” to those under 17 years old and sex education materials from those under 12. Libraries would also have to set up a system where those in the community could request that certain items be banned for minors, according to KARK-TV. Those that don’t meet these restrictions will have state funding pulled.

Earlier legislation filed by Sullivan and passed into law includes Act 242, which ended the requirement for library directors to have a master’s degree in library science, the Advocate reported.  Sullivan, however, was unsuccessful with a proposed amendment to another bill that would strip funding from libraries affiliated with the American Library Association—meaning most, if not all of them. That amendment was rejected this week over concerns the language in it was too broad, according to the Advocate.

The ALA has been a target of right-wing politicians and activists upset with its free speech stance and fights against censorship. Sullivan in particular has objected to a provision in the ALA’s Library Bill of Rights protecting library access for all ages, the Advocate reported. He also called for the state’s chapter of the ALA to be defunded—despite the fact that it receives no state funding.

Image via Shutterstock

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