News

Congress is ramping up its investigation into potential foreign interference in Democratic fundraising efforts, particularly focusing on the ActBlue platform.

Recent bombshell letters from lawmakers Bryan Steil and Ron Johnson to the Biden administration demand access to key financial records and intelligence briefings, as reported by Just The News.

The inquiry centers on whether foreign adversaries like Iran, China, Russia, and Venezuela have been funneling money into U.S. elections, potentially manipulating online donations to Democratic campaigns.

The investigation, spearheaded by the House Administration Committee and the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, highlights concerns that foreign actors may be using straw donations through ActBlue without U.S. donors’ knowledge.

These suspicious donations, often linked to small-dollar contributions, have prompted fears that illegal money laundering and credit card fraud could be in play. This practice, known as “smurfing,” is a sneaky way to bypass campaign finance regulations, making it difficult to detect foreign interference.

In a recent letter, Steil and Johnson specifically requested access to Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) filed by financial institutions, which could provide evidence of money laundering tied to ActBlue.

These reports are essential for tracking large sums of money and red-flagging suspicious transactions. Federal law requires banks to file SARs within 30 days of detecting potential illegal activity.

The scope of the investigation is widening. Steil’s committee has already referred findings to attorneys general in 19 states after an analysis raised concerns about small donations far exceeding the financial means of certain low-income donors.

This red flag suggests that some U.S. citizens may unknowingly be used as conduits for foreign donations.

Adding fuel to the fire, a recent lawsuit filed in Wisconsin by Republican consultant Mark Block claims his identity was used to make unauthorized donations via ActBlue. Block’s case could provide key evidence of an organized fraud scheme, raising alarms about the integrity of political fundraising.

Read More at LifeZette

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson recently attacked the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, labeling him an online “troll,” for highlighting an issue that’s fueling distrust and questions about transparency in the 2024 election.

“Michigan has more registered voters than eligible citizens!? Is that true @CommunityNotes?” Elon Musk posted to X, the social media site he owns.

Michigan has more registered voters than eligible citizens!? Is that true @CommunityNotes? https://t.co/f7Q2iCZdQ7

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 19, 2024

The site’s fact checkers responded with a community note that asserts “Michigan plans to remove over 600,000 inactive voters by 2027.”

“The state currently has 8.4 million registered voters, according to the latest records obtained by Bridge Michigan, nearly 500,000 more than the number of people in the state who are old enough to vote,” the note read, linking to the Bridge Michigan analysis. Those facts were immediately countered with election misinformation from Benson, who twisted the data to fit her own narrative.

Read the full story at The Midwesterner

A heated discussion unfolded during a CNN segment where Ryan Girdusky, founder of the 1776 Project PAC, argued that the “Ferguson effect” and reduced police presence in communities are leading to increases in violent crime.

The term “Ferguson effect” was first coined by St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson in 2014 after the police-involved shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

The hypothesis suggests that a decline in police activity results in a surge in violent crime.

Girdusky linked this phenomenon to the aftermath of the death of George Floyd and the subsequent protests and riots that occurred in 2020, stating that these events contributed to a significant rise in black male deaths.

“There are the post-George Floyd riots [that] resulted in 15,000 black male deaths in this country,” Girdusky asserted during the segment, prompting a response from CNN political commentator Bakari Sellers, who questioned the validity of his claims. “How?” Sellers asked.

I mentioned the Ferguson and Floyd Effect on CNN… surprisingly, none of the Democrats on the panel had ever heard of it. pic.twitter.com/DckpbqzElS

— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) October 16, 2024

Girdusky elaborated, explaining that the perceived risks of policing during the 2020 riots led officers to withdraw from active duty. “The surge of violent crime, it was like Ferguson effect, the Ferguson effect and the Floyd effect … Because what happens is after the Ferguson riot and after the Floyd riot, policemen in fear of their jobs many times and political coverage, pull back from their jobs resulting in crime size,” he said.

CNN host Abby Phillips interrupted Girdusky, asserting, “Ryan, hold on, hold on. Ryan, we got to stop you there because you’re literally making a connection out of your own conjecture. You cannot just do that.”

If anyone who I was on the panel with wants to know about the Ferguson or Floyd Effect… here’s where CNN covered it.https://t.co/80ZuBpg8iO

— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) October 16, 2024

CNN: The notion of any “Ferguson Effect” contributed to the death of black men is a racist MAGA talking point

Also CNN: How will we deal with the “Ferguson Effect” pic.twitter.com/fXisWrurwM

— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) October 16, 2024

Democrats knew about the Ferguson and Floyd effect but true to form lie on CNN it exists even though CNN covered it. https://t.co/YWFympD5Qq pic.twitter.com/Jjf4OjisBJ

— ƤƖҲƖЄ (@Pixie1z) October 16, 2024

After Phillips attempted to restore order among the panel, Sellers expressed that the rise in riots and violent crimes could not solely be attributed to the deaths of black men. “That literally, and my point to you is, that makes no sense,” Sellers stated. He emphasized his

support for law enforcement but called for reforms, saying, “I want police actually to be paid more, I just want better police, more qualified police.”

Phillips then reminded the panel that Donald Trump was president during Floyd’s death and the BLM riots, leading to a debate about accountability. “You’re trying to blame crime on Joe Biden, but you’re saying that people who died when Donald Trump was president, that’s not his fault?” she asked.

Girdusky responded by asserting that the president does not control local police departments, clarifying, “I didn’t blame Joe Biden.”

Read More at RVM News

Florida law enforcement officials recently arrested 157 individuals during a human trafficking operation known as “Operation Autumn Sweep.”

🔥🚨BREAKING: Polk County, Florida. Sheriff announced 157 arrests in human trafficking operation, including Disney World employee and over 2 dozen illegal aliens

Sheriff; "There is no border security at the Southern Border. Zero. It doesn't exist." pic.twitter.com/K7wtYWnULD

— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) October 17, 2024

The sting, which targeted illegal activities related to prostitution, included 25 illegal immigrants, some of whom allegedly received federal government benefits after entering the country.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd announced the results of the operation alongside representatives from various law enforcement agencies, including those from Marion County, Lake County, Auburndale, Clermont, Davenport, Winter Haven, Lakeland, and Tampa.

“Operation Autumn Sweep” focused on individuals involved in soliciting prostitution, offering to commit prostitution, and aiding and abetting prostitutes. Additionally, three suspects were arrested for traveling to sexually batter children.

The operation commenced on October 2, leading to the identification of four potential human trafficking victims out of the 47 prostitutes who appeared at undercover locations.

Judd’s office reported that 96 of the arrested suspects were charged with soliciting prostitution, with a total of 35 felony charges and 201 misdemeanors issued across the group.

“The approach of Hurricane Milton caused us to end our investigation earlier than planned, but it’s still amazing that in such a short amount of time we were able to put 157 people in jail, and three child predators,” Judd said.

Among the 157 individuals arrested, Sheriff Judd revealed that 25 were in the U.S. illegally, hailing from countries such as Cuba, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Venezuela. “Sixteen percent of these total arrests were people who should not even have been in this country,” he stated. “But they were here, and they were here because we have a federal government that enabled these criminals to come into the country, and they treated them very well after the criminals came here illegally.”

Judd shared the story of a female suspect who entered the U.S. with her child. She reported that she flew into Mexico from Venezuela and then crossed the border into El Paso, Texas.

Upon her arrival, she was greeted by Border Patrol agents. “There is no border security at the southern border. Zero. It doesn’t exist,” Judd commented.

Read More at RVM News

When Vice President Kamala Harris was a 24-year-old law student San Francisco, her father, a Marxist economics professor at Stanford University, published a critique of immigration policies hurting black families.

Harris and six of his like-minded colleagues argued in 1988 that “the current immigration policy, which allows relatively large numbers of low-skilled workers to enter the United States” translates into a “burden … on low-skilled native-born workers,” and black families in particular, Restoration News reports. “At the same time that the trends in international trade have moved against U.S. workers, U.S. immigration laws have been modified in ways that increase the influx of low-skilled workers, who compete with native-born youths and low-skilled adult workers for low-skilled jobs,” the pamphlet read. “This shift has been a particularly serious problem for blacks, who constitute a high proportion of the low-skilled adult workers.”

Fast forward 26 years, and Donald Harris’ 1988 pamphlet Black Economic Progress: An Agenda for the 1990s has become even more relevant as his daughter oversees the largest influx of migrants in the nation’s history.

Read the Full Story at The Midwesterner

Elon Musk has emerged as a significant financial supporter of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, contributing $75 million to his pro-Trump super PAC in just the past three months.

This infusion of cash positions Musk, the world’s richest man, as a pivotal player in the upcoming election, as he aims to generate a “red wave” in key swing states that could help propel Trump back to the White House.

Recent disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission reveal that the PAC spent approximately $75 million during the July-September period, making it the leading pro-Trump super PAC dedicated to voter turnout. Notably, Musk was the sole donor to America PAC, granting him considerable influence in the election landscape.

The @America PAC is just aiming for common sense, centrist values https://t.co/mc0RmxXOhf

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 16, 2024

Read More at LifeZette

CNN‘s resident potato, Brian Stelter, unsuccessfully tried to put a positive spin on Kamala Harris‘s train wreck interview on FOX News after she lost her composure, forcing her handlers to end it early.

Harris attempted to blame Donald Trump for the border crisis despite her being in office for almost four years.

This was the first time time Harris was given a hardball interview, and she cracked under pressure.

When asked why she hasn’t she made progress on these issues during her time as vice president, Harris said: “My presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency.”

Stelter quoted a spokesman for Kamala Harris in an attempt to show she actually did a great job – watch below… and get ready to laugh:

Listening to how Kamala Harris answered @BretBaier's questions, I think she was employing a "Google strategy" – encouraging Fox viewers to search what she was saying – since many of the points she made are rarely heard on Fox. She also plugged her campaign website at the end. pic.twitter.com/dVMcUirch1

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) October 16, 2024

Read More at The Daily Fetched

Poor Jussie Smollett. The b-list actor (I’m being generous) who had a few minutes of fame playing a musician on the Fox network’s drama “Empire,” seems as determined to lose his fortune as he was to lose the public’s respect. 

To recap: In 2019, Smollett made up a hoax for attention. He claimed to be walking at about 2 am in Chicago in the dead of winter to a Subway fast food outlet for a sandwich. Along the way, he claimed, two men approached him and asked if he was that gay guy (using a slur) from the show Empire. Then, Smollett claims, they informed him that Chicago was “MAGA country,” put a noose around his neck, and poured bleach on him. 

A tearful Smollett appeared before cameras soaking up the attention from having been apparently “gay-bashed,” and all the media and most black people and leftists immediately believed him. 

How believable is it that two “homophobes” in Chicago would walk up to a guy at 2 am and proclaim that one of the blackest and most Democrat-ridden cities in America is “MAGA country?” It’s not believable at all, but leftists uncritically accept obvious nonsense if it props up a victimhood narrative they need to sell their politics. 

Smollett was arrested, then the charges were dropped, then they were refiled in 2021. He was convicted of five felony counts in relation to the hoax, though leftist media continues to insist on calling it an “alleged” hoax. It is not alleged; the courts convicted him. In every other situation, media drops the “alleged” when the court has ruled. This is a special carve-out because Smollett is black, gay, and leftist. 

Now, he’s moaning that he’s spent $3 million trying to clear his name, and he regrets sitting for a 2019 interview about his fake gay-bashing. “I don’t want to have a felony on my record for something I didn’t do,” he told Entertainment Tonight. He then goes on about how he’s doing this “as a gay man” and as a (capital B) black man. Well, you can’t say he’s not persistent. As per The Hollywood Reporter:

Smollett: “I want to have all of these things in my life, and I don’t want to have a felony on my record for something that I didn’t do,” Smollett said in part. “That’s what we’re fighting for. I know that on the surface it probably seems like why doesn’t he just serve the time, why doesn’t he just let this go. It would be easier if I had in fact done this to say that I did it. I wouldn’t have spent almost $3 million of my own money. I wouldn’t have had a trial.”

…..

Smollett: “But as a human being and as a man, as a Black man and as an openly gay Black man, I have a problem with letting them win on something they shouldn’t be able to,” Smollett said. “I’m a grown man and something happened. I can’t tell exactly what did happen, but I can tell you what did not happen. That’s what I have to sit on. No matter how much people are yelling in my face, saying ‘You’re a liar, you’re a liar.’ No, I’m not. No, I’m not. I don’t want them to believe that, but if that is what they believe, that’s on you.”

He admitted that his greatest mistake was his infamous interview on Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts, where even her softball questions and framing couldn’t sanitize his obvious lies.

But what does the public on social media think of the fact that Smollett is still claiming this thing that never happened totally did happen? 

Gives a little hope for the American people being on the ball, eh?

Former Rep. Liz Cheney, while serving as vice chairwoman of the House committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot, is facing questions over her secret communications with a key witness in the investigation.

Evidence obtained by congressional investigators and Just the News reveals Cheney used the encrypted app Signal to communicate directly with Cassidy Hutchinson, a witness in the investigation, as well as indirectly through Hutchinson’s friend, Alyssa Farah Griffin. These communications, which took place in June 2022, are raising concerns about potential ethical violations in the Democrat-led inquiry.

At the time, Hutchinson was represented by attorney Stefan Passantino, who told Just the News he was unaware of Cheney’s contact with his client and did not authorize the communication. Cheney’s communication may have violated legal ethics rules in Washington, D.C., where she is a licensed attorney.

WITNESS TAMPERING: Former Rep. Liz Cheney reportedly began secretly communicating with a January 6th Committee witness without informing the witness's lawyer—an clear ethical violation that could cost Cheney her law license. More concerning than the ethical breach, however, is… pic.twitter.com/pk5Hw9j8J1

— @amuse (@amuse) October 16, 2024

🚨 This is a pretty HUGE Scandal…

Liz Cheney was just Busted Secrety Communicating with ‘Start J6 Witness’ Cassidy Hutchinson

Cassidy Hutchinson testified that Donald Trump chocked his Secret Service Driver on January 6. Guess who questioned her? Liz Cheney…

Did Liz Cheney… https://t.co/dl1dBGllfM pic.twitter.com/vEepVuBbQ9

— MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) October 16, 2024

The D.C. Bar rules explicitly state that a lawyer may not communicate with a person represented by another attorney without that lawyer’s consent.

Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), chairman of the House Administration oversight subcommittee, raised concerns that Cheney may have influenced Hutchinson’s testimony and led her to switch lawyers.

“Our investigation has uncovered unethical back-channel communications between former Rep. Liz Cheney and Cassidy Hutchinson just before Hutchinson changed her sworn testimony,” Loudermilk said. “Not only is communicating with a witness without their attorney present unethical, it undermines the integrity of an investigation.”

According to Loudermilk’s subcommittee, Hutchinson fired her attorney, Passantino, shortly after these secret communications began and retained new lawyers, recommended by Cheney, to represent her pro bono.

Hutchinson later credited Cheney with helping her find new legal representation in her memoir, where she described Cheney’s assistance as “one of the greatest gifts I could have received: hope.”

The timeline of these communications has also raised red flags.

Read the Full Story at LifeZette