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Meet The Donors Funding The Shadow Campaign To Stop Trump’s Second Term Before It Even Begins

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Groups bankrolled by major left-of-center charitable foundations are reportedly preparing to obstruct a potential second Trump administration.

Organizations including Protect Democracy, the Institution for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP) at Georgetown University and Democracy Forward, are part of a loose alliance preparing legal action to block Trump from taking certain executive actions if he takes office, according to NBC News. These organizations are backed by influential liberal institutions, like George Soros’ philanthropic empire, a Daily Caller News Foundation review found.

The organizations fear that Trump may use the armed forces to act undemocratically if elected, according to NBC News. To address this, they seek to limit his potential influence over the executive branch.

“We are preparing for litigation and preparing to use every tool in the toolbox that our democracy provides to provide the American people an ability to fight back,” Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward, told NBC News.

The details shared with the press regarding the groups’ plans were vague, only mentioning preparation for litigation, drafting letters to influence possible Trump appointees and conducting research on what a second Trump term may look like. The coalition wants to “challenge Trump from day one,” according to NBC News.

The outlet reports that alliance members are “studying Trump’s past actions and 2024 policy positions so that they will be ready if he wins in November,” adding that some “participants are combing through policy papers being crafted for a future conservative administration” and “watching the interviews that Trump allies are giving to the press for clues.”

Protect Democracy, ICAP and Democracy Forward are all bankrolled by left-wing megadonors.

Philanthropies tied to George Soros, eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and other left-wing megadonors have poured millions into Protect Democracy since 2017.

Protect Democracy refers to the joint efforts between the 501(c)(3) Protect Democracy Project and the 501(c)(4) group United to Protect Democracy, according to the organization’s website.

501(c)(3) organizations can engage in advocacy and education, but are limited in how much they can directly spend on political activities. 501(c)(4)s, meanwhile, have greater license to engage in explicitly political activism.

Soros’ Foundation to Promote Open Society gave $650,000 to the Protect Democracy Project between 2018 and 2021, according to a grant database. Soros’ Open Society Policy Center, meanwhile, gave over $1 million to United to Protect Democracy between 2017 and 2020.

United to Protect Democracy and the Protect Democracy Project also received funding from Omidyar’s philanthropic network.

Omidyar is a primary funder and founder of Democracy Fund, a nonprofit that provides financial backing for various left-of-center causes, according to tax forms. He has also funded past efforts to fight Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter and to oppose Trump.

The Protect Democracy Project has received $3.8 million from Democracy Fund since 2017, tax documents show.

Democracy Fund Voice, a 501(c)(4) organization founded and funded entirely by Omidyar, gave United to Protect Democracy roughly $1.3 million between 2017 and 2022.

Similarly, the John Pritzker Family Fund gave the Protect Democracy Project $700,000 between 2019 and 2022.

John Pritzker is the chairman of the John Pritzker Family Fund.  The Pritzker family is one of the nation’s wealthiest and deeply connected to the world of liberal politics.

John’s cousin, J.B. Pritzker, serves as the Democratic governor of Illinois while another one of his cousins, Penny Pritzker, has held high-ranking posts in both the Obama and Biden administrations.

Mark Heising and Elizabeth Simons, who are married, have donated nearly $10 million to Democrats since 2022, campaign finance records show. Their philanthropy, the Heising-Simons Foundation, poured $500,000 into the Protect Democracy Project in 2022, according to tax documents.

Simons serves as the chair of the foundation’s board and Heising as a vice chair.

Democracy Forward, like Protect Democracy, has both a 501(c)(3) and a 501(c)(4) organization under its umbrella. The two organizations share a website and a staff page.

Democracy Forward Foundation, the 501(c)(3), pulled in $200,000 from Omidyar’s Democracy Fund and $10,000 from Hopewell Fund in 2022, tax forms show. Omidyar provides almost all of Democracy Fund’s cash, according to tax forms.

One of Democracy Forward’s largest backers has been the Sandler Foundation.

The Sandler Foundation was established in 1991 by Herb and Marion Sandler, financial industry billionaires who contributed $1.3 billion to the philanthropy. Since then, tax forms show that the Sandler Foundation has given millions to groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and the Campaign Legal Center, which have consistently launched anti-Trump litigation.

The Democracy Forward Foundation received $11 million from the Sandler Foundation between 2018 and 2021, tax documents show.

Democracy Forward’s links to the left go beyond funding.

Marc Elias, one of America’s most prolific Democratic lawyers, and Ron Klain, President Joe Biden’s former chief of staff, both sit on Democracy Forward’s board, according to the organization’s website.

John Podesta, former Clinton administration chief of staff and chair of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, sat on the Democracy Forward Foundation’s board until at least June 2022, according to tax forms.

Some groups involved in the anti-Trump shadow campaign don’t disclose their donors.

The New Venture Fund and the Hopewell Fund, organizations within a dark money network managed by liberal consultancy Arabella Advisors, collectively gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to Protect Democracy between 2020 and 2020, tax filings show.

There’s also a clear partisan tilt to this budding anti-Trump resistance. The chair of ICAP’s board, Mamoon Hamid, has donated nearly $50,000 to Democrats since 2017, according to FEC records. The institution’s vice chair, Stewart Butterfield, has given over $100,000 to Democrats since 2017, FEC records show.

Mary DeRosa, an Obama administration alumna and another ICAP board member, has given nearly $40,000 to Democrats since 2016, according to the FEC.

Leadership at United to Protect Democracy and Democracy Forward have also donated thousands to Democrats, FEC records show.

Ian Bassin, co-founder and executive director of United to Protect Democracy, donated more than $2,400 to Democrats and Democrat-aligned PACs between 2016 and 2023, according to FEC records. Bassin also served as associate White House counsel during the Obama administration.

ICAP’s leadership isn’t all Democrats, however; Mickey Edwards, who serves on the board, was a Republican member of Congress for 16 years, according to his Georgetown bio. Edwards left the Republican Party in 2021, however, saying it had become a “cult” under Trump, Business Insider reported.

“We’re already starting to put together a team to think through the most damaging types of things that [Trump] might do so that we’re ready to bring lawsuits if we have to,” ICAP’s executive director Mary McCord told NBC News.

Democracy Forward, ICAP and Protect Democracy didn’t respond to requests for comment.

AUTHOR

ROBERT SCHMAD

Contributor.

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All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Abortion, Trump And Censorship Headline Supreme Court’s Docket In The New Year

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  • The Supreme Court will grapple with issues involving former President Donald Trump, the Biden administration’s communication with social media companies to censor speech online and the abortion pill in the lead up to the 2024 election. 
  • Abortion is back at the Supreme Court just two years after it issued a major ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, with two cases on the issue.
  • The justices will hear oral arguments on Trump’s eligibility for office under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment in February.

Issues involving the chemical abortion pill, former President Donald Trump and the Biden administration’s encouragement of censorship online top the Supreme Court’s docket in the New Year.

Though only one decision has been released so far this term, the justices have already heard arguments on gun restrictions for subjects of domestic violence restraining orders, government officials blocking constituents on social media and Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy settlement. Other pending cases will require the Supreme Court to grapple with multiple hot-button issues in the lead up to the 2024 election.

Abortion

Just two years after overturning Roe v. Wade in June 2022, the justices agreed to hear another major abortion case challenging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of the chemical abortion pill mifepristone.

U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ruled in April that the FDA must reverse its approval of the pill. The Fifth Circuit later declined to fully remove the pill from the market, but upheld the portion of the decision rolling back FDA rules issued in 2016 and 2021 that had expanded access, allowing the pill to be sent via mail and used later in pregnancy.

However, due to an emergency order issued by the Supreme Court in April, both decisions are paused until the Supreme Court rules on the case.

The Supreme Court also agreed Friday to hear a second big case considering whether the federal law requires emergency room doctors to perform abortions in violation of Idaho’s law, which prohibits abortions unless the mother’s life is in danger. The Biden administration argues the that the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which instructs doctors not to turn away patients in need of “emergency stabilizing care,” preempt’s Idaho’s ban and requires doctors to perform emergency abortions.

On Friday, the Court agreed to allow Idaho’s ban to remain in effect until it could hear the case in April.

Censorship

The Supreme Court will weigh in on the Biden administration’s coordination with social media companies to suppress speech online in Murthy v. Missouri. District Court Judge Terry A. Doughty called the government’s censorship efforts “Orwellian” in his July 4 ruling finding the Biden administration likely violated the First Amendment, noting the Republican attorneys general of Louisiana and Missouri “produced evidence of a massive effort by Defendants, from the White House to federal agencies, to suppress speech based on its content.”

The Supreme Court paused the ruling in October pending its consideration of the appeal. Justice Samuel Alito dissented, along with Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, writing the decision could be construed in the meantime as “giving the Government a green light to use heavy handed tactics to skew the presentation of views on the medium that increasingly dominates the dissemination of news.”

Election officials in eight states filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to reject the appeals court’s ruling, expressing dismay that communications made with platforms during the 2020 and 2022 election season have “essentially ended” ahead of “a critical and hotly contested 2024 election season.”

The Supreme Court will also hear a case considering former superintendent of New York’s Department of Financial Services Maria Vullo pressuring banks and insurance companies not to do business with the National Rifle Association. Aaron Terr, Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) director of Public Advocacy, told the Daily Caller News Foundation in November there are “clear parallels” between the cases.

“Each case involves government officials exceeding constitutional boundaries by coercing private companies to censor or dissociate from speakers expressing views those officials dislike,” he said.

Trump

As the 2024 election draws near, issues surrounding former President Donald Trump are creeping into the court’s docket.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Feb. 8 to consider Trump’s appeal of the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision finding him ineligible to appear on the state’s primary ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. The justices decision will clarify whether other states can take similar actions to remove Trump from the ballot, as Democratic Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows did in a Dec. 28 ruling finding Trump ineligible to appear.

The justices also agreed to hear a case on the scope of an obstruction statute used to charge hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants, as well as Trump.

The statute, Section 1512(c)(2), threatens fines or up to 20 years in prison for anyone who “obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding.” It is connected to two of the four charges in Jack Smith’s indictment of Trump for alleged election interference.

If the Supreme Court limits the scope, it could shake up Jan. 6 cases along with impacting the former president’s case.

Special counsel Jack Smith already asked the justices in December to consider Trump’s presidential immunity appeal before the lower court had a chance to weigh in, a request they ultimately denied. Still, the issue will likely be back before the justices soon, as the D.C. Circuit is slated to hear oral arguments on the issue Jan. 9 and issue a decision sometime after.

Other coming cases to watch

The Supreme Court will hear arguments Jan. 17 for a pair of cases that challenge “Chevron deference,” a legal doctrine that instructs courts to defer to executive agency interpretations of statutes when the language is ambiguous. Critics argue the doctrine enables federal agencies to adopt expansive interpretations of statutes that broaden their power while evading the checks and balances of the judicial branch.

In February, the Supreme Court will hear a case challenging a Trump-era federal ban on bump stocks, along with a pair of cases considering red state laws aimed at preventing viewpoint censorship on social media.

AUTHOR

 

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All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Trump Surrenders At New York Courthouse

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Former President Donald Trump arrived at a Manhattan courtroom Tuesday where he will hear the charges against him.

Trump has said he will plead “not guilty” to charges stemming from to an alleged hush money payment to pornographic actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Trump attorney Michael Cohen allegedly paid Daniels $130,000 to keep her from claiming publicly that she had an affair with Trump in 2006, and the case hinges on whether Trump broke the law by reimbursing Cohen for the payment. Trump has maintained that he never had an affair with Daniels.

This will mark the first time in history a former president has been arraigned for a crime, and Trump faces more than 30 counts related to business fraud, CNN reported.

Trump flew from Florida to New York on Monday, and said he would voluntarily turn himself in to the courthouse in Manhattan on Tuesday. He will likely have his fingerprints taken, but a perp walk, handcuffs and a mugshot are unlikely, The New York Times reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Trump is then expected to fly to Mar-a-Lago to give a speech Tuesday night.

Protesters gathered across the street from the courthouse in the hours leading up to Trump’s arrival, including Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and George Santos of New York.

Trump reacted to his indictment on Thursday, calling it “Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history.”

On Monday, Trump claimed that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg leaked information to the press about his indictment, and called for him to “indict himself.”

“Wow! District Attorney Bragg just illegally LEAKED the various points, and complete information, on the pathetic Indictment against me,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I know the reporter and so, unfortunately, does he. This means that he MUST BE IMMEDIATELY INDICTED. Now, if he wants to really clean up his reputation, he will do the honorable thing and, as District Attorney, INDICT HIMSELF. He will go down in Judicial history, and his Trump Hating wife will be, I am sure, very proud of him!”

The former president did not provide evidence to substantiate his claim that Bragg leaked information about the sealed indictment to the press.

AUTHOR

DIANA GLEBOVA

White House correspondent.

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All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

January 6 Prison Choir Has The Number One Song In The Country

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A new song featuring former President Trump topped iTunes’ charts.

The single “Justice for All” debuted March 4 by the J6 Prison Choir, reaching No. 1 on iTunes top songs Saturday, according to Variety.

The track consists of the choir singing “The Star Spangled Banner” behind bars, interspersed with audio of Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. The song concludes with chants of “USA! USA!”

The J6 Prison Choir is composed of prisoners incarcerated for the involvement in the January 6 Capitol riot.

Trump’s contribution was recorded for the project at his Mar-a-Lago residence per the request of a group supporting Jan. 6 prisoners, according to CNN.

The third-time presidential candidate’s 2024 campaign was not motivation for his involvement in this production, advisers claim. Trump has consistently expressed his support for those imprisoned, promising full pardons if he wins re-election and financially supporting some Jan. 6 defendants.

At least 1000 individuals have been arrested for participating in Jan. 6, according to CNBC.

“Justice for All” retails for $1.29 on iTunes. It is also available for play on Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube.

Money raised by the song will be distributed to families of Jan. 6 prisoners via a group organized by conservative commentator Ed Henry, according to Newsmax.

Trump-era White House official Kash Patel was also involved in the project, having released an exclusive music video for the song on The War Room with Steve Bannon.

AUTHOR

JULIANNA FRIEMAN

Contributor.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

‘The Peace President’: Trump’s 2024 Plan Is To Run Against The War In Ukraine

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Former President Donald Trump is planning to tap into “anti-war” sentiments over the Ukraine-Russia conflict in a bid to stand out in a potentially crowded field of Republican contenders heading into 2024, Politico reported, citing anonymous individuals closely tied to his campaign.

Trump has criticized the Biden administration’s handling of Ukraine, and said he would have ended the conflict in “24 hours,” according to Politico. The former president’s pivot to foreign affairs is in direct response to a growing field of potential Republican challengers, including former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“Trump is the peace president and he’s the first president in two generations to not start a war, whereas if you look at DeSantis’ congressional record, he’s voted for more engagement and more military engagement overseas,” an anonymous individual close to Trump told Politico.

The former president hopes his “America First” agenda will stand out among the other likely political opponents, who have signaled support for supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia, according to Politico.

Shortly after Russia’s invasion, Haley said “this isn’t just a war for Ukraine, its a war for freedom.” In October, Pompeo said the U.S. must supply Ukraine with the necessary resources.

“I do think national security is going to be a much more important issue in 2024 than in many of the most recent presidential elections,” John Bolton, former national security adviser to the Trump Administration, told Politico, in lieu of the recent Chinese balloon national security breach.

After several days of the balloon traveling through American air space, it was shot down over the Carolinas.

Trump also called out his former secretary of State, claiming Pompeo took too much credit for the Trump administration’s foreign accomplishments, according to Politico.

Republican Sen. J.D. Vance from Ohio praised Trump’s policy plans, “I’m supporting him for president in 2024 because he’s the only person certain to do it,” he wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.

Haley’s former UN ambassador experience will likely come in handy in this political match up, those close to Haley told Politico.

AUTHOR

MARY LOU MASTERS

Contributor.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved. All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Trump-Endorsed Democrat Wins Nomination In Heated New York Primary

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A Trump-endorsed Democrat who helped his party lead the first impeachment effort against the former president won the Democratic nomination to represent New York’s contested 10th district in Tuesday’s packed primary election, NPR reported Wednesday.

Former prosecutor Daniel Goldman won the Democratic nomination over Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou and incumbent Rep. Mondaire Jones to represent New York’s 10th district in Congress on Tuesday.

Goldman won with 25.8% of the vote, NPR reported, citing The Associated Press. Niou finished in second with 23.7%.

Jones, the first openly gay black congressman, came in third place for the nomination after redistricting prompted him to switch from seeking re-election against another incumbent in New York’s 17th district. Trump endorsed Goldman earlier this month.

“Lawyer Dan Goldman is running for Congress, NY-10, and it is my great honor to Strongly Endorse him,” Trump wrote in a TRUTH Social post.

“I do this not because of the fact that he headed up the Impeachment Committee and lost, but because he was honorable, fair, and highly intelligent. While it was my honor to beat him, and beat him badly, Dan Goldman has a wonderful future ahead,” he continued.

The New York Times editorial board also endorsed Goldman, praising his efforts to impeach Trump.

“The Republicans are out for blood and out for revenge,” Goldman told the editorial board. “And so my experience, having led the impeachment investigation and being right in the throes of that kind of complex and high-stakes investigation, will be even more valuable, I think, to the Democratic caucus than reasonably a first-year congress person would be even in the majority without any seniority.”

His runner-ups, Niou and Jones, both prided themselves as more progressive candidates and lambasted Goldman as a “conservative Democrat.” They claimed he opposes Medicare for All and depended on his own wealth to win the seat, according to Spectrum News.

Niou came in second place after losing some support for expressing support for the Boycott Divest and Sanctions movement against Israel in an interview with Jewish Insider.

AUTHOR

JUSTINE BROOKE MURRAY

Contributor.

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Trump To Sue CNN

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Former President Donald Trump notified CNN of his intention to file a lawsuit against the network for “repeated defamatory statements” in a statement Wednesday.

Ifrah Law, a Washington-based law firm, filed a Notice of Intent ordering the network, under Florida Statute § 770.02, to “publish a full and fair correction, apology, or retraction” in published pieces or broadcasts that allegedly made “false statements” about the former president. The notice warned that failure to issue an apology will result in a lawsuit.

“Failure to publish such a correction, apology, or retraction will result in the filing of a lawsuit and damages being sought against you, CNN,” the document warned.

Trump warned he will be suing other media outlets that have “defamed and defrauded the public” about the 2020 presidential election results.

“I have notified CNN of my intent to file a lawsuit over their repeated defamatory statements against me,” Trump said. “I will also be commencing actions against other media outlets who have defamed me and defrauded the public regarding the overwhelming evidence of fraud throughout the 2020 Election. I will never stop fighting for the truth and for the future of our Country!”

The notice accused CNN of allowing claims that Trump was “illegitimately elected” in the 2016 presidential election to go unchallenged. It then raised accusations that CNN “fed a narrative” that repeatedly defamed Trump’s character before and after the 2020 presidential election.

The document stated that CNN inaccurately branded Trump as a “liar” and likened him to Adolf Hitler and communist leaders by labeling his election fraud claims as the “Big Lie.” The network has coined the term “Big Lie” in relation to Trump more than 7,700 times since January 2021, the document said.

“In this instance, President Trump’s comments are not lies: He subjectively believes that the results of the 2020 presidential election turned on fraudulent voting activity in several key states,” the document said.

The document alleged that the network treats Trump unfairly in comparison to other public figures, including Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, Jussie Smollett and Andrew McCabe. It then argued that the former president’s questions about election integrity are legitimate, given that True the Vote reportedly found evidence of illegal, fraudulent votes in states such as Georgia and Arizona.

The outlet published several headlines either defaming or negatively depicting the former president. Headlines negatively depicting the former president included, “Trump’s growing recklessness is a ticking time bomb,” “Trump’s Jan 6 plot appears darker and more dangerous by the day,” “Trump’s Big Lie is changing the face of American politics,” and “Trump’s Mental Health becomes an issue again.”

CNN declined to comment on the potential lawsuit.

AUTHOR

NICOLE SILVERIO

Media reporter. Follow Nicole Silverio on Twitter @NicoleMSilverio

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Lies, damned lies and the Steele dossier

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The truth always comes out eventually.

Last week, Russian-born analyst Igor Danchenko, who lives in Washington DC, was arrested for making false statements to the FBI. While this may sound like another innocuous headline in these days of deceit, Danchenko’s arrest is the latest chapter in a breathtaking political scandal that renders Watergate child’s play.

All the way back in January 2017, BuzzFeedNews broke a bombshell story titled, “These Reports Allege Trump Has Deep Ties To Russia”. It was the first time the public gained access to the now infamous “Steele dossier” — a 35-page intelligence report alleging that Trump planned his rise to presidential power with secret interference from Russia.

A media feeding frenzy began. For the next two years, America’s corporate press gave unending airtime to the Trump-Russia collusion story. It rose above every cheap shot about Trump’s diet, small hands or latest mean tweet to become the principal proof that Trump was an imposter: an illegitimate president and an existential threat to the global order.

It wasn’t just America’s national media that ran with the narrative. It quickly became a worldwide sensation. Australian taxpayers funded and endured thousands of articles on the ABC website, including a Four Corners special that claimed, “It’s the story of the century: The US President and his connections to Russia.”

The New York Times and the Washington Post were jointly decorated with the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in National Reporting on the story. Still today, the Pullitzer Prize website recounts of their heroic feats:

For deeply sourced, relentlessly reported coverage in the public interest that dramatically furthered the nation’s understanding of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and its connections to the Trump campaign, the President-elect’s transition team and his eventual administration.

There was only one problem: the Steele dossier was almost entirely fictional. Danchenko was the “source” for many of its false claims — and justice finally caught up with him last week.

That the dossier was bunk was already known. The two-year, US$32 million Mueller Report that probed the dossier and other sources found no evidence that Trump had colluded with Russia, even if the Kremlin did interfere in the election for its own ends.

By the time the Mueller Report was released, the damage to Trump’s reputation had already been done. But this was only the beginning of the scandal’s unravelling.

During Trump’s first year in office, it came to light that the Steele dossier had actually been funded by Trump’s rivals. The year previous, its author — former British spy Christopher Steele — had been paid to produce the bunk document by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Both Clinton and the DNC lied about their role in the scandal until it could be lied about no longer.

Other sinister events were taking place behind the scenes. The Obama-era FBI launched “Crossfire Hurricane”, a secret investigation giving the FBI powers to spy on Donald Trump’s election campaign.

In an exposé, the editorial board of the New York Post noted that “the Obama-Comey FBI and Justice Department never had anything more substantial than the laughable fiction of the Steele dossier to justify the “counterintelligence” investigation of the Trump campaign.” They continued:

President Barack Obama, in his final days in office, played a key role in fanning the flames of the phony scandal. Fully briefed on the “Crossfire Hurricane” investigation, he knew the FBI had come up with nothing despite months of work starting in July 2016.   

Indeed, the Obama administration went on a full-scale leak offensive — handing the Washington Post, New York Times and others a nonstop torrent of “anonymous” allegations of Trumpite ties to Moscow. It suggested that the investigations were finding a ton of treasonous dirt on Team Trump — when in fact the investigators had come up dry.

The dishonesty ran deep. Subsequent investigations revealed that an FBI lawyer deceptively altered an email which was then used to persuade a federal judge to extend a surveillance warrant, allowing the spying on Trump’s campaign to continue. The shady lawyer avoided jail time, apparently because that’s how things are done these days in DC.

We often think of postmodernism in its impact on literature, the arts and popular culture. But the link between postmodernism and politics couldn’t be more apparent than in the Steele dossier saga. To borrow the words of postmodernism’s precursor, Friedrich Nietzsche:

What were we doing when we unchained this earth from its sun? Whither is it moving now? Whither are we moving? Away from all suns? Are we not plunging continually? Backward, sideward, forward, in all directions? Is there still any up or down?

America’s intelligence agencies were weaponised against innocent civilians for partisan political gain. Reputations and careers are in tatters. The global media has been willingly used in a relentless assault on truth and common sense. And now that the truth comes out, the guilty are silent.

Destroy a culture’s meta-narrative and you end up with any narrative at all.

Be careful, little ears, what you hear.

Kurt Mahlburg

Kurt Mahlburg is a writer and author, and an emerging Australian voice on culture and the Christian faith. He has a passion for both the philosophical and the personal, drawing on his background as a graduate… More by Kurt Mahlburg.

EDITORS NOTE: This MercatorNet column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

VIDEO: Trump Rally in Phoenix

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President Trump has boundless energy. His rallies are providing hope to millions of patriotic Americans.

Watch live: Trump attends rally in Phoenix

By The Hill, July 24, 2021

Former President Trump is scheduled to attend a rally in Phoenix on Saturday afternoon.

The event, a “Rally to Save Our Elections,” is hosted by the conservative group Turning Point Action. It is the first rally appearance for Trump in Arizona since he left the White House.

The event is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. local time. Trump is reportedly scheduled to speak at 6 p.m. ET.

Watch the live video above.

RELATED ARTICLE: Poll: Trump Is More Popular Than Biden

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Pollster Finds Hispanics Turning Republican

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More Trump magic.

According to the story, GOP pollster Curt Anderson explained the details in “a new NRSC survey of Hispanic voters in battleground states. The top line from his 34-page slide deck? “The coalition of the ascendant is descending.” The proof? The two senators sitting at the table who won election in a Sun Belt state that has become “substantially less white and more Republican.” The moment for their multiethnic, multiracial working-class coalition has arrived, Republicans hope, and Hispanic voters are the key. “They said how well Marco would do because he is of Cuban descent,” Scott said, noting how Rubio won 48% of those voters in his 2016 race, “but when I did it, they said, ‘Well, there is something different about Florida.’ If you look at these poll numbers, it is not. If you look at these poll numbers, Hispanics across the country are Republicans” (Real Clear Politics).

This comes as a Republican won a mayoral race in a majority-Hispanic Texas town (Washington Examiner).

RELATED ARTICLE: Unanimous Supreme Court: Illegal Immigrants Do Not Have A Right To Green Cards

EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Quick note: Tech giants are snuffing us out. You know this. Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Adsense permenently banned us. Facebook, Twitter, Google search et al have shadowbanned, suspended and deleted us from your news feeds. They are disappearing us. But we are here. Help us fight. Subscribe to Geller Report newsletter here — it’s free and it’s critical NOW more than ever. Share our posts on social and with your email contacts.

DELTA Airlines BOOTS Two Women for Private Conversation About President Trump

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There is a madness a foot, a terrible evil madness. Does anyone recognize this country?

For those wondering how the Gestapo, the Stasi, KGB etc. got so far so fast. Wonder no more. Your neighbors are willing, enthusiastic enforcers.

I’m amazed when people and corporations, sports team etc. publicly act in a way that destroys their business. Like a political statement from an actor right before his movie comes out and then no one goes to his movie.

DELTA airlines boots two women for private conversation about Trump…

By Kane, Citizen Free Press, on January 9, 2021:

Kicked off their flight for supporting President Trump

Delta airlines ejected two people for having a private conversation in which they expressed support for Trump.

https://twitter.com/Yoder_Esqq/status/1348025463558516738?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1348025463558516738%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fgellerreport.com%2F2021%2F01%2Fdelta-boots-passengers-4-private-conversation.html%2F

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EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved. Quick note: Tech giants are snuffing us out. You know this. Facebook, Twitter, Google et al have shadowbanned, suspended and in some cases deleted us from your news feeds. They are disappearing us. But we are here. Subscribe to Geller Report — it’s free and it’s critical NOW more than ever. 

VIDEO: What a Biden Administration portents for Israel and the Middle East

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My analyses of what a Biden foreign policy means for Israel, the Middle East, and a wider world, based on Biden’s appointees.

WATCH:

©Barry Shaw. All rights reserved.

TRAILER: Trump vs Hollywood Here!

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Documentary filmed during Corona crisis in America with 24 Hollywood stars, musicians, rappers and others of similar stature.

All talking about Donald J. Trump, the 45th president of the United States of America and his impact so far.

Half of the celebrities are pro, the other half are Democrats.

Producer Erbil “Bill” Gunasti and Director Daphne Barak of the Documentary somehow brought so many together with incendiary comments, yet to have a productive dialogue.

Click here to get a sense of what it is. Documentary is released prior to the presidential elections for a sneak view before it is removed until when it will be on most online platforms by December 14th, 2020.

ABOUT Fighting 4 ONE AMERICA!

We have set our sights to fight for ONE AMERICA. Unfortunately today, there are two Americas. Divided America is a by-product of domestic and foreign forces but unless Americans talk to one another with common sense this division will never end. Here the goal is to establish a dialogue so that DIVIDED AMERICA can become ONE AMERICA again. We began this task with a two hour long video when we brought together 24 famous Hollywood stars, rappers, musicians, and others from both side of isle. We called it: “Trump vs Hollywood. And they talked, with common sense, like an American would.

©Fighting 4 ONE AMERICA!. All rights reserved.

Why Trump Is In With A Chance

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Reliance on polls may be leading pundits to overlook important features of the election

I was in Washington DC this time four years ago — a week before the 2016 election. The mood was eerie, not in the least because of all the morbid Halloween decorations. With skeletons hanging from trees, carved pumpkins on porches and fake gravestones littering front yards, the suburban vistas felt strangely like a scene from a zombie movie.

The nightmarish feeling wasn’t confined to the Halloween celebrations. FBI Director James Comey had just announced the “reopening” of an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server, with new material surfacing on the seized laptop of disgraced former Democrat politician Anthony Weiner. The Clinton-Kane campaign was in damage control. Trump was ahead in the polls in Florida, and performing well in other swing states. The uncertainty of the Comey investigation, furthermore, was hurting Clinton’s national popularity ratings. The febrile mood led some to cautiously predict a Trump upset.

Fast-forward to now, and the scene is very different. American today feels more like Camus’s The Plague. Over 220,000 Americans have died so far in the coronavirus pandemic, and daily case numbers are rising in a majority of states. Four weeks ago, Trump himself was in hospital recovering from an unexpected bout of Covid-19. The prospect of a vaccine by November — a Trump campaign promise — is increasingly unlikely.

Coronavirus has seriously hurt Trump’s re-election prospects. Despite a recent narrowing of the polls, many pundits think Trump has little possibility of re-election. The Economist’s election forecast says that Trump has a mere 1 in 20 chance of winning the electoral college; Nat Silver’s FiveThirtyEight website gives Trump just a 12 percent chance of victory. NBC Political commentator Dave Wasserman, who predicted a Trump victory in 2016, says that the 2020 presidential race is fundamentally different, and that most of the fundamentals favour Biden. So, obviously, a repeat upset is unlikely.

But, but, but …  is this really the case? The reliance on polling data may be leading pundits to overlook some important features of the election. The “shy Tory” effect — which pertains to people who vote for conservative parties while evading pollsters — may be particularly pronounced in this election, where Trumpism is more taboo than ever.

It’s instructive, therefore, to also look at other indicators.

First, no incumbent with Trump’s very high level of GOP primary support has ever lost his re-election — Trump is very popular with actual Republicans. They even turned out for Trump in a primary where he ran unopposed. Many Trump voters will march through a storm to vote for him. (I mean this literally, as Hurricane Zeta is due to hit the Gulf of Mexico in the next few days.)

Second, Trump will probably improve his vote amongst minorities. He will do well with Hispanics, which will matter in the swing state of Florida. He is popular among Asian voters. Believe it or not, Trump will better his performance with African-Americans — particularly men. Trump lost among African-Americans by about 82 percentage points in 2016 but has closed the gap in support to about 71 points this year, according to figures in FiveThirtyEight last week.

Third, Trump’s support for manufacturing jobs and Biden’s ambitious green energy policies, will give the Republicans a bump in the Rust Belt states. In the third debate, for example, Trump managed to draw Biden out on his commitment to transition from an oil industry to a reliance on renewables. A Democrat-lean poll of Pennsylvania voters published after the debate put Trump two points ahead of Biden (48 percent to 46 percent).

Finally, Trump’s early voting and vote by mail numbers are looking healthy in the swing states of Florida, North Carolina, Michigan and Wisconsin. More registered Republicans than Democrats have cast their ballots in Michigan and Wisconsin, for example, despite the fact that Democrats were predicted to vote in far greater numbers prior to election day.

The final vote in these states will be close, but it is possible that Trump will win all four. If he wins Pennsylvania, it’s curtains for Biden.

As Cary Grant said in The Awful Truth, “You’re wrong about things being different because they’re not the same”. In many respects, Trump is better placed to win now as an incumbent. He’s not seen as risky as he was in 2016.

Biden, on the other hand, may be seen as a liability by many voters — in part because of Trump’s attempts to paint him as a puppet of the far left and as an enemy of the mining and resource sectors. This, rather than Trump’s frenetic style of governance, may be the risk that many voters have in mind as they head to the polls.

Don’t get me wrong. Biden still has a good chance of winning. But November 3 could still go either way. Pundits tipping a Biden landslide may get a surprise.

This content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license.

COLUMN BY

Xavier Symons

Xavier Symons is a Sydney academic, writer and 2020 Fulbright Future Postdoctoral Scholar. He was a visiting scholar at Georgetown University’s Kennedy Institute of Ethics in 2016. 

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EDITORS NOTE: This MercatorNet column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.